Chinese tourists were greeted by three Thailand government ministers at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) on Monday as the communist Covid-19 travel ban ended.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, and Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn visited the airport to give souvenirs to the first holidaymakers from the Far East for almost three years.

It came as communist state officials on January 8 lifted restrictions for both inbound and outbound travel to China, signalling an end to the country's notorious zero-infections policy towards the flu and cold respiratory illnesses.

Transport chief Saksayam said that 269 tourists travelled with Xiamen Airlines flight MF833 travelled from Xiamen, China and arrived at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 12.19 pm.

He said that there were 15 inbound flights from China on January 9 with a total number of passengers of 3,465.

Saksayam emphasised that Thailand would welcome tourists from every country under the same prevention measures.

According to Airports of Thailand, it is expected the number of Chinese tourists in 2023 will be 7-10 million, still fewer than the 20.5 million passengers before the pandemic.

Saksayam also said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha assigned organisations to prepare for welcoming foreign tourists with the appropriate measure as more of them will travel to Thailand in 2023, to prevent Covid-19 and facilitate tourism.

He claimed that the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Transport, and Ministry of Tourism and Sports held a meeting with related organisations on January 5 to set up entry measures for foreign tourists in 2023 to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Saksayam said that the Transport Ministry has prepared to welcome foreign tourists in every airport with sufficient capability while also ordering related organisations to facilitate tourists in every dimension.

He also talked about delayed baggage and public transport problems and said that the ministry is urgently solving the problem.

Addressing the luggage problem, he said that the first bag arrived in 27 minutes on average while the last bag took 44 minutes to arrive on average, which was faster than before.

Meanwhile, the number of public transport was increased to respond to demands while the area was organised in a bid to reduce the crowdedness. He added that each passenger must wait only around 10 minutes for public transport service.

He added that the ministry and related organisations have short-term, mid-term, and sustainable plans for passengers to receive faster service.

Thailand is the most popular holiday destination for travellers from the mainland and the Southeast Asian country's economy has come to depend on income from China.