Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore attract Chinese tourists thanks to visa exemption

Chinese engineer and aviation enthusiast Wei Ming is exactly the kind of traveler that tourism agencies in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are looking for.

After Singapore exempted Chinese citizens from visas, Wei, 44, said he had abandoned plans to visit Australia and instead booked a six-day holiday in Singapore. He is also considering visiting Thailand and Malaysia, two other visa-free Southeast Asian countries.

Krabi, the pearl of Thailand tourism. Photo: kayak

Chinese tourists often complain about the long wait and hassle of obtaining a tourist visa. Their passport ranks 62nd on the Henley Passport Index.

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were a major source of revenue, accounting for more than a quarter of all tourists to Thailand in 2019. Chinese visitors were also the biggest spenders in Singapore.

Although fewer Chinese are traveling than before the pandemic, they still make up the majority of visitors to Thailand, which introduced visa-free travel in September 2023. Thailand said it expects 177,000 Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, three times the level in 2023.

Malaysia's visa-free deal for Chinese nationals began in December and is expected to attract 5-7 million Chinese tourists this year, nearly double pre-pandemic levels.

Thanks to its status as an Asian air transport hub, Singapore is leading its Southeast Asian rivals in the number of Chinese visitors, with the number of direct flights connecting mainland China up nearly 5% this month compared to the same period in 2019.

Mai Van (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/thai-lan-malaysia-va-singapore-hut-khach-du-lich-trung-quoc-nho-mien-thi-thuc-post284112.html