Bangkok –
39 Chinese tourists from Shanghai have arrived in Bangkok yesterday evening and have been isolated in alternative state quarantine for 14 days in the capital with no sign of symptoms so far, the Tourism and Sports minister confirmed today, October 21.
Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told reporters that the Chinese tourists in question have been traveling under the Special Tourist Visa (STV) scheme in which they have been marked Covid-19-free from their home country with medical certificates before traveling abroad to Thailand. The number of tourists was originally announced as 41, however, it is not immediately clear why the number was less or why different numbers were quoted by different government sources.
They would leave the alternative state quarantine (ASQ) to travel around the country, mostly to beaches near the capital, after they were tested negative for Covid-19 coronavirus and conducted a fourteen day quarantine. All Covid-19 negative tourists are required to register and install a tracking application for their own and local’s health safety.
Most of them will stay in Thailand for the long term, with a maximum of 270 days, under the STV visa that is issued for 90 days and can be renewed 2 times. Each tourist has an estimated average spending of 800,000 baht per person during the trip, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn added.
A second group of 147 Chinese travelers from Guangzhou is expected to arrive in Bangkok on October 26 and there will be more groups of Chinese tourists afterward. An estimated number of 400 tourists will be visiting the country by November 2, according to Phiphat. It is believed all of them will be from China at this time.
The ministry further stated that the re-opening for a limited number of tourists is also proving Thailand’s health measures to manage and restore tourism after being badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, it has not yet been confirmed by the authorities when a previously announced group of Chinese tourists that were supposed to visit Phuket but were delayed due to concerns from prominent local residents would arrive. The Government is still in the process of re-announcing the date.
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