Thai cabinet okays visa waiver for Chinese and Taiwanese tourists

Apr 20, 2011, 8:07 GMT

Bangkok - The Thai cabinet on Wednesday approved in principle the granting of visas on arrival to Chinese and Taiwanese as part of an effort to attract more visitors to the kingdom.

Tourism Minister Chumporn Silipa-archa said the visa waiver would be put in effect once China and Taiwan agreed to allow Thai tourists a similar privilege.

Thailand currently provides visas on arrival for tourists from the North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, South-East Asia and certain countries in South America and the Middle East.

Tourism is one of Thailand's leading foreign exchange earners and a major source of employment.

During the first three months of this year, some 5.3 million foreign tourists visited Thailand, up 15 per cent from the same period in 2010.

Chumporn expressed confidence that Thailand will reach its target of attracting 16 million tourists in 2011, compared with 15.8 million last year.

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