Sawt Falasteen - Tourists in Thailand plan for coming cuts to visa-free stays

Near the capital's Tha Tian pier, where tourists catch ferries to the landmark Wat Arun, Irishman Alex Brady said the forthcoming one-month limit would have affected his plans a lot -- because he and his friends "initially came here with no plan at all".

Brady and his travel companions were visiting for about five weeks, and the flexibility of the current 60-day visa-free scheme allowed them to see more of Thailand at their leisure, the 24-year-old said.

The new limits -- announced Tuesday for tourists from more than 90 countries in a bid to curb crime -- would "really restrict you in what you can see", said Brady.

After Bangkok, he and his group planned to get a bus and ferry to the diving hotspot of Koh Tao for about a week before travelling north to the mountains of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

"If you're paying for an expensive flight ticket out here, you want to spend a good amount of time out here," said Brady, a digital engineer.

Tourism accounts for more than 10 percent of Thailand's GDP, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-pandemic highs.

The 60-day visa-free stay was introduced two years ago to encourage more visitors and for them to stay longer.

But a recent series of high-profile arrests of foreigners, including cases linked to drug offences, sex in public and foreigners operating businesses such as hotels and schools without proper permits, has sparked public backlash.

Now officials say they will limit how long visitors can stay on a country-by-country basis to try to prevent foreigners committing crimes.

- Extended stays -

Exactly how the new policy's reduced timing will prevent visa overstayers, public indecency and illegal businesses has not been disclosed, nor when the fresh rules will go into effect.

Tourists will still be able to renew 30-day visas once for an additional 30 days -- at the discretion of an immigration officer -- before needing to leave the country, officials said.

Visitors can make one "visa run" a year and stay for up to another 60 days, but would then need to leave again and could only return on a different visa status, such as a work, education or retirement visa.

Another traveller, Elin Ovrebo, director of a US university study abroad programme, said she has brought students to Thailand for 28-day trips almost every year for more than a decade -- and she likes to stay a week longer herself.

While the policy change may mean she would not do that in the future, "it won't stop me from coming", she said.

- Visa runs -

Sitting on a stool outside a Bangkok shopping mall, Anna Heindrich waited for a minibus for a lightning round trip to Laos to re-enter Thailand on a new stay.

At 80, the German does not fit the typical customer profile for services provided by the Bangkok Buddy agency, which charges 5,500 baht ($170) per client -- mostly younger backpackers.

But Heindrich has been in Thailand for three months and wants to stay two weeks longer.

"I spoke with the agency and it sounded easy on paper. Not necessarily very comfortable, but easy," she told AFP before setting off on a nearly 16-hour round trip.

Bangkok Buddy manager Tanya Chansuwan said the new visa rules could help her business, but may also complicate travel plans for tourists.

"It will be tougher for the clients, and some might choose to go somewhere else," she said.

"Vietnam, because it's cheaper."

I.Yassin--SF-PST