Thailand Is Now Visa-Free for Indians ‘Until Further Notice’ – India Report

Skift Take

As Indians look for destinations to travel to in the upcoming winter season, the visa waiver extension is likely to benefit Thailand.

Bulbul Dhawan

Thailand has extended its visa waiver for Indians “until further notice” the Tourism Authority of Thailand said this week, leading many to infer that this could be a permanent arrangement. Travelers will be able to stay for 60 days in Thailand during their visit, with the option to extend their stay by 30 days. 

Visa-free entry had been set to end November 11. Skift reached out to Indian online travel agencies to understand what the impact could be.

“Thailand’s extension of visa-free arrivals for Indian travelers has significantly stimulated demand and reinforced its status as a favored destination, especially for first-time international travelers from India,” said Bharatt Malik, Senior VP – Air and Hotel Business, Yatra Online.

Malik added that Indian tourists often prefer destinations that have a visa waiver or visa on arrival. “As a result, we are observing passenger numbers returning to, and in some cases surpassing, pre-pandemic 2019 levels.”

Anuj Rathi, Chief Business and Growth Officer of Cleartrip, said, “With the year-end travel season underway, this update is good news for customers. We have witnessed substantial growth in bookings across key routes. Ahmedabad to Bangkok has clocked a 442% rise; Chennai to Bangkok has seen a 136% increase; Kochi to Bangkok travel bookings have increased 270%; and Mumbai to Phuket increased 84% for year-end travel over last year.”

Both the online travel companies said that the increase in direct flight connectivity between the two countries is also playing a key role in driving Indian travelers to Thailand. “The direct flight between Guwahati and Bangkok, which was introduced in December 2023, is likely to have fueled a 2,620% growth in bookings on this route alone,” said Rathi.

Zoomcar Raises $9.15 Million

Car rental company Zoomcar has raised $9.15 million through a private placement with some institutional investors. The company is aiming to use the proceeds from this fundraising to repay its debts amounting to $3.6 million. Apart from this, the funds will be used for “general corporate purposes and working capital.”

Zoomcar was founded in 2013 and connects car hosts with guests online to allow them to rent cars for their desired duration. It currently operates in India, Indonesia, and Egypt. In May this year, it said that it is looking to add 20,000 cars to its platform by the end of March 2025. 

It also launched its first fulfillment center in August, with plans to expand this number to 100 by December-end. These centers offer services such as managing cars, regular cleanliness, and safe and secure parking space at nominal fees from hosts. 

Star Air Undertakes Fleet Expansion

Bengaluru-based airline Star Air is planning to expand its fleet size to 25 over the next three years. For this, the carrier is planning to induct two new Embraer E175 aircraft by March 2025. Four more E175 planes are expected to be inducted by March 2026. 

At present, Star Air has 9 aircraft in its fleet: 4 Embraer E175s and 5 Embraer E145s. The airline plans to use the new planes to expand its operations across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in India.

Last month, the airline launched new direct flights between Kolhapur and Ahmedabad. It has a network spanning 21 destinations, and is focusing on network expansion and cargo business to become profitable in the current fiscal year. Star Air was started in 2019 with the aim of connecting smaller and underserved regional areas of India with major hubs.

Radisson Opens Namah Nainital in Uttarakhand

Radisson Hotel Group has announced the opening of Namah Nainital, under Radisson Individuals Retreats. This marks the hotel chain’s fourth operational hotel in the northern state of Uttarakhand, adding to its portfolio of Radisson Blu and Radisson Individuals brands. 

Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director and Area Senior Vice President, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, said that the group is expanding into leisure destinations due to the growing demand in these regions. For the hotel Radisson has partnered with Indian conglomerate DS Group. The property was previously known as Manu Maharani and has now been rebranded as Namah Nainital. 

MakeMyTrip Reveals How Indian Couples are Traveling

Online travel company MakeMyTrip has shared that Indian couples are traveling to beach destinations for their honeymoons. Thailand was the top international honeymoon destination for Indians between October 2023 and September 2024. 

It replaced Maldives, which saw a 16% decline in honeymoon package bookings during the period. Maldives was the only international destination in the top five to witness a decline in bookings, likely due to the diplomatic tensions between the two nations earlier this year.

Domestically, Andaman replaced Kerala as the most-booked honeymoon destination, while popular beach destination Goa did not see any change in bookings. Indian couples also traveled to destinations such as Bhutan, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles for their honeymoon. 

Air France-KLM to Operate 50 Weekly Flights in India in Winter

Air France and KLM will operate 50 flights per week to and from India during the winter. This is a significant increase from the 39 weekly flights that were operated during the summer this year. 

The new schedule came into effect last week. The additional flights are being added between Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru in India and Amsterdam and Paris. Claude Sarre, Country Manager for Air France-KLM in the Indian Subcontinent, said that India is an important market for Air France-KLM.