Indian passport holders can now visit Thailand without paying any visa-on-arrival fee. In order to boost its tourism and tourist inflow, Thailand’s government recently approved a measure to waive off visa-on-arrival fee paid by the visitors. India is among 21 countries who are not required to pay the visa fee of 2,000 baht which is equal to Rs 4,385 anymore.
Thailand has experienced a slowdown in visitors from abroad since July, when a boating accident off the coast of the southern tourist island of Phuket claimed the lives of more than 40 Chinese nationals. Visitors from China, which once accounted for 30% of all tourist traffic, have decreased following the incident.
With the trade friction between China and the U.S. putting its exports under a cloud, Thailand is keen to promote the tourism industry, which accounts for more than 10% of the country’s gross domestic product.
The visa fee is waived off for a period between December 1, 2018, and January 31, 2019, for travelers. However, this fee is waived off only for those people who are not planning to stay in Thailand for more than 15 days.
