简体中文
By APD writer Alice
Thailand’s tourism officials on February 14 proposed visa-free entry for Chinese citizens to revive tourism, after the Bank of Thailand (BoT) forecast that the Thai economic growth will drop to below 2 percent due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Local media quoted Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn as saying that the number of international tourist arrivals from February 1 – 9 fell by 43.4 percent year-on-year to around 730,000 as the number of Chinese visitors plunged 86.6 percent.
The number of Chinese arrivals is predicted to fall by 90 percent in February, he said. But if the outbreak is effectively controlled and the Chinese government lifts its travel ban before the end of March, it is greatly possible that tourists from mainland China will return during the Songkran Festival in April.
Based on that scenario, the number of inbound Chinese tourists could reach as high as 1.4 – 1.5 million a month from June to July, up from an average of 900,000 a month.
He said his ministry plans to submit the visa-free policy to the cabinet in April, as the exemption for visa-on-arrival (VOA) fees will end on April 30.
Thailand is intending to extend the Songkran New Year holiday by two days to nine days from April 13-19 in order to stimulate the economy. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said he was prepared to propose the idea to the Cabinet since people will have to return to their hometowns and travel, thus boosting tourism and economic development.
The country is also considering adding special holidays in the first and second quarters of the year to encourage their people to travel domestically.
In the past five years, tourism and related industries accounted for 20% of Thailand's GDP. Last year, the Southeast Asian nation welcomed 39.8 million foreign visitors, of which nearly 11 million were from China. Expenditure by foreign tourists in Thailand accounted for 11% of GDP in 2019. Chinese visitors spent about $18 billion, accounting for one-third of total foreign tourist spending in Thailand last year.
Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports estimates that COVID-19 will result in a decrease of 5 million foreign visitors to Thailand this year, causing a loss of 250 billion baht (over $8 billion), or 1.5% of GDP.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
