Arrivals could fall to lowest level in three years as war drives up fuel costs and disrupts global travel

Thailand’s tourism industry faces a sobering year ahead, with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports warning that the country could receive three million fewer foreign visitors in 2026 — a near 10% drop from last year — if the Middle East conflict continues for another six months.

The shortfall would cost the economy an estimated 150 billion baht, wiping out a tenth of the country’s total foreign tourist receipts, according to Natthriya Thaweevong, the ministry’s permanent secretary.

“The heart of tourism is the journey, and to make that journey you need fuel,” Ms Natthriya told Bloomberg News. “Everyone is affected and faces the same high costs. We’ll lose tourists from all over.”

The warning puts the government’s ambitious target of 35 million foreign arrivals this year in serious doubt. Should the worst-case scenario materialise, visitor numbers could slip back to around 28 million — the level recorded in 2023 — erasing years of post-pandemic recovery efforts.

A Sector Already Under Pressure

The timing could hardly be worse. Tourism, which contributes roughly 12% to Thailand’s GDP, has struggled to regain its footing since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the country welcomed 33 million visitors — itself a 7.2% decline from the prior year — as the country was battered by an earthquake, historic flooding, and deadly border clashes with Cambodia. In the first three months of 2026, arrivals are already running about 3% behind the same period a year ago.

Pivoting to New Markets

In response, authorities are redirecting marketing budgets originally earmarked for Europe and the United States toward country-specific campaigns in the Middle East. The government is aiming to attract at least 200,000 visitors from the region this year — roughly a quarter of last year’s total.

The appeal is clear: Middle Eastern tourists spend an average of 80,000 baht per trip, compared to 61,000 baht for Europeans and just 39,000 baht for Asian visitors. Their willingness to pay premium fares, including charter flights, makes them a resilient market even as airline costs soar.

Thailand is also doubling down on medical tourism, with flagship hospital groups Bangkok Dusit Medical Services and Bumrungrad Hospital leading efforts to position the country as a regional healthcare destination. Separately, short-haul campaigns targeting neighbouring Asian markets are being rolled out to compensate for reduced long-haul traffic.

Domestic Cushion

On the home front, the government plans to introduce incentives next month to encourage domestic travel, including tax allowances on tourism receipts. Officials are also weighing debt relief for hotel operators and fuel rationing at petrol stations to ensure tour buses can keep running.

Despite the headwinds, Ms Natthriya struck a determined note. “Now, with the war affecting things, this growth driver might be faltering,” she said. “But we have to keep going.”

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The scheme is being delivered by investment giant Legal & General

Plans to transform a derelict former diesel depot near Temple Meads station in Bristol into a vibrant urban quarter have been given the green light. Bristol City Council unanimously approved the hybrid application for the regeneration of the area known as ‘Temple Island’ on Wednesday, April 1.

The scheme, which is being delivered by investment firm Legal and General (L&G), is for up to 520 properties, new offices, public spaces and a 160-room hotel.

L&G said the approval was “a critical step” towards unlocking a long‑vacant brownfield site.

“As a leading pensions provider, we are committed to long‑term investment in infrastructure and housing to help shape a better built environment for the communities where our savers live,” the company said in a statement.

“Our track record in delivering major regeneration schemes in cities such as Newcastle, Cardiff and Sheffield, together with our strong public sector partnerships, enables us to drive forward place‑based developments that support local needs whilst delivering for pension savers across the country.

“The scheme comes forward at a time when development viability across the city is under pressure, and we welcome the Local Planning Authority’s recognition of the substantial benefits Temple Island will deliver: supporting new jobs, enhancing the public realm, and contributing to the wider regeneration of Temple Quarter.”

The Temple Island site sits between the Bath Road and the River Avon. According to L&G, the proposals are designed to be largely ‘car free’.

L&G said entrances from the Bath Road will create new connections between south Bristol and Bristol Temple Meads station, the new University of Bristol campus and the wider Temple Quarter area.

The connection on the north side of the Bath Road will include stairs and a lift, while on the south side an existing access road will lead people down and under the road into the site. A footbridge will link the site with Temple Quarter and St Philip’s Marsh while ‘Brock’s Bridge’ will be the only route for vehicles into the site, but people will be able to walk and cycle across the bridge.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the public sector to bring new homes, jobs, and opportunities to Bristol, and to helping establish a thriving new community on Temple Island,” L&G added.

