Will landing visa, Thailand be extended for free?

Before the Spring Festival in 2020, visa applications in Thailand were hot, but the sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus stopped many China citizens who planned to travel to Thailand. According to statistics, from February/KLOC-0 to February 9, the number of international tourists entering Thailand decreased by 43.4% compared with the same period of last year, while the number of tourists from China decreased by 86.6%. It is estimated that 90% of China tourists will be lost in February.

It can be said that the epidemic has dealt a great blow to Thailand's tourism industry. At the same time, due to the epidemic, Thailand's landing visa policy of exempting China from visa fees of 2,000 baht (about RMB) has hardly worked, and will expire on April 30th this year. Therefore, in order to attract tourists from China after the outbreak, some Thai officials suggested extending the visa-free measures for China citizens.

It can be predicted that the epidemic situation in China will be basically controlled in April, when it will be May Day and Dragon Boat Festival holidays. If Thailand extends visa-free landing measures to cover May Day, Dragon Boat Festival and summer vacation, it will undoubtedly encourage people to travel to Thailand after the epidemic, and I believe that visa processing in Thailand will reach a climax by then.

It is worth noting that since the outbreak of the epidemic, Thailand has not announced a ban, and direct flights have been maintained between China and Thailand. The Thai government also exempted all China citizens stranded by the epidemic from fines. From February 10, the Thailand Visa Center was reopened to facilitate people who want to go to Thailand to apply for visas. /zd/xx