TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Tuesday (Sept. 20), Thailand's cabinet approved a plan to allow visitors from Taiwan and other countries currently afforded visa-on-arrival (VoA) treatment will have their maximum stay extended from 15 to 30 days starting Oct. 1.

Currently, visitors from Taiwan are among 18 countries who can receive a VoA in Thailand can only stay for 15 days. Visitors from 64 countries can enter Thailand visa-free and can stay up to 30 days.

However, Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved an edict by the Ministry of Interior that will extend the VoA stay for visitors from those 18 countries to 30 days, effective Oct. 1. In addition, travelers from the 64 countries with visa exemption status can extend their stay up to 45 days.

As the pandemic has started to subside, international tourists have begun to return to Thailand. From January to mid-August this year, a total of 3.78 million international tourists visited Thailand and the Thai government estimates that it will attract 10 million tourists this year and is seeking to earn 970 billion baht (US$26.1 billion) to 1.5 billion baht in tourism revenue next year, reported the Bangkok Post.

In 2019, the year before the pandemic froze international travel, Thailand saw 40 million arrivals, contributing 1.91 trillion baht in tourism revenue. The Thai government is hoping that in 2023, tourism revenue will return to 80% of 2019 levels, according to the newspaper.

There is still a 2,000 baht fee for arrivals from the 18 VoA countries. For more information on VoA and visa exemption for Thailand, please visit the Thai Embassy website.