Koh Samui ferries get ready to receive returning Chinese visitors

This coming weekend, ships serving Koh Samui will be ready to receive returning Chinese tourists. Before the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, the Chinese were Thailand’s most numerous tourists. The Chinese government gave its citizens the green light to travel outside the country yesterday.


Yesterday, Thai media reported that ferry operators in Koh Samui’s Angthong sub-district were making preparations to accommodate tourists traveling to Koh Samed, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao aboard their vessels.

The manager of Lomprayah stated that the company was getting ready for the arrival of Chinese visitors by disinfecting the boat after each trip on which it conveyed passengers and stocking it with hand sanitizer.


The manager, whose name was Kittisak Thanaput, expressed some level of anxiety about the possibility of Chinese tourists contracting the Covid virus. On the other hand, he stated that he had the impression that the organization was ready to deal with the issue because of the precautions it had taken and its “experience of living with the virus for some time.”

More than a quarter of travellers arriving in Taiwan from China have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to reports that surfaced late last week. According to focustaiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in Taiwan revealed that more than a quarter of the more than 500 travelers who arrived in Taiwan from China returned positive Covid test findings.

Following yesterday’s announcement in Beijing that it will open its borders to international travelers and relax restrictions, a number of countries have moved quickly to impose restrictions on Chinese travelers arriving in their respective countries. These restrictions are being placed on travelers arriving from China.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has just recently released a series of rules that will apply to all non-Thai arrivals between the dates of January 9 and January 31. These rules were announced as Chinese visitors are making their way to the “Land of Smiles.”

According to the CAAT, non-Thai passengers who are 18 years old or older are required to produce documents proving that they have obtained at least two different vaccinations. Those who want not to get vaccinated are required to present either a letter from a physician detailing the reason for their exemption or evidence that they have recovered from Covid within the preceding six months. The CAAT has sent all airlines with an updated Notice to Airmen (NOTEM), which also includes information regarding other entry requirements.