Thailand plans travel bubble talks with China and Malaysia to boost tourism

Chinese and Malaysian tourists accounted for more than one-third of the 40 million visitors to Thailand in 2019, contributing more than US$20 billion in tourism revenue. - Reuters

BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Thailand plans to hold travel bubble talks with China and Malaysia this month, days after resuming a quarantine-free visa programme to boost tourist arrivals seen as key to sustaining a nascent economic recovery.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s government will soon discuss with the Chinese Minister for Culture and Tourism details of a possible bilateral travel deal, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a government spokesman, said in a statement Monday (Feb 7).