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Thailand U-Turns on COVID Vaccination Rule for Visitors
(CTN News) – Thailand’s health minister stated that the country’s decision to withdraw the need for visitors to confirm COVID-19 vaccination was made on Monday. He cited high levels of immunization in China and other countries as justification.
According to Anutin Charnvirakul, asking visitors to provide proof of vaccination is cumbersome, and an expert panel has determined that it is unnecessary since enough immunizations have been given worldwide.
Related: Thailand to Allow Unvaccinated Tourists to Fly into the Country
Visitors who are not immunized will also be admitted without restriction, according to Anutin.
Before an anticipated influx of tourists from China, where COVID-19 instances have increased, the nation’s aviation authorities had on Saturday announced the restrictions, beginning Monday.
The panel decided against requiring vaccine documentation because it would be burdensome and inconvenient, Anutin told reporters.
According to Anutin, the first aircraft of Chinese tourists to come to Thailand since the epidemic began carried an initial group of 3,465 people on the first day.
Thailand, one of Asia’s most well-liked holiday destinations, is seeing a rise in visitors during its first peak season after eliminating stringent entrance requirements last year.
It got 1.75 million visitors in November, four times more than the previous year when flights and international immigration were restricted.
According to Anutin, Thailand is anticipating 7–10 million Chinese tourists, up from an earlier prediction of 5 million.
“This is encouraging news for Thailand’s tourist industry; the nation’s economy will rebound quickly. After being crushed for the last three years by COVID, “said he.
The Thailand Tourism Authority anticipates that more than 11.5 million visitors arrived in the country last year, barely over a quarter of the record-breaking over 40 million visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, who spent around 1.91 trillion baht ($55.17 billion).
According to Anutin, Thailand will continue to demand proof that visitors have health insurance that covers the cost of treating the illness if their next destination is a nation that requires a positive COVID-19 test before admission.
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