A tourist takes photos of Chinese lanterns at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

Thailand has become a hot transit choice for Chinese travelers going abroad amid the #COVID-19 outbreak as multiple countries and regions have issued different kinds of entrance restrictions for visitors from China.

Experts said that Thailand may benefit from the "entrance restriction" phase despite the overall hit to the country's tourism sector from a decline in Chinese visitors.

"Compared to other destinations, Thailand is still one of the hottest choices among customers on our platform," read a statement sent to the Global Times by a popular online travel provider, Ctrip.com.

Flight tickets booking to Thailand, including direct flights, transit journeys, among others, for the period from February 10 to 29 on the platform, even recorded a minor year-on-year increase, amid the current epidemic situation, the statement added.

"Many of my Chinese classmates have chosen to transfer from a third country," said Cindy, a Chinese student in the University of Melbourne in Australia.

According to information from China's National Immigration Administration on Sunday, all travelers from or transferring from the Chinese mainland are now not permitted to enter Australia within 14 days of their exit from the Chinese mainland, except Australian citizens, permanent residents and their direct relatives. Those exempt individuals are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine after landing in the country.

Meanwhile Chinese students account for about 30 percent, the largest part, of Australia's international students, according to data from the Australian Department of Education and Training in 2018.

Western Sydney University in Australia is offering AU$1,500 to each student arriving in Australia through a third country to help cover the cost of airfares and 14 days accommodation, local news site The Australian reported Thursday, citing an email sent to a Chinese student by the university.

Thailand is the hottest choice among Cindy's classmates, she told the Global Times.

In addition, many students who are preparing for applications for foreign universities are choosing to take exams overseas since scheduled language exams have been cancelled in China due to the epidemic, including TOEFL exams.

"On the premise of sound epidemic prevention measures, Thailand would be a better choice for students who have to take exams as soon as possible, since it offers a visa-on-arrival issuance service," an employee of a school application agency surnamed Yu told the Global Times.

Chinese travelers have been the largest source for Thailand's tourism sector with rapid annual growth in previous years, Jiang Yiyi, professor of the Leisure Sports and Tourism School of the Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times.

Though Thailand's tourism industry will inevitably take a hit from decreasing Chinese visitors in the short term, the number of visitors will see a rebound after the epidemic given the rapid growth in previous years, Jiang predicted.

Global Times