Thailand, China agree on mutual visa exemptions from March

Bangkok, Jan 2 (EFE).- Thailand and China agreed to permanently eliminate the visa requirement for their respective citizens from Mar. 1, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced Tuesday.

This agreement “raises the level of relationship” between both nations, the Srettha announced in a press conference in Bangkok after the cabinet meeting.

A government spokesperson told the media that this visa exemption would be in effect for 30 days of travel and apply to multiple entries although the total period of stay cannot exceed 90 days within 180 days.

Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, where the tourism sector is one of the main economic drivers, implemented a program in September that exempted Chinese travelers from visa requirements and was set to end at the end of February.

More than 3.4 million Chinese tourists arrived in Thailand in 2023, a figure below the official goal set and far from the almost 11 million visitors from the neighboring country who arrived in 2019.

About 28 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2023, a figure that reached the objective set for the recovery of the sector after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since Srettha came to government in August, his administration has promoted several measures aimed at promoting tourism, including visa exemptions for travelers from Kazakhstan, India and Taiwan, similar to the one still in force with China.

By 2024, the tourism ministry foresees a more robust recovery of the sector with the arrival of some 35 million international tourists, including 8.2 million from China.

In 2019, before the global health crisis, Thailand reached close to 40 million tourists, of which Chinese citizens accounted for more than 25 percent, and its sector represented between 12 percent and 20 percent of the gross domestic product. EFE

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