Bangkok CNN —
If you don’t want to spend the winter at home, rent a villa in Phuket and work on your laptop while overlooking the Andaman Sea. Or maybe you’re ready to step into the ring and start a new career as a Muay Thai fighter.
Either way, Thailand has you covered.
The popular Southeast Asian tourist destination recently introduced a new five-year visa aimed at remote workers and tourists looking to stay in the kingdom longer.
According to a statement released by the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, the Thailand National Tourist Visa (DTV) allows qualified travellers a maximum stay period of 180 days per visit, subject to multiple entries within a five-year period (meaning that you will need to leave Thailand after the 180 days have elapsed, and the period will reset upon re-entry).
According to a government announcement, the visa is open to several types of remote workers, including digital nomads and freelancers, as well as people who want to visit to take part in activities such as Muay Thai training or Thai cooking classes, or for long-term medical treatment.
To apply, travellers must prove they have funds of at least 500,000 baht (about $13,800) and provide documents to support the purpose of their visit, such as a letter from a medical centre or proof of employment status outside Thailand.
The visa, which costs 10,000 baht, does not allow applicants to take up employment in Thailand.
The Thai government has also expanded the list of countries and regions that allow visa-free entry for tourism and short-term business purposes from 57 to 93, and extended the length of stay from 30 to 60 days.
Meanwhile, the number of countries and regions issuing visas on arrival has increased from 19 to 31.
Thailand welcomed 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 35 percent from the same period last year, according to government statistics.
But experts say the new visa measures are not just aimed at attracting more tourists.
“If you look at the initiatives and campaigns Thailand has implemented over the past two years to attract more tourists, they’ve been pretty successful,” said Gary Bowerman, founder of Check-in Asia, a tourism-focused research and marketing firm.
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“We are far ahead of Southeast Asia in terms of tourist numbers. But the problem – and this is a big problem – is that while tourist numbers are growing, the average spend per tourist is relatively low.”
Bowerman added that pressure on resources is also intensifying.
“We’re not seeing added value from simply increasing tourist numbers, so we need to find ways to actually increase their length of stay and their per capita spending,” he said, noting that the majority of international tourists to Thailand are short-stay regional travellers.
“A lot of people are coming, moving around and then quickly leaving. That’s putting an ever-increasing strain on our infrastructure, our airports, our transport networks… We need to slow down.”
That’s why they’re trying to attract longer-term visitors, such as digital nomads, he said: “It simply reduces the strain on entry points and transport.”
Business and leisure travellers
The new measures, which are aimed at promoting tourism and revitalizing the economy, came into effect on July 15, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Thailand isn’t the only country hoping to attract longer-stay travelers, of course: More people than ever are seeking the opportunity to take longer vacations, and other countries are taking notice, says Olivier Ponty, director of intelligence and marketing at travel data company ForwardKeys.
“Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen a trend globally of travelers staying longer in their destinations,” he said. “Arrivals to Asia Pacific remain down 23% compared to 2019, but long-term stays (two weeks or more) are just 8% below pre-pandemic levels.”
Many destinations have already introduced new visas to accommodate the rise in remote working, and flexible workplace policies are making it easier to combine work and leisure time, he says.
“In particular, visas that allow multiple entries, have a long validity and allow family members to accompany the visa holder on the trip have been successful in attracting longer-stay tourists,” Ponti said.
Other factors also come into play in terms of desirability, he says, including a destination’s quality of life, cost of living, national and local sustainability efforts and tax incentives.
As for Thailand, Ponti said the new long-term visa would be most well-received by long-haul travellers, “who tend to have a much longer average length of stay than their Asia-Pacific counterparts.”
“Currently, the share of long-stay (14 nights or more) flights is around 25% and medium-stay (6-13 nights) accounts for 45%,” Ponti said, citing figures based on flight booking data.
“These measures may make Thailand more attractive to long-term residents and increase their proportion over time.”
