The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) predicts that the government’s proposal to grant free visas to visitors from China will increase the tourist count by 700,000 during peak season.
TAT’s chief, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, mentioned on Friday that a monthly average of 350,000 to 400,000 Chinese tourists come to Thailand. For the initial eight months of the year, the figure stands at 2.1 million.
Roughly 3% of China’s outbound tourists chose Thailand, making it the top pick among international locations. This statistic doesn’t account for visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, clarified Ms. Thapanee.
She mentioned that, on average, Chinese tourists spend 40,000 baht each trip.
In the initial six months of 2023, 40.3 million Chinese tourists ventured overseas, and a significant 93% favored nearby destinations.
Ms. Thapanee believes that the new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s initiative of zero-charge visas would lure more visitors in the last quarter, while the TAT gears up to facilitate an increase in flights between both nations.
Chuwit Sirivejkul, the chief marketing officer for East Asia at TAT, believes the no-cost visa initiative should roll out in the early weeks of September. This would allow businesses to advertise packages aligned with Chinese national holiday in October.
He pointed out that this extended break typically sees a surge in visitors, surpassing even the New Year festivities.
On Friday, the TAT, Consular Affairs Department, and Tourism Department signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a system for real-time sharing of inbound tourist information across all three entities.
Consular Affairs’ chief, Ruj Thammongkol, stated this system would streamline the visa approval process, particularly beneficial for large groups of Chinese tourists.
The mechanism validates a guest’s data using software interfacing technology via the TAT’s Visa Pre-Screening Platform. It contrasts this with Chinese government records to verify flight or tour bookings.
Local travel agencies collaborating with Chinese tour entities are required to upload each tourist’s data and travel plan to the Tourism Department’s platform. This e-visa mechanism can instantly authenticate these details through the interconnected system.
Ideally, visa clearances might get trimmed to three business days from the current seven days. The system’s trial phase is ongoing and should be fully functional later this month.
As for the no-charge visa proposal, an official statement from the Consular Affairs Department is anticipated.
In the previous year, 2022, they received approximately 1.1 billion baht from the issuance of various visas, encompassing tourists and extended-stay guests.
