Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the Tourism and Sports Ministry to map out measures to handle the return of Chinese tourists as about 300,000 of them are expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year.
Gen Prayut on Thursday met Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn and officials from other agencies for talks after Beijing decided to lift travel curbs, which will take effect on Jan 8.
Mr Yuthasak said after the meeting the PM stressed the need to take care of Chinese tourists as well as ensure the health and safety of Thai people.
"The TAT expects Chinese tourists would start arriving from Jan 5 and about 300,000 will arrive in the first quarter of next year, which would help the tourism sector during the low season," he said.
Prompted by the expected arrivals from China, the TAT revised its target for overall foreign arrivals from 20 million to 25 million in 2023, but anticipated revenue from tourism will remain unchanged at 2.4 trillion baht, he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday he did not expect a sudden influx of Chinese arrivals because the Chinese government still imposes some travel conditions, including RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 for both inbound and outbound travellers.
That said, he also said Thailand won't require Chinese visitors who are fully vaccinated to take a Covid-19 test before or after they arrive. Most Chinese citizens have received at least three doses of Covid-19 vaccine, while many others have developed antibodies from past Covid-19 infection.
Chinese visitors will only be required to comply with measures which are imposed on all foreign arrivals, such as buying health insurance, he said.
Officials are planning to offer AstraZeneca vaccines to Chinese visitors who have had three shots of Sinovac and are willing to pay for a booster jab, Mr Anutin said.
Thais, meanwhile, should protect themselves by ensuring they have had at least four doses of Covid-19 vaccine, while businesses could enforce effective disease controls on their premises, he said.
Panlop Sae Jiew, chairman of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai, said China's reopening bodes well for tourism in Chiang Mai, as a significant number of visitors to the northern province before the pandemic struck were from China.
Wichit Kaewsaithiam, director of Chiang Mai airport, said airlines will resume direct flights to and from China on Jan 8, with some already planning to offer Shanghai-Chiang Mai flights.
Before the pandemic, there were direct flights from Chiang Mai to 19 various destinations in China.
