Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry has proposed extending visa incentives to citizens of 19 countries for at least another three months.
The incentives are credited with a six percent increase in the number of international visitors between January 1-20 when 1.8 million tourists arrived in the Kingdom, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanawrangkul. If extended, the special visa scheme is expected to attract more travelers during the low season.
In December 2016, the government introduced special visa benefits for visitors from Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Between December 2016 and the end of February 2017, Thai embassies in these 19 countries are expected to provide free visas with the visa-on-arrival fee being THB 1,000 (about US $28.00), half the normal rate.