‘Family’: Thailand ministers welcome Chinese tourists with flowers after Beijing relaxes Covid travel restrictions

Three Cabinet ministers welcomed Chinese tourists with flowers and gifts as they arrived on Monday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after China relaxed travel restrictions. The high-profile event reflected the importance Thailand places on wooing back Chinese travellers to help restore its pandemic-battered tourism industry — before Covid-19 struck, they comprised about one-third of all arrivals. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and the ministers of transport and tourism were among those applauding as 269 passengers on Xiamen Airlines Flight MF833 from Xiamen in southeastern China entered the terminal. It was one of the first flights arriving in Thailand since Beijing eased its coronavirus-related travel restrictions as of Sunday. The travellers received garlands and gift bags and were greeted by a banner saying “China and Thailand are one family, Amazing Thailand always warmly welcomes our Chinese family”. “I’m feeling good,” said Simon Zou from Tianjin in northeastern China. “I can feel the hospitality of Thai people ... I feel very happy.” Asked what he plans to do in Thailand, he replied: “Eat! Have fun! And experience Thailand’s culture.” “The number of tourists from China and other parts of the world traveling to Thailand tends to increase continuously,” Anutin told reporters at the airport. “This is a good sign for the Thai tourism sector, which generates income, adds value to the economy, creates jobs and opportunities for people.″ Earlier on Monday Thailand rescinded a policy announced at the weekend requiring visitors to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination, its health minister said, citing sufficient immunisation levels in China and globally. Anutin said requiring visitors to show evidence of vaccination was inconvenient and a panel of experts had resolved that it was unnecessary as enough vaccinations had been administered globally. He said visitors not vaccinated would also be granted entry without restriction. The country’s aviation authority had on Saturday announced the restrictions, effective Monday, ahead of an expected deluge of visitors from China , where Covid-19 cases have surged. “Showing proof of vaccination would be cumbersome and inconvenient, and so the group’s decision is that it is unnecessary,” Anutin told reporters. Among nations that recently reimposed Covid entry rules, India this month began mandatory Covid-19 tests for people on flights from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The reintroduction of entry requirements aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 comes as China rapidly dismantled its zero-tolerance policies, reopened the country to the world and scrapped quarantine for arrivals from Sunday. Thailand expects 300,000 Chinese visitors in the first quarter of this year, after it reached a target of 10 million foreign arrivals last year in a better-than-expected recovery of its vital tourism sector. This is a good sign for Thailand’s tourism sector … the country’s economy will recover rapidly Thai health minister Anutin Charnvirakul on the return of Chinese tourists In November, the country recorded 1.75 million visitors, quadruple the number received for the whole of last year when flights and foreign arrivals were limited. Anutin said Thailand was now expecting 7-10 million Chinese visitors, compared to an earlier estimate of 5 million. “This is a good sign for Thailand’s tourism sector … the country’s economy will recover rapidly. After we’ve been devastated by Covid for the last three years,” he said. Thailand’s tourism authority is expecting arrival numbers for last year to have exceeded 11.5 million, just over a quarter of the record of nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019, who spent about 1.91 trillion baht (US$55.17 billion). Thailand will still require foreigners whose next destination is a country requiring a negative pre-entry Covid-19 test to show they have health insurance covering treatment for the virus, Anutin said. Under the weekend rule change that has now been scrapped, airlines would have been required to screen visitors’ eligibility to enter Thailand. People suspected of displaying symptoms of Covid would have been advised to get tested on arrival while passengers transiting to other destinations were exempt, the weekend statement said. A resurgence of infections in China and the relaxed rules led the United States and some countries in Europe and East Asia to tighten rules for travellers from China, raising accusations of discrimination from Beijing. Taking pains not to offend China, Thai officials have emphasised that Thai rules apply to all countries. Other countries in Southeast Asia also normally host large numbers of tourists from China, although not on Thailand’s scale. Most abolished entry requirements and have stuck with that policy, publicly declaring there was no need to single out visitors from China for new restrictions. Malaysia and Indonesia said they were screening incoming travellers for fever, a common, non-intrusive procedure. Wang Zhiying from Beijing, one of Monday’s arrivals in Bangkok, said she used to travel to Thailand every year but had not since the pandemic broke out. She said she believed that other countries’ Covid-19 policies “are quite strict”. “If they only do this to Chinese people, it would make us uncomfortable. Thailand is friendly and the landing visa is available so we chose Thailand as our first overseas destination when we can go abroad,” said Wang. Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Associated Press