Thailand, one of many nations that rely heavily on tourism, anticipates the return of Chinese visitors in the wake of China's recent announcement to relax its restrictions on overseas flights.

"We are quite happy to read that China will begin enforcing new border controls on January 8... This is Thailand's long-awaited excellent news "Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the minister of tourism and sports, spoke to Xinhua on Saturday.

28 percent of the roughly 40 million foreign visitors to Thailand in 2019 were from China.

According to him, relevant ministries such as tourism, health, and transportation should collaborate and get ready for the predicted rise in Chinese tourists.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimates that international arrivals will surpass the initial goal of 10 million in 2022, reaching 11.5 million.

Following China's decision to relax COVID-19 restrictions, the objective for 2023 was boosted from 20 million to 25 million international visitors, according to Phiphat, who also said that authorities are certain they can meet the new goal.