Thailand’s authorities, searching for return of vacationers from China, approves visa-free entry for five months

BANGKOK — Thailand’s new authorities Wednesday authorized a measure granting non permanent visa-free entry to Chinese vacationers, signaling that the restoration of the nation’s tourism trade is a prime financial precedence.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin mentioned the visa exemption, which will even apply to guests from the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, will likely be efficient from Sept. 25 till Feb. 29 subsequent 12 months. He mentioned the related authorities had been consulted to make sure they’re able to deal with the anticipated surge in vacationers.

China greater than a decade in the past grew to become a serious supply of vacationers to Thailand, with nearly 11 million guests in 2019, accounting for 27.6% of all arrivals the 12 months earlier than the coronavirus pandemic devastated the vacationer market.

The authorities proposed the measure resulting from issues that the variety of Chinese vacationers this 12 months won’t attain the preliminary goal of 5 million resulting from strict visa necessities. The Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that round 1.4 million Chinese vacationers got here within the first six months of this 12 months.

Thailand’s financial system slumped through the pandemic as its large tourism trade just about collapsed. The nation acquired about 40 million worldwide guests in 2019 who the federal government estimated generated 1.9 trillion baht ($53.2 billion) in income, an quantity that plummeted by greater than 99% by 2021, based on knowledge from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Chai Wacharonke, a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister, mentioned Thailand acquired 15 million worldwide guests within the first seven months of this 12 months. He mentioned the federal government goals to attract 28 million worldwide guests and generate 1.4 trillion baht ($39.2 billion) in tourism income in 2023.

Chai praised the visa exemption scheme, saying the tourism trade is “the only economic machine remaining that can be driven with hope to generate new income quickly for Thailand.”