Thailand plans visa overhaul to boost tourism, lure Chinese and Indians
The Foreign Ministry is set to overhaul the visa system to boost tourism revenue from Thailand’s main markets, especially China and India.
The move comes after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin met with the airports authority and airlines on Monday for talks on how to attract more foreign visitors. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is targeting revenue of 3 trillion baht from foreign visitors next year. However, Thai tourism operators have complained that lengthy and sometimes costly visa application processes are deterring travellers from Thailand’s top two overseas markets – China and India.
Although the e-visa online application process is now available in nine countries – China, the UK, France, the United States, South Korea, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark – Thai operators say it needs to be streamlined as it is putting off Chinese tourists from visiting Thailand. Visitors from China accounted for about 28% of the 40 million pre-pandemic arrivals in 2019.
Meanwhile Indian tourists still have to pay 2,000 baht for a 15-day visa on arrival. However, this restriction could soon be lifted after the prime minister signalled he wants to expand the list of visa-exempt countries.
The Foreign Ministry recently held an online meeting with Thai consular officials around the globe to develop new strategies for tourism and other areas to boost the economy.
The visa overhaul will also extend to Thais living abroad.
This includes an upgrade of consular data, an e-Help consular app to assist Thai citizens, and the development of e-visa and e-passport systems, as well as a system to monitor overseas voting during future Thai general elections.
