Thailand’s new authorities has permitted a measure granting momentary visa-free entry to Chinese language vacationers, signaling that the restoration of the nation’s tourism business is a high financial precedence
ByJINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Related Press
September 13, 2023, 1:01 PM
FILE – Chinese language household vacationers hire conventional Thai costumes and take selfies at Wat Arun, or the “Temple of Daybreak,” in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 12, 2023. Thailand’s new cupboard has permitted a brief visa exemption for vacationers from China and Kazakhstan in its first assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 13, for a bid to spice up tourism and the economic system. (AP Photograph/Sakchai Lalit, File)
The Related Press
BANGKOK — Thailand’s new authorities Wednesday permitted a measure granting momentary visa-free entry to Chinese language vacationers, signaling that the restoration of the nation’s tourism business is a high financial precedence.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stated the visa exemption, which will even apply to guests from the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, will likely be efficient from Sept. 25 till Feb. 29 subsequent 12 months. He stated the related authorities had been consulted to make sure they’re able to deal with the anticipated surge in vacationers.
China greater than a decade in the past grew to become a significant supply of vacationers to Thailand, with virtually 11 million guests in 2019, accounting for 27.6% of all arrivals the 12 months earlier than the coronavirus pandemic devastated the vacationer market.
The federal government proposed the measure on account of issues that the variety of Chinese language vacationers this 12 months won’t attain the preliminary goal of 5 million on account of strict visa necessities. The Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that round 1.4 million Chinese language vacationers got here within the first six months of this 12 months.
Thailand’s economic system slumped in the course of the pandemic as its enormous tourism business nearly collapsed. The nation acquired about 40 million worldwide guests in 2019 who the federal government estimated generated 1.9 trillion baht ($53.2 billion) in income, an quantity that plummeted by greater than 99% by 2021, in keeping with information from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports activities.
Chai Wacharonke, a spokesperson for the Workplace of the Prime Minister, stated Thailand acquired 15 million worldwide guests within the first seven months of this 12 months. He stated the federal government goals to attract 28 million worldwide guests and generate 1.4 trillion baht ($39.2 billion) in tourism income in 2023.
Chai praised the visa exemption scheme, saying the tourism business is “the one financial machine remaining that may be pushed with hope to generate new earnings shortly for Thailand.”
In addition to the visa exemption, different measures the Cupboard permitted included a discount in electrical energy charges and diesel costs, in addition to a three-year debt reduction program for farmers, to handle the upper value of residing and different financial woes.
