Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other’s citizens.
Announcing this on Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the visa waiver will come into effect on March 1.
“Right now we’re ready to open the country and to take good care of tourists in both countries mutually. This is welcoming news,” Srettha said at a news conference.
“This is an upgrade to the relations (between Thailand and China), and a boost to the significance of Thai passports,” he told reporters after a Cabinet meeting at the Government House.
Thailand decided to offer a permanent visa-free travel facility to Chinese citizens after the successful trial of a temporary visa waiver status for visitors from China, in September, to attract tourists.
The temporary visa waiver, which attracted 22,000 Chinese citizens to the Southeast Asian country in the first two days of the six-month trial period, will expire on February 29.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said he will sign a permanent visa-free agreement with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks.
Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue for Thailand, where 28 million tourists visited from abroad in 2023.
Malaysians – 4.4 million – were the largest group of foreign visitors, followed by the Chinese, who accounted for 3.4 million.
China last month introduced on trial basis visa-free entry to tourists from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia to boost tourism.
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