Thailand-China visa-free policy: Boon or bane for tourism?, Economy News

The visa-free policy, however, has encountered several challenges. First, the sustained growth of Chinese tourist numbers remains uncertain. Although China has eased some travel restrictions, the number of flights to Thailand has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The number of scheduled flights on the China-Thailand route from January to December 2023 was 5,828. However, 500 flights were cancelled, resulting in an actual total of 5,328 flights. This figure represents only 48.8% of the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, suggesting that airlines were not satisfied with the current passenger demand and proactively cancelled several flights.