Staff members welcome Chinese tourists at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 25, 2023. (Photo: Xinhua)

China and Thailand are in close communication on mutual visa exemptions, China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The move is expected to have a positive impact on tourism and economic and trade ties, and it is seen as a significant step in strengthening the bilateral relationship, promoting people-to-people exchanges, and expanding economic cooperation, experts said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that to further enhance people-to-people exchanges and mutually exempt visas between China and Thailand serves the fundamental interests of both peoples. The government departments responsible for the matter are in close communication on the specifics, Wang told a press conference on Tuesday. 

"We look forward to the early implementation of the arrangement," Wang said.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced on Tuesday that Thailand and China will permanently exempt each other's citizens from visa requirements, starting from March, China Media Group reported.

Thailand implemented in September 2023 a five-month visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, which will continue until February 29, 2024.

China's online searches for tourism in Thailand surged shortly after the implementation of the visa-free policy, which will have a positive effect on bilateral travel and economic and trade ties, experts said.

According to data domestic travel platform Mafengwo.com sent to the Global Times on Tuesday, searches for the keyword "Bangkok" surged by 200 percent as of Tuesday noon.

Another travel agency, U-tour, told the Global Times that the visa-free policy will help the Thai tourism market recover quickly, and the number of travelers is likely to significantly increase during the Chinese New Year in February.

Trip.com told the Global Times that the search volume for Thailand as a keyword had increased by more than 90 percent within one hour of the announcement of the mutual visa exemptions. The search for China as a keyword on Thai travel websites increased by more than 80 percent, with cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Kunming showing strong popularity.

A permanent mutual visa exemption agreement will have a positive and far-reaching impact on cultural exchanges and the development of the tourism industry between the two countries, Qin Jing, general manager of the Public Affairs Department at Trip.com, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"It will greatly improve the convenience of businesses, exhibitions and tourism for people from both countries, and it will also drive significant growth in China's inbound tourism market in 2024," Qin said.

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the mutual visa exemption will inject stronger momentum into the close bilateral relationship and accelerate people-to-people exchanges.

The tourism industry is a major source of income for Thailand, and China has always been one of Thailand's most important source markets. 

According to Trip.com, during the New Year's Day holidays, Thailand ranked among the top three most popular destinations for Chinese outbound tourists. Bookings by Chinese tourists for Thailand from now until the Chinese New Year have increased by more than 10 times compared with 2023.

In 2023, the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand exceeded 27 million, with Chinese tourists reaching 2.7 million, ranking second after Malaysia, Thai media outlet The Nation reported.

It also reflects strengthened political trust and an improved business environment between China and Thailand, laying a solid foundation for deepening and expanding economic cooperation and promoting thriving bilateral trade, Xu said. 

In 2022, bilateral trade stood at $135 billion, up 3 percent from the previous year, with China being Thailand's largest trading partner.

Around 214,000 people from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia entered China in December 2023, an increase of 28.5 percent compared with November, according to the National Immigration Administration. 

China's unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from these countries took effect on December 1, facilitating inbound travel from those places, the Xinhua News Agency reported