Thailand’s PM Pushes for Six-Nation Visa for Southeast Asia
Skift Take
Thailand's Prime Minister proposes a six-nation visa to enhance regional tourism, potentially extending visa validity to 90 days, with a target of 80 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2027.
Thailand’s new Prime Minister is leading a push to establish a revolutionary six-nation visa concept that would allow international tourists the ability to travel seamlessly between Thailand and the fellow Southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam. A six-nation visa is seen as a means of making the region more attractive to international long-haul travelers and would likely see the visa validity period extended from the traditional 30-day period adopted in many countries to a longer 90-day period. The six nations in question welcomed a combined 70 million tourists in 2023 but Thailand is targeting 80 million foreign tourist arrivals to its shores alone by 2027.
In the first quarter of 2024, China was the top contributor to Singapore’s visitor arrivals, with 723,900 entries. The tally was up 481% year on year and was at 75.4% of 2019’s pre-pandemic first quarter. The Singapore Tourism Board said the Chinese visitors made up 19% of Singa
