Thailand’s government has decided to grant Russian visitors a 60-day visa-free policy, which is expected to enter into force on May 1 until July 31, 2024.
This agreement will replace the current policy, which allows Russian citizens to enter Thailand for stays up to 90 days, starting from November 1, 2023, until April 30, 2024, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to a report by the Bangkok Post newspaper, the government spokesman, Chai Wacharonke, said that this measure aims to boost tourism-related income and encourage the economy.
In addition to this announcement, Wacharonke also revealed that Thailand has introduced a 30-day visa-free scheme for Bangladeshi officials.
Thai Locals Accused Russians of Illegally Working & Running Businesses
Prior to this decision, Thai locals raised concerns on social media about the behavior of Russian citizens. More specifically, they accused Russians of taking their jobs by illegally working and running businesses, as reported by Thaiger.
The Thai newspaper also noted that several crimes allegedly committed by Russians have been reported in Thai news.
In addition to Russia, the Thai government has recently changed its visa policies for some other countries in an effort to drive tourism and trade growth.
As of April 23, citizens of Thailand and Kazakhstan have been able to enter each other’s countries for stays for up to 30 days under a mutual agreement signed between the two countries on April 18, 2024.
In addition, a similar policy for citizens of Thailand and China has been in force since March 2024. Reportedly, the permanent visa waiver resulted in increased bookings between the two countries.
Furthermore, local media recently reported that Thailand is proposing a Schengen-style visa with five other neighboring countries – Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Over 620,000 Russian Visited Thailand in Q1 of 2024
About 9.4 million foreign tourists visited Thailand between January and March 2024, as revealed recently by the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Russians emerged third among international tourists, with 622,813 people visiting Thailand during the first quarter of 2024.
In general, the five top foreign countries that contributed to the highest number of visitors during this period in Thailand were China (1.7 million), Malaysia (1,2 million), Russia (622,813), South Korea (558,873) and India (472,952).
As earlier reported, the Thai government aims to attract 35 to 40 million international visitors this year and generate 1.8 trillion baht ($49 billion) in revenue.