Staff members welcome Chinese tourists at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 25, 2023. Thailand extended a warm welcome to the first batch of visa-exempt flights from China on Monday, marking the launch of the nation's fresh initiative to reinvigorate its Chinese tourist market. (Photo: Xinhua)

China and Thailand will sign a permanent mutual visa exemption agreement on Friday, said Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, as China's outbound tourism to Southeast Asia is expected to return to the "golden age."

Srettha was quoted by Thai media as saying that, by promoting implementation of the visa-free policy, Thailand, whose GDP is highly dependent on tourism, is about to see domestic tourism market flourish again following the return of Chinese tourists.

Srettha said on Wednesday in a keynote speech delivered at "Thailand 2024 The Great Challenges" that Thailand and China will sign a reciprocal visa exemption program this week. For Thailand's soft power, "the visa exemption program between the two countries is expected to upgrade the Thai passport's power to a higher level," he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference earlier this month that the government departments responsible for the matter are in close communication on the specifics, after Srettha announced that Thailand and China will permanently exempt each other's citizens from visa requirements, starting from March.

The move will further enhance people-to-people exchanges and mutually exempt visas between China and Thailand serves the fundamental interests of both peoples, Wang said.
 
In September, Thailand implemented a five-month visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, which will continue until February 29, 2024. Chinese experts said the upcoming Spring Festival will see a new wave of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries as the expected visa exemption program will help tourism and economic and trade ties.
 
There are also signs that the tourism markets are expanding for both China and Thailand, and China's outbound tourism to Southeast Asia is expected to return to the poast "golden age".

"Between January 8-14, Thailand's inbound tourism performed 'better than expected,' mainly due to the smooth recovery the tourism markets in the region. Meanwhile, among the international tourists Thailand received during the period, Chinese tourists topped the list, increasing by 27.75 percent , compared to the number of 80,000 in the previous week," said Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol.

Thailand beat the target of receiving 28 million foreign tourists in 2023, but the 1.2 trillion baht ($ 56.21 billion in yearly tourism revenue fell short of planned 2.38 trillion baht ($66.89 billion), the ministry said.

On online travel platforms, Thailand is most popular destinations for Chinese tourists traveling overseas during the Spring Festival holidays, according to a report sent by Qunar sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

Tongcheng Travel said that the popular destinations for outbound travel during the coming holidays include Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

The decision to sign an agreement on mutual visa exemption between China and Thailand has huge significance for both sides, especially for Thailand, a country which highly dependent on tourism to boost its economy. It will gain lots of benefits from being the largest tourist destination for Chinese tourists, Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The mutual visa exemption will inject stronger momentum into the close bilateral relationship and accelerate people-to-people exchanges, expand economic cooperation, with a view to building a China-Thailand community with a shared future, said the expert.