Passport-holders from 93 different territories, including Macao, can now stay in Thailand for up to 60 days either without a visa or with a visa on arrival. The move is part of a landmark new border policy the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister has implemented to boost tourism, according to an official statement.
The policy, which took effect on Monday, doubled the length of time visitors from 57 territories – including many European nations, the US and Japan – could already spend visa-free in Thailand.
It also introduced visa-waiver benefits to travellers from a number of new countries, including China and Russia, and allowed the citizens of even more to qualify for 60-day visas on arrival (including Jordan, Sri Lanka and Ecuador).
Thailand has also introduced a new five-year visa for remote workers, allowing holders to stay for up to 180 days each year, the BBC reports.
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Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was optimistic about the new policy – noting that “preparatory measures” had been in place since last year to accommodate a surge in tourists.
Tourism has long been a key contributor to the Thai economy, but the industry has not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country aims to woo 36.7 million travellers in 2024, and welcomed 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of the year – up 35 percent from the same period last year, according to official data.
The country’s government is also understood to be mulling the end of its 52-year-old ban on afternoon alcohol sales, in response to lobbying from a tourism industry concerned about rising costs and low consumer spending.
