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BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand welcomed a group of tourists from China on Tuesday (October 20), the first such arrivals since commercial flights were banned in April to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and visitors are apparently not They were unfazed by the escalation of street demonstrations in Bangkok.
Thirty-nine tourists from Shanghai arrived Tuesday night, the deputy director of the country’s main Suvarnabhumi airport, Kittipong Kittikachorn, said in a statement.
Thai public television showed masked tourists leaving the airport, with officials in full protective gear spraying their luggage with disinfectant. Outside, some of the tourists donned masks and rubber gloves as they prepared to board buses to their hotels.
The arrivals come as anti-government protesters continue to defy the ban on meetings after authorities declared a serious emergency in Bangkok.
The unrest has not affected interest in the country, Thailand Tourism Authority Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters.
“There have been no cancellations or inquiries about it so far and people are following the news,” he said.
The student-led rallies, which sometimes draw 10,000 people, have occupied busy intersections for hours before peacefully dispersing. In one incident last week, a water cannon was used against protesters.
The tourism-dependent country could receive just 6.7 million foreign visitors this year, the government says, less than a fifth of a record 39.8 million in 2019.
The government banned commercial flights in April to keep Covid-19 at bay, and the new cases have been primarily Thais returning home. The country has reported a total of 3,700 infections.
New arriving tourists have special 90-day visas and must be quarantined for two weeks (seven days in their hotel rooms and seven days on hotel grounds) and test negative three times before they can move freely.
“Once that happens, they will be able to move to other destinations (within Thailand),” Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thai television PBS.
A second batch of 147 tourists from Guangzhou, China, will arrive next Monday, with more next month.
“Winter is coming, so more tourists from European countries, the United States, Korea and Japan would also like to come visit us at this time,” said Mr. Phiphat.
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