After card adjustments, more tourists are probably coming.
PUBLISHED: September 21, 2023, at 05:09.
When the fresh visa-free plan is implemented next year, Phuket’s tourism officials are preparing steps to welcome an anticipated increase in tourist visitors from China and Kazakhstan.
Easy access and 30-day visa-free remains for citizens of both places will be successful from Monday and last until Feb 29. This announcement was made in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday.
The first visa-free flights landing at the resort island on Monday will be greeted by the deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand( TAT ) and a representative from the TAT’s office in Phuket, according to Khongsak Khuphong-sakorn, chairman of Phuket Chamber of Commerce.
When asked about the advantages of this five-month card program for beach tourism, Mr. Khongsak responded that the island could see ripples of visitors from both nations, particularly China, as the easing of travel conditions may make trip planning simpler.
In light of the aforementioned, kindness companies have plenty of room for visitors. More Chinese tourists are anticipated to aid in the industry’s recovery, according to Mr. Khongsak, as their numbers have now rebounded to 30 % of the pre-pandemic levels.
As commerce transitions to the high season brought on by the island’s vegetable festival, Mr. Khongsak anticipated the amount to be higher with an enhanced hotel booking rate that sprang up in the first week of this month.
Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, chairman of the Phuket Tourist Association, even anticipated a twofold recovery rate. He speculated that the island does start to anticipate better-quality Chinese visitors as a result of the higher ticket prices that followed the scheme’s announcement.
However, more cooperation between the Chinese and Thai governments is anticipated, particularly a give-to-go ( G2G ) plan to increase island tourism. Regarding Kazakh tourists, Mr. Thaneth suggested that Vietnam may receive the 250, 000 visitors that the TAT had anticipated this time. This is due to the fact that Taiwanese airlines offer direct flights between the two nations and Vietnam has developed a similar visa-free program.