00:00 Planning to visit Thailand?
00:07 Well, this is the best time.
00:10 With peak tourism season almost here, Thailand tourism has good news for Indian tourists.
00:16 The Thailand government has decided to waive visa requirements for arrivals from India
00:21 and Taiwan from next month to May 2024, a government official said on October 31.
00:28 Thailand had previously scrapped visa requirements for Chinese tourists in September, targeting
00:33 the country's top pre-pandemic tourism market, which saw 11 million arrivals in 2019, out
00:40 of a record 39 million in that year.
00:43 From January to 29 October, Thailand received 22 million visitors, contributing 927.5 billion
00:51 baht, approximately $25.67 billion, to the economy, according to government data.
00:58 The waiver of visa requirements for Indian and Taiwanese tourists aims to bolster the
01:02 tourism sector and further stimulate the economy.
01:06 As per spokesperson Chai Vachirongkhe, arrivals from India and Taiwan can enter Thailand for
01:12 30 days.
01:13 India has become Thailand's fourth-largest source market for tourism in the current year
01:18 following Malaysia, China and South Korea.
01:20 With approximately 1.2 million arrivals, inbound tourism from India has shown promising growth
01:25 thanks to increased efforts by airlines and hospitality chains to cater to Indian travellers.
01:31 Thailand is targeting around 28 million tourist arrivals for the current year, with the government
01:36 relying on the travel sector to counterbalance sluggish exports that have been affecting
01:40 economic growth.
01:41 The visa waiver for Indian and Taiwanese tourists is expected to play a significant role in
01:45 achieving this target and boosting Thailand's tourism industry.
01:50 This comes after Sri Lanka on October 24 waived visa fees for Indians and tourists from six
01:55 other countries as part of its efforts to boost tourist arrivals and help rebuild the
02:00 island nation's battered economy following last year's financial crash.
02:05 India has remained Sri Lanka's top source market for many years.
02:08 This year, over 2 lakh Indian tourists, constituting 20 per cent of the total tourist arrivals,
02:13 have visited the island nation until September.
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