BANGKOK — Nearly 4,000 travelers arrived in Thailand via international flights for the first day of tourism reopening, and none of them tested positive for the coronavirus upon their arrival, officials said Tuesday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said a total of 3,870 passengers entered the country on Monday via the “Test and Go” program, which allows Thai and foreign travelers from an approved list of countries to travel around Thailand freely if the result of their coronavirus test came out negative.
None of those 3,870 passengers were found with the coronavirus, according to Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand director Suttipong Kongpool.
However, 12 passengers were sent to hospitals for personal “health conditions” unrelated to the coronavirus, Suttipong added.
Starting on Monday, fully vaccinated visitors from 63 countries and territories can now fly to Thailand without having to go through quarantine, with just a minimal isolation period in their hotel room to wait for coronavirus test results.
Officials hope that the policy, which makes Thailand’s border one of the most ‘open’ in Asia, will provide a much needed revenue to the tourism sector over the next few months.
The government said up to 27 airlines will have flown routes in and out of the international airports in Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, and Chiang Mai by this Friday. These flights are predicted to carry around 15,230 visitors from 26 countries. The figures do not say how many of them will be foreign nationals visiting for tourism purposes, and how many of them will be Thais returning home.
