Thailand is initiating a single visa for 6 Southeast Asian countries to simplify travel and boost tourism in the region.
Thailand, along with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, is pushing ahead by introducing a single visa modelled on the Schengen zone to simplify travel for tourists and strengthen economic ties in Southeast Asia.
In an ambitious bid to streamline regional travel, Thailand has led a proposal by six Southeast Asian countries to create a Schengen-style visa zone. Thailand aims to create an Asian’ Schengen zone’ by introducing a single visa with neighbouring Southeast Asian countries.
The initiative aims to allow travellers to seamlessly cross borders between Asian’ Schengen Zone’ member countries, facilitating travel in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.
The cooperation is a strategic effort to promote tourism and strengthen regional economic ties.
Thai Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has been the driving force behind the initiative, promising to turn Thailand into a central aviation and logistics hub. In recent months, Settha has held talks with counterparts from five other countries, touting the benefits of such a visa arrangement.
These countries welcomed more than 70 million travellers in 2023, with the lion’s share coming from Thailand and Malaysia, which generate significant revenue from the tourism industry. The proposed visa will allow travellers to move freely between Asian Schengen member countries.
This enhanced accessibility is expected to attract more long-haul travellers with higher costs, increase average income per traveller and provide a buffer for these economies in the face of global economic pressures such as weak export markets and declining manufacturing.
Feedback from regional leaders is predominantly positive. Heads of state recognise the economic and diplomatic benefits of facilitating travel between countries. The visa scheme will improve tourism performance by facilitating access to regional destinations and ensuring that financial benefits are more widely shared among these interconnected countries.
The six countries carefully consider the logistical, security and political implications of implementing such a visa scheme to ensure that it supports collective economic objectives while improving the tourism experience for visitors.
A prospective Schengen-type visa system would testify to the region’s commitment to deeper economic integration and cooperative development. In practice, however, the establishment of the system faces several challenges, including differences in financial development among Southeast Asian countries, political differences and security issues.
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