Thailand gives 5 year visas to Hong Kong celebrities

Thailand‘s new strategy to lure in tourists is to dish out five-year visas to celebrities and influencers with large social media followings.

After Beijing dropped most of its Covid-19 travel regulations last month, Thailand is focussed on drawing back tourists from Hong Kong and China, who were Thailand’s No.1 tourists pre-pandemic.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes to attract 800,000 tourists from Hong Kong this year.

The TAT chose to give Thailand Privilege Cards to three celebrities from Hong Kong – Michelle Yim, Simon Yam and Roger Wu – in exchange for promoting Thailand’s tourism industry in China.

Governor of the TAT Yuthasak Supasorn says the three were selected for their unwavering support and contributions to Thai tourism.

All three celebrities, 67 year old actress Michelle Yim, 67 year old actor Simon Yam, and 50 year old food critic and travel…