The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that the visa waiver program is anticipated to result in an additional 700,000 new visitors to the country. This news has triggered a notable surge in searches and inquiries on Chinese travel platforms. On the travel platform operated by the Trip.com Group, searches for tour products saw an 800 percent increase in just 30 minutes. Similarly, there was a 70 percent increase in searches for flight tickets to Thailand compared to the previous week. As per TAT statistics, approximately three percent of all mainland Chinese tourists chose Thailand as their preferred foreign destination, making it the most popular choice among Chinese travelers. In the first quarter of the current year, Chinese tourists ranked among the top five groups of foreign visitors, alongside tourists from Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, and India.
Further data reveals that between January and August 2023, Thailand received around two million Chinese tourists and 100,000 Kazakh visitors. Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke expressed that with the implementation of this new policy, Thailand is aiming to welcome 28 million foreign arrivals this year and generate over 1.4 trillion baht in income from inbound visitors. Additionally, it is expected that inbound tourists will reach 40 million in 2024, contributing to a total tourism revenue of 3.1 trillion baht. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese tourists made up approximately 28 percent of the nearly 40 million foreign tourists visiting Thailand.
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