Cabinet Accepts Long Distance Visas For Visitors, Approved by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha

The cabinet agreed to encourage the flagging economy to be boosted by international visitors who commit to 14-day quarantine and stay for at least 90 days. After the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government would grant special long-stay visas for tourists. The most notable requirement will be a quarantine lasting 14 days.

Visitors can arrive for tourism or health care, and stay at alternate state quarantine facilities, special locations, or hospitals that serve as quarantine facilities, he said. Our universal health care system is among the strongest in the world and people will believe it

The Prime Minister said the Covid-19 Condition Administration Center would reflect on the matter later on. Speaker of the Deputy Government Traisulee Traisaranakul said long-term tourists will need to provide proof of payment for their long stay in the region. This may be a hotel booking bill, or a condominium room fee.

The aim is to accept 100-300 guests a week, or as many as 1,200 people a month, and produce a monthly revenue of about 1 billion baht, she said. The 90-day special tourist visa could be extended twice, each time for 90 days. Long-stay tourists could start coming next month, Ms Traisulee said.

Prasong Poontaneat, Permanent Secretary of Finance, said the country needed to generate revenue from tourists especially those from countries where coronavirus disease has not spread in recent months-such as China , Taiwan and some European counties.

Twenty provinces in China were excluded from Covid-19 and had a total population of about 800 million people. If only one percent of them, about 8 million people, visited Thailand, he said they could help the tourism industry.