On 31 October, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin, together with the Cabinet, announced at Government House the decision to expand the list of countries eligible for visa-free entry into Thailand. The two countries added to the list are India and Taiwan, which have a significant number of tourists visiting Thailand.
The visa-free policy will be in effect for a short period from 10 November 2023 to 10 May 2024. This temporary measure is being introduced due to the high season for Taiwanese and Indian tourists. A visitor will be granted a visa waiver for a maximum stay of 30 days in Thailand.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, from January to September 2023, Thailand received 1,162,251 Indian tourists and 520,372 tourists from Taiwan. The total number of foreign tourists exceeds 20 million.
Earlier, on 27 October, Pornchai Thirawej, director of the Fiscal Policy Office, announced a downward revision of Thailand’s economic growth for 2023 to 2.7 per cent year-on-year. This reduction is partly due to the expected decline in the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand. This is estimated at 27.7 million, lower than the original forecast of 29.5 million tourists.
As a result, projected tourism receipts are revised to 1.18 trillion baht, down from the previous estimate of 1.25 trillion baht. This revision is influenced by the economic challenges in China, which have a significant impact on the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand.
In 2024, the Fiscal Policy Office forecasts that the tourism sector will continue to play an important role in the Thai economy. It is expected that 34.5 million foreign tourists will visit Thailand, an increase of 24.6 per cent. Revenue is estimated at 1.49 trillion baht, an increase of 26 per cent. This growth is largely due to Chinese tourists, especially during the Chinese New Year.
