Great way to attract more tourists!!

[Daleinpattaya]

The Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington announced an increase in visa fees for individuals from New Zealand intending to visit Thailand. The new fees will be effective from March 19 onwards. The announcement has caused concern among netizens on social media that there could be a possible visa fee increase for other nationalities.

The embassy announced on its official website on February 23 that the visa fees would be raised in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and the exchange rate. The embassy also provided a document detailing the updated fees.

For instance, the cost of a single-entry tourist visa will be NZ$300 (6,600 baht), while the multiple-entry tourist visa (with a six-month validity) will be NZ$1,000 (22,000 baht).

In addition to the fee increase, the embassy informed citizens that it will cease accepting physical visa applications starting from March 19. Those wishing to travel to Thailand will need to apply for a visa online only.

No other announcement on the visa fees has been made by other embassy offices. Following the clarification from the Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington, these new fees apply only to citizens from New Zealand. However, there is a possibility that fees for visa applications from other countries may also rise.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington advised people planning to enter Thailand to stay updated on announcements from each embassy office.

The Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, Chai Watchaong, shared that Thailand granted visa-free access to 60 countries in 2023 and plans to expand this to more countries in the future to boost Thai tourism.

New Zealand is not included in the plan to stimulate tourism of the Thai government. Thailand recently approved permanent visa-free travel for Chinese nationals and extended a visa-free scheme for Kazakh nationals until August of this year to enhance Thai tourism.

Tourists from China remain the country’s main target as the spokesperson mentioned that Thailand anticipates welcoming 8 million Chinese travellers this year and aims to increase the number of flights between the two countries to facilitate tourism.

[Daleinpattaya]

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/ne ... r-thailand

[Gaybutton]

Let's see - visa free entry for some countries, but not for others. And the "not for others" get to pay more - much more - for visas to enter Thailand than they had been paying before. Have I gotten that right?

Who comes up with these genius ideas anyway? Somebody had to be the first one to suggest this idea. Who? Why? They never seem to tell us that part.

[Jun]

Will the same fee increases shortly be rolled out to other countries?

Or is there some specific dispute which means New Zealand is being singled out ?

Or has someone just lost the plot?

Ultimately, whilst many of us have a strong preference for Thailand, there are probably many other tourists who do not. They will just go somewhere elsewhere if the visa fees are too high.

[Gaybutton]

Or has someone just lost the plot?

That seems quite likely to me. Make up for free visas for some by charging more to others. Is that an incentive to go to Thailand and spend money there or an incentive to scratch Thailand off the list and find somewhere else to go?

I'm not surprised. That's precisely the same thing the bars do if they're not getting enough customers - just raise the prices . . .

Seems like they consistently come up with schemes that won't work, drop them, and then come up with something else that won't work. Remember when they were going to tax every incoming passenger 300 baht?

For their own sake as well as the sake of people planning a holiday in Thailand, I have a feeling this won't last long. But don't worry, if they drop this scheme sooner or later they'll come up with the next scheme that won't work.

See also: February 28 "Headline News" - https://www.gaybuttonthai.com/viewtopic ... 96#p112796

[Jun]

On average, I suspect any New Zealander staying the full 60 days of a visa is likely to spend 200,000 baht or more. I suspect he's paying at least 15,000 baht in tax.

I expect any increase in per visa revenue would be more than offset by lost revenue from reduced visitor numbers, or by visitors switching to a 30 day visa exempt trip.

[Gaybutton]

visitors switching to a 30 day visa exempt trip.

Are we sure people from New Zealand can get the 30-day visa exempt? Unless I missed it, I didn't see anything in the article saying that.

In any case, why is Thailand choosing to make things difficult for New Zealand? What purpose is that serving?

[Jun]

Are we sure people from New Zealand can get the 30-day visa exempt?

No, but if we look at all the other ****hole countries that get 30 days, I would imagine NZ qualifies. Other than the alleged penchant for sheep, I don't think NZ citizens pose much risk as touists.

In any case, why is Thailand choosing to make things difficult for New Zealand? What purpose is that serving?

Exactly. See questions posted earlier. Let's wait for the answers to crawl out of the woodwork.

[2lz2p]

New Zealand citizens can enter Visa Exempt for a 30 day stay, which can be extended for further 30 days at Thai Immigration. Link to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs pdf document:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... i=89978449