The backpackers on Khao San Road, a Bangkok thoroughfare famous for its wild nightlife, are waking up this week with an extra headache: the Thai government is set to shorten the length of visa-free stays.

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…