Chinese tour agencies ‘delighted’ with free visa policy
Travel agencies in China have provided positive feedback on the new government’s policy of providing free visas for Chinese tourists for a limited period, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) said on Tuesday.
Last week ATTA asked Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin if his ‘free visa’ policy for Chinese tourists meant allowing Chinese visitors to enter Thailand without having to apply for a visa, or just waiving the visa application fee.
After receiving the PM’s clarification that the policy will allow Chinese to enter Thailand with just a passport, ATTA president Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn forwarded the news to travel agencies in China, who expressed confidence that the policy would attract more Chinese tourists to Thailand.
“We have welcomed some 2.2 million Chinese tourists in the first eight months this year, which made it unlikely we could achieve the target (set by the Tourism Authority of Thailand) of 5 million Chinese tourists this year,” he said.
“However, with the help of the free visa policy, it could now be possible to achieve the goal, provided there are more than 700,000 Chinese visitors per month.”
The ATTA president estimated that the free visa policy could be implemented from October for a period of three or six months, but made the point that the policy should ideally be implemented for six months so as to cover the Chinese New Year festival in February next year, when many Chinese are expected to travel overseas.
However, it is more likely that the government would opt for a three-month period to test the policy and study its impact, and then extend it later, he said.
The Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), however, is doubtful that the policy will quickly bring back the number of Chinese tourists to pre-Covid levels.
TTAA president Charoen Wang-ananon said earlier that China is currently suffering an economic downturn which could obstruct plans to travel overseas for many Chinese.
“Furthermore, the Chinese government is still implementing screening measures for outgoing travellers, both directly and indirectly,” he said.
The new government therefore needs more stimulus measures than justmthe free visa, which must also be implemented across all potential markets, he added.
