16-2-2024 (BANGKOK) Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced plans to extend visa-free travel to citizens of additional countries, following recent initiatives to waive visas for Chinese and Indian citizens. Tourism serves as a crucial economic driver for Thailand, and these measures aim to boost visitor numbers, aiding the recovery of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
During a meeting with David Hurley, the Governor-General of Australia, on Wednesday, the leaders discussed the possibility of a mutual visa exemption scheme to facilitate travel and business activities between Thailand and Australia. The Thai Prime Minister expressed his government’s interest in establishing visa-free travel agreements with Schengen-visa states in Europe.
In 2022, Thailand attracted approximately 28 million foreign tourists, generating 1.2 trillion baht in revenue. While these figures signify significant recovery from the pandemic’s impact, they remain below the pre-COVID levels of nearly 40 million arrivals and 1.9 trillion baht in revenue recorded in 2019.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Malaysians constituted the largest group of visitors in 2022, with around 4.5 million arrivals, followed by Chinese tourists at approximately 3.51 million. However, the tourism landscape has evolved in 2023, with Chinese travellers surpassing 533,000 arrivals as of February 1, followed by Malaysia with over 337,000 and South Korea with more than 229,000.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Tourism and Sports Ministry remains optimistic about Thailand’s tourism prospects. With 3 million arrivals in January, the ministry aims to attract 35 million foreign visitors in 2023, signaling the country’s resilience and gradual recovery in the tourism sector.
