The arrival of more Chinese tourists in Thailand is unlikely to trigger a spike in the number of new Covid-19 infections, says the Department of Disease Control (DDC).
At present,there are on average around 900 new cases per day and eight deaths, the DDC said on Wednesday.
Tourism businesses have been preparing themselves for an influx of tourists from China after the country lifted quarantine measures over the weekend.
As many Chinese are expected to tour religious sites, the DDC is working with the Ministry of Culture and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to make sure safety measures are in place.
The same Covid-19 measures as those imposed on air travellers will apply to other foreign and Thai nationals entering Thailand by land through the border provinces such as Chiang Rai.
Tourists from countries like India and China that require a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test before they are allowed to return home must still have health insurance covering at least US$10,000 (335,400 baht) in Covid-19 treatment costs before they enter Thailand, the DDC added.
As for Covid-19 vaccination services for foreign tourists, the DDC has at least two centres in Bangkok and one each in Phuket, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai.
The estimated cost is 800 baht for a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,000 baht for the Pfizer vaccine.
Some 300,000 Chinese tourists are expected to arrive in the next three months, representing about 5% of international arrivals.
