People at an airport in Thailand. (Photo: www.bangkokpost.com) Hanoi (VNA) – Thailand will lift quarantine requirementsfor fully vaccinated visitors from 46 countries instead of only 10 ones as announced earlier, starting from November 1.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made the decision on October 21 as the country is looking to revive its tourism industry.
Earlier, the Thai PM said tourists from around 10 countrieswould be allowed to visit Thailand by air without quarantine, provided theyhave been fully vaccinated and have evidence of pre-flight negative testresults.
Thai government officials recently inspected the readinessof the country's airports to welcome quarantine-free travellers, after almosttwo years of COVID-19 preventive measures.
From November 1, the country will allow vaccinated arrivalsfrom low risk countries to return to its popular destinations like Pattaya,Chiang Mai and Bangkok.
Thailand piloted reopening earlier this year in its resortisland of Phuket, allowing fully-vaccinated tourists to skip Thailand’smandatory two-week quarantine provided they remained on the island.
Tourism before the pandemic was a leading driver of theeconomy, accounting for 12 percent of GDP.
However, the tourism authority has forecast foreign arrivalswill drop to just 100,000 this year, down from 40 million in 2019 before thepandemic struck.
Thailand has recorded nearly 1.8 million COVID-19 cases and 18,486fatalities since the pandemic began./.
