Beijing, China, October 23, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / During his first official visit to China this week, Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin presided over the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and eight leading tourism companies in China – Huawei Technologies, Trip.com Group, Meituan.com, Spring Airlines, Sina News, Alipay, iQIYI and Jego Trip – to strengthen the confidence of Chinese tourists in Thailand and promote quality tourism there.

Mr. Srettha stated: “The Thai government places great importance on strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Thailand and China and intensifying cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, education, arts and culture, and tourism. To facilitate entry for Chinese travelers, visa exemptions are in effect immediately until February 29, 2024. By signing this Memorandum of Understanding, we are laying the foundation for long-term strategic cooperation to promote quality tourism and strengthen tourists' confidence in Thailand.”

The signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding took place today at the Kerry Hotel in Beijing, China. The agreement was signed by Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and senior representatives of the eight strategic tourism partners: Mr. Walter Ji (Huawei Technologies), Mr. Sun Bo (Trip.com Group), Ms. Lu Menxi (Meituan), Mr. Wang Yu (Spring Airlines), Mr. Cong Song (Sina News), Mr. Zhou Yi (Alipay), Mr. Yang Xianghua (iOIYI), and Dr. Yong Ji (Jego Trip).

Ms. Thapanee explained: “This Memorandum of Understanding is the largest cooperation agreement to date and covers the entire spectrum of travel alliances in the Chinese market. It encompasses all stages of the customer journey – from obtaining travel information for Thailand via iQIYI and Sina News, to planning and booking trips through Trip.com Group, Meituan.com, Alipay, and Jego Trip, and finally to the trip itself with Spring Airlines. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to leverage this partnership to enhance Thailand’s positive image as a travel destination, increase the confidence of Chinese tourists, and launch tourism initiatives that will encourage more travel to Thailand.”

The cooperation with eight leading players in the Chinese tourism industry, including top technology companies, online tourism platforms, airlines and online banking providers, is intended to strengthen cooperation in tourism-related technologies for the Thai tourism industry and promote quality tourism in Thailand.

Ultimately, this will help achieve the target of 4 to 4.4 million Chinese tourists in 2023, generating over 200 billion baht and increasing the total number of tourist arrivals this year to 25 to 30 million.

From January 1st to October 15th, 2023, Thailand recorded a total of 2,645,885 Chinese tourists, making it the second largest tourist market.