More Chinese tourist arrivals will be of major benefit to Thailand, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday, as arrivals continue to pick up since China eased travel restrictions on Jan 8.
While health is an important matter, striking a balance with the country's economic needs is also necessary, according to Mr Anutin.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand welcomed a constant flow of Chinese visitors, who fuelled strong circulation of revenue in the country, he said.
"My view is that Thailand has many strengths, including delicious food, excellent service and top-shelf amenities, and tourism is key to our economic recovery," said the health minister.
There is no discrimination against Chinese tourists, he said, as all international visitors are subject to the same standard of Covid-19 screening.
The government last week abandoned a plan to revive the requirement for international visitors to show proof of Covid vaccination. But visitors who will be going to countries that require negative PCR tests — China and India among them — must have health insurance to cover their treatment costs if they test positive in Thailand.
“When the pandemic began, we detected infections among Chinese visitors and were able to treat them and eventually sent them home, as we did for people of all nationalities,” Mr Anutin said.
The reception of travellers from China since Jan 8 has been without incident, with both Chinese visitors welcomed and confidence in the safety of Thai people maintained, he added.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said on Monday that authorities were hoping for "at least 5 million" Chinese tourists this year, but numbers would be lower than previously as only 15 China flights a week are available at present — compared to around 400 before the pandemic.
Officials have forecast roughly 20 million tourists will visit the country this year, just half the record 40 million seen in pre-pandemic 2019. Of that total, more than 11 million were from China.
