Thailand's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Tuesday said a group of 150 Chinese nationals issued with special tourist visas (STV) will be allowed entry into the country on Oct. 8.

The Chinese tourists will fly directly to Phuket on a chartered Air Asia flight, said Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

The minister said a smaller group of seven Chinese businessmen will arrive at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on a private jet on the same day.

Regarding quarantine facilities to accommodate these tourists, the minister said three hotels in Phuket, and one each in the eastern province of Chon Buri and the northeastern province of Buri Ram, had been chosen as quarantine sites.

A cargo container has been converted into a laboratory in Phuket International Airport to conduct tests on all arriving tourists.

Arriving tourists who are cleared by the COVID-19 tests will be taken to the quarantine hotels where they will remain for 14 days.

The STV scheme is primarily aimed at foreign visitors with the intention to stay in Thailand on a long-term basis for up to nine months.