BANGKOK – Thailand and China have agreed on a bilateral deal to lift visa requirements for tourists on March 1, 2024, in order to boost the pace of post-pandemic recovery in the Thai tourism industry, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
“The good news is that no visas are required for travel between Thailand and China beginning March 1. “This represents a significant improvement in Sino-Thai relations,” he remarked on Tuesday.
The associated Press reported that Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China welcomed the Thai move, saying it was in the fundamental interest of the two countries.
“The competent authorities of both sides are currently in close communication on the specific matter, and we look forward to the relevant arrangements coming into effect as soon as possible,” he said in Beijing.
Chinese people visited Thailand in 2023, far from the target of 5 million people. China has ended up being the second country in the top five tourist arrivals, behind Malaysia with 4.56 million people. The other three countries are South Korea with 1.65 million people, India with 1.62 million people, and Russia with 1.48 million people.
Prior to the pandemic, China was the leading country in terms of tourist arrivals in Thailand, with around 11 million visitors in 2019, accounting for 27.6% of all arrivals that year.
According to Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, Minister of Tourism and Sports, the Economic Department of Tourism and Sports has compiled the number of foreign tourists who travelled to Thailand from January 1 to December 31, 2023, a total of 28 million people, generating revenue of 1.2 trillion baht (35 billion U.S. dollars).
The number of foreign tourists is estimated to reach 35 million in 2024, an increase of 25 percent compared to the previous year. The number of long-haul tourists is estimated at 9.9 million, an increase of 26 percent from the previous year (7.84 million), generating revenue of 7.69 billion baht, an increase of approximately 43 percent from the previous year (5.36 billion).
The number of tourists from the regional market is expected to rise to 25 million, an increase of 25.6 percent from last year’s 19.9 million. This will generate revenue of 1.15 triilion baht, an increase of 38 percent compared to the previous year (8.35 billion).
According to the Prime Minister’s policy, the European market plays a key role in boosting the targeted tourism revenue. The reason for this is that the long-haul travel market has relatively high per capita expenditure per trip.
In the first half of 2023, spending was 74,500 baht per trip per person. The long-haul travel market also includes a high-spending group, the Middle Eastern market, which spends 92,200 baht per trip per person.
Siripakon Chiewsamutr, deputy governor for the European, African, Middle Eastern and American markets at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that in the past, about 200,000 to 300,000 European tourists wanted to travel and stay in Thailand for longer than the number of days allowed by the Thai government, which is 30 days.
They applied for a tourist visa for an additional 30 days stay and asked for permission to enter and leave Thailand more than once. The reason for this is that European tourists or long-haul tourists usually do not only want to travel to Thailand. They will also travel to neighboring countries in the region.
Therefore, in 2024, the TAT expects to boost tourist spending by increasing the length of stay to make the expensive airfare more worthwhile. The target is to increase spending to 80,000 baht per trip per person, an increase of around 7 percent year-on-year.
To boost spending by foreign tourists, especially long-haul tourists, the TAT is expected to submit a project to the Cabinet soon to implement a program to boost tourism by providing free visas.
____
Related articles:
