Thailand re-opens: minimal quarantine for vaccinated tourists from 63 countries

From today, vaccinated tourists from 63 countries can enter Thailand (by air only) with minimal quarantine requirements. Fully inoculated tourists from approved countries only need to wait in their hotel room for the result of their PCR test and are then free to go where they like. The move has been welcomed by a tourism sector crushed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Thai government initially released a list of 46 countries from where vaccinated tourists could enter the kingdom, but then added another 17 countries to the list. The new additions are India, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Croatia, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Romania, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Luxembourg.

The Bangkok Post reports that vaccinated tourists from countries not on the list are still welcome, but will need to enter via one of the sandbox programmes currently being run in 17 provinces. Under the sandbox scheme, vaccinated tourists must remain at their first destination for 7 days and test negative for Covid-19, before being allowed to travel around the country. In the case of unvaccinated arrivals, including those not fully vaccinated, 10-day hotel quarantine is still a mandatory requirement.

Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the re-opening announcement has prompted a welcome increase in hotel bookings from the 63 approved countries.

“I’m confident the re-opening will greatly benefit the country, especially in the tourism high season that normally lasts into early next year. TAT is now expecting over 1 million tourists to come in the next 6 months, or about 300,000 per month.”

Meanwhile, restaurants in the so-called “blue zones” of Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket, and Phang Nga are now permitted to serve alcohol. In Bangkok, only restaurants with the SHA accreditation can serve alcohol. Bars and nightlife venues across the country remain shut.

For more information on how to get into Thailand during the pandemic, CLICK HERE.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post