Thailand’s economic growth and tourist arrivals are forecast to drop this year as the Middle East war roils global energy prices, the finance ministry said, AFP reports.

The country’s GDP growth is projected to dip to 1.6 per cent, the ministry said in a statement, down from 2.4pc in 2025.

Growth in the Southeast Asian nation is anaemic, with the tourism sector vital but arrivals yet to return to their pre-Covid highs.

The government said in February that this year’s growth forecast was between 1.5 to 2.5pc.