Thailand now welcomes tourists from any corner of the world
The more liberal policy represents a government U-turn and is designed to help the ailing tourism industry
Thailand has reopened their country for all tourists irrespective of their countries' Covid-19 situation.
This initiative has been taken under a newly amended Special Tourist Visa (STV) long-stay programme, reports Bangkok Post.
However, these travellers still need to comply with Thailand's 14-day mandatory quarantine, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said on Tuesday.
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The more liberal policy represents a government U-turn and is designed to help the ailing tourism industry.
STVs were previously only available to people from low risk-countries but that stringent condition was blamed for the low number of tourists taking advantage of the programme, with only 825 people from 29 countries and only six luxury yachts using it, said Rachada.
The cabinet has also resolved to extend the stay period for yacht visitors holding an STV for another 30 days, or 60 days in total, she said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted on Tuesday that Thailand was not experiencing a second wave of the pandemic, nor dealing with any challenge of super-spreaders, as rumoured.
The PM urged people not to panic, saying that would only worsen the situation, and he cited the fact that a large number of hotel bookings had been cancelled in recent weeks due to an overreaction to media reports of a possible super-spreader.
