Thailand announced last week a five-month visa-free policy for China and Kazakhstan, allowing tourists to enter Thailand directly with their passports for stays of no more than 30 days without applying for a visa (no visa on arrival or tourist visa, and no visa fees). This visa exemption is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, there have been visa waivers before, but still have to apply for visas, this time directly save all visa procedures, convenient for tourists to enter faster, attract more Chinese tourists, in order to reach the goal of 5 million Chinese tourists this year.
Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for almost an average number of foreign tourists, which is an important part of Thailand's tourism development. After the epidemic ended, due to the high cost of air tickets and the long visa processing process, Chinese tourists visiting Thailand have not recovered to the desired level. In order to stimulate the development of Thailand's tourism industry, Thailand can only do its best to attract more tourists. After the new Thai government comes to power, the visa-free policy introduced should stimulate a wave of Thai tourism.
After the release of the policy, the popularity of tourism in Thailand continued to soar on many domestic travel platforms. Qunar Travel online Thailand air ticket search volume increased by more than 70% year-on-year, hotel search volume increased by 1 times month-on-month; On Ctrip, the popularity of outbound air ticket searches has also recovered by nearly 100%, with Thailand, South Korea, and the United States as the most popular searches. The popularity of Thailand tourism on Tongcheng also increased by 165%, mainly focusing on popular cities such as Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.
Although there are not many Chinese tourists going to Thailand recently, from the data of foreign tourists entering Thailand every month, Chinese tourists still rank second, occupying a certain weight. Therefore, this visa exemption for Thailand to China will bring a new wave of tourists, and it is expected to achieve the goal of 5 million Chinese tourists!
According to recent data released by Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the number of foreign tourists to Thailand has exceeded 19 million from January to September 17 this year, an increase of 271% year-on-year. The top five foreign tourist markets to visit Thailand during this period are:
Malaysia: 3,076,274;
China: 2,341,080;
South Korea: 1,125,639;
India: 1,097,395;
Russia: 961,348.
Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects that after the implementation of visa-free, the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand will increase by 30%, which is expected to achieve the goal of receiving 5 million Chinese tourists throughout the year. At present, the reaction of travel agencies in China and Thailand to the visa-free policy is still very strong, and the ability to enter the country without applying for a visa will become a hot marketing for tourist groups going to Thailand. After all, you can play for 30 days without a visa, who hasn't been moved?
In addition to this, Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects tourism to gradually recover as markets such as Malaysia and Japan continue to take holidays. They expect about 490,000 foreign tourists to visit Thailand during this period, mainly from surrounding markets such as East Asia, Southeast Asia and ASEAN. The ministry also adjusted its target for foreign tourists next year from at least 35 million to 40 million. Thai Prime Minister Saita and all government departments are ready to support Thailand's tourism industry and work towards the goal of 40 million tourists next year.
From September 25, 2023, Thailand officially implemented a visa-free policy for China, Chinese tourists do not need to apply for a tourist visa to enter Thailand, can stay in Thailand for no more than 30 days, and the policy will be implemented from September 25 to February 29 next year. Friends who want to travel to Thailand should not miss this visa-free opportunity, and they must not miss the opportunity not to come again, and miss this time to regret a year.