Thailand extends visa waiver plan to attract tourists
The Thai cabinet on May 7 approved a plan to extend visa exemption for tourists from India and Taiwan (China) for six more months, as the country is seeking to boost the number of foreign arrivals from the two major markets.
Tourists visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, (Photo: Reuters.com
Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai cabinet on May 7 approved a plan to extend visa exemption for tourists from India and Taiwan (Chi♛na) for six more months, as the country is seeking to boost the number of foreign arrivals from the two major markets.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that tourists from the two markets will be able to enter Thailand without a visa until November 11, 2024, after an existing waiver ended on May 4. The temporary extension follows the success of the initial waiver in November 2023.
Accordingly, Indian and Taiwanese tourists can stay for a maximum of 30 days at a time under the new rules.
Thailand has been relaxing visa rules for travelers from some of its main markets including China and Russia. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has reported that the country welcomed more than 12 million foreign tourists in the first four months of this year, representing a 39% increase year on year.
The largest group of visitors – those from China, Malaysia, Russia, the Republic of Korea, and India - has accounted for half of the total arrivals in 2024.
Tourism is one of the country’s key industries accounting for about 20% of total jobs and making up about 12% of the GDP of Thailand. The Srettha administration has set a goal of attracting 80 million tourists a year by 2027 – double the pre-pandemic record set in 2019./.
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