Indonesia will begin to receive travellers from 18 countries on October 14, 2021, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

A street in Bandung, Indonesia (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

He said the list of these countries will be included in a document to be released soon by the Home Affairs Ministry, adding that Singapore is likely not to be on the list.

On October 4, Indonesia announced that citizens from five countries will be permitted to enter the country, namely the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno announced on October 8 that the quarantine period for passengers on international flights and foreign visitors will be shortened from 8 days to 5 days, following the instruction of President Joko Widodo at a meeting one day earlier.

Thailand is also poised to welcome foreign tourists from low risk countries.

Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Gen Prayut said in a nationally televised broadcast on October 11 that fully vaccinated tourists from at least 10 low-risk countries would be allowed to enter Thailand by air with no quarantine requirements.

The prime minister named the United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, China and the United States among the first group of countries to benefit from the move.

The government's decision follows the success of the Phuket Sandbox program, which has brought 2.33 billion THB (68.83 million USD) to the Thai economy in the past three months since its launch in July. Meanwhile, tourism operators in the sandbox areas are optimistic about the prospects for the high season after Thailand was removed from the UK's red list for tourism, possibly effective from 11/10.

Source: VNA