Taiwanese and Indian arrivals in Thailand are set to reach a new high this year, thanks to the visa-free policy.
The visa exemption for Indian and Taiwanese tourists began in late 2023 and the government further extended the scheme until Nov 11 this year, with the period of stay expanded to 60 days.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand has already signed a yearly reciprocal visa-exemption programme with Taiwan and India, which should officially start soon.
Sarima Chindamat, director of the TAT's Taipei office, said the target of 1 million Taiwanese arrivals this year is achievable, representing an upgrade on the base-case scenario of 700,000, and it would exceed the 781,674 arrivals from Taiwan recorded in 2019.
During the first half of 2024, the visa policy helped increase the number of Taiwanese visitors to 533,000, a 34% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2019, when 396,000 Taiwanese arrived, said Ms Sarima.
About 18 million Taiwanese are expected to travel overseas this year, exceeding the 17 million Taiwanese nationals who went abroad in 2019.
She said Taiwanese people prefer to visit short-haul destinations in Asia, including Thailand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Vietnam.
Segments offering great potential include LGBTQ, active seniors, office workers, families, young people, and golfers, while their average spending per trip tallied 40,000 baht.
At present, flight capacity has recovered to 2019 levels with 1.5 million seats for Taiwan-Thailand routes, mostly covering only two cities -- Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Ms Sarima said the TAT will encourage airlines to open new routes to other cities, including U-tapao in Chon Buri , Krabi and Phuket in particular, as there are only seasonal charter flights from Taipei to Phuket at present.
In terms of capacity, Japan could lure more visitors due to more available flights, a shorter distance and the weak yen.
The TAT also aims to secure more than 2 million Indian travellers this year.
The agency is offering a subsidy scheme for meeting and incentive groups from India during the low season from July to September.
Isada Saovaros, director of TAT's Mumbai office, said tour operators receive 200 Indian rupees (around 86 baht) per guest for meeting groups of 100-1,000 people for trips of more than four days and three nights.
During the first half, Thailand gained 1.04 million Indian tourists, while their spending averaged 38,000 baht per trip.
With a promising outbound market, which is predicted to reach 29 million trips in 2025, Mr Isada said Thailand has opportunities from growing demand from meetings and incentives, families, and millennial tourists, while most of them also prefer short-haul destinations.
The TAT's New Delhi office also offers the same programme but with a different rate.
It pays 300 Indian rupees per person for a meeting group of over 100 participants, targeting northern cities under the supervision of the New Delhi office.
Siriges-a-nong Trirattanasongpol, director of TAT's New Delhi office, said the seat capacity for Indian flights this year is expected to recover to 90% of 2019 levels.
The main competitors for the Indian market include the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, which have a similar flight duration as Thailand.
Apart from major cities like Bangkok and Phuket, Ms Siriges-a-nong said the TAT is actively encouraging airlines to open routes to new cities like Krabi and Chiang Mai, as well as targeting Indian tourists living in second-tier cities.
