US Maintains Top Position in Global Travel & Tourism Sector With Record $2.36 Trillion Contribution

Thailand is launching its e-visa system, which will be available for international applicants starting on January 1, 2025. 

The system will be implemented across 94 Thai embassies across the world and aims to improve security and reduce administrative work for applicants, VisaGuide.World reports. 

In addition, by implementing this system, the country will attract more tourists, as this industry is e a key contributor to the Thai economy. 

The THAI E-VISA system represents an upgrade to Thailand’s visa process, making it more modern and efficient. E-Visa enhances services and facilitates foreign nationals wishing to obtain a visa to enter the Kingdom of Thailand. 

E-Visa System to Boost Tourism in Thailand Significantly

The Thai government has implemented the e-visa system in an effort to stand out as a tourism destination, considering that the country’s goal for tourist arrivals in 2025 is set at 40 million.

The efforts have increased especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the industry tremendously. Before the pandemic, Thailand welcomed 39 million visitors, and the goal to welcome 40 million tourists could have been achieved in 2020. In 2024, the government believes that 36 million tourists will be visiting the country. 

For Thailand, it would be a psychological milestone to surpass 40 million visitors as it would almost certainly have done so in 2020, if not for COVID. Had arrivals continued to grow in 2020 and onward, it is likely Thailand. 

Tourism in Thailand is mainly concentrated in big cities like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai, while the rest of the country receives far fewer tourists.

Kiantanatha Lounkaew, professor of economics at one of the universities in Bangkok pointed out that tourism is not near even distribution, and that by having similar rates of tourist incomes across all 77 provinces in Thailand, the 40-million milestone would be much easier to achieve. 

Thai Tourism Seriously Threatened by Overtourism

Tourism represented 11.5 per cent of the country’s GDP before the pandemic, and as the government focuses more on tourism, this share could grow even more. 

However, one of the consequences of focusing on tourism is that overtourism can threaten the well-being of residents and impact the perseverance of tourist destinations. 

Due to high tourist arrivals, overtourism threatens Thailand, with the latter planning to introduce precautionary measures to tackle this issue. 

One of the proposals is to charge a 300-baht (about €8.20/$8.90) tourism tax in a bid to help build better infrastructure to cope with demand, according to Bangkok Post.