Thailand's tourism industry is once again on the brink due to the impact of entry restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, although the local COVID-19 situation is basically under control and vaccination progress is accelerated.

An empty scene at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand due to the COVID-19 epidemic. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Since November, over 350,000 vaccinated travellers have entered Thailand under its quarantine-free entry scheme or Test and Go, which was suspended last week after the detection of the first case of the Omicron variant.

According to Pilomrat Isvarphornchai from the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), in fact, the number of tourists did not increase significantly after the November reopening. About 50 percent of travel agents and tour operators under ATTA have closed.

Meanwhile, President of the Thai Hotel Association (THA) Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi said that the suspension of the quarantine-free entry programme has caused a sharp drop in flight and hotel bookings for the next few months.

Thailand has so far logged 900 Omicron cases, of which 200 located in a cluster in Kalasin province. This cluster originated from a tourist couple from Belgium who came via the Test and Go.

Source: VNA