Thailand is steering a plan for a joint-visa programme with six Asean countries that together hosted about 70 million tourists last year.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has discussed the Schengen-type visa idea with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam in recent months.

The six Southeast Asian nations reported a combined 70 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, according to official data. Thailand and Malaysia accounted for more than half of the tally, generating about $48 billion in tourism revenue.

The single-visa is the most ambitious among Srettha’s tourism initiatives. Tourism accounts for about 20% of total jobs and making up about 12% of the nation’s $500 billion economy.

One tourism professional said the visa validity will need to be extended to 90 days from the usual 30-day period to make it attractive.

For a joint visa scheme, approvals have to be coordinated and the absence of standard immigration criteria among participating nations unlike the European Union can pose challenges, according to a professor at Chulalongkorn University’s political science faculty. Asean as a grouping is a divided body with a poor immigration record, he said.