Clamour grows louder from Indians for extending Thailand visa waiver

Visakhapatnam: With Indian tourists contributing significantly in boosting tourism post-Covid-19, Thailand may extend the six-month visa free regime for tourists, which is due for expiry on May 10.

Based on inputs provided by the travel operators and hospitality industry, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) may take a call soon to reconsider the demand, sources said.

"As there is encouraging response to tourism promotion with increase in footfall from cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi and Coimbatore and newly introduced flight connectivity from cities like Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar, we hope the offer of visa fee-waiver on arrival to tourists from India will be considered for another six months," Tour and Travel Association of Andhra (TTAA) president K Vijay Mohan told Bizz Buzz.

Thailand introduced free visas for 30-day stay from November 10, 2023 to May 10, 2024 to Indian tourists. Malaysia, which permits a stay up to 30 days for Indian tourists, is offering visa waiver from December 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

Vijay Mohan, member of Airport Advisory Committee said, “After the introduction of new flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from a tier-2 city like Visakhapatnam, there is heavy demand for flying to holiday resorts and entertainment hubs in various parts of Southeast Asia."

There is also another section, which prefers to take a direct flight to the United States, Australia or Europe with a short break in Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur based on promotional fare offers.

While AirAsia operates direct flights from Visakhapatnam International Airport to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has a direct flight to Singapore Changi Airport. Talks are in progress for a direct flight to Dubai by Air India Express.

Before the pandemic, Visakhapatnam had flight connectivity to Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Dubai and Singapore.

P Srinivas Kumar, promoter of a city-based travel agency, said there is good response for customised group packages to various destinations in Southeast Asia. He said of late, Vietnam and Cambodia have emerged as hot destinations.

He said it will be a game-changer if the authorities concerned consider the plea for Schengen-like single visa for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam. The proposal has been taken for consideration to Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. The region saw a footfall of 70 million tourists last year.

Thailand welcomed over 28.15 million foreign tourists in 2023. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, the top five nationalities were Malaysia, with approximately 4.5 million, followed by China with 3.5 million, South Korea with 1.7 million, India with 1.6 million, and Russia with 1.5 million.

In 2024, the ministry has set a target to attract both domestic and international tourists through the promotion of lesser-known tourist attractions and the country as an all-season tourist destination.

Thailand has set a target to clock a revenue of $95.45 billion (equivalent to 3.5 trillion baht) this year as against $31.32 billion in 2023.

The major contributors were tourists from Malaysia, which is leading the pack, followed by China, South Korea and Russia, after it offered visa free regimes to China, Malaysia and other countries, there is an increasing trend in the arrival of international tourists.