Tourists visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)Bangkok (VNA) – Startingfrom May 8, the Thai Consular Office in China will require every visitor toapply for an individual visa instead of a group application even if they travelunder the escort of a tour group.
Further requirements were added with the new measure,including presenting a hotel reservation document and a financial document showingat least 10,000 CNY (1,400 USD).
Moreover, some agents are limited to reserving visaapplications only three days per week, either Monday-Wednesday-Friday orTuesday-Thursday-Saturday, with only 30 applicants per round, which differs fromthe past when there were no limits.
The consular office also requires travel agents to present acertified document allowing foreign visa applications and a "yellowcard" issued by the Chinese government, which needs to be renewed within ayear or two. However, most Chinese agents' cards expired during the pandemicand they couldn't renew them because of the slow process resulting from a lackof officers.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association ofThai Travel Agents, said operators want clear answers on the new visaprocedures because they could hamper travel activities for tour groups andlarge meetings and incentive groups that consist of hundreds or thousands ofapplicants.
He noted many visitors can apply for a visa on arrival at theairport, but that could lead to congestion at immigration counters as theyqueue up with independent tourists.
Inbound tourism operators for the Chinese market are calling for clarification of new rules for visa applications via tour groups, warning that Thailand may lose a lucrative segment including large business travel groups to competitors./.
