Thailand grants three-month visa fee exemption for Chinese tourists

BANGKOK. KAZINFORM - Thai military junta on Friday released an act which exempted Chinese tourists, including those from China's Taiwan, from visa fees for three months, starting on Saturday.

Effective until November 8, the act signed by junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha applies to the tourist visa and on-arrival visa, Xinhua reported.

The act was initially set to take effect on August 1, but was delayed due to some procedural factors. It aims to boost Thailand' s tourism industry, which had suffered from the protracted political turmoil lasting from late last year to mid-2014.

This year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand expects tourist arrivals from China to total 3.98 million and bring 158 billion baht (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, down from 4.7 million visitors and 182 billion baht in revenue, respectively, from the previous year.