Waiver of visa-on-arrival fees to boost Chinese New Year tourism

The exemption of fees for visa on arrival is expected to draw more Chinese tourists to Thailand during the Lunar New Year festive season. 

The government has approved the extension of the visa-on-arrival fee waiver for citizens of 20 countries until April 30, 2019, as a measure to stimulate and promote tourism, as well as enhancing Thailand’s attractiveness among foreign visitors during the high travel season.

Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Yuthasak Supasorn, said that the continuation of the visa-on-arrival stimulus measure came at a perfect time as Thailand is set to celebrate Chinese New Year in February and Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, in April.

Chinese New Year celebrations are huge in Thailand, and this year will mark the 15th anniversary of cooperation between the TAT, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Embassy in organizing annual Lunar New Year festivities in Thailand. Chinese New Year 2019 falls on Tuesday, February 5.

As for the traditional Thai New Year, he said the TAT will continue its strategy to promote Thai traditions and cultural values, the core part of almost all traditional events and festivals in Thailand. It will provide support for the organizing of Songkran celebrations in various destinations throughout the kingdom.

The 20 countries eligible for the visa-on-arrival fee waiver include Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China including Taiwan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Citizens of these countries will be exempted from the 2,000-baht visa-on-arrival fee for the purpose of touring in Thailand for no longer than 15 days.

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