Thailand expects tens of thousands of travelers as tourism restarts

Published on : Monday, November 1, 2021

Tens of thousands of travelers were expected to visit Bangkok and the holiday island of Phuket on Monday with Thailand restarting its tourism industry after a gap of 18 months of Covid-19restrictions.

The coronavirus pandemic has battered the kingdom’s tourism-dependent economy, which last year witnessed its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis with arrivals declining more than 80 per cent.

Thai authorities have approved vaccinated tourists from more than 60 “low-risk” countries not requiring hotel quarantine, thereby providing the sector with a much-needed lifeline.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and Phuket’s international terminal will be the first to receive visitors under thiseasing of curbs, with the rest of the country following suit.

Thailand is aiming to capitalize on travelers escaping the winter blues during December, and they have approved many European countries, with the United States and China on the approved list.

“The most important thing that the government and I are thinking right now is to make people’s livelihoods return to normal,”said Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

Tourism accounts for nearly a fifth of the Thai economy and the impact of the pandemic has been felt across various sectors, from restaurants to transportation.

However, authorities expect 10 to 15 million visitors to return next year, and revenue toexceed $30 billion.
“In 2023, we believe the revenues will be close with the figure of the year 2019,”said Thai tourism minister PipatRatchakitprakarn.

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