Tourism officials aim for vaccinated travellers to enter Thailand
Vaccinated travellers are likely to be exempt from certain travel requirements, but may still need a health check and Fit-to-Fly document. The hope is this can be implemented by the third quarter of this year.
The Tourism Association of Thailand, TAT, are monitoring vaccination rollout throughout the world and various guidelines being issued by the WHO, according to TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
“We have always been focused on the demand for foreign tourists after the Covid-19 crisis made it impossible to travel internationally. Some markets have already reserved travel packages in advance. Thailand travel packages are receiving good attention, such as in the Chinese market. A decision is awaited from the Chinese government to allow tourists to leave the country.”
PM says Thailand will consider lifting quarantine for vaccinated tourists
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha says the government will consider waiving the mandatory 14-day quarantine for tourists with proof of Covid-19 vaccination. For months now, the government has stuck to its stance that vaccinated foreign arrivals would still need to be quarantined, given that it’s too early to say if vaccines prevent transmission. But with industry leaders warning that the economy is on the brink of collapse, the only hope appears to be reviving the tourism sector, a major economic contributor prior to Covid-19.
According to a Bloomberg News report, the central bank says the uncertainty facing the tourism sector is a major threat to medium-term economic growth. Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput says it would be very difficult for the economy to recover to pre-pandemic levels without the return of international tourism.
Nattaporn Triratanasirikul from the Kasikorn Research Centre has welcomed the PM’s announcement. “If this goes ahead as planned, it will be a big boost to tourism and the economy. There is still a very high uncertainty on the economic outlook this year, pending all the issues related to the outbreak from local infections, vaccine rollouts and border reopening plan.”
Tourism officials have been pushing for Thailand to introduce a vaccine passport policy that would allow tourists to return from countries where mass vaccination programmes are now underway.
Foreign tourists must use Covid-19 tracking app when travelling to Thailand
Foreign tourists travelling to Thailand will need to download the Covid-19 contact tracking mobile application “ThailandPlus” before arriving in Thailand and use it throughout their stay. The app will notify travellers if they have been in close contact with any confirmed cases.
Throughout their trip to Thailand, tourists will need to keep the app “on” and check-in and out of various locations by scanning QR codes. The app requires access to the smartphone’s GPS , but the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the information collected will only be used for public health purposes and will not infringe on the tourists’ right to privacy.
Travellers will also need to upload a recent headshot as well as supply their Certificate of Entry number and reference ID from the Royal Thai Embassy.
The app is a spinoff to the “Thai Chana” and “Mor Chana” apps. All use GPS and Bluetooth as well as QR code scanning to detect the users’ locations. The apps sparked controversy and many Thais expressed concerns about their privacy, but the government has assured the public that information will be kept private.
The development of the app is a collaboration between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Digital Government Development Agency.
Click here to download the Thailandplus app
