Thailand Visa Rules : To Ease for Indian and Chinese Travelers

Thailand Visa Rules : In a strategic move aimed at propelling its tourism industry, Thailand is gearing up to roll out relaxed visa regulations for travellers from India and China, alongside extending longer stays for visitors across the globe. This ambitious plan, conceived to boost the country’s tourism revenue to nearly $100 billion in the coming year, has garnered considerable attention.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, in a recent interaction with executives from Thailand Pcl and key airline representatives, has laid out the groundwork for these revolutionary changes. In an X post, the Prime Minister asserted, “The airport operator agreed to reduce bottlenecks to augment flight capacity by 20% and find ways to speed up immigration clearances.”

The projected impact of these reforms is substantial, as the new government envisions skyrocketing tourism revenue, targeting a staggering 3.3 trillion baht in the upcoming year. This forward-looking strategy is touted to provide the most effective short-term economic stimulus, with tourism accounting for around 12% of the country’s GDP and employing nearly a fifth of its workforce, according to data from the Bank of Thailand.

China, which represented the largest cohort of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic, encountered a cumbersome and expensive visa application process that impeded its numbers this year. The Premier highlighted this hindrance, underscoring the need for change. Similarly, Indian travellers faced a 15-day visa fee of 2,000 baht ($57). Prime Minister Srettha expressed the desire to expand the list of visa-exempt countries and extend the stay limits for most international travellers, with varying caps, as reported by Bloomberg.

Thailand Visa Rules & Application Fee

The prospect of scrapping the visa application fee has been met with enthusiasm, with tourism experts like Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, President of the Phuket Tourism Association, suggesting that this move could be more beneficial than visa exemptions. With international visitors to Phuket steadily recovering, with numbers at approximately 70% of pre-pandemic levels, there is a need to address specific markets like China, where the recovery rate stands at 30%, as per Thaneth’s observations.

Nomura Holdings Inc. predicts a substantial surge in foreign-tourist arrivals, estimating a count of about 30 million in 2023, almost tripling the figures from the previous year. However, the return of Chinese tourists, even though they constituted the largest source of visitors in the last month, has been slower than anticipated. In 2019, China contributed to around 28% of the record-breaking 40 million foreign arrivals in Thailand, translating to a substantial revenue of about 1.9 trillion baht.

Thailand’s proactive stance in overhauling its visa regulations and refining its immigration procedures not only aims to draw a larger volume of travellers but also underlines the nation’s commitment to reinvigorating its tourism sector. The envisioned influx of visitors stands to significantly impact the economy, fostering growth and resilience in the wake of global challenges.

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