Free visas from Chinese travellers

BANGKOK A rule that waives visa fees for Chinese and Taiwanese tourists is now effective for three months ending 8 November.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website that National Council for Peace and Order chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha and Ministry of Interior permanent secretary Wiboon Sanguanpong signed the agreement, 7 August, to approve a visa fee exemption for holders of Chinese and Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) passports when visiting Thailand for the purpose of tourism for three months.
The short-term waiver was approved last week by Thailand’s ruling NCPO as part of a package of measures to revive Thai tourism. The waiver has passed all the stages of regulatory approval through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and has been published in the Royal Gazette.
It saves Chinese and Taiwanese tourists THB1,000.
The exemption will apply only to tourist visas and not other categories such as business visits or for study. Visa applications are presented at Thai diplomatic missions , or at the visa-on-arrival desk at international checkpoints.
The ministry stressed that the waiving fee for visa is not a visa exemption. A traveller hloding a Chinese or Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) passport still needs to obtain a visa.
See the ministry’s statement (only Thai version) at http://www.mfa.go.th/main/th/home.
From both mainland China and Chinese Taipei, Thailand is considered a short-haul and a high value-for-money destination with good airline connections and a range of accommodation and tour products.
Last year, Thailand welcomed 4,705,173 Chinese tourists an increasing of 68.83% from 2,786,860, while Taiwanese recorded 503,157 visits growing 27.63% from 394,225 visits in 2012, according to Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data.
This year, arrivals from these two markets are likely to close around 20% to 25% off last year’s performance, with or without visa fee exemptions, due to heavy declines since arrivals over the first six months that cannot be recovered even though the last quarter should be positive.

sourced:ttrweekly.com