Thailand Waives Visa Requirements For Panama

Tourists arriving from Tuesday 16 July will benefit from the new extension of visa exemption.  Thailand has expanded the number of visa-exempt countries for travel to the Southeast Asian nation from 57 to 93, including several Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Panama and Uruguay, among others.  The new measure, announced several months ago by Thai authorities, also extends the period of time that visitors can stay in the country from 30 to 60 days, seeking to encourage tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2023).  Tourists arriving from Tuesday onwards will already benefit from the new extension.  Countries such as Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru did not require visas before the new measure, while the extension will benefit more Latin American nations such as Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, according to the new rule published Monday night in the Royal Gazette, Thailand’s official bulletin.  On the other hand, travelers from 31 countries, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela, can apply for a visa on arrival in Thailand for a maximum validity of 15 days.

Thai authorities have also introduced a special visa for digital nomads or remote workers, as well as those who want to travel to Thailand to attend Thai boxing courses, cooking classes, seminars, among other events, for a maximum period of 180 days with a multi-entry validity of 5 years.  Thailand is one of the main tourist destinations in Asia, known for its tropical beaches, natural parks with elephants, temples and nightlife, among other attractions.  Over the past year, Thailand has reached agreements to waive visas or extend stay permits with countries including China, India and Russia in an attempt to revive tourism, which once accounted for 12% to 20% of its gross domestic product before the pandemic.  In 2023, around 28 million foreign tourists visited Thailand, mainly from Malaysia (4.6 million), China (3.5 million), South Korea (1.66 million), India (1.62 million) and Russia (1.4 million), according to official data.  For this year, the Ministry of Tourism expects a more robust recovery of the sector with the arrival of some 35 million international tourists.  In 2019, before the pandemic, Thailand had nearly 40 million tourists, of which Chinese travelers accounted for more than 27 percent of the total with more than 11 million visitors from the Asian giant.