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BANGKOK, Oct.3 (AFP): Thailand will begin reopening its borders to outsiders and kick-start a tourism industry hit by Covid-19 (coronavirus) with a flight from China later this month, authorities said Friday at night (October 3).
The kingdom’s economy relies heavily on foreign visitors, but the country expects a fraction of the nearly 40 million international arrivals it recorded last year, after the pandemic halted global air travel.
Authorities hope to present the country as a safe vacation destination after Thailand escaped the outbreak relatively unscathed, with only 59 deaths recorded across the country.
But the scheme has been designed to prevent any risk of importing new cases, and only visitors from countries considered low-risk can enter the country and all newcomers must spend 14 days in hotel quarantine.
The first to arrive will be a group of 150 Chinese tourists traveling to Phuket, a spokeswoman for the Thailand Tourism Authority told AFP, with local media reporting that their flight would land on the tourist island next week.
Two more flights, one with Chinese passengers and one with European travelers, are booked to continue if there are no problems with the first group, he added.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters this week that only a limited number of travelers would be allowed to enter Thailand and that they would be monitored via wristbands and mobile phone apps.
Thailand’s tour operators have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic and have urged the government to ease border restrictions.
Thailand’s economy could contract as much as 10.4 percent this year, according to a World Bank forecast released this week. – AFP
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