Thailand has already waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists in September to attract more visitors…reports Asian Lite News
Thailand has decided to waive visa requirements for travellers from India and Taiwan from next month to May 2024, a government official said on Tuesday, as the country is keen to attract more tourists in the peak season to rev up its economy.
According to Thai government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke, arrivals from India and Taiwan will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 30 days.
India has emerged as Thailand’s fourth-largest source market for tourism this year with about 1.2 million arrivals. Malaysia, China and South Korea constitute the first three respectively.
Thailand has already waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists in September to attract more visitors.
From January to October 29, there were 22 million visitors to Thailand, generating 927.5 billion baht ($25.67 billion), the latest government figures showed.
The country aims to attract 28 million tourists as its new government hopes bring a slowing economy back on the growth path.
Winter flight schedule
This winter, India is set to experience a significant boost in international connectivity, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granting approval for a schedule of 2,336 weekly flights operated by 80 airlines.
This marks a notable 9.4 per cent increase compared to the previous winter, when 75 foreign airlines operated 2,136 flights.
As of October 29, the approved schedule for these 80 airlines now provides 5.9 lakh seats per week, a noticeable rise from the 5.5 lakh seats available during the last winter season, according to data from the DGCA.
According to the civil aviation regulator, a total of 2,336 departures per week have been approved to/from 23 stations in India – Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut (Kozhikode), Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirchy, Varanasi, and Visakhapatnam.
The direct international airlines will connect to 50 countries – Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US , Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Air Peace Ltd, Batik Air, Belavia, ITA Airways, Neos S.P.A. NOK AIR and Uganda Airlines are seven new airlines which will be operating during Winter Schedule 2023, however, El Al of Israel have postponed its operations due to the ongoing situation there.