USA, Germany Top Most Arrivals Since Thailand Reopens

Airport officials inspect a traveler's documents at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Nov. 1, 2021.

BANGKOK — More than 13,000 people arrived in Thailand through international airports since the tourism reopening came into effect earlier this week, government officials said on Friday.

The data collected by airport officials detailed international arrivals from Monday to Thursday. The report said a total of 13,229 people have entered Thailand during those four days, with the highest arrivals coming from the United States (1,593) and Germany (1,592).

Other countries with top arrivals include the United Kingdom (1,006), Japan (935), Switzerland (624), Sweden (511), and South Korea (499).

About 70 percent of those flights landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The figures do not say how many of them were foreigners and Thais, nor do they distinguish tourists from expats or Thai nationals returning to their homes in Thailand.

Advertisement

Ministry of Public Health official Sumanee Watcharasin said only 10 out of those 13,229 visitors tested positive for the coronavirus, or less than 0.1 percent.

Advertisement

Under the “Test and Go” quarantine-exemption program, travelers must test for coronavirus upon their arrival and they are required to stay at a hotel while they await the result. If the test comes back negative, the visitors can travel freely in Thailand, if the result is positive, they’ll be sent to treatment at a hospital.

The waiting time for the PCR test varies. Some report test results as fast as 6 hours, while others had to wait for a day and a half.

There were also complaints about the shortage of drivers taking travelers from the airport to their hotels, where they take the PCR test, but the government has pledged to solve the problem.