⁍ grace period expires six months after border and flight restrictions were imposed.
⁍ Thailand halted commercial flights in April and banned foreign visitors.
⁍ Foreign tourist numbers tumbled 74.8% from a year earlier to 6.69 million.
– More than 100,000 foreign tourists who’ve been in Thailand too long will be able to get out after a six-month grace period ends Saturday, the country’s immigration department says. The tourists—including workers—were affected by a ban on foreign visitors imposed in April after the country reported its first case of the deadly coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in Saudi Arabia, the BBC reports. Since then, no foreign tourists have arrived in the country, and immigration officials say the grace period is over, meaning the penalties for overstaying are set to kick in. “The government wants to take care of tourists left in Thailand and our legal team is looking at how to help those with overstay,” the country’s immigration commissioner tells Reuters. “Personally, I think we should let them stay because their spending will help boost the economy.” According to government data, foreign tourist numbers plummeted 74.8% in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year, with spending down 74.3%.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coroanvirus-thailand-tourism/thailand-says-hoping-to-help-100000-tourists-to-stay-longer-idUSL3N2GL0S6