[Giornale, 8 gennaio]The Thai government abruptly announced the tightening of inbound travel measures, requiring immigrants to be vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine, which sparked heated discussions among tourism industry players, who complained about the decline in government policies and sent a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Prayut asking for a review. China’s lifting of quarantine measures is expected to bring back large numbers of Chinese tourists, but concerns over the outbreak of the epidemic are not hard to see from the actions of Thai authorities.
Thailand still appears to have some health and safety concerns about welcoming returning Chinese tourists. At least it can be seen from the government’s sudden announcement that it will require two doses of vaccines for people entering the country. This is at odds with the words of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and disease control experts in Thailand.
Upon being informed of the measure, the Phuket tourism industry reacted promptly and, in addition to lobbying the Minister of Tourism, is also preparing to write to Prime Minister Prayuth Prayut to request that the decision be reversed immediately. Thailand will welcome its first batch of Chinese tourists on Monday after China announced it was lifting quarantine regulations for incoming personnel. The government’s approach is no doubt tightening epidemic prevention measures and bringing back the Thailand tourism.
When the Thai government released the new epidemic prevention policy, it should be adjusted in advance or at the same time, instead of suddenly announcing strict epidemic prevention measures and requiring two doses of vaccines for immigrants. Thailand has declared the new coronavirus an endemic disease and removed the requirement to provide vaccinations.
It is not yet certain whether it will affect tourists who have previously purchased the itinerary and whether some of them will be refused entry if they cannot provide proof of vaccination. It has been reported that 15 Chinese airlines have asked to resume flights and the cities involved include Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Guiyang, Kunming, Wuhan, Shanghai, Nanning, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Tianjin and Xiamen.
