TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan prepares to reopen its borders on Thursday (Oct. 13), tourists from Thailand on a four-day itinerary will reportedly be the first tour group to enter the country.

UDN reported that the packaged tour group, organized by Welcome Tour, will consist of approximately 29 people and arrive on a Tigerair flight early Thursday morning. It is scheduled to visit attractions including Ximending, Jiufen, and Sun Moon Lake.

Welcome Tour General Manager Chang Hui-yen (張惠雁) was cited as saying that foreign travelers are generally very interested in visiting Taiwan since the government announced it will loosen border restrictions. Group tours have been filling up very quickly whenever made available; places in the Thailand group, for example, sold out within three hours.

Other tour groups about to land in Taiwan include those from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Chang added that despite the popularity of the packaged tours, due to Japan and South Korea's reopening preceding Taiwan's, many travelers had already made arrangements to visit elsewhere, which affected business somewhat. Nonetheless, Taiwan’s tourism industry is welcoming a long-overdue revival.

Acadia Travel, another travel agent about to fly a group of around 32 Thai tourists to Taiwan on Thursday afternoon for a four-day trip, said Taiwan is a well-loved destination in Thailand. It told UDN that the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, roughly 300,000 Thai tourists visited Taiwan.