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Thailand to run quarantine areas for foreign tourists next month

March 5, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Tourists wear face masks at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok in August 2020 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government on March 4 unveiled its “ area quarantine ” plan to open Thailand to foreign tourists from next month.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn revealed details of the plan after meeting with the Ministry of Public Health and 216 tourism operators.

Area quarantine will be piloted in five provinces popular with foreign tourists – Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan) and Chon Buri (Pattaya). The plan will be operated via 29 travel agencies supervised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Under the plan’s timeline, tourists will quarantine in their rooms for the first three days and then be swab-tested for COVID-19 at their hotels. If they test negative, they will be granted access to the whole hotel or resort until their 14-day quarantine ends. After 14 days they will be tested again. If no infection is found they will be allowed to travel freely through the quarantine area.

Thailand’s tourism has been hit hard by the pandemic. In 2019, the country hosted 39.9 million visitors who spent about 1.9 trillion baht (63 billion USD), or 11.3 percent of its GDP.

In 2020, the number of tourists to Thailand dropped to 6.7 million. The figure is projected to decrease further to 5 million in 2021, resulting in the spending of just 260 billion baht./.

VNA

Thailand persists with 4-percent GDP growth target this year

March 5, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

The National Economic and Social Development Council upgrades its export growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 4.2 percent. (Photo: VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government has pledged to revitalise tourism, stimulate domestic spending , and spur exports and investment to help economic growth reach its 4-percent target this year, local media reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the government still maintains an economic growth target of 4 percent this year although various economic forecasting agencies have downgraded their outlook to only 2.7-3 percent growth.

The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) recently slashed Thailand’s economic growth forecast to 2.8 percent this year, down from 4.5 percent in October 2020, while the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking maintained its economic outlook at 1.5-3.5 percent, despite the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Supattanapong noted three factors, namely exports, domestic tourism and the government’s stimulus measures, will help speed up Thailand’s economic growth in the remaining 10 months.

The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) in February upgraded its export growth forecast to 5.8 percent from 4.2 percent, despite downgrading its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.5-3.5 percent from 3.5-4.5 percent, mainly because of a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections.

Thailand’s exports, notably those bound for emerging markets, should be sped up, said Supattanapong, adding that the government also aims to stimulate domestic tourism as fast as possible to generate incomes for the country.

Domestic tourism revenue fell substantially to 600 billion baht (19.7 billion USD) in 2020, down from 1 trillion in 2019, because of the pandemic.

To boost domestic tourism, the Deputy PM said the Thai government looks set to implement additional stimulus measures to increase activities./.

VNA

Vietnam has six new Covid-19 patients

March 5, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Vietnam has six new Covid-19 patients

The Saigon Times

A medical worker takes a sample from a man for Covid-19 testing. Vietnam reported six new Covid-19 cases this evening – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The Health Ministry has confirmed six new imported Covid-19 cases in Binh Duong, Tay Ninh and Kien Giang provinces, sending Vietnam’s caseload to 2,494 as of this evening, March 5.

Tay Ninh Province had one new case, a 52-year-old woman residing in Truong Tay Commune, Hoa Thanh Town that entered the province through Moc Bai International Border Gate on February 22. The patient is being treated at Tay Ninh General Hospital.

Four new Covid-19 patients, aged between 24 and 28, were reported in Kien Giang Province. They entered the province through Ha Tien Border Gate on February 27 and March 3. They are undergoing treatment at Ha Tien City medical center.

A 43-year-old Chinese expert became the latest Covid-19 case in Binh Duong Province. He arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC on Flight BR391 on February 19 and was immediately transported to Binh Duong Province for quarantine. He is being treated at Binh Duong Province General Hospital.

All of the new patients were immediately quarantined after arriving in Vietnam, posing no risk of community transmission.

Park Hang-seo back to work, faces challenges for VN national football team

March 5, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

The national football squad’s South Korean chief coach Park Hang Seo has returned to his work after quarantine. The coach faces challenges and great expectations.

Thầy Park trở lại tuyển Việt Nam: Chiêu hiền đánh 'quả lớn'

Although the remaining matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers have not yet taken place, the sideline information about the preparation of the opponents may worry the Korean football expert.

The first rival of the Vietnamese team will be Malaysia. Their game is scheduled on June 11. Malaysia has recently employed Brazilian-origin striker De Paula. This is the 8th foreign football player nationalized in Malaysia. Meanwhile, members of the Vietnamese team are familiar faces who have been used by coach Park for the last 2-3 football seasons.

However, the V-League 2021 will return this month and coach Park will have opportunities to find out new talents.

According to Mr. Park, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may be the host of the remaining matches of Group G of the second-round World Cup 2022 qualifiers in Asia.

During their first meeting this year, coach Park Hang Seo, his assistants and officials of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) discussed the key tasks of Vietnamese football in 2021. This year, Vietnam aims to win the card of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and defend the AFF Cup championship, while the U23 team is set to enter the U23 Asian Championships 2022 and the U22 team to defend its championship at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Among these missions, coach Park Hang Seo is particularly interested in the 2022 World Cup qualifying. According to schedule, the Vietnamese team will face Indonesia on June 7, then Malaysia on June 11 and finally the UAE on June 15.

Coach Park Hang Seo said: “I am ready to start preparation for it. First is to find out and update information about the Indonesian, Malaysian, and the UAE teams and then information on weather conditions in the UAE, the country that is likely to host the remaining matches of Group G.”

Park asked the VFF to choose a training venue with weather conditions similar to the UAE’s.

Currently, only the UAE and Thailand are racing to host the remaining games of Group G and the UAE is rated higher in terms of organizational conditions.

On March 13, the V-League 2021 will resume after a long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Coach Park Hang Seo said he and his assistants had planned to follow these matches to recruit players for the national team, which can be summoned after the 10th round of V-League ends (April 18).

M.A

Da Nang by Night expected to revive tourism in central city

March 4, 2021 by en.nhandan.org.vn

Scheduled to begin at the upcoming Southern Liberation and National Reunification holiday (April 30), the programme will seek to create new distinctive tourism products so as to enhance the experience of tourists to the city.

The programme is the realisation of the city’s plan to develop its night-time economy and will be piloted from 2021 to 2023.

Da Nang by Night targets foreign tourists from key markets such as China, the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia, as well as those from potential markets such as Russia, Australia and the US when the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control and international routes are permitted to resume.

It will also aim to attract domestic tourists from places with direct flights to Da Nang, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, the Central Highlands and neighbouring provinces.

The programme will include lighting shows, night-time tourism and service activities at selected places of interest, the night beach of My An, and cultural events along the Han River such as street dances, music, food and traditional arts.

There will also be night tours on the Han River and between Da Nang and Hoi An.

As part of the programme, there will be happy hours where tourists can enjoy special discounts at local shops, supermarkets, shopping centres and restaurants in order to boost demand after 10pm.