Thailand in drive to draw Chinese to visit country

Thailand will impose fees on foreign tourists from June 1, which will be used to develop attractions and cover accident insurance costs for those who are unable to pay such costs themselves. He says their aim is to enhance travel experience and ensure visitors' personal and property safety in Thailand.

Most tourists like to visit popular destinations such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. To enrich their travel experience, the tourism bureau has now prepared about 200 community activities to guide visitors to Thailand to enjoy local life and the Thai culture.

"The Thai government attaches great importance to the travel experience of Chinese visitors, in which visa applications are an important part. We're working to resolve the issue of long processing time of visa applications," Supasorn says.

"The current e-visa policy of Thailand has simplified the visa application process. We will also urge relevant departments to improve the efficiency of visa-on-arrival applications for Chinese visitors."

Currently, the Thai embassy and consulates in China, he says, are processing about 8,000 visa applications per day, compared to the pre-pandemic level of about 20,000.

The tourism bureau expects that about 20 million overseas tourists will travel to Thailand this year. Supasorn adds that after China recently announced its resumption of outbound travel, that figure is expected to increase by five to seven million.

"It's a conservative figure because of the current inadequate flight capacity, which is expected to recover to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels within the year," he says.