Visa policy waiver boosts searches for Thailand and China-related keywords
The recent waiver of travel visas for each other’s citizens by Thailand and China has resulted in a sharp increase in search of keywords related to Thailand and China, multinational travel service conglomerate Trip.com Group said.
Thailand and China have permanently waived visa requirements for both Thai and Chinese citizens with effect from March 1.
Senior director for Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, Jessadaphan Chantakhan, said the search volume of Thailand-related keywords on the company's Chinese platform rose by more than 90% after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin made the statement on Tuesday.
"Search volume for flights from Shanghai and Beijing to Bangkok surged by more than 40%," he said.
Meanwhile, search volume of China-related keywords in the company's Thai platform rose more than 80% an hour after the news was published.
Destinations in China, such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Kunming were popular among Thai users.
Trip.com Group also believes that this policy benefits tourism between Thailand and China as it helps facilitate the travel process.
"We are looking forward to the day when the Thailand-China visa policy waiver comes into effect in March this year," Jessadaphan added.
