Thailand waives visa fees to boost sluggish tourism growth
Bruised by a current slump in the number of Chinese arrivals, Thailand has moved to temporarily waive visa on arrival fees for China and 20 more nations.
Inbound traffic from China has taken a hit after a deadly boat accident killed dozens of Chinese tourists near Phuket.
The market makes up nearly one-third of all arrivals into Thailand.
Travellers from other countries including India, Taiwan, Romania, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia will also be exempt from paying a fee of 2,000 baht ($60) on arrival starting in December through the end of January 2019.
Tourism officials are hopeful it will boost numbers for the important Festive holiday period and reverse the recent trend of stagnant growth which is up just 3%, due mostly to the decline in the China market.
Most other major markets including western European nations already have visa-free access.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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