Southeast Asia's second-largest economy to launch safe travel certification amid tourism crisis

The new initiative, called the "Thailand Safe Travel Stamp," comes as the country received only 16.04 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, a 4.24% decline year-on-year.

Only 2.17 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand during the period, a 4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

The sharp drop in Chinese visitors, the largest source of international tourists in Thailand, was driven by growing safety concerns and economic challenges, particularly after the abduction of Chinese actor Xing Xing earlier this year, Global Times reported.

Thailand targets 6.9 million Chinese tourists by 2025, meaning it must draw an additional 4.73 million visitors in the second half of the year.

Erblarp Sripirom, director of the Tourism Products Division at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, stated that the safe travel stamp will be granted by August to qualifying hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and tourism operators.

The Thai government also plans to launch promotional campaigns targeting Chinese outbound travelers in October, tourism media platform Travel And Tour World reported.