Reporter: Yang Hui Editor: Zhang Haini
Chiang Mai Night Market, Thailand Image source: Visual China-VCG41580196221
According to CCTV News on January 2, China and Thailand will implement a permanent visa-free entry policy from March 1, which means that no visa for each other is required to travel between the two countries. As soon as the good news came out, it ignited tourists' interest in traveling.
However, it should be emphasized that for Chinese tourists, the news that no visa is required to travel to Thailand is actually not the first time. On the afternoon of January 2, a travel agency and online travel platform practitioners told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that Thailand has been visa-free for Chinese tourists in recent months, and the passenger flow is better than during the epidemic, but there is still a gap compared with 2019.
In addition, industry insiders revealed that when Thailand's outbound tourism first resumed in 2023, it was not small, but factors such as subsequent unsafe public opinion did have a certain impact on the popularity. However, at present, domestic tourists traveling to Thailand have begun to eliminate the impact of negative factors and basically return to the right track. In the long run, visa-free travel will certainly be beneficial for domestic tourists to travel to Thailand, but it is expected that explosive travel in the short term will be difficult to occur.
The permanent visa-free exemption between China and Thailand will take effect from March 2024, and the number of travelers is expected to increase significantly around the Spring Festival
Since the resumption of outbound travel, visas have been one of the biggest uncertainties for consumers who are willing to travel abroad. In the context of short supply, visa processing for some popular destinations can take several months, which directly affects the original itinerary, so the purpose of visa exemption has become the first choice for many tourists.
On January 2, the entry "China and Thailand permanently exempt each other from visas" appeared on the hot search list on social media.
Image source: Social media screenshot
Specifically, according to CCTV News on January 2, Thai Prime Minister Saita Thazin revealed to the media after attending a cabinet meeting that Thailand's visa-free entry policy for Chinese tourists is valid until February 29, 2024 and is about to expire. After continuous communication and negotiation with the Chinese side, China and Thailand will implement a permanent visa-free entry policy from March 1, which means that no visa is required to travel between the two countries.
On the same day (January 2), Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin held a regular press conference. In response to reporters' questions, Wang Wenbin said that it is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples to further strengthen people-to-people exchanges between China and Thailand and to exempt visas from each other. At present, the competent authorities of the two sides are in close communication on specific matters and look forward to the early entry into force of the relevant arrangements.
As soon as the news of "permanent visa exemption" came out, it instantly ignited the enthusiasm of tourists.
According to Zhongxin Tourism (002707. SZ, share price of 7.39 yuan, market value of 7.262 billion yuan) data, once the above news is issued, the number of product views and call center calls to the official website of Utrust Travel in Thailand has risen by about 15%. The general concerns of tourists are: the specific time for the implementation of mutual visa exemption, what are the Spring Festival products, etc.
Tongcheng Travel data also shows that within half an hour after the above news was released, the search popularity of travel in Thailand on the Tongcheng Travel platform increased by 158% compared with the same period the day before. According to the relevant person in charge of Zhongxin Tourism, the platform's Spring Festival Thai products have entered the registration cycle, and the overall registration of Thai products during the Spring Festival has reached 40%-50%. The visa-free policy will help Thailand's tourism market recover quickly, and the number of travelers will increase significantly around the Spring Festival.
In the view of the relevant person in charge of Tongcheng Research Institute, the outbound travel market is currently recovering rapidly, and Thailand is one of the most concerned outbound travel destinations for Chinese tourists. The permanent visa waiver policy sends a more positive signal and will be beneficial for tourism and business between China and Thailand.
After the "safety" turmoil, travel to Thailand has basically returned to the right track, and the cost performance is in a high position
There is no need to apply for a visa to Thailand, what about the rest of the travel elements?
In terms of accommodation, the Qunar index shows that as of 15:00 on January 2, the search volume of hotels on the platform in Bangkok, Thailand has exceeded that of January 1. During the Spring Festival, the price of high-end and luxury hotels in Bangkok is mostly 600-1000 yuan.
In terms of air tickets, according to Qunar data, more than 30 cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Kunming have direct flights to Thailand, and the price of direct flights to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shanghai, Kunming and other cities in January is about 600 yuan. Fliggy data also shows that within 1 hour of the announcement of the new visa-free policy, the search volume for air tickets in Thailand instantly increased by more than 2 times, with Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Krabi and other destinations being the most popular destinations.
While providing data, Xiang Min, head of Fliggy's air ticket business, pointed out that the permanent visa exemption between China and Thailand will greatly stimulate the cross-border travel consumption demand of passengers from the two countries. At the same time, the average price of flights to Thailand has decreased in recent months compared with the first half of 2023, and the cost performance of travel to Thailand is in a high position.
It should be emphasized that despite the instantaneous popularity, it is not new for domestic tourists, especially those who have traveled or planned to travel to Thailand in recent months, to go to Thailand without a visa.
On the afternoon of January 2, the person in charge of a travel agency told the "Daily Economic News" reporter through WeChat that Thailand has been a visa-free destination in recent months. From the perspective of passenger flow, there is still a big gap between the current passenger flow and 2019, and it will still take a long time to recover. Permanent visa exemption will undoubtedly benefit tourism in the long run, but it is unlikely that there will be an explosive (travel) in the short term.
Under the entry of permanent visa exemption, many netizens have a lot of discussions.
Some netizens believe that the cost of a visa to Thailand was about a few hundred yuan before, and the visa exemption actually improves the convenience of travel and reduces the process of queuing up to check the itinerary or reserve money. In addition, some netizens expressed concerns about the safety of traveling to Thailand.
Image source: Social media screenshot
In this regard, an online travel platform practitioner told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that from the overall data, when outbound travel to Thailand has just resumed in 2023, the overall recovery trend is still relatively obvious. With the fermentation of public opinion on travel safety and related news, the popularity of tourism in Thailand has declined. However, around the National Day in 2023, the popularity of tourism in Thailand has gradually recovered, and it has begun to eliminate the impact of related negative factors, and it has basically begun to return to the right track.
This can also be glimpsed from the newly released New Year's Day travel data. According to the data provided by Air Travel Big Data on January 2, during the 2024 New Year's Day holiday, Thailand ranked first in the list of popular cross-border destinations (for domestic tourists), and the number of domestic passengers flying to Thailand during the holiday was close to 40,000.
National Business Daily