Thailand golf quarantine: the country welcomes South Korean visitors in pilot scheme to eke out a little tourism revenue
- Some 40 South Korean tourists have checked into the Artitaya Country Club, outside Bangkok at a cost of US$2,240 each for a 15-day stay
- They will be able to play golf after a negative Covid-19 test result, and can visit the rest of the country after a further two
Thailand has welcomed golfers from South Korea for the country’s new golf quarantine programme in a bid to boost tourism revenue hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
About 40 South Koreans are undergoing quarantine at Artitaya Country Club, an hour north of Bangkok, where they were tested on arrival last week, Tourism Authority of Thailand deputy governor, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, said.
The golf quarantine programme is drawing only a small fraction of around 250,000 South Korean golfers who visited Thailand in 2019, but officials hope it will grow at the six approved courses, which have specific health measures in place.
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Thailand’s ‘golf quarantine’ welcomes South Korean travellers
The South Koreans who arrived last week are staying in hotel rooms for three days and can go out on the course after results from their first coronavirus test come back negative. They are tested again on the ninth and 13th days of their stay, before being discharged from quarantine.