Head of the Thai finance ministry's fiscal policy office Pornchai Thiraveja (Photo: Internet)

Bangkok - Thailand's finance ministry has lowered the country's economic growth projection for 2023 to 3.5 per cent from the previous forecast of 3.6 per cent despite a strong recovery in tourism.

Pornchai Thiraveja, head of the ministry's fiscal policy office, said the country's economy was supported by rising domestic consumption and the recovery of the tourism sector but sluggish global demand has hampered exports – a key driver of the Thai economy.

Exports are forecast to decrease by 0.8 per cent this year, compared with the previous forecast for a 0.5 per cent drop.

Thailand's economy in the first quarter of this year grew by 2.7 per cent over the same period in 2022. Economic growth in the whole of 2022 reached 2.6 per cent.

Pornchai said the finance ministry maintained a forecast of 29.5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year.

In 2019, the Southeast Asian nation welcomed nearly 40 million visitors, who spent 1.91 trillion THB (55.43 billion USD). Tourism accounted for about 12 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The ministry predicted an average headline inflation at 1.7 per cent this year, compared with 2.6 per cent projected earlier.

Last year, Thailand's inflation stood at 6.08 per cent. The average exchange rate of the baht against the dollar this year is 34.01 baht per US dollar.