The health minister said testing vaccines was inconvenient and a group of medical experts agreed to withdraw the new regulation.
Thailand has revoked an entry policy announced two days ago requiring travelers to present proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations, the country’s health minister said, citing sufficient vaccination levels in China. and global.
On Monday, Anutin Charnvirakul said it was inconvenient to check proof of vaccinations and a group of medical experts had agreed to withdraw the new rule, announced by aviation authorities on Saturday before a wave of attacks. expected work. tourists from Chinawhere COVID cases have surged.
Charnvirakul said unvaccinated people will also be allowed to enter the country without restrictions.
“Giving proof of vaccination would be cumbersome and inconvenient, so the team decided it was unnecessary,” Anutin told reporters.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said there had been discussions about entry requirements but the matter had been resolved.
As one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations, Thailand is welcoming a large number of visitors in its first peak season since the lifting of tight entry restrictions last year that crippled the country’s tourism industry. This country fell.
In November, it recorded 1.75 million visitors, a quadrupling from last year as flights and foreign arrivals were restricted.
Visitors from China
Chinese visitors are important to Thailand, accounting for about a quarter of annual visitors before the pandemic. Anutin said the government is now expecting between 7 and 10 million Chinese visitors, compared with a previous estimate of 5 million.
The first flight from China arrived in Thailand on Monday, the first of the 3,465 passengers expected on the first day.
“We are very excited to be back in Thailand. We’ve been waiting for three years,” said Wang Zhenyin, 39.
“Before the start of COVID, we came here every year. And this time I brought my family here.”
On Sunday, Beijing lifted a Mandatory quarantine for those coming from abroad applied when the pandemic began three years ago. The move is expected to release massive pent-up demand for foreign travel.
But so far, very few flights have been restored. On Monday, a check of arrivals at regional airports found only a handful of flights arriving from China. The biggest part is traveling to Korea.
The vaccine rule change follows the same policy as Thailand’s U-turn during the pandemic has caused widespread confusion among visitors about its entry requirements.
Charnvirakul said Thailand will still require foreigners to show proof of health insurance for COVID if their next destination requires a negative test prior to entry.
Thailand’s tourism agency expects arrivals last year to exceed 11.5 million, just over a quarter of the previous record of nearly 40 million in 2019 before the pandemic, which spent around 1 million. .91 trillion baht ($55.2 billion).
