Research centre reckons results of visa-free policy will show next year
Thailand’s visa-free policy for Chinese nationals should show “clear results” next year when the number of foreign arrivals is expected to hit 31 million, the Kasikorn Research Centre said.
In an article published on Friday, the centre said the new government’s decision to allow visa-free entry to Chinese travellers will boost arrivals from the mainland by 350,000 to 400,000 per month for the rest of this year. Tourists from China were averaging at 280,000 per month over the first eight months of this year.
“However, clear results will only show in 2024, particularly during the Chinese New Year holidays,” the research centre said.
It said that tourists from Kazakhstan, who will also be allowed free entry, accounted for less than 1% of all foreign visitors to Thailand.
“But this is a new market with a growth potential,” the article said, adding that this visa-free measure should help Thailand become a preferred destination for high-spending Kazakhstani tourists.
The centre reckons Thailand will see 27.6 million arrivals this year, which will rise to 31 million next year.
“If the global economy recovers well and the government has additional incentive measures, there should be more foreign tourists to Thailand next year,” the centre said.
In 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Thailand saw almost 40 million tourists – over 10 million of them from China.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet decided to waive visa requirements for travellers from China and Kazakhstan during the upcoming holiday season. Chinese and Kazakh tourists can enter Thailand without a visa from September 25 and February 29. The temporary waiver is expected to attract 5 million additional visitors.
Between January 1 and September 10, Thailand welcomed over 2.28 million tourists from China and 108,636 from Kazakhstan, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Kasikorn Research Centre said the number of tourist arrivals this year accounts for about 67% of that seen in 2019 before the pandemic, although tourists from Thailand’s major markets like China, Laos, and Japan have been lower than 50% of the pre-Covid levels.
The centre pointed to many negative factors affecting the tourism industry, including economic slowdowns in many major tourism markets like China, high travel costs, limited flight routes, and stronger competition among countries looking for tourists.
