With an aim to boost its tourism sector, Thailand has waived on-arrival visa fee for Indians and many other nationals for two months. The country’s tourism sector is going through a low phase due to a drop in the number of Chinese tourists.
According to a report in the Straits Times, the Thai cabinet agreed on Nov.6 to waive on-arrival visa fee which will be applicable for tourists of 21 countries including India.
According to a report in Reuters, government spokesman Puttiphong Punnakan told reporters that on-arrival visa fee of 2000 Baht or Rs. 4,400 will be waived between Dec. 1, 2018, and Jan.31, 2019 for travelers from India, China, Taiwan, Ukraine, Cyprus, Malta, and Saudi Arabia and others.
He said that the fee waiver scheme is expected to increase tourist numbers by at least 30 percent during these two months.
However, the fee waiver option will be available to only those tourists of these 21 countries who are visiting Thailand for less than 15 days, Times of India reported.
Chinese are the largest group of travelers to Thailand. Last year, a record 35.38 million tourists arrived in the Southeast Asian nation and around one-third of them were Chinese.
This year, Thailand witnessed a surge of 2.1 percent in the number of tourist arrivals as opposed to the previous year. But the number of Chinese tourists declined by 15 percent after a boat accident in July killed 47 tourists from China, reported Reuters.
Thailand has been an attractive tourist destination for Indians as well but due to the availability of better options in the region and increasing air connectivity to other holiday spots in the region, Thai tourist spots have begun to actively engage both Indian and other tourists. Tourism is one of the mainstays of the country’s economy.
According to Indian financial portal bankbazaar.com, more than 50 countries including Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, provide on-arrival visa facility to Indians.