Prime! Thailand Starts Welcoming Tourist Arrivals Without Quarantine

JAKARTA - Hundreds of foreign tourists who have received the COVID-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on Monday, October 1. This is the first wave in 18 months for tourist arrivals who are not required to undergo quarantine.

In an effort to revive a tourism economy battered by the pandemic, the Thai government has given the green light to tourists receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from more than 60 countries, including the United States and China.

A number of European countries are also on the list as officials hope to take advantage of travelers from the Northern Hemisphere who wish to escape winter.

Thailand, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia-Pacific, imposed strict entry rules for 18 months. The regulation has drawn criticism in the travel industry for being too restrictive and burdensome.

Before the pandemic the tourism sector accounted for about 12 percent of Thailand's GDP and the capital was the most visited city in the world.

Under the new national program, arriving travelers are required to stay at a designated hotel and show a negative COVID-19 test result before they can travel freely throughout the region.

More than 1.9 million infections and more than 19,000 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in Thailand since April. Meanwhile, around 42 percent of their 72 million population have received the COVID-19 vaccine.