BANGKOK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Mutual visa exemption has boosted the prosperity of the tourism industry between China and Thailand.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Gao Bo, Ren Qian, Lin Hao.
At 0:00 local time on March 1, a tour group of more than 20 people in Thailand departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and headed for Shanghai. This is the first batch of Thai tour groups to China after the Sino-Thai mutual visa exemption agreement officially came into effect.
On March 1, the agreement between China and Thailand on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders came into effect, marking the beginning of the "visa-free era" between China and Thailand. The agreement was signed on January 28 in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. According to the agreement, Chinese ordinary passport holders and Thai ordinary passport holders can enter each other's countries without a visa for a single stay of no more than 30 days, and a cumulative stay of no more than 90 days for every 180 days.
Forty-two-year-old Adizon Sangyalzhang was part of a tour group that went to Shanghai with 11 colleagues. Adison and his colleagues will be traveling in China for five days, and on their first trip to China, Adizon hopes to visit some traditional and interesting Chinese cultural attractions.
Chinese culture is broad and profound, I have always been very interested in Chinese culture, I have long planned to travel to China, and I happened to learn the news of mutual visa exemption between China and Thailand, so I participated in the visa exemption on the first day. Adezon said that after the mutual visa exemption between China and Thailand, it saves time and economic costs, and will make it easier to travel to China.
This is my first trip to China and I am very longing for it. Maybe a second or third time in the future. Adizon said.
Thailand Dongyu International Tourism*** is the travel agency that organized this Chinese delegation. Chen Meijuan, the manager of the company, said that the organization of the Chinese group on the first day of visa-free travel coincided with the peak tourist season in March and April, and China will become a popular tourist destination for Thai people. According to the data available so far, the number of Thai tourists to China this year will increase by 40 to 50 percent compared with last year.
In the past, to apply for a Chinese visa in Thailand, you needed to apply for a Chinese visa three to four weeks in advance, but after the mutual visa exemption, it saved a lot of time and about 2,000 baht (1 US dollar is about 35.) in fees9 baht), which will attract more Thai people to travel to China. Chen Meijuan said that the mutual visa exemption will allow bilateral tourism to increase significantly this year, and hopes that more Chinese tourists will come to Thailand in the future, and more Thai tourists will go to China.
In the view of Wu Mingyang, vice chairman and secretary general of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Chamber of Commerce, Thailand and China complement each other's tourism resources, China is one of the closest ice and snow tourism destinations to Thailand, and the signing of the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Thailand will further attract Thai tourists to travel to China.
Tourism is a pillar industry in Thailand, and Thailand has always been one of the most popular overseas tourist destinations for Chinese tourists. The return of Chinese tourists has boosted confidence in the development of Thailand's tourism industry.
During the Spring Festival holiday just past, there were significantly more Chinese tourists on the streets of Thailand. The frequency of hearing the Chinese language at Bangkok's famous attractions such as the Grand Palace and Wat Arun can make people mistakenly think that they have returned to China.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, from January to February 25 this year, Thailand has received more than 5.98 million foreign tourists, and the total consumption of foreign tourists is about 2,909200 million baht. Among them, more than 1.11 million Chinese tourists ranked first. Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports Sudawan said that this remarkable achievement is mainly due to the signing of the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Thailand, which has greatly boosted tourists' confidence in travel.
Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects to attract about 8 million Chinese tourists to Thailand in 2024, bringing in about 320 billion baht in consumer revenue. With the implementation of the visa-free policy and the continuous upgrading of Thailand's tourism industry, it is expected that more Chinese tourists will choose Thailand as their tourist destination, further promoting the prosperity of Thailand's tourism industry.