Thailand is leading a joint visa program with five other countries that may collectively welcome about 70 million tourists in 2023. The initiative is according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s efforts to draw more long-haul, big-spending tourists.
Minister Srettha has discussed the concept of a Schengen-style visa with leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam in recent months, and most leaders from these countries have welcomed the concept. The aim of the initiative is to make sure smooth travel between the six countries.
Official figures show that six Southeast Asian countries recorded 70 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2023. Thailand and Malaysia together accounted for greater than half of that number, with combined tourism revenue of about $48 billion.
The single-entry visa concept is one in every of several tourism initiatives promoted by Minister Srettha, which, while long-term in nature, stays essentially the most ambitious. The tourism industry has made a big contribution to the country, providing around 20% of total employment and contributing around 12% to the country’s $500 billion economy.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the tourism sector continues to grow dynamically and provides a buffer against the decline in production and exports, that are traditionally the pillars of the economy.
Under Minister Srettha’s leadership, the Thai government has set itself the goal of attracting 80 million tourists by 2027. In the seven months since taking office, it has also signed reciprocal visa-waiver agreements with China, Thailand’s largest tourism market, and has also offered temporary visa-free travel to tourists from India, Taiwan and Kazakhstan.
They are also considering plans to open casinos in large entertainment complexes and give attention to event-based tourism, which should help increase state revenues.
However, implementing a Schengen-style visa might be difficult, given ASEAN’s limited capability to create multilateral policy frameworks and its popularity as a platform for dialogue. In a standard visa regime, approvals should be synchronized, but different immigration criteria amongst participating countries can complicate matters, unlike the situation within the European Union with more uniform standards. ASEAN is seen as a fragmented group with a history of poor immigration practices, which increases the complexity of implementing a standard visa regime.
Source:Bloomberg
