Thailand plans to focus on offering high-standard services to attract more Chinese tourists in 2025, according to Sorawong Thienthong, the country's Minister of Tourism and Sports, who attended the opening of the China International Travel Mart 2024 in Shanghai.
The event, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, kicked off on Friday in Shanghai, bringing together exhibitors from over 80 countries and regions.
According to the organizers, the three-day gathering has attracted more than 1,000 international exhibitors, nearly 600 travel agencies, and over 600 offline buyer-seller meetings.
Covering 53,000 square meters, the fair features a variety of fields, including Chinese and international cultures, tourism, tourism-related technologies, cultural products, and tourism services.
At the opening ceremony of the Thai pavilion, the minister highlighted that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand. He also stressed the importance of strengthening tourism cooperation between the two countries.
"2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China, and we see great importance in tourism cooperation with China. We're planning a series of events during the Chinese Spring Festival next year, as well as more direct flights and new tours and routes. Also, we have implemented a high-tech monitoring system and other tourism policies to guarantee the safety of tourists," said Thienthong.
Thailand aims to attract more Chinese visitors in 2025
The European Commission on Friday announced its decision to close the four-year-long antitrust investigation into Apple's rules for competing e-book and audiobook app developers following the withdrawal of complaint.
However, the Commission also stated that the closure of the investigation should not be seen as confirmation that Apple’s actions align with EU competition rules.
The Commission will continue to monitor the business practices of technology companies, including Apple, in accordance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and competition rules, it said.
In 2020, an e-book and audiobook distributor filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, accusing the company of prohibiting developers from directing users to other purchasing channels and requiring all in-app purchases to be made through Apple’s payment system, a practice that violated EU competition rules.
In March, the European Commission slapped Apple with 1.84 billion euros in fines for alleged abuse of its dominant market position in distributing music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users through its App Store.
The iPhone maker is not the only major U.S. company to face antitrust complaints in the EU in recent months. Earlier this month, Facebook owner Meta was fined 798 million euros (around 846 million U.S. dollars) related to allegations that its advertisement services unfairly favor its own classified service, Facebook Marketplace.
Meanwhile, Amazon may face an EU antitrust investigation amid allegations that the e-commerce giant has given priority to its own brands through its services, Reuters has reported.
EU closes antitrust probe into Apple's e-book rules after complaint withdrawal
