Chinese visa waiver sought by Thai government

The Thai cabinet yesterday approved the conditions for Thai visas for visitors from China and Taiwan to be approved on arrival, with the intention for the two countries do the same for Thai travellers

It is now expected that the Thai Foreign Ministry will negotiate the details with China and Taiwan, with the hopes that Thai visitors will now be able to approved a Chinese Visa upon arrival in the country.

Thailand currently offers visas on arrival for visitors from many countries. During the first three months of 2011, 5.3 million foreign tourists visited the Thai kingdom, up 15% from the same period last year. Among the total, 350,000 visitors were Chinese.

Chumpol Silpa-archa. the Tourism and Sports minister, expressed confidence that Thailand would reach its target of attracting 16 million tourists in 2011, compared with 15.8 million last year.

Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Thai-Chinese Alliance Association, said the visa waiver for Chinese tourists would help Thai tourism, and added that Chinese visitors to Thailand outnumbered Thai travellers to China.

The Worldwide Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in Chinese visa and immigration information.