British Business Bank has invested $20 million into 9fin as part of a $170 million Series C funding round, propelling the London-based firm to unicorn status and reinforcing the UK’s position as a global fintech hub.

The round was led by HarbourVest, with participation from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and existing backers including Redalpine, Highland Europe, Spark Capital and Seedcamp. The British Business Bank’s investment was made in partnership with Redalpine, reflecting its growing focus on supporting later-stage scale-ups.

Founded in 2016, 9fin has built an AI-native intelligence platform designed for professionals operating in credit and debt markets, one of the largest asset classes globally.

The platform aggregates and analyses data that is traditionally fragmented across emails, PDFs and private data rooms, providing users with real-time insights, analytics and document extraction tools. This enables banks, asset managers, law firms and advisors to identify opportunities and manage risk more efficiently within a single interface.

With more than 300 institutional clients worldwide and multiple years of 100 per cent annual recurring revenue growth, 9fin has established itself as a fast-scaling player in financial data and analytics.

The new funding will be used to further develop 9fin’s AI capabilities, expand its proprietary dataset and accelerate growth in the United States, a key market for credit and leveraged finance activity.

Chief executive Steven Hunter said the company’s ambition is to become an essential platform for credit professionals.

“AI will redefine credit markets, but only if it is powered by proprietary data and embedded into how professionals actually work,” he said. “Our goal is to build the only platform they need.”

The investment marks another milestone for the British Business Bank’s equity programmes, which have now supported 27 UK unicorns, representing around 64 per cent of the country’s current billion-dollar startups.

Leandros Kalisperas, the bank’s chief investment officer, said increasing access to late-stage capital is critical to ensuring UK companies can scale while maintaining a domestic base.

“Investments like this help our most innovative businesses realise their commercial potential and compete globally,” he said.

George Mills, investment director at the bank, added that 9fin exemplifies the strength of UK fintech, particularly in applying AI to complex financial markets.

The deal highlights the continued momentum in the UK fintech sector, which remains one of the most dynamic in Europe.

By combining artificial intelligence with large-scale financial datasets, companies like 9fin are reshaping how markets operate, improving transparency, efficiency and decision-making across the credit landscape.

As global demand for data-driven financial tools grows, platforms that can integrate AI with high-quality proprietary data are expected to play an increasingly central role.

For 9fin, achieving unicorn status marks a significant step, but the focus now shifts to scaling internationally and maintaining its growth trajectory in a competitive and rapidly evolving market.

For the UK, the investment underscores the importance of sustained support for high-growth technology firms, ensuring that innovation developed domestically can translate into global success.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

Shopify Inc. faced scattered reports of service disruptions Wednesday as hundreds of merchants complained of login failures, slow admin dashboards and intermittent checkout problems, though the company’s official status page showed all systems operational and no widespread outage was confirmed.

As of midday April 1, 2026, monitoring sites such as Downdetector recorded elevated but not massive user reports, primarily centered on the Shopify website and login functions. Merchants took to social media and community forums to share screenshots of error messages, including 500 and 502 server errors when attempting to access their admin panels or process orders.

Shopify’s status page at shopifystatus.com reported “No incidents reported today” as of early afternoon, with all core services listed as operational. The company has not issued a public statement acknowledging any issues, a pattern seen in previous minor glitches where problems resolved quickly without formal acknowledgment.

The timing added frustration for affected store owners. April 1 falls during a busy post-holiday sales period for many small and medium-sized businesses that rely on Shopify’s platform to manage inventory, fulfill orders and handle customer payments. Even brief disruptions can result in lost revenue, abandoned carts and customer complaints.

Reports described a range of symptoms: inability to log into the Shopify admin, slow loading of order pages, delayed payment processing and occasional complete unavailability of the dashboard. Some users noted that mobile apps were also affected, while others said the storefronts visible to customers remained online. Third-party apps and integrations appeared hit-or-miss depending on the specific service.

