From November 1, Thailand will gradually open its borders to vaccinated foreign visitors, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha was quoted as saying by AFP yesterday.
AFP notes that with this step, the kingdom is trying to save its severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic tourism industry.
Initially, Thailand will allow tourists from 10 countries “considered low-risk,” such as the United States, China, Britain, Germany and Singapore, the prime minister said in a television statement. The list of countries may be supplemented in the coming months.
Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result and make a new one on site.
“After that, they will be able to travel freely around the country like Thais,” Prayut Chan-ocha said.
Thailand will allow vaccinated tourists from S’pore to enter from Nov. 1, 2021 https://t.co/JYMoMJoxsB pic.twitter.com/0WN1Dbeni8
— Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) October 12, 2021
Until now, only vaccinated tourists could get to the resort of Phuket under a special program. However, they had to stay for a week at a hotel on the island before they were allowed to visit other parts of the country.
Prior to the pandemic, tourism revenues accounted for one-fifth of Thailand’s gross domestic product. However, strict restrictions imposed on passengers through the coronavirus have led to a sharp decline in the number of tourists. In 2020, it fell 83 percent to 6.7 million people after a record 39.9 million in 2019. As a result of COVID-19, the country lost about $ 50 billion in tourism revenue, and last year was the weakest for the economy in 20 years.
In 2020, Thailand relatively got rid of the coronavirus, but since April this year, the number of infected began to grow and since the beginning of the pandemic has exceeded 1.7 million people. Nearly 18,000 deaths have been reported, but more than 30 percent of the country’s population is currently vaccinated in two doses, and the situation has improved in recent weeks.