Thailand welcomes first foreign tourists after seven months of border closure
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).
A tourist has her body temperature checked at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thefirst group of Chinese tourists under the Special Tourist Visa (STV) scheme,arrived at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on October 20 and will enter a14-day quarantine, said the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the touristshave entered the 14-day mandatory quarantine in Bangkok. Most of them plannedto visit the beach and they already reserved hotel rooms, he said.
Upon arriving, the tourists were required to download a trackingapp on their smartphones. The STV allows them to remain in the kingdom for upto 90 days, and is renewable twice.
Yuthasak said more Chinese visitorsare on their way, with 147 due to arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport from Guangzhouon October 26. TAT estimated that each tourist would spend around 800,000 bahtduring their stay in Thailand.
A group of 120 visitors from Guangzhouwere supposed to arrive in Phuket on October 8, but their trip was postponed asthe island's authorities were concerned they might not have the manpower todeal with the tourists' arrival, which coincided with Phuket's annualvegetarian 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 October28, the airline announced.
The special flight will pick up touristsfrom Shanghai, along with individuals of various nationalities with a medicalvisa, as well as Thais returning home from China.
Chinese tourists accounted for a largenumber of last year's tourist arrivals, with 10.99 million visitors arriving inThailand among almost 40 million international holidaymakers./.
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A tourist has her body temperature checked at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
