Skift Take
Interest in Thailand has spiked, following a wider Southeast Asia visa-waiver trend, easing restrictions for Indian travelers.
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Travel searches by Indian travelers for Thailand have spiked. Online travel agency Agoda's search data for the peak December travel period shows recent visa policy changes have impacted travel preferences and top destination choices for Indian travelers.
At the end of October, Thailand allowed Indians to enter without a visa. Agoda's data revealed a 28% rise in Indian travelers searching for trips to Thailand compared to the previous 10 days before the visa-free announcement.
Malaysia is the newest country to join Thailand and Sri Lanka in offering visa-free entry to Indians. Malaysia recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 498,540 from China and 283,885 from India, according to government data. That compares with 1.5 million arrivals from China and 354,486 from India in 2019, before the pandemic.
Vietnam is also mulling its visa restrictions to offer visa-free entry for Indians.
Agoda T