Thai Tourism Minister to seek free visas for Chinese, Indian tourists; floats ‘Eat, Shop, Spend’ scheme for foreigners

[webfact]

Minister to seek free visas for Chinese, Indian tourists; floats ‘Eat, Shop, Spend’ scheme for foreigners

By THE NATION

 

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will propose tourism stimulus measures to the Cabinet on January 31.

 

Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thursday (January 23) that the “top priority measure is to grant free visas to Chinese and Indian tourists, which should help boost tourism in 2020 substantially,” he said. “If the measure doesn’t get approval, we will seek to extend the visa on arrival period to the end of 2020 instead of April 30.”

 

Pipat further added that Thailand needs to act fast regarding the visa privilege or risk losing tourists to neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, which has announced free visas for Chinese and Indian tourists throughout 2020.

 

The free visa measure is expected to increase Indian tourists to 2.5 million from last year’s 1.9 million, while the number of Chinese tourists could exceed 12 million from last year’s 11 million, Pipat added.

 

“Apart from visa measures, the ministry has also come up with several other plans to boost tourism, including a campaign similar to the government’s ‘Eat, Shop, Spend’ scheme but targeted at foreign tourists,” he said.

 

“We will discuss the possibility of handing out cash coupons to foreign tourists visiting Thailand, which should help boost their spending and dampen the effects of the baht appreciation. We expect to use the central budget to fund this project.”

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports estimates revenue from the tourism industry in 2020 to reach Bt3.4 trillion, higher than last year’s Bt3.01 trillion. The number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand is expected to reach 40.5 million to 41 million people and generate income of at least Bt2.1 trillion.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30380998

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-01-24

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[RotBenz8888]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

We will discuss the possibility of handing out cash coupons to foreign tourists visiting Thailand

Reading this, it's obvious that those tourist numbers faked.

[zydeco]

Free quarantine facilities, too?

[unamazedloso]

Malaysia and surrounds are nicer and not so greedy! You guys aint got nothing interesting to sell. See one market and you seen em all. Thai food, massage and even the good ones are now cheaper abroad so no need to be ripped off and have a miserable un safe holiday. People shop online, they travel to unwind. TAT is stuck in the stone age literally.

Free visas to china right now is just plain stupid but i must say why not to everyone? Equality will get the tourists. Nobody likes to feel insignificant.

[Mavideol]

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

The free visa measure is expected to increase Indian tourists to 2.5 million from last year’s 1.9 million, while the number of Chinese tourists could exceed 12 million from last year’s 11 million, Pipat added.

TAT and it's fake numbers.... desperate times call for desperate measures

[lemonjelly]

Try cleaning up the beaches and roadside first, the whole country is drowning in garbage, people don’t want to spend their vacation looking at it.

[spiekerjozef]

‘Eat, Shop, Spend’

 

That sounds like a science-fiction novel.

[HeyHeyHey]

I recommend

 

Spit - Sh!t - Infect

[HeyHeyHey]

Government: Economy is booming!

 

The same Government: We need stimulus to revive economy

 

Government: Tourist numbers are setting new records!

 

The same Government: We need stimulus to increase tourism

[Beggar]

"We will discuss the possibility of handing out cash coupons to foreign tourists visiting Thailand, which should help boost their spending and dampen the effects of the baht appreciation. We expect to use the central budget to fund this project.”

 

Free booze and ladies will finally come? 

[DLock]

39 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

‘Eat, Shop, Spend’

 

That sounds like a science-fiction novel.

 

Sounds like a sequel to a movie starring Julia Roberts.

 

[Creasy]

What happened to that great scheme where you fly to Thailand and throw EDM ? EMD ? (something like that) balls at the turds and used condoms in the klongs and feel environmentally proud ?????

 

[fforest1]

I want my free money NOW...

[thaipod]

That’s crazy, with this virus from China on their doorstep and now trying to bring more in and give free money as well. They would be better using the tax payers money for masks and medication 

 

The

[legend49]

1 hour ago, zydeco said:

Free quarantine facilities, too?

China has now isolated and shut down 10 cities, so no tourist travel for them.

[DrTuner]

Cash coupons eh? So now they need to pay people to come here. Anything for those holy arrival figures.

 

But no worries, just push for more connecting flight to Vietnam from DMK. Each transit from swampy counts as an arrival.

[MaxLee]

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Including free flights from Wuhan.

[Misterwhisper]

Considering that TAT is hitting us with new record arrival numbers almost every week, this all sounds... uhm... rather desperate; almost like an admission that things are not nearly as rosy and swell as they claim.

 

As if we hadn't known.

[alien365]

Rather than handing out vouchers, I'd rather they reduce national park fees and stop dual pricing all over the country.

[IamNoone88]

Marketing 101 - stack it high and sell it cheap ...... such sophistication.

[Krataiboy]

Quantity over quality. No prizes for guessing what this latest TAT brainwave will bring.

[tonysilly]

Free money coupon to what??? 7/11 and Burger King???

[FinChin67]

Maybe they go to visit the locked down cities in China to see if they can free some big spender Chinese to come over...? Should be easy now as they have already sold Thailand to China as a southern most province.

[sahibji]

good way to go. you have to make it user friendly and convenient for tourists.

[CNXexpat]

Free visas for Chinese and Indians? Why not. Then they are on the same level than Europeans, Americans and Australians. I have no problem with it.

[FinChin67]

This is a good read too.

 

What’s really behind Thailand’s hostility to Chinese tourists?
While tales of crass behaviour abound, the true roots of popular revulsion reach into the economics of Chinese tourism and Thailand’s history of immigration
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2058256/whats-really-behind-thailands-hostility-chinese-tourists

[falankuk]

Why to extend it only to Chinese and Indian people? when the most amount of money from tourists comes from western countries, it sounds to me like a form of discrimination against western countries if there is a similar application should be extended to everybody particularly to western countries......

[ericdiam]

How many more times this monkey gone come with same stupid proposal to get more tourists. First a visa doe not even make 1% of your holiday cost. Second he looks only to Chinese and Indians. The Chinese are 90% groups who paid all in China and not spent anything  here. The Indians, are not spenders at all and bargain for everything.

The biggest problem is the strong bath. Bring interest rate down a full 1%. That will help sure a bit. Now Thailand has one of the highest interest rates in Asia. Your economy is suffering, co's are close more and more, unimployement going up day by day.

Put real educated people in government, not stupid generals.

[malibukid]

3 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

Malaysia and surrounds are nicer and not so greedy! You guys aint got nothing interesting to sell. See one market and you seen em all. Thai food, massage and even the good ones are now cheaper abroad so no need to be ripped off and have a miserable un safe holiday. People shop online, they travel to unwind. TAT is stuck in the stone age literally.

Free visas to china right now is just plain stupid but i must say why not to everyone? Equality will get the tourists. Nobody likes to feel insignificant.

Malaysia has better prices on high end electronics and cameras.  they do not impose draconian taxes on imports like Thailand.  they will also deal and they have most models in stock since you have a wealthier middle class.  none of this "you want hear, you pay first"

Edited January 24, 2020 by malibukid