Airports of Thailand expects the Thai-Chinese visa-free agreement will help bring 8 million Chinese visitors to the country this year, or about 70% of the record total set in 2019, says president Kerati Kijmanawat.
The bilateral agreement between Thailand and China, under which nationals of both countries will no longer have to apply for visas before travelling, is expected to be launched on March 1. A six-month visa-free trial programme for Chinese visitors is scheduled to expire at the end of February.
The trial programme was credited with an upturn in Chinese arrivals towards year-end, but overall numbers for 2023 were well short of forecasts of 4.5 million to 5 million. The country welcomed 3.5 million Chinese travellers, while Malaysians moved back into first place with 4.4 million visitors.
In 2019, the country welcomed a record 11.1 million Chinese visitors out of a total of 40 million foreign arrivals.
In response to the bilateral visa-free arrangement, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit ordered AOT to prepare resources at its six international airports — Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai — to handle an expected increase in traffic, Mr Kerati said.
As well, AOT has joined forces with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to conduct campaigns to attract visitors and encourage airlines to increase their capacity. The campaigns include airport fee discounts for airlines, he said.