Thailand tourist arrivals in July up nearly 40 pct on year
- August 2, 2016
- Haris & Associates
- No comments
The Nation newspaper reported the country’s Minister for Tourism & Sports, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, as saying this week that the Thai cabinet has rubber-stamped the scheme, which is now expected to be implemented within 60 days.
Visitors from all nations will soon be eligible for multiple-entry visas that will allow them to travel neighbouring countries and re-enter Thailand. Charoen Wongananont also added that the six-month period offers a short enough timeframe to assess the effectiveness of multiple-entry visas.
The proposal was made as part of a plan to try and boost tourism and help the country’s ailing economy. The current one-month visa will remain available at a cost of THB1000. Many retirees stay in Thailand for the European winter months, rent a home and then return to their home countries for the summer season.
Tourism is the only industry that has continued growing in recent years while others are still suffering from the global economic slowdown.
The country is targeting 28m arrivals for the full-year 2015.
Ms Kobkarn said the tourism sector has since improved and the ministry expected to achieve its target of 28.8 million visitors with 2.2 trillion baht of tourism revenue in this year. (Immigration head count at land and airport border checkpoints).
Although Thailand is hardly a country struggling to attract visitors, it has launched a three-year tourism strategy to boost inbound travellers and promote sustainable development.
It would also relax travel conditions and increase cooperation with other countries, particularly Thailand’s neighbours.
This is Thailand’s second visa announcement in as many weeks; last week the country started offering visa-free entry to citizens of Myanmar entering at Thai airports.
Thailand tourist arrivals in July up nearly 40 pct on year – iFreePress iFreePress
Leave a Comment