With over 11 million international visitors, including 1 million Indians, to Thailand in the year 2022, the country is now seeking to keep the momentum growing with introduction of longer stay visas.

Thailand has staged a smart recovery in receiving international tourists in 2022, with over 11 million overseas visitors, including 1 million Indians, travelling to the South East Asian destination last year. This was announced by Pattarat Hongtong, Ambassador of Thailand to India, at a media meet held at the Ambassador’s Residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Hongtong said that India became the second largest source market for Thailand in 2022, while Malaysia topped the list of source markets and Singapore followed India in the third place. Hongtong expressed confidence about the pace of recovery in the Indian market accelerating.  “We hope that the number of Indian tourists could return to 1.4 million this year,’’ Hongtong told the media gathering.

She also briefed the media about the recent developments in rules for travel to Thailand and to update the Indian travel media on current protocols for foreign tourists looking to visit Thailand. She was joined by Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in New Delhi.

Hongtong said the India and Thailand enjoyed excellent bilateral relations and that tourism enjoyed a special place therein. “The bilateral relations between Thailand and India have steadily grown, with increasing numbers of exchanges of high-level visits and meetings, as well as bilateral trade reaching a new record at USD 17.7 billion in 2022,’’ Hongtong said.

“Tourism industry is a major contributor to the country’s economy, roughly 18 pc of total GDP of Thailand. Related businesses and employment such as hotel and accommodation, transportation service and restaurants benefit from this sector,’’ she added.

The ambassador said that from October 1, 2022, Thailand lifted all Covid-19 related measures and continues to welcome all international tourists under the fully-reopen-to-tourism policy that was introduced since then.

She added that from January 9 Thailand has implemented new public health measures. “Travellers from the listed countries requiring negative RT-PCR test results before departing Thailand should have health insurance covering at least USD 10,000 for Covid-19 treatment that covers the duration of stay in Thailand and 7 additional days. This is to ensure that the departing passengers who have positive RT-PCR results and cannot travel to the particular countries, including India, will be covered financially if being hospitalised in Thailand,’’ she said.

However, she also sought to reassure the travellers saying that Covid-19 situation in Thailand since October 2022 is stable with few cases. People continue to practice good hygiene and travel and hospitality businesses in Thailand continue to follow the guidelines and standard of “Safety and Health Administration” or SHA certification.

“The Thai government together with TAT and related private sectors still give their full attention on the Covid-19 prevention measures. If you travel to Thailand, you can see that a majority of Thai people still wears masks. Public areas like shopping malls still follows the public heath recommendation. Tourism-related business especially hotels and airlines give their attention to hygiene, so Thailand is very confident that the Covid-19 is well under control,’’ Hongtong said.

In a move aimed to increasing its tourism receipts, Thailand has begun offering offering a longer period of stay for visitors. Effective upto March 31, 2023, the period of stay is extended to 45 days (from 30 days) for tourists from countries/territories entitled for visa exemption, and to 30 days (from 15 days) for those eligible for a Visa on Arrival (VOA).