China and Thailand have reached a bilateral agreement to waive visa requirements for each other's visitors in a bid to boost tourism.

The mutual visa exemptions will officially take effect from March 1, 2024. Visitors can stay in each other's country for up to 30 days for entry, exit or transit, where the total stay in any 180-day period must not exceed 90 days.

The agreement immediately sparked a surge of interest in tourism between the two countries, and search volumes on related tourism platforms soared.

According to the Chinese tourism platform Ctrip.com, the search volume for the term “Thailand” increased by more than sevenfold on the day the deal was signed compared to the previous day, while the search volume for the word “China” on Ctrip's Thai website jumped by more than a factor of four.

As the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, tourism has always been one of Thailand's pillar industries.

China was a major source and a driver of Thailand's tourism industry before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the return of Chinese tourists to Thailand has been slow.

Data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand shows that the country received 39.8 million international tourists in 2019, including 11 million Chinese tourists. However, it was reported that only 3.4 million tourists from China visited Thailand in 2023.

Thailand has taken a number of measures to attract international tourists last year, including more flights and longer nightlife hours. According to media reports, eight new Thai airlines will enter service this year, and Thai Airways International is in talks with Boeing to expand its fleet.

Photo taken on December 31, 2023 shows tourists watching the New Year fireworks from the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. /CFP

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅱ: Wu Dan

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong