Mallika Dureja
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Thai officials said Thursday that travellers from China could enter the kingdom without getting coronavirus tests before leaving. They hope that their return will help the country’s tourism industry get back on its feet.
Since Beijing subsided some restrictions last month, there have been more infections in China, and hospitals and crematoriums are full.
As worries grow about the rise in cases, the United States, Canada, Japan, and France are among the countries that have put in place new rules that require travellers from China to show that they have passed a Covid test.
But the Thai government said on Thursday that everyone should be treated the same.
“Thailand does not require Covid test results from tourists from any country,” Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters Thursday after a meeting between health, tourism, and transportation officials.
Before the pandemic, more tourists from China came to Thailand than from any other country. In 2019, almost 11 million Chinese tourists came to Thailand.
Before the pandemic, almost 20% of the country’s income came from tourism. At the height of the health crisis, strict border restrictions hurt hotels, restaurants, and tour operators all over the country.
Thailand says no Covid test needed for travellers from China https://t.co/ZbiLcvt3Po #SocialMedia #News #BreakingNews
— US Burning (@UsBurning) January 5, 2023
“This is a chance for us to fix our economy and make up for the losses we’ve had for almost three years,” Anutin said.
The deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tanes Petsuwan, said that he thought about 60,000 Chinese people would visit Thailand this month, and that number would keep going up.
“After Chinese New Year, we expect Chinese tourists to come to Thailand,” said Pipat Ratchakitprakan, who is in charge of tourism.
In December, Thailand had its 10 millionth international visitor for 2022. This is a big jump from 2021’s 430,000 visitors, but it’s still a long way from 2019’s 40 million arrivals.
The Thai government thinks that about 20 million people will visit in 2023, but they think that Chinese tourists could bring that number up to about 25 million.
