According to details published in an article of the National News Bureau of Thailand, tourists from mainland Europe, the UK, the US, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, including Vietnam, will now only be granted a 30-day stay in Thailand if they choose to enter without obtaining a prior visa.
The TAT says visa-exempt visitors will still have the option to extend their stay once for an additional 30 days if they go through immigration, thereby allowing them to travel around Thailand for a maximum of 60 days.
Guests arriving from visa-exempt countries will also have another option to obtain a 30-day extension by briefly leaving and re-entering the country. However, land border crossings can only happen twice per calendar year.
Moreover, the visa-on-arrival period, which had been extended from 15 to 30 days, has now been reverted back to 15 days for visitors from countries eligible for visas on arrival.
Currently, Vietnamese tourists are able to fly directly from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, and Nha Trang to Thai destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.
This year has seen the total number of direct flights between the two countries each week reach about 285, equivalent to 53,000 seats, an increase of about 24% compared to 2019.
Some local tour operators say Thailand is Vietnam's most important outbound tourism market.
Source: VOV