BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): The introduction of visa-free travel for Chinese tourists is unlikely to be very effective because of the current economic slowdown in China, the Private Hospital Association Thailand president Chalerm Harnphanich said on Thursday (Sept 14).
He made the remark after the cabinet on Wednesday approved a tourism stimulus measure that offers visa-free travel for tourists from China and Kazakhstan from Sept 25 to Feb 29.
This measure aims to stimulate arrivals during the Chinese National Day and Chinese New Year holidays. For its part, Kazakhstan is considered a top-quality market which could help boost foreign arrivals.
However, Chalerm said this measure would not be very effective, claiming that only 2.2 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in the first half of this year compared to more than 10 million in 2019.
He pointed out that China’s GDP had dropped sharply due to the real-estate crisis and other factors, causing Chinese people to save money and reduce their overseas travel.
Most of the 22 million foreign tourists who visited Thailand in the first half this year came from Malaysia, followed by other Asean countries.
He also expressed the view that there is no hope for medical tourism, which accounts for 6-8% of foreign arrivals because the government is focusing on quality tourism.
If Thailand wants to promote medical tourism, the government should do so as soon as possible and in parallel with developing medical staff, infrastructure and devices, he said.
He added that the government should promote the production of generic drugs to lower medical treatment costs.
