Thailand simplifies visa process to attract more inbound tourists

On Friday, Thailand announced the simplifying of the visa application process to boost inbound tourism, as "the country of smile" is likely to miss its goal of having 25 million overseas travelers this year, with visits from Chinese tourists so far less than expected.

The simplified list of documents for Thai tourist visa now includes a passport copy, a recent photograph, a flight booking confirmation, proof of accommodation, a document indicating current residency and financial proof, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A detailed travel plan in Thailand is no longer needed under the new requirement. Compared with the previous requirement, it is now unnecessary to copy all pages of the passport and the saving amount for financial proof has also been lowered.

Moreover, processing time for the streamlined application has also been reduced from 14 working days to seven, Kanchana Patarachoke, Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson, introduced at a press conference on Friday.

"We are looking forward to more international tourists coming to Thailand, especially travelers from China, which is important to Thailand's tourism industry," said the Director-General of the Department of Information.

The E-visa will gradually replace the normal paper visa system to international travelers worldwide, according to Naruchai Ninnad, Deputy Director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs.

"Applicants can upload documents online and our officials will do the verification work. If there is any suspicious applications related to forged or unauthentic documents, we will ask the applicant to provide more information or do an in-person interview," he added.

Naruchai also revealed that the MFA, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, are currently in the process of establishing a system to link the data to verify supporting documents for visa applications.

He said the system is expected to further accelerate the verification process and the visa processing time.

Thailand welcomed 15.89 million tourist arrivals from January to early August, earning over 663 billion baht ($18.92 billion) in revenue from foreign visitors, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.