Plan for long-term visitors set for October

After months of discussing plan after plan, Thailand will have a solid plan for long-term foreign visitors by the end of October. At least that’s what a senior officer says. (We realise you’re sick of hearing about ‘plans’ but whilst the officials keep rolling them out, we’ll keep reporting them)

Long-term travellers would need to do a 14 day quarantine, but after that they would be able to go anywhere in the country, according to secretary of the Centre for Economic Situation Administration Thosaporn Sirisumphand.

The government officials haven’t revealed anything else about the potential plan, but there was talk a couple weeks ago about developing a new 9 month long-stay visa. The proposal is aimed for so-called “snowbirds” who want to get away from Europe’s winter and stay in Thailand for the season.

Government officials are motivated to get the plan in place and hope that opening the borders to long-term visitors will help revive the tourism-dependent economy, potentially saving millions of jobs that are on the line. Thailand Development Research estimates 3.27 million jobs are at risk.

Phuket was hit hard and plans to reopen the island to international tourists are delayed. Before the pandemic, international tourists contributed to 2/3 of Phuket’s revenue from tourism. If international tourists aren’t let back in this year, 50,000 jobs could be lost, according to the Phuket Hotels Association.

In Pattaya, the city’s famous Walking Street has gone quiet. Many businesses closed and those that are still open say they desperately need foreign tourists to stay open.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post