Dubai, August 22: Saudi and Indian nationals in the UAE and in the Middle East will benefit from the extension of the visa fee waiver by Thailand. The visa fee waiver deadline has been extended to March 4, 2010.
Pramoth Supyen, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Dubai and Middle East Office, told Khaleej Times that Saudi nationals and Indian nationals, who need visa to travel to Thailand, can benefit most from the visa fee waiving grant.
In 2008, 89,851 tourists from the UAE, including UAE nationals (who do not need visa to travel to Thailand) and other residents, visited Thailand; followed by tourists from Kuwait (28,967), Saudi (13,469) and Egypt (12,885) . Tourists of other nations combined totalled 104,512.
“The Middle East is home to a mix of many nationalities. While the nationals of other Gulf nations do not require visas to tour Thailand, we hope the visa fee waiver will encourage many other nationals — such as Indian passport holders residing in the region and Saudi nationals — to consider Thailand as a great value for money destination for their next holiday,” Supyen said.
This expectation was based on the fact that Middle East visitors arriving at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand posted an increase of 21.9 per cent during the first five months of 2009 compared to the same period last year.
Overall, 249,684 Middle East tourists visited Thailand in 2008, a 10.05 per cent increase over 2007. Of this, Saudi nationals totalled 13,469, or 0.13 per cent, of total international tourist arrivals. This figure showed a decline of 32.04 per cent compared to the 2007 figure. The TAT director hoped that this figure will increase with the visa fee waiver, coupled with other recent measures such as a reduction in landing charges for aircraft and reduced entry fees for national parks.
“On 1 June, the “Package Tour for Transfer Passengers” initiative was introduced. Transfer passengers making a stopover of 6 to 12 hours at Suvarnabhumi International Airport can take short tours of Bangkok and the surrounding area. A 72-hour travel programme guide book to several provinces, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya, is also available.
The most recent programme guide book in the series is 72 hours in Hua Hin.”
The visa fee exemption, however, will apply to all applicants for visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible.
Thailand presently gives a visa on arrival for citizens of 20 countries, including Saudi Arabia and India, for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Additionally, citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days, including nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Those who wish to stay longer than those periods have to apply for visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in Thailand.
–Agencies