Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared late Saturday that it would open its borders to foreign tourists from 17 countries, amongst which is Kuwait, starting Nov. 1. In a statement, the ministry indicated that tourists would be permitted to enter the country without having to self-quarantine in case they were vaccinated or have submitted a negative PCR test. The statement added that the 17 countries are Kuwait, India, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Croatia, Indonesia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Romania, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Luxemburg. Thai authorities announced last week that entry would be permitted to fully vaccinated tourists from 46 countries without the need to quarantine, starting Monday, the number of countries since increased to 63. These decisions come as the country's COVID-19 infections are dwindling, and in an effort to boost the tourism-dependent economy. The pandemic has left the Thai economy in a strained condition as only 73,000 tourists visited the country in the first eight months of 2021, compared to the 40 million visitors of 2019. PM Prayuth Chan-ocha admitted that "this decision comes with some risk" — but it is seen as a key step to revive the country's collapsed tourism sector. Prayuth said Thailand would also allow entertainment venues to reopen on Dec. 1. He added that the authorities were planning to open Thailand for more countries on that date. But he warned that the government would act decisively if there were to be a spike in infections or an emergence of a highly contagious variant of COVID-19. It is estimated that Thailand — popular for its sandy beaches and non-stop nightlife — lost about $50bn (£37bn) in tourism revenue in 2020. The economy suffered its deepest contraction in more than two decades as a result of the pandemic. The need for some economic good news is in large part what has driven it to start reopening, well before reaching its own declared target of getting 70% of the population vaccinated. — Agencies
