Thailand mulling visa-free entry for Chinese tourists

A nearly empty water attractions at Pattaya Park Resort in Pattaya seen on Feb 14. Elephant parks unvisited, curios at markets unsold as tuk-tuks sit idle; Thailand is absorbing billions of dollars of losses from a collapse in Chinese tourism since the outbreak of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak in China. - AFP

BANGKOK: Thai tourism officials have again been floating the idea of granting visa-free entry to Chinese tourists.

Due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) epidemic, China is in a lockdown in many places and this has also affected the tourism industry throughout the world, and Thailand is definitely on of the worst hit countries in this manner.

"We are going to propose to the Cabinet again to offer visa-free entry for Chinese tourists as part of Thailand's tourism revival scheme," said Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn on Saturday (Feb 15) at a Valentine's Day event in Bangkok.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently indicated that the number of international tourist arrivals during Feb 1- Feb 9 fell by 43.4% year-on-year to 730,213 as the number of Chinese tourists plunged 86.6%.

"We are predicting that the Chinese market is likely to drop further by 90% before the month of March, so hopefully by Thailand's Songkran Festival in April, we hope to see the Chinese tourists' return to Thailand, " Phiphat said. - Xinhua/Asian News Network