Thailand expects 250,000 Chinese visitors over a 13-day Golden Week

The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects around 250,000 visitors from China during the country's extended autumn holiday this year, according to a forecast reported by The Nation on 12 September 2026. The period runs from 25 September to 7 October and covers both the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, known as Golden Week. Over those 13 days, TAT estimates Chinese travellers will spend about 11.5 billion baht in Thailand.

Both figures are up on last year. Arrivals are forecast to rise 24% compared with the same period in 2025, while revenue is expected to grow 37%. TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the Chinese market is showing clearer signs of improvement ahead of the holiday. Revenue growing faster than headcount is the part the agency is most interested in, since it fits the stated goal of moving the Chinese market toward higher-value, higher-quality travel.

The main reason is the calendar. In 2026 the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day fall close enough together that many travellers can bridge them into one break. TAT says the average trip could stretch from roughly eight days to 13. A longer stay usually means more spending per person, and it also gives visitors time to go beyond a single city.

Early indicators support the forecast. Advance bookings for travel to Thailand in October are up 16%, and searches for flights from China to Thailand have risen 24%. Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Chongqing are among the leading departure cities. Airlines have added direct services to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, which TAT expects will make the trip easier and help spread visitors beyond the main hubs.

Exchange rates help too. The baht has weakened by around 9.8% against the yuan, to roughly 4.93 baht per yuan, which makes hotels, food and day-to-day costs noticeably cheaper for Chinese travellers than a year ago.

TAT will run its Amazing Thailand, Mid-Autumn (Nihao Month) 2026 campaign across the holiday. It includes large familiarisation trips for key opinion leaders, Thai cultural experiences, special privileges for Chinese visitors and joint promotions with market partners. The agency wants the momentum to carry through to Chinese New Year 2027. It also acknowledged that competition has changed: Chinese travellers now have more destinations to choose from and are willing to fly farther, so the task is less about volume and more about giving people reasons to stay longer and come back.

For a traveller planning a 13-day trip, the practical question is how to get around once the flight lands. Bangkok has good public transport, but Chiang Mai, Phuket and the smaller destinations TAT hopes visitors will explore are much easier with a rented scooter or car. This is where Balm Rentals fits in. The marketplace lists verified local rental businesses with the price, deposit and rental terms shown up front, before payment, and the app works in Chinese as well as English and other languages. Booking through the iOS or Android app means a visitor arriving from Chengdu or Hangzhou can compare options and confirm a vehicle without a foreign-language counter conversation on day one.

Balm is not a replacement for Thailand's local rental shops; it is a shopfront for them. Giving Chinese visitors a clear, translated view of what a rental costs and what the rules are supports the same aims TAT has set out for Golden Week: longer stays, more places visited and a better impression of the trip overall.

If the forecast holds, this year's holiday will be larger than last year's on both visitor numbers and spending. Travellers who plan to visit during the last week of September or the first week of October should book flights, accommodation and transport early, as demand for all three tends to peak at the same time.