BANGKOK: Thailand recorded 3,065 foreign tourists in November, official data showed on Monday (Dec 28), in its second month of receiving long-stay visitors after a ban was imposed in April to keep coronavirus infections under control.
The 3,065 foreign tourists in November is just a fraction of the 3.39 million arrivals in the same period last year. In October, there were 1,201 foreign visitors.
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Though the country is gradually opening up to foreign visitors and offering incentives to boost domestic travel, efforts to revive its tourism-driven economy are being hampered by an outbreak found 10 days ago that has since infected more than 1,600 people in 43 provinces.
In the January-November period, the number of foreign visitors slumped by 81 per cent from a year earlier to about 6.7 million of that 6.69 million were recorded in the first quarter.
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That compares with last year’s nearly 40 million tourists who spent 1.91 trillion baht (US$63 billion), or about 11.3 per cent of gross domestic product.
The state planning agency predicts only 5 million foreign visitors in 2021.
Foreign visitors at present are required to obtain special visas and undergo two weeks of quarantine.
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