Perhaps you’re looking to escape the winter months at home and instead do your business on a laptop from the comfort of your rented villa in Phuket, overlooking the Andaman Sea. Or perhaps you’re ready to step into the ring and embark on a new career as a Muay Thai fighter.
In any case, Thailand offers a solution.
The popular Southeast Asian destination recently introduced a new five-year visa specifically for remote workers and other travelers who want to stay in the kingdom for a longer period of time.
According to a statement from the Thai Prime Minister’s Office, Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) allows eligible travelers to stay for up to 180 days per visit, based on multiple entries, within five years. (This means they must leave the country when their 180 days are up, and the time starts over when they re-enter.)
The government statement said the visa is open to various categories of remote workers, including digital nomads and freelancers. It is also intended for people who want to visit to take part in activities such as Muay Thai training or Thai cooking classes, or for extensive medical treatment.
To apply, travelers must demonstrate that they have at least 500,000 baht (about $13,800) in financial resources. They must also provide documents that support the purpose of their visit, such as a letter from a medical center or proof of work status outside Thailand.
The visa, which costs 10,000 bahtdoes not allow applicants to seek work in Thailand.
‘They need to slow down the pace’
The Thai government has also expanded the list of countries and areas that are visa-free for tourism and short-term business from 57 to 93, and the length of stay has been extended from 30 to 60 days.
Meanwhile, the number of countries/territories whose citizens are entitled to a visa on arrival has also been increased from 19 to 31.
Thailand welcomed 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, a 35% increase from the same period last year, according to government figures.
However, experts say the new visa measures are not just intended to attract more visitors.
“If you look at what Thailand has done, the initiatives and campaigns it has put in place over the last two years to increase visitor numbers, it has been quite successful,” said Gary Bowerman, founder of Check-in Asiaa research and marketing company focused on tourism.
“So it’s way ahead of Southeast Asia in terms of visitor numbers. But the problem – and this is a big problem – is that while it’s bringing in the numbers, the average spend per visitor is relatively low.”
Bowerman adds that pressure on resources is also increasing.
“The added value of more and more people is not being felt, so they have to find ways to extend the length of stay and increase spending per person,” he says, noting that the majority of international tourists coming to Thailand are regional travelers visiting for short periods.
“A lot of people are coming in, moving around and quickly leaving again. That puts increasing pressure on the infrastructure, on the airports, on the transport networks… They have to slow down the pace.”
That, he says, is why they are also trying to attract long-term visitors, such as digital nomads – “simply because it puts less pressure on the entry points and the transportation points.”
Travelers who combine work and leisure
According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, the new measures are aimed at promoting tourism and boosting the economy and have been in effect since July 15.
Thailand is certainly not alone in wanting to keep travelers coming for longer periods of time. Olivier Ponti, director of intelligence and marketing at Forward keys, a travel data company, says more people than ever are looking for longer vacation options – and countries are paying attention.
“A global trend we’ve seen in the post-COVID period is that travellers are staying longer in destinations,” he says. “Arrivals in the Asia Pacific region remain -23% below 2019 levels, but longer stays (two weeks or more) are only -8% below pre-pandemic levels.”
Many destinations have already introduced new visas to accommodate the increase in remote working, he says, with flexible workspaces making it easier for people to combine work and leisure.
“Visas that allow multiple entries, have a longer validity period and allow family members to accompany the visa holder on a trip are particularly successful in attracting longer-staying tourists,” Ponti said.
According to him, other factors also play a role in a destination’s attractiveness, such as the quality of life at a destination, the cost of living, national and local sustainability practices and tax incentives, to name a few.
As for Thailand, Ponti says the new long-stay visa is likely to be most embraced by long-distance travellers, “who on average stay much longer than regional travellers within the Asia-Pacific region.”
“Currently, the share of tickets with long stays (more than 14 nights) is still around 25%, while medium stays (6-13 nights) represent 45%,” Ponti says, referring to figures based on flight booking data.
“These measures are likely to increase Thailand’s appeal to long-term visitors, potentially pushing these percentages higher over time.”
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