Thailand Welcomed 6,000+ Arrivals On The First Day of Reopening

On November 1, the country reopened for fully inoculated foreign tourists which led to welcoming more than 6,600 foreign tourists.  This is a significant step forward for Thailand after closing its borders to foreign tourist arrivals in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Arrivals who are fully vaccinated from 63 countries can now enter the country without going through quarantine, with just a brief period of isolation in their hotel room waiting for the COVID-19 test results. This easing of restrictions would give the tourism industry a boost for the next few months.

On November 1, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport welcomed 3,000 arrivals on 61 commercial flights. Kittipong Kittikachorn, the airport’s general manager, reports that 2,300 of those passengers were international tourists, mainly from Europe. The remaining 700 were Thai nationals returning from overseas. Other international airports in the country received a total of 3,613 arrivals.

While there was some congestion at Suvarnabhumi’s vaccine screening stations, Kittipong expressed satisfaction with the reopening’s progress. Through the new Thailand Pass system, relevant papers are now examined and confirmed using QR codes.

According to the Transport Ministry, approximately 3,260 planes will land in Bangkok this month, bringing more than 135,000 arrivals, a significant improvement above the 100,000 foreign tourists who visited Bangkok in the past few months. An official said that 27 airlines will have operated flights in and out of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Samui airports on Friday. Around 15,230 people from 26 countries are expected from these flights.

One of the first arrivals last November 1 was a family from Frankfurt, Germany, who expressed their joy at being back in Thailand after more than 2 years. Another arrival was a foreign couple who wanted to spend their honeymoon on Koh Phangan and Koh Samui.

The couple told reports that they are confident in their ability to travel safely in Thailand, due to the comprehensive and tight screening process that has been placed since their arrival.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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