Bangkok chokes on air pollution as visitor numbers fall

In a further potential blow to Thailand’s vital but slumping tourism industry, the Southeast Asian country’s sprawling capital and holidaymaker magnet Bangkok continues to be blighted by smog.

The local Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Gistda) and the city’s Air Quality Index have been regularly reporting unsafe levels of fine particulate matter (PM) over the city of around 15 million people and its heavily industrialised surrounding provinces.

Switzerland-based IQAir, which monitors air pollution around the world, registered unhealthy levels over the city late last month.

The ongoing deterioration in air quality over the city comes amid a 7.2% drop in the number of foreign visitors to the country in 2025 and a near-5% fall in related revenue.

The year started with the government having to bring in so-called emergency measures – including closing hundreds of schools and making public transport free for several days – as it sought to alleviate the impact of smog over Bangkok.

Mid-year saw the onset of a border war with Cambodia, a conflict that led to dozens of civilian deaths and a pause on cross-border travel.

Both countries generate between 10% and 20% of gross domestic product from tourism, although Thailand’s mix of manufacturing computers and cars, as well as exports of commodities such as rice and rubber, leaves it less reliant on visitors than its smaller neighbour.

Many visitors to the region catch a long-haul flight to Bangkok before proceeding overland to less-connected neighbours such as Cambodia and Laos.

Fighting resumed as the year drew to a close before another ceasefire was called in late December following diplomatic intervention by neighbouring countries, including Malaysia and China

Around one-third of last year’s 33 million visitors came from neighbours China, India and Malaysia, the government’s 2025 arrivals data showed.