Thailand plans to cut tourists’ visa-free stays to 30 days

[BANGKOK] Thailand plans to halve the number of days it allows foreign tourists to stay without visas to 30 days as the South-east Asian nation cracks down on travellers exploiting the waiver to engage in illegal businesses, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong.

Since July 2024, Thailand has allowed passport holders from 93 countries to enter the country for tourism for a period not exceeding 60 days. The reduction to 30 days has been agreed in principle by various ministries, various Thai media outlets reported on Monday (Mar 17), citing Surawong.

The Association of Thai Travel Agents had expressed concerns over the growing number of foreigners illegally working or doing business in the country, while the Thai Hotels Association said the long visa-free period may be partly to blame for the increase in condominium units being illegally rented out to foreign guests, the Bangkok Post reported.

The move to shorten the stay could have a low-single-digit negative impact on overall inbound tourism demand, with data from ForwardKeys suggesting as much as 7 per cent of total bookings to Thailand over January-to-February period were for stays of 22 nights or more, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Zhu and George Ferguson.

“The potential policy move adds to a growing list of factors weighing on the sector into 2Q, along with Chinese tourists’ security concerns and tighter travel budgets among North American and European travellers,” the analysts said in a report on Tuesday.

Tourism remains a key driver of Thailand’s lacklustre economy, which is the second-largest in the region. The government is targeting foreign tourist arrivals to top 40 million this year, which would break a record set in 2019. Between January and Mar 16, Thailand has welcomed 8.3 million foreign tourists, up 3.9 per cent on the year. BLOOMBERG