Shopify powers more than 2 million businesses worldwide, from independent artisans to large brands. A partial or regional disruption can ripple across thousands of stores, especially during peak hours when merchants monitor sales in real time. Past outages, such as the high-profile Cyber Monday disruption in December 2025 that affected thousands of users, have drawn sharp criticism from the merchant community for occurring during critical sales windows.

This latest episode, while smaller in scale, highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in cloud-based e-commerce platforms. Merchants depend on Shopify for seamless uptime, and even intermittent problems can erode trust. One store owner posted on social media: “Hundreds of us locked out again on a busy Wednesday — not acceptable for the fees we pay.”

Shopify has invested heavily in infrastructure and redundancy in recent years, including multiple data centers and automated failover systems. The platform’s status page typically updates quickly when major incidents occur, and engineering teams often resolve login or checkout glitches within 30 to 90 minutes. In many past cases, users reported that refreshing browsers, clearing cache or trying incognito mode temporarily bypassed the issue while the company worked behind the scenes.

For affected merchants, immediate workarounds include using the Shopify mobile app (if functional), switching browsers or devices, or accessing stores through alternative dashboards when available. Those processing high volumes of orders are advised to monitor payment gateways directly and communicate transparently with customers about any delays.

The broader context shows Shopify remains dominant in the e-commerce space despite occasional hiccups. The company has rolled out numerous improvements in 2026, including enhanced AI tools for merchants, better international payment options and platform updates aimed at reducing custom code dependencies. However, reliance on a single platform means any downtime draws immediate attention from the merchant community, which often amplifies reports on forums and social media.

Analysts note that Shopify’s infrastructure has grown more resilient since earlier widespread outages, but the complexity of supporting millions of stores with custom themes, apps and third-party integrations creates inherent challenges. Minor regional or intermittent issues can appear as “hundreds of users” affected without triggering a full platform-wide alert.

Shopify has not commented publicly on Wednesday’s reports. In previous incidents, the company typically posts updates on its status page and X account once an issue is confirmed and resolved. Merchants are encouraged to check shopifystatus.com regularly and subscribe to notifications for real-time alerts.

For small-business owners, these disruptions serve as a reminder of the importance of contingency planning. Experts recommend maintaining backup payment processors, exporting order data regularly and having communication templates ready for customers during technical difficulties. Diversifying across multiple sales channels, such as Amazon or physical retail, can also mitigate risk.

As the afternoon progressed, some users reported gradual improvement, with login success returning after repeated attempts. Others continued experiencing delays, suggesting the problem may have been intermittent or limited to specific regions or account types.

Shopify’s merchant community has grown vocal about uptime expectations. In online forums, users frequently discuss the balance between the platform’s ease of use and the occasional frustrations caused by technical issues. While major outages remain rare, even short disruptions during sales periods can feel significant to business owners operating on thin margins.

The company continues to expand globally, with strong adoption in emerging markets and among new entrepreneurs. Features introduced in the Winter 2026 edition, including advanced AI assistance and streamlined checkout flows, aim to make the platform more robust, but reliability remains a top priority for retaining user loyalty.

Wednesday’s scattered reports appear far smaller than past high-profile events, such as the March 2026 or December 2025 incidents that drew thousands of complaints. Still, for those locked out of their stores, the impact feels immediate and personal.

Merchants experiencing problems are advised to document error messages, note exact times and contact Shopify support through official channels. In many cases, support teams can provide account-specific guidance or expedite resolutions for Plus-level subscribers.

As e-commerce continues its rapid growth, platforms like Shopify face increasing pressure to deliver near-perfect uptime. Investors and analysts watch these incidents closely, as repeated reliability concerns could affect long-term confidence in the company’s infrastructure.

For now, the message to affected users remains consistent with previous minor glitches: check the official status page, try basic troubleshooting steps and allow time for engineering teams to address any underlying issues. Most disruptions of this nature resolve within a few hours, restoring normal operations without lasting damage.

Shopify has built its reputation on empowering entrepreneurs to sell online with minimal technical barriers. Occasional service hiccups test that reputation, reminding both the company and its users of the high stakes involved in powering millions of digital storefronts every day.

Anyone still unable to access their Shopify admin as of late Wednesday should continue monitoring the status page and community forums for updates. In the meantime, focusing on customer communication and alternative sales methods can help minimize any revenue impact from the temporary disruption.