Good news for travelers! Thailand extends 'Visa on Arrival' fee waiver for Indians

In a bid to boost to Indian tourists and Thailand tourism, the government of Thailand has announced extension of the 'Visa on Arrival' fee waiver from January 31 to April 30 this year. The fee costs 2,000 Baht or Rs 4,385 for every Indian tourist to get Visa on Arrival in Thailand. The exemption was announced earlier to attract traction to make Thailand Tourism Forum 2019 aka TTF 2019 — taking place from January 23 to January 27 in Lumphini Park — a grand success. Apart from India the waiver was announced for twenty more countries too. Under this waiver, tourists from India and twenty other countries named in this announcement will be able to stay in Thailand for 15 days under the free Visa on Arrival terms.

Thai officials quoted by the Bangkok Post — a leading daily of Thailand — claimed that the VOA fee waiver would increase tourists arrival in the country by "at least 30 per cent." Twenty countries other than India that have been named in this VOA waiver are as follows: Andorra, Bhutan, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The Thailand Authority of Tourism (TAT) is organising TTF 2019 to boost the tourism in Thailand. The event will be organised from January 23 to January 27. Keeping this TTF 2019 in mind the government of Thailand had earlier announced to waive VOA fee in November 2018 for two months from December 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019. In the last three ended quarters Thailand has registered huge decline in arrival of tourists from China and TAT officials are expecting to control this decline in Chinese tourist footfall in this TTF.