Passengers from China's Xiamen arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on Jan. 9 after China reopens its borders. (Photo:Reuters)
Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand on January 9 rescinded apolicy announced recently requiring visitors to show proof ofCOVID-19 vaccination. Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said requiringvisitors to show evidence of vaccination was inconvenient and a panel ofexperts had resolved that it was unnecessary as enough vaccinations had beenadministered globally. Anutin added that visitors who have not vaccinated would also begranted entry without restriction. The country's aviation authority on January 7announced the restrictions, effective on January 9, ahead of an expected deluge ofvisitors from China, where COVID-19 cases have surged. One of Asia's most popular travel destinations,Thailand is enjoying an influx of tourists during its first peak season sincethe removal of tight entry restrictions last year. In November, it recorded 1.75 million visitors,quadruple the number received for the whole of last year when flights andforeign arrivals were limited. Anutin said Thailand was now expecting 7-10 millionChinese visitors, compared to an earlier estimate of 5 million. Thailand's tourism authority is expecting arrivalnumbers to have exceeded 11.5 million this year, just over a quarter of therecord of nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019, who spent about 1.91 trillionbaht (55.17 billion USD)./.
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Passengers from China's Xiamen arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on Jan. 9 after China reopens its borders. (Photo:Reuters) 
