JAKARTA - Thailand authorities are targeting visa abusers who enter the country on a visa-free program, following concerns that some travelers are using repeated short-term entries as a cover for scam operations and other illegal work.

Officers will tighten screening of frequent visa-free entrants and will deny entry to anyone who has made more than two visa runs without a clear explanation. The measure will also block reentry for people flagged near scam zones, such as Mae Sot in Tak province, and arrest overstayers.

The instruction came after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kittirat Phanphet called for stronger action against cybercrime networks. 

Earlier this week, Immigration Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Phanumas Boonyalucksana held an urgent meeting with senior officers to outline the new measures.

Since January, about 2,900 people have already been turned away at airports.

A tourism hotspot, Thailand offers visa-free entry to 93 countries out of 195 recognized countries in the world. That is roughly 4 out of 5 countries that can enter the country without a visa.

Last year, Thailand welcomed more than 35 million visitors and is aiming for up to 39 million by the end of 2025. Tourism brought in about THB 1.67 trillion, or roughly USD 48.45 billion, marking a 34 percent rise in revenue from international travelers compared with the previous year, according to the ministry.

With that said, authorities warn that the crackdown might make queues at airports slightly longer than usual, but they expect that the impact will be limited.

Officers will spend up to 45 seconds screening each foreign passenger, and the longest waits during peak hours should stay under 40 minutes. They plan to staff all counters to keep lines moving, while Thai citizens can still use automatic gates, which takes about 20 seconds.

These measures should not deter Thailand’s tourism economy. On the contrary, as officials said, they will help select quality foreign tourists who contribute income to the country with greater confidence.