Thailand welcomes first foreign tourists after seven months of border closure hinh anh 1A tourist has her body temperature checked at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)


Bangkok (VNA)
- The first group of Chinese tourists under the Special Tourist Visa (STV) scheme, arrived at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 20 and will enter a 14-day quarantine, said the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the tourists have entered the 14-day mandatory quarantine in Bangkok. Most of them planned to visit the beach and they already reserved hotel rooms, he said.

Upon arriving, the tourists were required to download a tracking app on their smartphones. The STV allows them to remain in the kingdom for up to 90 days, and is renewable twice.

Yuthasak said more Chinese visitors are on their way, with 147 due to arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport from Guangzhou on October 26. TAT estimated that each tourist would spend around 800,000 baht during their stay in Thailand.

A group of 120 visitors from Guangzhou were supposed to arrive in Phuket on October 8, but their trip was postponed as the island's authorities were concerned they might not have the manpower to deal with the tourists' arrival, which coincided with Phuket's annual vegetarian festival, according to the Sports and Tourism Ministry.

Meanwhile, Thai Airways International (THAI) announced it will fly 120 Chinese visitors with STVs to Thailand on October 28, the airline announced.

The special flight will pick up tourists from Shanghai, along with individuals of various nationalities with a medical visa, as well as Thais returning home from China.

Chinese tourists accounted for a large number of last year's tourist arrivals, with 10.99 million visitors arriving in Thailand among almost 40 million international holidaymakers./.

VNA