Thailand to waive VOA fee for foreign tourists

BANGKOK, October 18 (TNA) - The state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in cooperation with the Immigration Bureau, will temporarily offer an exemption of the visa on arrival (VOA) fee for a couple of months to welcome more foreign tourists, especially those from the immense Chinese market, during the upcoming annual high season for global travellers. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told journalists on October 17 that the planned VOA fee waiver, expected to be soon implemented, will be part of a new set of official tourism promotional campaigns for late this year to attract more international visitors to Thailand, particularly those from China, as instructed by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs. "The waiver of the VOA fee, expected to be soon announced by the Immigration Bureau, will save the money in the pockets of foreign tourist arrivals at Thai airports by 2,000 baht each, the measure of which is particularly aimed to attract more Chinese visitors to the Thai Kingdom, in case that they do not choose to apply their visa at the Thai Embassy to China, where a 1,000 baht-fee has been imposed on each visa applicant", Yuthasak said. Besides, TAT will invite Chinese super stars to visit Thailand's major tourist destinations and will then publicize their visits through the social media and other channels to promote the domestic tourism, along with launching other promotional campaigns, namely interviews of Chinese tourists during their stays in Thailand with sound safety measures and well-arranged facilities provided by all relevant agencies. According to the TAT governor, Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, and its subsidiaries and aviation alliances, namely Nok Air, Thai Smile and AirAsia, will also be asked to offer special discounts for passengers on their direct flights to Thailand, while specially-discounted prices of accommodations will also be sought for international visitors from the Thai Hotels Association (THA) and the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) during the upcoming high season. The TAT governor revealed that TAT will also work together with business partners to participate in many international tourism promotional events, including the China International Tourism Mart (CITM 2018) and an international expo in China, where travellers will also be alerted by updated tourism campaigns and any vigilant advisory in Thailand through an application on their smart phones, developed by the globally-recognized Alibaba Group. The TAT governor expressed his hope that the new set of tourism promotional campaigns will draw in more international visitors to Thailand, with those from China alone targeted to reach a total of about 12 million in 2018, from about 10.5 million so far this year. (TNA)