1. LINE

      Text:AAAPrint
      Economy

      Thailand reopens with conditions, but return of Chinese will take time

      1
      2021-07-01 15:25:52China Daily Editor : Zhang Dongfang ECNS App Download
      Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

      Thailand's plan to welcome vaccinated international tourists, first back to Phuket on July 1, may set a model for other countries in the region, but the return of Chinese visitors — the kingdom's biggest source of foreign guests — could take some time, experts said.

      The reopening of the tourism-dependent country will be "a proof of concept" as it may show how this will work in Asia, said Bill Barnett, managing director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks in Thailand.

      Thailand's cabinet approved on June 22 a program called Phuket Sandbox that will allow foreign tourists quarantine-free travel in the resort island of Phuket, starting from July 1. Visitors are required to be fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to their arrival, and must be from a list of low- and medium-risk countries.

      Another three popular Thai destinations — Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao — will join a similar scheme, from July 15, to welcome international tourists, followed gradually by other locations in the country later in the year.

      The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects the pilot reopening plan to help bring in about 129,000 foreign tourists and 500,000 Thai travelers into Phuket between July and September, generating a cash flow of about 15 billion baht ($471 million), Bangkok Post newspaper reported on June 20.

      Though China has been Thailand's biggest source of foreign tourists in recent years, Barnett said he expects the majority of the early travelers to be from highly-vaccinated countries in Europe, rather than from China.

      Chinese visitor numbers are unlikely to be high in the short term given China's stringent quarantine requirements for returning travelers, he said.

      "It's a two-way issue," said Barnett. "It's not just allowing international travelers from low- and medium-risk countries into Thailand, but what's going to happen to travelers … when they go back to their country."

      "We don't expect any Chinese (tourists to visit Thailand) until the outbound China travel is kind of reset," said Barnett.

      Jesper Palmqvist, area director for Asia Pacific at hospitality consultancy STR, said another reason why international tourism destinations like Thailand will need to wait longer for Chinese tourists is the rapid development of China's domestic tourism market, which had been growing fast even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

      "The faster source markets (for Thailand) will most likely to be Eastern Europe, Russia, and parts of ASEAN," Palmqvist said, referring to member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

      He said travelers, mostly from Europe, are already booking well in advance to spend their holidays in Thailand, especially for stays during the fourth quarter.

      Following the sandbox program that kicks off on July 1, Thailand has set a target to fully reopen to foreign visitors in mid-October.

      Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said on June 16 that the country aims reopen within 120 days.

      The plan was later tempered with a prerequisite that only provinces that have vaccinated 70 percent of their population will be allowed to open completely, Bangkok Post reported, citing Thailand's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

      "The Thai authorities have kept a safety-first approach for the last 18 months. If it reaches 70 percent (of vaccination rate) … absolutely, I think there is a great opportunity to open up and start recovery," said Palmqvist.

      Thailand's plans are much-needed, he said, adding that countries will have to reopen, after the prolonged pandemic, due to economic reasons.

      Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism revenue last year when foreign arrivals plunged 83 percent to 6.7 million, from a record 39.9 million in 2019, Reuters said in a report in early June.

      To fully reopen, Thailand has set a goal to administer an average of 10 million vaccine doses each month from July onwards, and a threshold of 50 million people given first shots by early October.

      "If the vaccination rate progresses as the government anticipates, and travelers are fully immunized prior to arrival and tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, Thailand can safely reopen," said Sompong Vongpunsawad, a virologist with the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

      Yet, Sompong said the current vaccination progress is still not fast enough to enable most of the people to develop immunity within four months, while challenges brought by COVID-19 variants remain.

      As of June 24, Thailand administered 8.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a national inoculation program in February, according to official data. On June 24, the country reported 4,108 new coronavirus cases, taking the total tally to 232,647. About 60 percent of Phuket residents have been vaccinated as of mid-June.

      Admitting that total prevention of imported cases or community infection may be impossible, Sompong said Thailand is aiming to do what is feasible, which is to welcome tourists who have been vaccinated and ask them to stay for at least two weeks before travelling elsewhere. Other measures like COVID-19 testing at the airport will also be in place.

      "Should COVID-19 infections occur, contact-tracing and re-implementation of public health measures will be important," Sompong said.

      MorePhoto

      Most popular in 24h

      MoreTop news

      MoreVideo

      LINE
      Back to top About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
      Copyright ©1999-2021 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      主站蜘蛛池模板: 99精品视频免费观看| 亚洲一区动漫卡通在线播放| 国产亚洲精品第一综合| 毛片免费观看的视频| 亚洲无成人网77777| 4444www免费看| 亚洲欧洲自拍拍偷午夜色| 91老湿机福利免费体验| 久久精品国产亚洲AV电影 | 亚洲人成影院在线无码按摩店 | 一级女性全黄生活片免费看| 免费欧洲美女牲交视频| 视频一区在线免费观看| 亚洲精品一级无码鲁丝片| 一区二区三区免费视频观看| 亚洲线精品一区二区三区影音先锋| 最近中文字幕大全免费版在线| 亚洲精品你懂的在线观看| 免费国产成人18在线观看| 亚洲精品韩国美女在线| 99国产精品永久免费视频| 亚洲精品乱码久久久久久蜜桃图片 | 国产一区二区免费| 亚洲精品高清久久| 黄页网站免费观看| 青青视频免费在线| 亚洲成AV人片在线播放无码| 曰批全过程免费视频网址| 亚洲国产精品18久久久久久 | 足恋玩丝袜脚视频免费网站| 亚洲熟妇成人精品一区| 国产乱子伦精品免费无码专区| 精精国产www视频在线观看免费| 亚洲va无码va在线va天堂| 最新欧洲大片免费在线 | 久久午夜免费视频| 免费无码AV一区二区| 亚洲综合日韩中文字幕v在线| 大学生高清一级毛片免费| 国产免费播放一区二区| 亚洲天堂福利视频|