Thailand will resume a quarantine-free visa program for vaccinated visitors starting next month, as the tourism-reliant nation shifts its focus to economic recovery following an ease in new Covid-19 infections. 

International travelers from all countries can apply for visas under the so-called Test & Go entry program from Feb. 1, the government said after a meeting of its main Covid task force on Thursday. Visitors will be required to undergo two Covid tests after arrival, one upon entry and another on the fifth day. 

“We can no longer close our borders as the economic costs will be too high,” Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said. “Reopening and managing the outbreak need to go hand in hand.”  

Thailand has experimented with several visa, quarantine and tourism programs over the past two years to support a sector that contributed about one-fifth of GDP before the pandemic, with 40 million foreign tourists generating more than $60 billion in 2019.

The Southeast Asian nation suspended its quarantine-free program in late December after spikes in the omicron variant were detected among foreign arrivals and in several local communities.