THAILAND WELCOMES 25 MILLION FOREIGN TOURISTS IN FIRST 10 MONTHS

Buddha statue and Wat Mahathat Temple in the precinct of Sukhothai Historical Park, Wat Mahathat Temple is UNESCO World Heritage Site, Thailand.

BANGKOK – Thailand welcomed nearly 25 million foreign tourists from 1 January to 24 October, generating more than 1.21 trillion baht in spending, although arrivals remained 4.43% lower than the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

The country received 501,965 international visitors during the week of 18-24 October, up 2.99% from the previous week, or an average of 71,709 arrivals per day, Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said.

Long-haul markets led the weekly increase, with 199,954 visitors, up 12.03% week on week, as European and American travellers entered a short school holiday period and Thailand approached its winter tourism season.

Russian arrivals rose 25.45% from the previous week, while visitors from the United States increased 11.52%. India also recorded strong growth, with arrivals climbing 18.09%, supported by travel demand around the Hindu festival of Navaratri.

Short-haul markets recorded 302,011 visitors, down 2.24% week on week. Arrivals from China fell 24.17%, despite increases from other major markets.

The five largest source markets during the week were Malaysia, with 62,724 visitors, followed by China with 49,494, India with 48,089, Russia with 34,986 and the United States with 20,167.

The ministry expects arrivals to increase in the following week, supported by the winter tourism season and additional flights from India. New or increased services include routes from Gaya and Guwahati to Don Mueang airport, and from Kochi and Visakhapatnam to Suvarnabhumi airport.

From 1 January to 24 October, Thailand recorded a total of 24,925,645 foreign visitors, generating 1.21 trillion baht in tourism spending. China remained the largest source market year to date, with 4.19 million visitors, followed by Malaysia with 3.16 million, India with 1.88 million, Russia with 1.37 million and South Korea with 912,597.

Source: KhaoSodEnglish

Tourist faces huge bill, separation from family after testing positive on arrival in Thailand

A tourist has revealed his anguish at the possibility of being hit with a large bill after falling foul of Thailand’s test on arrival policy.

The tourist, named only as Kirovs, told blogger Richard Barrow how he had arrived in Thailand on Nov 7.

Kirovs tested positive on arrival in Thailand and was sent to hospital, where he will have to stay for at least 10 days, despite not having any symptoms.

His family - wife and two children - were sent to hotel quarantine and are due to take another test on day 3 or 4. If they test negative they may be able to continue on their holiday without him.

Kirovs estimates he may have to pay 350,000 Baht towards hospital and quarantine fees if his insurance provider won’t cover it.

“I knew that I was taking a gamble when I chose to buy plane tickets as soon as the Thailand reopening was announced,” Kirovs told Richard.

“We lost that bet.”

Richard Barrow also highlighted the plight of a man named James who found himself in an equally unfortunate situation after arriving in Thailand.

Despite himself testing negative, James shared a car from the airport with someone who tested positive, which for James meant he also had to go to hotel quarantine.

James said he was travelling to Thailand to be reunited with his wife. He was travelling with his friend who was visiting his girlfriend. It was his friend who tested positive.

“Upon arriving at the hotel, we both were tested at 2:30 p.m. and sent to our separate rooms. At midnight we both received a message, James said.

“His said that he had tested positive and will be transferred to hospital, and mine said that mine is negative, but I’d need to stay in quarantine for 14 days”.

James said both he and his friend were not showing any symptoms.

While the chances of testing positive on arrival in Thailand are small, it is perhaps a risk simply not worth taking for some tourists.

To date, approximately 25,000 tourists have entered Thailand since the country reopened to tourists on Nov 1.

Only 26 tourists have tested positive.

However, the issue is compounded by the fact that there is next to no official information about the risks of travelling to Thailand and testing positive on arrival.

Despite the myriad of infographics, Facebook posts and tweets from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other related agencies on the requirements for foreigners to enter Thailand, there is very little about what a positive test on arrival could mean for foreigners, especially those travelling in groups, as a family or with young children.

Information regarding the impact of a positive test on arrival could (and should) be clearly publicised on the Thailand Pass website, which foreigners are required to upload documents to prior to travelling to Thailand.

Foreigners should also be urged to check with their insurance companies if their policy covers them for quarantine and other expenses in the event of a positive test.

Source - ASIAN NOW

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