Thailand Waives on Arrival Visa Fees to 21 Countries Including Maldives


Maldives
PUBLISHED November 08, 2018

The Thai Immigration Bureau has approved the plan to temporarily waive visa-on-arrival fees for 21 countries, including the Maldives to give the tourism industry of Thailand a much-needed boost. 

The 21 countries are Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

According to Buddhipongse Punnakanta, the Government spokesman of Thailand, the cabinet agreed with a draft ministerial regulation to waive the 2,000-baht fee from Dec 1 to Jan 31 for visitors staying in the country for no more than 15 days. 

Mr Buddhipongse further added that the number of tourists seeking visas on arrival from January 2016 to the present has been falling, prompting the government to come up with the measure. 

The waiver of the visa-on-arrival fees will stimulate the tourism sector, drawing more foreign visitors to the country and generating more income. The number of tourists will be increased by at least 30 %.

In September, overall tourist arrivals rose just 2.1 percent from a year earlier, but arrivals from China fell almost 15 percent following a boat accident in July, which killed 47 Chinese tourists, making it Thailand's worst tourist-related disaster in years.

Last year, Chinese visitors made up nearly a third of the record 35.38 million arrivals in Thailand.

Tourism receipts account for about 12 percent of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, making it one of the most important drivers of its growth.

The tourism ministry has forecast 37.5 million foreign tourists this year, up about 6 percent.
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