Thailand To Extend Stay Of Foreign Tourists As COVID-19 Eases

New Delhi: In a bid to recover its economy as COVID-19 cases ease, Thailand will extend the staying length for foreign tourists between October and March.

As per Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand's main Covid task force, foreigners from 18 territories coming to Thailand under the visa on arrival category will be allowed to double their length of stay up 30 days.

''We are looking to extend their stay. This will help boost tourist spending, revive the economy and reduce the impact of the pandemic,'' Hindustan Times (HT) quoted Taweesilp as saying.

With this, in more than 50 places that currently get 30 days will be able to stay for up to 45 days.

Reportedly, Thailand is expecting a rise in tourist arrivals which will help boost its economic growth this year even though the pace is still expected to be the lowest in the Southeast Asia region.

As per the HT, between Jan. 1 and Aug. 17, the nation gained 176.3 billion baht ($4.9 billion) in revenue from 3.78 million foreign arrivals. The number of tourists jumped 3,214% from the same period last year.

Notably, earlier this month, a government spokesman said the nation expects to attract 10 million international tourists this year, compared with the 6.1 million forecasted in April. The number of visitors is seen to rise to 30 million people next year, still shy of the 40 million who traveled to the country in the year before Covid spread.

Thailand will downgrade Covid-19 from a "dangerous" communicable disease to one that "needs monitoring" starting from September, a month earlier than scheduled.

Meanwhile, there is a steady increase in the cases of Coronavirus infection in the national capital Delhi. During this, it is seen that the number of patients admitted to the hospital has also increased.

Following the development, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi Vinay Kumar Saxena took to Twitter and warned people.

''We are witnessing a rise in COVID19 infections, consistently high positivity & cases of reinfection. It is essential that we realize that the pandemic is far from over. I appeal to all to strictly adhere to COVID Appropriate Behaviour. We cannot afford to let our guards down,'' he tweeted.

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