In short:
Several Asian countries including China, Thailand and Indonesia have eased entry requirements for Australians.
Some visas and charges have been removed, while other application processes have been streamlined.
It is expected to help increase tourism numbers following a fall during the COVID pandemic.
Across Asia, countries have relaxed entry requirements for tourists and business travellers, making the region easier to access and open for longer stays.
While some governments have scrapped arrival fees for foreign nationals including Australians, others have waived visas and streamlined application processes.
Manager of Acland Travel Debbie Jukes said visa amendments were ultimately “COVID hangovers” coupled with travel incentives.
Since 2022, nations have slowly been undoing the slew of restrictive border policies introduced during the pandemic.
Indonesia, Thailand and China are the latest to ease entry requirements for foreigners.
Ms Jukes said that although governments marketed these changes as a win for tourists, it was unlikely to have much of an impact on Australians’ appetite for travel to those places.
“Visas don’t encourage or discourage people from travelling. If they want to go, they go,” she said.
So, what’s on offer in the region?
Indonesia
In October, Indonesia is set to once again waive its $50 visa-on-arrival fee for 20 nations, including Australia.
This payment was first ditched in 2016 but reinstated following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the cost is due to be waived, travellers still need to obtain a visa either online prior to departure or in person upon arrival.
The Indonesian government announced the change last year, citing high visitation rates from select countries as the reason for the exemption.
Indonesia hopes to have $18 billion in tourism revenue in 2024.
Despite the travel incentives, entry is not necessarily free for Australians.
Earlier this year, the government introduced a $15 tourism tax for all foreigners heading to the Indonesian province of Bali to help the country manage over-tourism there.
Thailand
Like many other countries, tourism in Thailand took a hard hit during the pandemic.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, there were approximately 800,000 Australians travelling to Thailand each year, pre-pandemic.
Throughout 2022, the Tourism Authority of Thailand registered over 330,000 Australian tourists.
By the end of the first half of 2023, more than 380,000 Australians had already visited.
Thailand announced earlier this month that Australians along with foreign nationals from 92 other countries were eligible for a 60-day, rather than 30-day, visa-free fee-free stay in the country.
This comes with the option of a 30-day extension. It requires an additional application, but if approved, travellers can stay a total of 90 days.
These changes came into effect on July 15.
China
In a bid to boost inbound tourism and in the spirit of thawing Australia-China relations, Chinese Premier Li Qiang last month announced that Beijing would extend its open-door policy to Australians, granting tourists and business travellers a 15-day visa-free visit.
However students, foreign media and workers with a plan to make money in China were exempt.
Previously, Australians wanting to visit China required a single-entry visa priced at $110.
Year-long multi-entry visas cost $230.
Under the new scheme, there are no caps on the number of times eligible Australians can come and go from China, pending their stay does not exceed 15 days.
Previously, travel to China also required a slew of documentation showing proof of accommodation, return flights and, for business purposes, who asked them to come.
Although that doesn’t explicitly apply anymore, the Chinese embassy in Australia encourages travellers to carry all of the above evidence in hard-copy format to assist immigration officials verify the purpose of the visit.
Ms Jukes said that, unlike other visa changes, the changes to Chinese immigration policy might actually move the dial.
She said that’s because the pandemic conditions imposed by Beijing made it “very, very difficult” for Australians to obtain a visa, let alone travel there. As a result, many of her clients stopped going.
China’s new visa scheme came into effect at the beginning of July and runs through to the end of next year.
Other visa requirements in the region
Australians can travel visa-free for less than 30 days to places including Philippines, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The same applies in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan for a period of 90 days.
Visas are still required in countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, but these no longer entail lengthy postage periods or in-person presentations at embassies. They can all be lodged online.
“You used to have to send your passport off and get a stamp or a sticker, but they’re all e-visas now,” Ms Jukes said.
“It’s relatively easy.”