The Thai government is promoting the initiative of a joint visa with five other Southeast Asian countries to attract more high-spending, long-haul tourists.
According to the Bangkok Post, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin informed that the government plans to issue a common visa similar to the EU's Schengen visa for tourists to Thailand and 5 Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. This initiative allows international tourists to travel between six neighboring countries on a single visa.
With most leaders responding positively to the concept of a common visa, Thailand, a country that relies on tourism, aims to generate more revenue per tourist and support the economy in the face of headwinds such as sluggish exports and weak global demand hurting the country's manufacturing industry.
Statistics show that the six Southeast Asian countries attracted 70 million foreign tourists in 2023. Due to the visa-free policy for tourists from China and India, Thailand and Malaysia received the highest number of travelers.
"A joint visa can entice long-distance travelers to make decisions more easily," as claimed by Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, former president of the Thai Hotel Association. She also supposed that the visa's validity period would need to be extended to 90 days from the usual 30-day term to make it attractive.
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