Thailand’s Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin announced on January 2 that Thailand and China will waive mutual visa requirements for tourists permanently from March 1. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the arrangement the same day.
As important tourist markets, travel experts said the move will provide a significant boost to both countries’ tourism industries, in particular for Thailand which heavily relies on the sector.
Fliggy, a leading Chinese tourism service platform under Alibaba, told the Global Times that in the first hour after the new policy was announced, searches for travel to Thailand doubled. Other platforms recorded similar interest in travel to Thailand, which had seen a slump in visitors from China in 2023, partly over safety fears.
To encourage travel from China, in September 2023, Thailand announced Chinese tourists would be exempt from visas up to February 29, 2024 for a stay of no more than 30 days. Bookings to Thailand from China, according to platform Ctrip, increased by nearly five times between September 25 and December 31, 2023, although still only 80 percent of pre-pandemic numbers.
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