Thailand simplifies visa process to attract more inbound tourists

Compared with 11.15 million foreign visits last year, Thailand is on course to meet the whole-year foreign tourist target of 25 million. Of them, 5 million are expected to be from Chinese mainland -half of the total arrivals from China in 2019.

However, statistics from the Tourism Authority of Thailand showed that the visits in the first five months of the year seemed to be unsatisfying. From January to May, Chinese tourists tallied more than 1.1 million while the Malaysian market stood at 1.6 million.

However, the ranging of Chinese tourists was better last week, 95,581 tourists arrived from China, followed by those from Malaysia, South Korea, India and Vietnam, according to the official statistics.

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for about 28 percent of the nearly 40 million foreign tourists coming to Thailand annually, according to Thai government. Tourism is a key driver in Thailand's economic growth, accounts for about 12 percent of the country's GDP.

Rachada Dhnadirek, deputy government spokesperson, revealed recently that the government has updated its tourism strategy to meet demands in the international market as part of policies assigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

She the government will increase its tourism offices overseas to promote Thailand among international travelers, especially those from Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and it expects related revenues to hit 1.62 trillion baht by the end of this year.