By APD writer Juicy Chan

BANGKOK, Nov. 22 (APD) -- Thailand on Wednesday officially launched e-visa on arrival for visitors, which is the latest attempt of the kingdom to facilitate immigration process of foreign tourists.

Surachet Hakpal, acting commissioner of Thailand's Immigration Bureau, told a press conference held at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport that the new e-visa on arrival is to deal with the overcrowding in airports in Bangkok and other cities.

He said that tourists have to wait for one to two hours to get their visa on arrival and pass the immigration at Thailand's airports now.

Launched by Thailand's Immigration Bureau and the country's top internet technology enterprise Samamrt Cooperation, the online visa on-arrival service will provide foreign tourists with convenience and rapid service regarding the arrival process in order to boost tourism and create a good impression. The primary target group includes Chinese and Indian tourists.

With an early application online, at least 24 hours before arrival at the kingdom to at most 30 days before arrival, will dramatically shorten the immigration process to one minute.

Thailand’s tourism growth in 2017 generated 1.8 trillion baht from 35 million foreign tourists, among which 5 million applied for Visa on Arrival (VOA) at the border. Chinese and Indian tourists make up for 4 million of the group. These are tourists from two of the 20 countries and Taiwan special economic zone that are eligible for VOA.

Visa on Arrival (VOA) is an alternative for tourists that have not applied for visa at the embassy. Numerous tourists are applying for VOA at various airports in Thailand. At Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, 6,000-7,000 tourists apply for VOA every day. This has caused inconvenience especially during the high season at the end of the year with a great number of flights arriving at the same time. Despite more immigration lanes, it is still insufficient to provide rapid services.

To ensure convenience and sufficient coverage, the Immigration Bureau has arranged 5 E-VOA points of service. The pilot service will be available at Suvarnabhumi Airport on 15 Nov 2018, Phuket Airport on 19 Nov 2018, Chiang Mai Airport on 26 Nov 2018, and Krabi Airport later. The service will be open 24 hours.

“In the future, more E-VOA applicants are expected because it is a quicker alternative compared to queuing at the VOA counter or applying for visa at the embassy which can take weeks to process, especially Chinese and Indian tourists who like to visit Thailand because of the favorable cultures, traditions, and cuisine”, said Surachet.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)