Russian media reported that Thailand wants Schengen-style visas for Southeast Asia
RT's report on April 7, 2024
The proposal aims to attract more affluent tourists to the area
Thailand has floated the idea of creating a Schengen area similar to Southeast Asia to attract more high-spending tourists to the region, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
Thai Prime Minister Sawi Sin has presented the idea to the prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, and these countries have been discussing the initiative at length in recent months, the report said.
The plan would imply the creation of a zone similar to the European Union's passport-free travel zone. This will enable tourists to travel visa-free between the six neighbouring countries, which he believes will help generate more revenue for each tourist. Most leaders reportedly welcomed the idea, but the report did not mention what stage the current discussions are in.
The idea of creating a Schengen-like zone in the region has been considered for many years. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced plans to establish a single visa travel system back in 2011, however, the program has stalled due to the huge differences in visa regimes among member states.
Titinam Pongsudilak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University's Department of Political Science, said the idea may still be challenging today. He told The Paper that compared with the European Union, due to the lack of unified immigration standards across countries, the single visa program needs to be coordinated and approved.
Bill Barnett, general manager of hotel and real estate consultancy C9 Hospitality Industries, suggested it would be easier to start implementing the Visa Waiver Program on a country-by-country basis.
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He was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "Bilateral agreements, where the government takes the lead in these kinds of things, would make a lot of sense because they look outward, not inward". He also said that this initiative will not only benefit the local tourism industry, but also business travel and trade.
According to official data, the total number of foreign tourists in these six countries reached 70 million in 2023. Thailand and Malaysia account for more than half of the total number of tourists.
Tourism is Thailand's main source of income, accounting for about 12% of the country's nearly $500 billion economy. In 2023, the number of foreign tourists arriving in Thailand surged 20% from the previous year to more than 27 million, the highest since the pandemic. However, Bangkok hopes to increase this number to 80 million by 2027 to further boost tourism revenues.