Thai Tourism Minister is upbeat with the measures to woo back Chinese tourists in the high-season after a significant decline since the tragic boat accident in July.

Weerasak Kowsurat, Minister of Tourism and Sports, chaired a meeting of tourism related agencies on Friday to brainstorm on the current promotion schemes and tourism industry outlook.

Key measure to stimulate Chinese tourist arrivals was Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Passport Privileges from November 15 until January 15, 2019, said Weerasak. Additional VAT refund counters several location were opened to facilitate convenient refund for tourists, he said.

The government has also doubled entry permit of a single-entry visa holders within six months, at the fee of Bt1,000 baht.  Foreign tourists are given re-entry permit if they leave Thailand to visit neighboring countries; they can return to Thailand without another permit.

Besides these measures, Thailand had steadily improved safety measures for tourists and introduces new services to facilitate their traveling in the kingdom, Weerasak said.

He expressed confidence that Thailand’s tourism revenue will reach the target of Bt3 trillion this year.

Thailand has been a hugely popular destination among Chinese tourists, accounting for more than 30% of tourism revenues.  But the boat tragedy in Phuket which killed more than 40 Chinese, the number of tourists from China has dropped significantly.

Source: TNA