Thailand plans to reduce the number of days foreign tourists can stay without a visa from 60 to 30 days as part of efforts to address the growing issue of tourists engaging in illegal businesses.
Since July 2024, Thailand has allowed passport holders from 93 countries to stay for up to 60 days without a visa. The proposed reduction to 30 days has reportedly been agreed upon by multiple ministries, as confirmed by various Thai media outlets on Monday.
The Association of Thai Travel Agents has raised concerns about the increasing number of foreigners involved in illegal work or businesses in the country. The Thai Hotels Association also pointed out that the long visa-free stay could be contributing to the rise in illegal rentals of condominiums to foreign guests.
While the policy change could negatively impact tourism demand by a small margin, analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence have suggested that it may affect up to 7% of total bookings for stays of 22 nights or longer, based on data from ForwardKeys.
Tourism continues to be a vital sector for Thailand’s economy, which is the second-largest in Southeast Asia. The government aims to welcome over 40 million foreign tourists this year, breaking the record set in 2019. As of March 16, Thailand has received 8.3 million foreign tourists, a 3.9% increase compared to last year.
