Thailand’s PM plans to boost tourism revenue to US$100 billion by easing visa rules
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has proposed a plan to boost tourism revenue to nearly US$100 billion next year. This involves loosening visa regulations for travellers from China and India and extending the duration of stay for tourists from all nations.
Chinese travellers, who accounted for the most significant proportion of visitors pre-Covid-19, have been subjected to a taxing visa application procedure. This adversely impacted the tourist count this year, per the prime minister’s statement.
Indian visitors are required to pay 2,000 baht (US$57) for a 15-day visa on arrival. Srettha, a member of the Pheu Thai Party and ex-head of Thai property giant Sansiri, is pushing for an extended list of visa-exempt nations and longer stay limits for most foreign tourists.
The 61 year old prime minister met with Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) representatives and numerous airlines to explore ways of attracting more international tourists in the fourth quarter, typically the peak tourist season. The airport operator agreed to alleviate bottlenecks to increase flight capacity by 20% and to expedite immigration clearances, reported Bangkok Post.
The government aims to raise revenue from foreign tourists to 3.3 trillion baht next year. Thavisin emphasised the travel industry’s potential as the best short-term economic stimulus. The tourism sector contributes to approximately 12% of Thailand’s GDP and nearly a fifth of its employment, per data from the Bank of Thailand (BoT).
Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, president of the Phuket Tourism Association, suggested that waiving the application fee would be more beneficial than granting visa exemptions to Chinese and Indian tourists. This proposal was presented to the prime minister during a meeting on the island province that included travel-sector leaders. Thaneth pointed out that while international visitors to Phuket were about 70% of pre-pandemic totals, the recovery rate of Chinese arrivals was only 30%.
According to Nomura Holdings Inc., foreign-tourist arrivals are predicted to reach about 30 million in 2023, nearly triple the 11.2 million of last year. Although China was the largest source of travellers the previous month with approximately 420,000 visitors, the return of Chinese tourists has been slower than expected.
As a countermeasure, Thaneth recommended increasing flights to Phuket and Krabi provinces and extending visas for tourists from Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, who typically spend more than their Chinese and Malaysian counterparts. However, this may be less effective if China’s economic conditions deteriorate and consumer sentiment weakens.
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