Staff members welcome Chinese tourists at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
BANGKOK, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand will emphasize high-standard services such as convenient entry, comfortable hotels as well as delicious cuisine to attract tourists, especially tourists from China, said Nithee Seeprae, deputy governor for marketing communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Thailand Tourism Forum 2024 was held in Bangkok on Monday, with scholars and business leaders gathering at this event and sharing their opinions about promoting Thailand's tourism industry.
"Tourism plays a crucial role in Thailand's economy, and China has always been one of the largest source markets for Thailand," Nithee told Xinhua.
Nithee noted that one of the obstacles that tourists face is the process of obtaining a visa, so the visa exemption will be a better way to further increase the attractiveness of Thailand and boost the country's economy.
Thailand had previously granted temporary visa waiver status for visitors from China, which was set to end on Feb. 29, 2024. A new decision has been made by the Thai government that the country will permanently waive visa requirements for Chinese citizens starting March 1.
In addition to easing travel requirements, localized experiences, exotic culture as well as food and beverage are always the main factors for creating elevated lifestyle experiences in Thailand, said Nithee.
Thailand welcomed 28 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2013, including 4.56 million visitors from Malaysia and 3.51 million from China, the two largest source markets, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
The Southeast Asian country is targeting 8 million tourists from China this year, a recovery of 75 percent compared to 11.1 million Chinese tourists in pre-pandemic 2019.
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