Three Cabinet ministers welcomed Chinese tourists with flowers and gifts as they arrived Monday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after China relaxed COVID-19 travel restrictions.
“I’m feeling good,” said Simon Zou from Tianjin in northeastern China. “I can feel the hospitality of Thai people. We were given some small gifts. I feel very happy.” The arrival was heralded by Thai authorities as a symbolic step towards restoring the country’s lucrative tourism sector. But it also exposed how tricky it is for tourist-hungry nations to navigate the coronavirus issue.
The announcement by the transport authorities itself was a sudden turnaround from what had been Thailand’s policy since October, when it dropped nearly all pandemic-related requirements for visitors from abroad. But so far few flights have been restored. On Monday, a check of arrivals at regional airports found only a handful of flights coming from China. The largest share were travelling to South Korea.
Wang Zhiying from Beijing, one of Monday’s arrivals in Bangkok, said she used to travel to Thailand every year but had not since the pandemic broke out.“If they only do this to Chinese people, it would make us uncomfortable. Thailand is friendly and the landing visa is available so we chose Thailand as our first overseas destination when we can go abroad,” said Wang, whose family planned to head south to a seaside resort after a few days in Bangkok.
When is the ThaiChi variant expected to reach Canada ?
Wow r they all wearing a face compliance device Poor ppl…