16,000 foreign visitors enter Thailand in first week of reopening

Most from US, Germany, Britain and Japan; businesses cautiously optimistic about revival

- Tan Tam Mei

The streets of Bangkok are buzzing with start-stop traffic and thronging crowds as Thailand rounds off its first week of relaxed border controls that waive quarantine for travellers from more than 60 countries and territories.

Tourist attractions, merchants and restaurants that had been shuttered for a good part of the year are now cracking open their doors again, cautiously optimistic about a revival in a sector that in 2019 brought in more than 1.91 trillion baht (S$77.7 billion).

The nation’s reopening last Monday and Bangkok’s hot weather lured sports teacher Christian Schubert to escape the chill of Germany’s autumn.

“The world has waited long enough for Covid-19 to be under control, and I feel like it’s finally time to travel,” said the 40-year-old, who was wandering in the complex of Bangkok’s Grand Palace barely 24 hours after touching down last Wednesday. “It’s a good time to come before the crowd of mass tourism returns.”

Already, about 16,000 foreign visitors have entered Thailand through the various travel schemes expanded since last Monday, with most coming from the United States, Germany, Britain and Japan, said the authorities.

Fully vaccinated air travellers from approved countries and territories can enter the kingdom without undergoing quarantine.

Instead, they will take a Covid-19 test upon landing and spend a night at a government-approved hotel where they have to wait for a negative result before they can travel freely in Thailand.