Wednesday, January 22, 2025 Thailand’s tourism industry urges reducing Chinese visa-free stays from 60 to 15 days to combat scams and illegal employment while enhancing visitor security. Tourism operators in Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, are urging the government to shorten the visa-free stay for Chinese tourists from 60 days to 15 days, citing concerns about illegal employment. On January 20, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, highlighted the private sector’s apprehension that the current 60-day visa-free policy could be exploited by foreign scammers.
The private sector suggests that a 15-day visa-free period would better align with the average stay of Chinese visitors, which typically ranges from 7 to 10 days. Despite these concerns, Thapanee emphasized the importance of the visa-free program in attracting Chinese travelers, a crucial demographic for Thailand’s tourism industry. For 2024, Thailand aims to welcome between 8.
8 million and 9 million Chinese tourists, contributing to the projected total of 39 million to 40 million international visitors. The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has also called for stricter measures to address transnational crimes and scams that harm the tourism sector. TCT Vice President Ratchaporn Poolsawadee pointed out that safety concerns have particularly affected Asian tourists, including Chinese visitors, who are more sensitive to such issues than their Western counterparts.
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