Even today, Bangkok and Pattaya are on the foreign travel list of middle-class Bengalis. Although a new country has been added to the bucket list, Thailand has not been left out by the middle class. This country fulfills the dream of traveling abroad at a low cost. But even if you want to travel abroad, you have to worry a lot. The biggest one is a visa. Whether the visa will be available at the right time or not, for how many days it will be available – this worry remains. But this thought will not bother you anymore when you visit Thailand. Indians can visit Thailand without a visa.
Visit Bangkok-Pattaya without visa
According to the Ministry of Tourism of Thailand, Indians will be able to visit the country without a visa from November 10, 2023 to May 10, 2024. You can stay for a maximum of 30 days at a time. Apart from Indians, this facility is also being given to tourists from Taiwan. Two good news came in the same week for Indian tourists. Recently, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Tourism also announced that Indians will be able to visit the country visa-free till March 31, 2024. Sri Lanka is giving this opportunity to a total of seven countries including India as well as China and Russia.
Many believe that ‘visa-free’ travel to Thailand will boost the country’s tourism industry. Incidentally, since September this year, Thailand has been ‘visa-free’ for Chinese tourists. After that, tourists began to gather in Bangkok and Pattaya. Malaysia, China, and South Korea are the most crowded in Thailand this year. Then there is India. About 12 lakh Indians visit Bangkok Pattaya every year.
According to Indian government data, demand for foreign travel among Indians has been on the rise since 2011. The number which was 1.4 crore in 2011, has gone to 2.7 crore in 2019. Two years later travel was hampered by the covid situation. Again in 2022, 2.1 crore Indians traveled abroad.
According to data from the Union Ministry of Tourism, the top 10 international destinations preferred by Indians last year were—Dubai (59 lakhs or 28%), Saudi Arabia (24 lakhs/11.5%), America (17 lakhs/8%), Singapore (9. 9 lakh/4.7%), Thailand (9.3 lakh/4.4%), London (9.2 lakh/4/3%), Qatar (8.7 lakh/4.1%), Kuwait ( 8.3 lakh/3.9%), Canada (7.7 lakh/3.6%) and Oman (7.2 lakh/3.4%).
