NEW DELHI: Indians travelling to Thailand do not have to pay any visa fee, the government of Thailand announced on Tuesday. The incentives are extended until May 30 next year. Under the provision, tourists from India can travel to Thailand and stay for 30 days at a stretch without having to pay the visa fee.
Thailand is the second country that has decided to incentivise travel for Indians. Last week, Sri Lanka had made a similar announcement. Earlier in September, Thailand had scrapped visas for Chinese travellers as well. The move to waiver the visa fee for Indians is seen as an effort to attract Indian tourists.
“At present, nearly 1.2 million Indians travel to Thailand every year. This could go up to 2 million. More flights may have to be added to optimise this offer,” Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travels, told this newspaper.
India has been Thailand’s fourth largest source market for tourism so far this year with about 1.2 million arrivals after Malaysia, China and South Korea. Inbound tourism from India showed signs of growth as more airlines and hospitality chains targeted that market. Thailand is targeting about 28 million arrivals this year.
With the move, long serpentine queues at various airports across Thailand for Indian tourists seeking visa on arrival is now expected to be a thing of the past. Currently, there are 17 countries that offer visa-free travel for Indians. While Thailand and Sri Lanka are offering a temporary visa fee waiver, 15 nations ask no visas from Indians. These countries include Barbados, Bhutan, Domician Republic, Fiji, Haiti, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Niue Island, Qatar, St Vincent and the Grenadies, Senegal, St Lucia and The Cook Islands.