{
  "id": 19792542,
  "title": "Thai tourist arrivals in China surge 1,220% following visa-free travel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/thai-tourist-arrivals-in-china-surge-1-220-following-visa-free-travel",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-13T10:37:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Khaosod English",
    "slug": "khaosod-english",
    "url": "https://www.khaosodenglish.com/tourism/2026/11/13/thai-tourist-arrivals-in-china-surge-1220-following-visa-free-travel/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thai tourism to China skyrocketed by 1,220% between 2023 and 2025 due to visa-free travel, making China the go-to short-haul overseas destination for Thai visitors, aside from neighbouring Malaysia and Laos, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. In 2023, Thai tourists visited China for the first time since 2023, with numbers rising sharply from 232,000 to 3.06 million in 2025 upon the introduction of visa-free entry on March 1, 2024. The research centre predicts this trend to persist in 2026. Among other favored Asian destinations for Thai travelers are Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. Meanwhile, the Kasikorn Research Centre projects Thais will embark on approximately 13.45 million overseas trips in 2026, a 3% surge from the prior year, albeit with a significantly slower growth rate of 12% from 2025, reflecting weaker economic conditions and escalating travel costs. The figures denote overnight trips rather than single travelers, as one individual may traverse multiple destinations or visit several times. The research center attributed the deceleration to higher airfares, tourism-related fees and taxes imposed by departure and destination countries, and increasing expenses abroad. These elements are projected to diminish travel frequency, especially among medium-income travelers and corporate incentive travel participants, who are more susceptible to financial conditions and rising costs. Travel taxes and fees augment holiday expenses, as Kasikorn Research Centre estimates Thai travelers incur an additional 3.5% to 9.5% of their per-trip expenditure in tourism-related taxes and fees, in addition to transportation, lodging, food, and shopping. These charges vary by destination and generally fall into three categories: fees integrated into airfare, such as passenger service charges and departure taxes levied by countries including Japan and Hong Kong; electronic payments made prior to departure, like entry fees, electronic travel authorizations, and environmental conservation charges like those imposed on Bali, Indonesia visitors; and destination taxes collected, especially accommodation or city taxes imposed by hotels in locales such as Tokyo, Kyoto, and Malaysia. Looking ahead, the Kasikorn Research Centre anticipates Thailand's outbound tourism sector to continue facing obstacles from economic instability and geopolitical tensions, which could escalate travel costs. Although Thailand's departure tax has been delayed, sparing travelers an extra charge for now, rising costs and reduced purchasing power are anticipated to persist as critical factors affecting overseas travel demand.",
  "summary": "The number of Thai tourists visiting China surged by 1,220% between 2023 and 2025 following the introduction of visa-free travel, making China the most popular short-haul overseas destination for Thai travellers, excluding neighbouring Malaysia and Laos, according to Kasikorn Research Centre. Thai visits to China jumped from just 232,000 in 2023 to 3.06 million in […] The post Thai tourist…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}