Thailand will only be open to visitors from low-risk countries and all new arrivals are required to stay on a 14-day stay.
Thailand will begin to reopen its borders to welcome foreign visitors and launch a tourism industry that has been damaged by the Covid-19 outbreak this week.
The Southeast Asian country is expected to only receive a portion of its nearly 40 million international arrivals last year, after the pandemic left the global tourism industry in a nearly paralyzed state.
Thailand is expected to only receive a portion of the nearly 40 million international arrivals in the last year. Photo: Bloomberg.
Thai officials hope to build an image of the country as a safe travel destination after the country has well controlled the Covid-19 epidemic with just 59 deaths nationwide. However, to avoid the risk of “importing” new cases, only travelers from low-risk countries are allowed to enter, and all new entries are on a 14-day hotel quarantine.
As planned, the first group of tourists (150 Chinese tourists) will arrive in Phuket next week. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said that only a limited number of visitors are allowed to enter Thailand and they will be monitored through a mobile phone application. According to forecasts of the World Bank, Thailand's economy could decrease up to 10.4% this year.
