Wino Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I have heard the Thai government will again waive the fee on tourist visas starting in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I have neither heard this nor seen anything about it in the media. Where did you hear this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 A friend mentioned it. When I did a search, this came up from a different forum. BANGKOK: -- Less than one month after Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Thaivisa.com that the free tourist visa scheme would end on March 5, 2010, the Thailand Government has announced the tourism stimulus package will continue for another year, including $US10,000 in free riot insurance for tourists. The extension of the tourism industry stimulus package was approved by the cabinet today, March 2, 2010 in response to a request from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The extension will be effective from April 1, 2010 and go through to March 31, 2011 and appears to leave a three and a half week window in which tourist visas for Thailand will be charged for. The tourism industry stimulus package includes: free-of-charge riot protection insurance worth US$10,000 for each foreign tourist; reduced aircraft landing and parking fees; help for state agencies to hold seminars and field trips in the country to boost domestic spending; and allows business operators who organise domestic seminars, training courses and tourist destination trips for employees to deduct the cost for tax purposes. The extension of the tourism industry stimulus package came on the back of a report to cabinet that inbound foreign tourism arrivals for 2009 dropped 3 percent over those in 2008, resulting in an 8 percent drop in revenue to Bt527 billion (about $US16 billion). The Tourism and Sports Ministry told cabinet that it expected inbound tourism arrivals for 2010 to increase by about 10 percent, to between 15.3 and 15.5 million, provided there was no major political disruptions throughout the year. The $10,000 free riot insurance coverage was introduced last year and initiated by the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) in response to international insurance firms’ refusal to sell insurance coverage to visitors to Thailand following the 2008 closure of Thailand airports by members of the Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD). When the insurance coverage was first introduced last year, Kongkrit Hiranyakit, president of TCT, said the government had set aside Bt190.75 million ($US5.820 million) for the initial six month period covering May to October, 2009, with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports responsible for paying the insurance premium of $1 per visitor. The insurance policy provides for payments of up to $10,000 in the event of death, injury, and/or trip inconvenience, and appears to only cover people in possession of a 60-day tourist visa. Resident expatriates living and working in Thailand on non-immigrant visas do not appear to be covered for death, injury or inconvenience caused by riots. Free Visa And US$10,000 Riot Insurance For Thailand Tourists Extended By One Year - Thailand Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 I wish the guy who posted that article had cited his source. He didn't, so now I don't know where he got it from. I suppose those of you applying for visas can easily call your nearest Thai embassy or consulate to make sure. I don't doubt the veracity of the post, but assuming it is accurate I'm surprised not to spot similar articles elsewhere all over the Thailand tourism media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Here is another article: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports have asked the government to extend the tourism stimulus measures for another year and yesterday deputy government spokesman Watchara Kannika confirmed that the the measures will be extended from April 1, 2010 and go through to March 31, 2011. The free tourist visa measure was set to expire on March 5, 2010 and it looks like it still will and there will be a period of 3 weeks where the tourist visa will again be charged for before the April 1st stimulus measures start.The good news is that coupled with the free tourist visa initiative each foreign tourist will also be granted $10,000 of free riot insurance which will cover their trip in the event that things get dicey on the political front. The insurance policy provides for payments of up to $10,000 in the event of death, injury, and/or trip inconvenience, and will only cover people in possession of a 60-day tourist visa. The Riot insurance was first instituted last year between the months of May and October when many foreign tourists complained that they couldn’t buy trip insurance due to Thailand’s ongoing political instability. The trip insurance will cost the Thai government $1.00 per tourist or about 15 million dollars over the next year. <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Full measures cited in this stimulus package include: Visa fee exemption for foreign tourists. Helping state agencies hold seminars and field trips in the country to boost domestic spending. Cutting the electricity consumption guarantee fund for hotel operators. Reduced aircraft landing and parking fees. Providing free-of-charge riot protection insurance worth US$10,000 for each foreign tourist. Allowing business operators who organize domestic seminars, training courses and tourist destination trips for employees to deduct the cost for tax purposes. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports noted that tourism was down by 3% from 2008-2009 and they feel that continuing the stimulus measures will help bring tourism numbers back up to where they are expected to be for 2010. It’s estimated by the Ministry that 15.3 to 15.5 million foreign tourists will visit Thailand in 2010. All in all some very good news to anyone visiting the Kingdom of Thailand this year for an extended stay. AKPC_IDS += "3096,"; Thailand Land of Smiles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted March 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 And still another article and source. Thai ministers met in a cabinet meeting recently where the main topic for discussion was the extension of the tourism stimulus package. This package was put together during 2009 to help combat the onset of the global economic recession which has severely affected the tourism industry in Thailand. Bangkok, March 2010 [PDN]: Thailand’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday announced the extension of a tourism stimulus package which was due to expire on the 31st of March. Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports claimed that the extension was aimed at continuing to persuade and influence foreign tourists into visiting the Kingdom. Deputy Government Spokesman Mr. Watchara Kannika informed the press that measures approved for extension included the exemption of fees on tourist visas, reduction in aircraft landing and parking fees, cutting of electricity consumption guarantee fund for hotel operators and the continuation of an insurance coverage program for tourists. Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports also presented the latest tourism figures to the cabinet, which stated that in 2009 some 14.09 million tourist visited the Kingdom. Those tourists are estimated to have injected an estimated 527.3 billion baht into Thailand’s economy for the year. Compared to the figures for 2008, tourists were down by 8.21% and revenue by 3.38%, however; due to the global economic crisis and continuing political instability this drop was somewhat anticipated. Concluding the cabinet meeting, the Tourism ministry projected that between 15.3 and 15.6 million tourist will visit the Kingdom during 2010 bring in over 600 billion baht revenue. Thailand Extend Visa Fee Exemption Until 2011 « Pattaya Daily News – Pattaya news Powerful news at your fingertips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2010 Looks like the free tourist visa has been extended, for sure. This from another website. BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has extended tourism stimulus measures for one year until 31 March 2011 to assist tourism related entrepreneurs who were affected from the demonstration of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa announced on Thursday that the ministry has resolved to extend the assistance measures to help tourism related entrepreneurs while road show activities must be organized on a continuous basis to further stimulate tourism. The stimulus measures include the exemption of visa fees for foreign tourists, travel insurance for foreign tourists of not more than 10,000 USD, low interest rate loans, and extension of loan payment periods. However, Mr Chumpol voiced concerns with the target of 15.5 million international tourists for this year. He said more incentives must be made with cooperation from airlines and tourism related entrepreneurs to boost the number of tourists in exchange with public relations assistance. The minister added that the number of tourists travelling into Thailand at airports in general have not decreased, but on the other hand, is more than the number in the same period last year because the figure last year was very low. Mr Chumpol admitted that tour bookings in Bangkok would be affected from the mass rally of the UDD now taking place at Ratchaprasong Intersection. However, those in other areas, especially in the southern islands of Phuket and Samui would not be affected. source: Tourism stimulus measures extended : National News Bureau of Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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