The cabinet has approved a plan to extend visa exemptions for tourists from India and Taiwan for six more months, as the country seeks to boost the number of foreign arrivals.
Tourists from India and Taiwan will be able to enter Thailand without a visa until Nov 11 after an existing waiver ends on Friday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday. Travellers can stay for a maximum of 30 days at a time.
The temporary extension follows the success of the initial waiver in November last year. Indian and Taiwanese tourists are normally eligible to stay in Thailand for 15 days under a visa-on-arrival scheme.
The country has been relaxing visa rules for travellers from some of its main markets including China and Russia. In the first four months of 2024, Thailand welcomed more than 12 million foreign tourists, representing a 39% increase from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
The largest groups of visitors — those from China, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea and India — accounted for half of the total arrivals this year.
