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Bangkok. The tourism relationship between India and Thailand is decades old, but the dispute that arose over visa rules between May to July 2026 also affected this trusting relationship. Amidst the confusion over the visa policy, when there was a huge decline of 20% in the number of Indian tourists, the Thai government took a U-turn. It made changes to the 60-day visa-free scheme applicable from July 2024, reducing it to 30 days in the current week.

What did the Thai government give as the reason for changing the policy?

However, tourism industry experts say that India is the third largest source of tourism income for Thailand, so it will not be easy to compensate for this loss. Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Surwong Thientong acknowledged that the policy uncertainty had caused a lot of confusion among Indian tourists. For this reason the government had to change its policy. Earlier, citizens of 93 countries including India were allowed to stay in Thailand for 60 days without visa. Under the new system, it was proposed to divide the countries into three categories: 30 days visa-free, 15 days visa-free and visa-on-arrival.

How were Indian tourists shocked by the rumours?

In the initial proposal, giving a big blow to India, it was said that India would be removed from the list of visa-free countries and included in the visa-on-arrival category with a fee of $60. This news created an atmosphere of disappointment and confusion among Indian tourists. However, later this proposal was not formally implemented.