ATTA: Visa fee exemption positive

Association of Thai Travel Agents says the National Council for Peace and Order policy to cut the visa fee for Chinese and Taiwanese during 1 August to 31 October should benefit tourism.
ATTA president, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, said the measure sends a positive message of welcome that is far more significant than the actual saving in travel costs.
It will save a Chinese traveller THB1,000, the non-refundable fee to process a visa.
“The money is not a big deal, but Chinese travellers will feel Thailand is prioritising them. This waiver sends a strong message that should benefit Thai tourism operators.”
The president added that tour operators wanted to know more details about the waiver so they could design their tourism products accordingly.
“We are waiting to see what will happen after the waiver policy take effect,” he said, hoping that the policy will encourage Chinese to regain confidence and book travel to Thailand.
“We are already seeing a recovery in the Chinese market, but it is still quite slow and has not reached full speed.”
Although Chinese FITs and businessmen are still visiting Thailand, group tours suffered big cuts the president cited.
The waiver will run during the low season, but will cover China’s Gloden Week of 1 to 7 October as well as school holidays.
During the first six months of the year, Chinese travel through member companies recorded 340,244 trips, decreasing 57.48% from 800,215 visits during the same period last year.
ATTA’s figures represent tourists who have bought a travel package in advance and use travel agency services to tour the country.
China is among the top five markets that saw drastic declines in booking since the political chaos caused the military to take control. Trips from Hong Kong were down 87.51%, Vietnam -81.45%, Taiwan -69.31% and Japan -65.88%.
Despite the drop, the association estimates that Chinese arrivals to Thailand could reach 4 million by year end. Last year, the kingdom welcomed 4.7 million Chinese tourists, according to Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data.

Sourced: ttrweekly