Thailand is advocating for a six-nation visa to attract long-haul travelers, with the duration increased from 30 days to 90 days. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is leading a drive for a common visa program with six Southeast Asian countries that collectively hosted almost 70 million tourists last year. The infrastructure is designed to provide easy transport between the six adjacent nations, and the single visa could attract long-haul travelers. The tourism sector is optimistic about the single visa, which could extend visa-free travel benefits to business and commerce.
As Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin steps up efforts to draw more long-haul and high-spending travelers, Thailand is leading a drive for a common visa program with nations that collectively hosted almost 70 million tourists last year.
In recent months, Srettha—who has vowed to transform Thailand from a popular tourist destination into a hub for aviation and logistics—has spoken with his counterparts in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam about the notion of a Schengen-style visa. The infrastructure is designed to provide easy transport between the six adjacent nations.
Thailand, a country heavily dependent on tourism, hopes to increase revenue per visitor and protect its economy from challenges like slowing exports and weak global demand, which are hurting its manufacturing sector. Most leaders have responded favorably to the idea of a single visa.
Official statistics from 2023 indicate that a total of 70 million foreign tourists arrived in the six Southeast Asian countries. Over half of the total came from tourism in Thailand and Malaysia, which brought in almost $48 billion.
The most ambitious of Srettha’s tourist projects is the single visa, which is intended to be used over an extended period of time. With the industry providing around 20% of all jobs and contributing roughly 12% of the $500 billion national economy, it has been a good servant of the nation. Aside from the pandemic years, tourism has grown and served as a buffer against a downturn in exports and manufacturing, the two sectors of the economy that have historically been its mainstays.
According to Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, a former president of the Thai Hotels Association, “a common visa could entice long-haul travelers to make an easier decision,” the tourism sector is optimistic. According to her, in order to make the visa appealing, its 30-day validity term must be increased to 90 days.
By 2027, the administration of Srettha wants to have 80 million visitors. Additionally, since assuming office almost seven months ago, his administration has granted temporary visa waivers to visitors from India, Taiwan, and Kazakhstan as well as struck a reciprocal agreement with China, Thailand’s top tourism destination. It’s also considering the idea of building casinos inside sizable amusement centers, and event-based travel will boost the nation’s economy.
In the event that it is implemented properly, the advantages of visa-free travel will extend beyond the tourist to business and commerce, says Bill Barnett, managing director of hotel and real estate consulting firm C9 Hotelworks.
A Schengen-type visa, however, which permits unrestricted travel throughout the borderless area of Europe, might be difficult to obtain given ASEAN’s dismal performance in advancing global policy frameworks and the organization’s reputation as a talking shop.
According to Barnett, “country by country seems to be the best way to do it.” “Looking outward and not inward, bilateral agreements, where governments are leading the way for this kind of thing, make a lot of sense.”
The lack of uniform immigration standards among participating countries, in contrast to the European Union, can provide difficulties for a single visa program, according to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor in the political science department at Chulalongkorn University. Approvals must be coordinated. He claimed that ASEAN as a whole is a split organization with a bad track record on immigration.
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