On the evening of October 11, in a speech broadcast on national television, the Prime Minister of Thailand announced plans to reopen the tourism industry nationwide in November. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha admitted that the decision to reopen the country at this time will come with many risks, but this is an important step to revive the tourism industry that is on the brink of collapse.
Specifically, fully vaccinated travelers who have tested negative for Covid-19 from 10 "low-risk" countries will be allowed to enter Thailand without having to undergo quarantine. Some names such asUK, Singapore, Germany, China and USAwere among the first countries to benefit from the policy. "If they receive a negative test result before boarding the plane and also upon arrival in Thailand, they will be allowed to travel freely like Thais," Prayuth Chan-ocha announced. In addition, Thailand pledged to open its doors to tourists from more countries from December 1.
Travelers from other countries not on the low-risk list will be allowed to enter but they will be required to undergo medical quarantine.
Prime Minister Prayuth had previously pledged to open the country in October and announced an accelerated vaccine rollout to reach the target of 70% of the population being vaccinated, but the opening has been postponed until November. To date, 48% of Thais have received at least one vaccine dose, while 30% have received two doses.
"It's time for us to be ready to face the coronavirus and live with it... the same way we have lived with other diseases based on adequate treatment and vaccination," Mr Prayuth said.
Last year, Thailand lost about $50 billion in revenue as foreign tourist arrivals fell to 6.7 million, far below the record 39.9 million visitors two years ago.
Thailand is still reporting around 10,000 new cases a day, mainly from the Delta variant. As of October 11, 48% of Thais had received at least one dose of vaccine, while more than 30% of the population had completed vaccination.
Three months ago, Thailand launched a campaign to revive its vital tourism industry by introducing a “sandbox” model on the island of Phuket. Although visitor numbers have fallen far short of targets, many are still optimistic about the program, saying “it’s much better than doing nothing.”
