TAT upbeat about projected 220,000 arrivals by Kazakhstani tourists
Some 220,000 Kazakhstani tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year. You can thank the free entry visa policy, the tourism minister says, while the Tourism Authority of Thailand is very pleased.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said the six-month extension of a free entry visa for Kazakhstani tourists will boost arrivals from the country.
Sudawan was speaking to reporters while in Almaty to attend a Friends of Thailand Networking Day event held by the TAT in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry and strategic partners in the public and private sectors on February 23.
She said the free entry visa policy would boost arrivals from 172,489 Kazakhstani tourists last year to 220,000 in 2024.
Studying the figures from January 1 to February 15, the ministry found that 45,214 Kazakhstani tourists have already visited Thailand, an increase of 14% from the same period last year.
The Cabinet approved exempting the entry visa for Kazakhstani tourists from September 25 last year through February 29 this year. On February 20, the Cabinet extended the visa exemption for an additional six months from March 1 to August 31.
But the Foreign Ministry wants to go a step beyond the temporary visa exemption.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said he would sign a mutual visa-free agreement with his Kazakhstani counterparty, Murat Nurtleu, in April of this year when the Kazakhstani foreign minister visits Thailand as a state guest.
Sudawan added that the TAT and her ministry also spoke with Air Astana executives about increasing flight frequency to Thailand during the low season.
TAT deputy governor Siripakorn Chiewsamut said Air Astana offered 18 flights per week to Thailand during the winter season (the high tourism season of Thailand), consisting of 11 flights from Almaty to Phuket, and 7 flights from Almaty to Bangkok.
Siripakorn added that Sunday Airlines also provides chartered flights to Thailand during the winter season – seven flights from Almaty to Phuket per week, six flights from Astana to Phuket per week, and 12 more flights per month from two other cities to Phuket.
Earlier, the Really Cool Airlines had announced it would open an Almaty-Bangkok route in the third quarter of this year while
Thai AirAsia also announced it would also open flights from Almaty to Bangkok within this year.
