The measure would help further boost the tourism industry in addition to the visa-free policy currently granted to visitors from China and Kazakhstan for five months, or until February 2024, Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said on Monday.
In the first phase, the extension will mainly cover countries in and around Europe, such as the UK, Germany, Scandinavian nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
“The visa-free policy has given Thailand an unprecedented opportunity to attract foreign tourists,” she said. “The ministry, together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), is discussing plans to extend the visa-free period to European countries, where most high-spending visitors come from, to motivate them to stay longer in Thailand.”
Sudawan added that European visitors make up about 20% of foreign tourists and are the second largest group after visitors from Asia. Last year, the average length of stay for Europeans was 18.55 nights per person, with average spending of 66,000 baht per trip.
“This year, the spending of European visitors shows an increasing trend to about 80,000 baht per trip,” she said.
The TAT has set a revenue target of 2.5 billion baht from foreign visitors in 2024, while Thai tourists will contribute another 1 trillion baht to the industry, bringing the total tourism revenue to 3.5 trillion baht next year.
“We aim to further increase revenue from foreign visitors to 3 trillion baht by 2025,” said Sudawan. “This is achievable as the global airline industry is expected to fully recover by mid-2024, and flights from European countries to Thailand will resume.”
Earlier this month, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) reopened the Copenhagen-Bangkok route after a 10-year hiatus, reviving Thailand’s hopes of tapping into the long-haul tourism market from Scandinavia.
