“Strong Baht, Weak Impact” — Tourists say the exchange rate isn’t helping their wallets stretch in Pattaya. PATTAYA, Thailand — As foreign arrivals continue to fill hotel rooms and crowd shopping malls, one critical factor remains absent from Thailand’s tourism rebound: meaningful support from the Thai baht. Despite consistent hopes that a weaker currency would boost tourism spending, the baht has remained within a relatively narrow range. It even reached its strongest level in more than eight months last week, touching 32.33 baht to the U.S. dollar during midweek trading before softening slightly to close at 32.47 on June 14. Yet on the ground in Pattaya, the effects remain elusive. Tourism operators and long-term foreign visitors note that while the number of arrivals is high, the actual spending power of tourists has not improved. The strong baht continues to weigh on everyday expenses, making Thailand feel less affordable than in the past. As a result, many are choosing to limit their spending — or in some cases, are shifting their travels to lower-cost alternatives in the region, such as Vietnam or Cambodia. According to Kasikorn Research Center, the Thai baht is projected to move within the 32.00–32.80 range against the U.S. dollar from June 16 to 20. Influencing the currency’s trajectory are global factors such as the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve FOMC meeting (June 17–18), international fund flows, gold prices, and heightened geopolitical risks, including ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran. Market participants are also watching key economic indicators from the United States, including retail sales, industrial production, and jobless claims, along with updates from China, Japan, the UK, and the Eurozone. Central bank policy decisions — including those from Japan, Indonesia, and the UK this week — will play an additional role in shaping sentiment. China’s LPR (Loan Prime Rate) decision on June 20 is also being closely monitored. Despite these macroeconomic complexities, Pattaya’s tourism-dependent businesses are focused on a simpler reality: the strong baht is not delivering the expected boost in local spending. Restaurants, bars, beach vendors, and hotel operators all report that the gap between visitor volume and actual economic benefit remains wide. Further clouding the outlook, foreign investors offloaded 8.8 billion baht in Thai bonds last week, even as they purchased 594 million baht in equities — a signal of mixed confidence. The Thai stock market also posted its fifth consecutive weekly decline. As global competition for tourist dollars grows more intense, there is a rising sense in Pattaya that unless the baht weakens or targeted government support arrives, the recovery may remain uneven. For now, the city continues to rely on its natural charm — not favorable exchange rates — to keep tourists coming back.