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BANGKOK • Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor in January to rescue its weakened tourism industry.
The deal with Beijing will be subject to the success of a limited reopening of the Thai tourism industry to foreign travelers this month, according to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
China, which accounted for more than a quarter of Thailand’s tourist arrivals before the pandemic, will be the first low-risk country the Southeast Asian country will sign up for without quarantine travel, he said.
The current mandatory quarantine will be replaced by coronavirus testing and a mobile tracking app for Chinese visitors if the return of foreign tourists does not lead to new Covid-19 outbreaks, Phiphat said. About 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand last year, earning the country about $ 17 billion (Singapore $ 23.1 billion), official data shows.
Thailand has struggled in its efforts to reopen its borders to tourists due to opposition from a section of local industry and public concern that the government is unprepared to deal with a second wave of infections.
But a pact with China may open the door to similar travel deals with places like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, Phiphat said.
“It can be a very happy new year, as Thailand’s peak travel season is the perfect time to allow people to enter the country,” Phiphat said in an interview in Bangkok on Thursday.
“Most Chinese visitors come to Thailand for a week, so for many it would not be worth the trip for many.”
The minister expects tourist arrivals to total between five and 10 million next year, compared to an estimated seven million this year.
While Thailand has weathered the virus outbreak better than most other Southeast Asian nations, the pandemic has devastated its tourism industry, which generated more than $ 60 billion in revenue from some 40 million visitors last year.
“China has about 800 million people in 22 provinces who have been infection-free,” Phiphat said. “If we could attract at least 1% of those people to travel here, that would be enough.”
The first batch of visitors from China under a previously announced long-term tourist visa program will arrive in Bangkok on Tuesday, the minister said.
The government expects to issue around 1,200 visas a month under the program to help the industry recovering from the arrival of foreign tourists for five months in a row.
Thailand is also grappling with mounting evidence in favor of the government, prompting authorities to impose a state of emergency in Bangkok on Thursday.
But that won’t stop the government from easing visa restrictions, Phiphat said. “I am concerned, but I am confident that an understanding can be reached and it will not turn violent,” he said.
BLOOMBERG
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