Shawn Tan
Image credit: Pixabay
Have you received your COVID-19 vaccination? If you have, chances are that Thailand is prepared to welcome you. In a move to revive the tourism industry, Thai authorities announced on 24 February, Wednesday, that the country will look to ease measures for vaccinated tourists as part of the “Welcome Back to Thailand Again” campaign. These measures would be implemented gradually in a step by step manner over the next few months as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to roll out tour packages after April.
Vaccinated tourists can look forward to shorter or no quarantines
As part of the restrictions to be eased, TAT is looking at either shortening the existing mandatory two-week quarantine period for incoming tourists to three days, or even scraping it altogether. This only applies if travellers can produce a valid vaccination certificate and would involve continued tracking from the authorities during their stay in Thailand.
Should the international travel market be opened by the fourth quarter of this year as scheduled, the Thai government would also implement a vaccination passport system by June. “TAT plans to bring back international tourists by the fourth quarter but that will depend largely on our policy development too,” said Siripakorn Cheawsamoot from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Vaccination programme in full swing
The news comes after Thailand cleared vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca for emergency local use and ordered a total of 63 million doses from the two producers. 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would also go to tourism workers in Chon Buri, Krabi, Phang Nga, Chiang Mai and Phuket. These five provinces have been selected to open up to 6,000 to visitors under the hotel quarantine programme.
Thailand easing measures for vaccinated tourists would be music to the ears for local tourism operators. According to TTG Asia, waiving mandatory quarantine requirements would save an estimated 400,000 hotel workers’ jobs, as well as an additional 400,000 in other branches of tourism. “This year, we expect about five million visitors, but next year it should jump because the vaccine will have helped, maybe 15 million,” said tourism minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
Also read: Air New Zealand to Trial ‘Vaccination Passport’
Thailand isn’t the only country exploring updated travel requirements for vaccinated travellers. The African island nation of the Seychelles, for example, has already begun allowing fully vaccinated visitors to enter without undergoing quarantine. Let’s hope that as the global vaccination rollout continues, more countries can follow Thailand’s example to ease measures for vaccinated tourists and give the tourism industry a much needed shot in the arm. Visit TAT’s quarantine information centre for the latest updates.
