Thailand’s Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, said on Tuesday that starting March 1, people from Thailand and China can travel between the countries without needing a visa. Chinese visitors have been able to come without a visa since September last year, and this was supposed to end on February 29.
This decision is part of Thailand’s plan to help its tourism, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, Thailand had about 40 million visitors who spent around 1.9 trillion baht ($53.2 billion). But in 2021, these numbers dropped by more than 99%, as reported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
China is really important for Thailand’s tourism, with nearly 11 million visitors in 2019, making up 27.6% of all arrivals. Even with the pandemic, Thailand welcomed 28 million foreign tourists last year, including 3.4 million from China, ranking second after Malaysia, which had about 4.4 million visitors.
Thailand China Visa-Free, Travel Without Visas, March Visa Exemption, Thailand-China Relations, Visa-Free Travel Update