To make up for that slump, a special push is being made by the Association of Thai Travel Agents to boost the number of visitors from Indonesia, as well as from China.
Things are beginning to look up. The travel agents' association says its member companies report the total number of international tourists handled in January was up more than 18 percent compared to January of 2014.
Amid the increasing lure of nearby countries, especially neighboring Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Vietnam, where tourism infrastructure is being rapidly built, Thailand's travel industry this year has launched a "Discover Thainess" campaign to encourage more Thais to explore their own country.
A dozen out of the way "Don't Miss Destinations" are being pitched to Thais, as well as foreigners.
These include the numerous Burmese-style temples at Lampang, which has been spared the mass tourism development of nearby Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Among other targeted destinations is underdeveloped Trang in the south, with its pristine beaches, and the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, on the east coast of the Malay peninsula and the Gulf of Thailand. It was once known as the Kingdom of Ligor and still has diverse temple architecture, lush jungles, and a tradition of shadow puppets.