The Thai cabinet recently approved a visa exemption for Chinese nationals for five months, covering both the National Day holiday in October and the Chinese New Year in February next year. The Chinese tourism boom years occurred when the country was buoyed by the commercial success of a Chinese movie. This year Chinese tourism to Thailand was again affected by a movie, but this time it had a negative impact. He said while a weak economy will undoubtedly limit the number of Chinese willing to spend abroad, few criminal cases occurred in Thailand the past few months involving Chinese tourists. During the five-month visa exemption, an estimated 1.9-2.8 million Chinese travellers are expected to create revenue of 92-140 billion baht.
