Free VOA fee for single trip of foreign visitors to Thailand extended

BANGKOK, January 9 (TNA) - Foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand for their single trip will enjoy the waiver of the visa on arrival (VOA) fee further until April 30, 2019, thanks to a latest Cabinet resolution. Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an advisor to the Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office, told journalists that the Thai Cabinet made the decision at its weekly meeting, held at Bangkok's Government House on January 8, enabling foreign tourists who visit the Thai Kingdom for their single trip to enjoy the VOA fee waiver until the end of April. Nattaporn stated that the Thai Cabinet's resolution is aimed to welcome more international tourist arrivals in the country during this year's Chinese New Year Festival early next month and Songkran Festival in mid-April. The advisor said the VOA fee waiver will cost the Thai government in terms of a loss in its revenue of the VOA fee at 2,000 baht per head or about 2.14 billion baht totally during the period in exchange for its earning of tourism-related revenues of about 6.42 billion baht during the same period. The advisor noted that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand rose by 70 per cent year-on-year during November 15, 2018-January 13, 2019 when the first-phase of the VOA fee waiver was in effect. When compared with the situation in October 2018 prior to the implementation of the VOA fee-exemption, the advisor pointed out that the number of foreign tourist arrivals at major Thai airports greatly increased, namely at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport increased by 173 per cent, by 143 per cent at the Don Mueang International Airport, by 128 per cent at the Phuket International Airport and by 246 per cent at the Chiang Mai International Airport. (TNA)