Thai Prime Minister and Finance Minister Saita recently expressed his views on the development of Thailand's tourism industry and the visa-free policy for Chinese tourists when participating in a forum recently. He believes that tourism is an important pillar of Thailand's economy and can bring a lot of foreign exchange earnings to the country, so it was decided to implement visa-free measures for tourists from China and Kazakhstan during the peak season in 2023 to attract more tourists to Thailand.
Saita said his initial goal is to enable Chinese tourists to generate 35 billion baht in tourism revenue for Thailand through the visa-free policy in the fourth quarter of 2023, not including their shopping spending in Thailand. He said that this is a very favorable policy, which can not only promote the friendly relations between Thailand and China, but also increase Thailand's international influence.
Regarding some people's concerns that the visa-free policy will lead to an influx of gray people from China into Thailand, Saita said that he has communicated with the security department agencies and formulated some response and control measures to ensure that the visa-free policy is only applicable to tourism purposes and will not affect Thailand's *** and social order.
Saita also talked about the current economic situation in Thailand, acknowledging that the Thai economy is still sluggish, and the people are facing problems such as food and clothing, low income, and food, clothing, and freedom. He said that he is working hard to improve the quality of life of the people and improve the competitiveness of the country, and will not wait for all the conditions to be perfect, but will immediately take some effective actions to speed up Thailand's economic recovery.