At its meeting on 16 October, the cabinet agreed to extend the temporary stay for Russian tourists from the original 30 days to 90 days from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the extension of visa-free entry for Russian tourists will boost tourism. Russia is known for its cold winters, so it has extended the stay from 30 to 90 days. Russians stay in Thailand for more than a month. We want them to stay longer because winter lasts from December to March.
“I agree because it is a positive development. This time I’m also meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is a sign of friendship between the two countries. They will be able to negotiate various issues to improve things.
Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, said the Ministry of the Interior was aware of the policy to ensure the safety of tourists. We will double-check that visitors are tourists and not people who have overstayed their visas.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Russian tourists rank fifth in the number of international tourists entering Thailand between 1 January and 1 October 2023, with 994,431 people.
Malaysia ranks first with 3,280,622, China second with 2,509,698, South Korea third with 1,197,763 and India fourth with 1,165,935. The total number of international tourists in the country is 20,051,535.
Before the COVID epidemic, Thailand had the highest number of Russian tourists among Europeans, with 1.48 million people in 2019.
