Thailand is gradually opening up to a limited numbers of visitors during the coronavirus pandemic. - Reuters
BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand expects to receive 1,200 foreign visitors in both November and December, after a slight easing of travel curbs aimed at generating some income until a ban on mass tourism is lifted, its tourism authority chief said on Friday (Nov 27).
The country is gradually opening up to a limited numbers of visitors during the coronavirus pandemic to give some support to a tourism-dependent economy that the government expects to shrink by 6 per cent this year.
The new arrivals, however, would be a fraction of the number in 2019, a record year.
Thailand recorded 1,201 foreign visitors in October, all on special 90-day visas requiring a 14-day quarantine period, compared to 3.07 million arrivals last October.
"We rather hope this will signal the opening up of the country," Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, told Reuters.
Those tourists would each spend about 200,000-400,000 baht (US$6,500 to $13,000), he said.
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