Tourism operators welcomed the government's first step in revoking the 60-day visa exemption to curb illicit activities by foreigners, while urging authorities to provide proper guidance for genuine investors as well as advising frequent visa runners to apply for alternative long-stay visas instead.

The cabinet on Tuesday decided to end the 60-day visa-free programme for foreign visitors to Thailand, but the timeline for enforcement has not yet been disclosed.

Thailand is drastically cutting the length of visa-free stays for tourists from more than 90 countries in an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals, officials said on…