Following the announcement that Thailand is now welcoming Swedish tourists without quarantine requirements, travel bookings have increased fivefold and some departures over Christmas and New Year are already sold out. At the travel company TUI, there is a clear trend that many who book Thailand want to be away for a longer period. 

At the end of October, the announcement that many Swedes have been waiting for came. As of Monday, Thailand will now welcome Swedish tourists without quarantine requirements. The pandemic has hit the tourism industry hard and the countries that depend on tourism hard. TUI reports that after the announcement, the number of travel bookings increased fivefold.

There are still fewer departures than in a normal year and now there is a shortage of seats on some departures. This is especially true for the popular Christmas and New Year periods, where some departure locations are almost sold out. In the periods just before Christmas and especially after, there are still plenty of seats left. 

– We clearly see that many people have been longing to travel to Thailand and that bookings have now picked up considerably since last week's announcement. This is also good news for Thais who live off tourism, says Adam Györki, Head of Communications at TUI.