- Indians and Malaysians reportedly are leading a tourist rush to Thailand after it relaxed entry rules, with total arrivals topping two million since the start of the year
Amid monkeypox scare spreading worldwide in the wake of alarming rise in cases, Thailand reported its third case of monkeypox virus and the government has said it plans to import a vaccine for the disease this month, as per reports.
It is important to note that, a Bloomberg report released in June informed that Indians and Malaysians are leading a tourist rush to Thailand after it relaxed entry rules, with total arrivals topping two million since the start of the year while additionally providing a fillip to the Southeast Asian nation’s sluggish economy.
According to the report, a 25-year-old German man, who entered Thailand on July 18, was treated for fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash at a hospital in Phuket province, Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said in a statement Wednesday. Additionally, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization is importing the monkeypox vaccine for high-risk groups such as doctors and medical staff, it said, without giving details.
Meanwhile, in June, it was reported that Indians and Malaysians are leading a tourist rush to Thailand after it relaxed entry rules. According to Bloomberg report, Foreign tourist arrivals totaled 2.03 million between January 1 and June 26, deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said in a statement, adding that travelers from India, Malaysia, the UK, Singapore and the US topped the list. Interestingly, Thailand’s tourism industry, which was nearly decimated during the pandemic, expects average monthly arrivals to surge to about 1.5 million with the country scrapping a pre-travel registration and mandatory medical insurance from July 1.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has rolled back most of the pandemic-era curbs on travel and businesses, and last week lifted a mask mandate while allowing pubs and bars to return to normal operating hours. The measures are part of efforts to shore up an economy which depended on tourism to generate about 12% of gross domestic product before the pandemic, the report said. A weaker currency and the recent legalization of cannabis may also help bring back more tourists to Thailand, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said, the report further informed.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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