NEW DELHI, Dec 4: The Royal Embassy of Thailand has advised Indians planning
to visit Thailand to obtain their visas from the Thailand embassy or consulates
to avoid long queues and wait time at the Bangkok airport for visa-on-arrival
as the rush has increased manifold due to the reopening of the Thai borders
to tourists after the covid pandemic and the approaching New Year.
Thailand's Ambassador to India Pattarat Hongtong stated that the staff strength
at the airport is being raised to handle the rush of on-arrival visa applicants.
Thailand has dropped all the mandatory covid requirements like vaccine certificates
and test results for tourists. The immigration applicants also are adding to
the wait time at the counter. The country has had 3.78 million tourists this
year so far.
Thailand's visa outsourcing services provider VFS Global has said eVOA (Electronic
- Visa On Arrival) can help the passengers reduce their waiting time at airport
immigration counters. For e-visa, travellers can submit their form online to
get travel authorisation within 24 to 72 hours. For tourism purposes only, this
online visa is for a stay of up to 15 days.
Thailand had organised a ‘Amazing Thailand Fest 2022’ from November 25 to 27
in New Delhi to encourage more Indians to travel to Thailand.
The number of Indian tourists travelling to Thailand under the e-visa facility
has jumped over seven times this year, according to a report by VFS Global.
"Between March 2022 and October 2022, applications increased by seven times,"
VFS Global said.
WHY IS THAILAND A WORLD FAMOUS DESTINATION:
Thailand is world famous for its beaches, Buddhist temples, variety of food,
mesmerising landscape and nightlife. Tourism is the country's economic mainstay.
Thailand, called the Land of Smiles, has an eternal attraction for people from
across the world.
The main reason is its quiet environs and the hospitable people!
BEST TIME TO VISIT THAILAND:
The average temperature of Thailand ranges from 18 to 38°C. After months of
rainfall comes visitor-friendly November, December, January, February, March
and April.
The dry season kicks off in most parts by November, but not in some destinations
and it still rains in some places even till December and the summer begins by
April-May. Besides, Christmas-New Year time is the most crowded and costly and
continues so for over a month. Therefore, February, March and April will be
the ideal. Thereafter it gets hotter and the monsoon is July through September
everywhere.
(Cheap season: If going for the 'cheap' time means getting drenched, you could
opt for the shoulder season and still save much!)
