The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced on September 15 that it will launch its "Nihao Month" annual promotional campaign for a third consecutive year, with the 2026 edition themed "Thailand and China Are One Family." TAT forecasts that during the travel peak spanning September 25 to October 7 — covering China's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day "Golden Week" — approximately 250,000 Chinese tourists will visit Thailand, up 24% year-on-year, generating about 11.5 billion baht in tourism revenue, a 37% increase. This marks the third straight year TAT has built a dedicated marketing campaign around a major Chinese festival, underscoring how important the Chinese market remains to Thailand's tourism industry.

TAT data show that between January 1 and September 10, 2026, Thailand had already received more than 3.64 million Chinese visitors, keeping China firmly in place as Thailand's largest source market for inbound tourists. The Mid-Autumn Festival has traditionally been a key travel window for Chinese outbound tourists, and the National Day Golden Week that follows further amplifies that demand. TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the Chinese market remains critical to Thailand's tourism industry, noting that booking and search data for this year's Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays are showing positive growth signals — prompting the agency to further expand the scale of the "Nihao Month" campaign in order to consolidate Thailand's position as Chinese travelers' top outbound destination.

This is not the first time TAT has run the "Nihao Month" campaign. TAT first experimented with festival-themed marketing around China's Mid-Autumn Festival in 2024, formally naming the campaign "Nihao Month" in 2025 and scaling it up significantly to mark the 50th anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations, partnering with major Chinese travel and social platforms — including Meituan, Trip.com (Ctrip), Tongcheng Travel, Dianping, Alipay, WeChat, Douyin and RED (Xiaohongshu) — for a months-long joint promotion running from that September through the following Chinese New Year. The 2026 edition marks the campaign's third outing, with TAT continuing its partnerships with these platforms, using discounts, cashback and exclusive e-coupons to encourage Chinese consumers to book flights, hotels, dining and retail spending in Thailand around the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays.

The 2026 edition adopts a "four-pillar" promotional framework covering digital sales conversion, on-the-ground visitor privileges, cultural exchange experiences, and KOL-led destination storytelling. Under the digital sales conversion pillar, TAT and its partner platforms are offering a range of limited-time exclusive perks, including Meituan's "Black Pearl" dining experience and exclusive flight and hotel discounts on Trip.com (Ctrip) and Tongcheng Travel — offers carried over from previous editions that target high-spending travelers, multi-generational families and repeat visitors. Under the "KOL-led storytelling" pillar, TAT continues its earlier approach of inviting winning or specially invited Chinese influencers and content creators on familiarization trips to Thailand, using livestreams, short videos and social media posts to showcase Thailand's tourism resources and cultural experiences to China's enormous social-media user base, aiming to use authentic first-hand content to sway more potential travelers' booking decisions.

The centerpiece on-the-ground event is the "Amazing Thailand Mid-Autumn Celebration 2026," held on September 25 at the upscale One Bangkok complex. The event brought together roughly 30 Chinese influencers and content creators along with one well-known guest, and featured workshops on traditional Mid-Autumn customs such as lantern-making, calligraphy and fortune-stick divination, positioning the Mid-Autumn Festival as "a cultural bridge shared by both countries" and conveying festive warmth to the Chinese tourists and overseas Chinese community in Thailand who took part.

TAT specifically noted that the theme "China and Thailand Are One Family" also echoes this year's special significance as the 51st anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations. Around the time "Nihao Month" launched, more than 100 Thai artists were invited to Beijing to take part in the International Great Wall Music Festival, and a Zhejiang-hosted international trade exhibition opened concurrently in Bangkok — a dense cluster of China-Thailand cultural and economic exchange events all unfolding in the same period, together forming a series marking the 51st anniversary and deepening bilateral people-to-people and economic ties.

On a broader level, China's outbound tourism market has continued recovering in recent years, as international flight capacity has been restored and consumer confidence has improved, leaving Chinese travelers' overall willingness to travel abroad trending upward. The China-Thailand mutual visa-exemption agreement, which formally took effect in March 2024 and allows citizens of both countries to visit each other visa-free on ordinary passports, is regarded as a key policy mechanism supporting the normalization of two-way travel, and one of the important factors behind the steady recovery in Chinese arrivals to Thailand over the past two years. Southeast Asia, thanks to its geographic proximity, cultural affinity and value for money, has remained one of the region's most popular outbound destinations for Chinese tourists, with Thailand consistently among the most favored markets. Thai statistics show that Chinese visitors' spending power and average length of stay exert a significant pull on Thailand's hotel, retail, dining and transport industries, making them a key variable in the broader recovery of Thailand's tourism sector and economy.

However, people in Thailand's tourism industry also warn that competition for Chinese outbound travelers is intensifying, with destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam all stepping up marketing efforts and visa facilitation measures aimed at the same pool of Chinese consumers in recent years. To keep defending its existing market share, Thailand still needs to keep upgrading its tourism products, safety guarantees and service experience. TAT said it will keep tracking booking and search trend data for Chinese travelers and flexibly adjust the content of "Nihao Month" and future marketing campaigns based on market feedback, in order to respond to regional competitive pressure.

As of now, the various "Nihao Month 2026" activities have been rolling out in stages, with related celebrations and accompanying promotions expected to continue through the end of the National Day Golden Week in October. TAT said it will release final statistics once the campaign concludes, comprehensively assessing the actual impact of this promotional push on the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand and on tourism revenue, and will use the findings to plan the scope and direction of next year's "Nihao Month" campaign. TAT also indicated that if China-Thailand bilateral relations and market conditions remain stable next year, it may further extend "Nihao Month"'s coverage period and expand its roster of partner platforms, with an eye toward developing it into a standing brand campaign spanning multiple festivals throughout the year.