Indians & Taiwanese Can Visit Thailand Visa Free from November 10

Thailand is going to let people from India and Taiwan visit without needing a visa from next month until May 2024. They're doing this to get more tourists during the busy season. Before this, they did the same thing for tourists from China, who used to visit a lot before the pandemic.

According to official data, Thailand had about 22 million visitors in the first ten months of this year, and they made around $25.67 billion from these visitors.

The Thai government is counting on foreign tourists to boost their economy. For Chinese tourists, the Thai government has allowed them to enter without a visa from the end of September until the end of February 2024. Before this, Chinese visitors could get a visa upon arrival, but they had to show travel insurance, hotel reservations, and proof of enough money for a stay of up to 15 days.

Thailand heavily relies on its tourism sector, which makes up almost 20% of the country's GDP. However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges. Chinese tourist arrivals dropped significantly last year, with around 11 million Chinese tourists in 2019 before the pandemic.

The government had hoped for 5 million Chinese tourists this year, but the actual number was much lower, with only about 1.4 million Chinese tourists visiting in the first half of the year. In general, foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand have also declined, with 9.47 million visitors from January to mid-May, compared to 11.15 million for the entire year of 2022.