Entering Thailand is set to become easier, with mandatory on-arrival COVID testing scrapped for all vaccinated travelers. The move is an attempt to bring back the all-important tourist dollar to the country as post-pandemic travel picks up around the globe.
No testing required
Thailand will do away with mandatory COVID tests on arrival, rolling back most of its pandemic-induced entry requirements that have resulted in a less-than-desirable inflow of tourists.
From May 1st, all vaccinated tourists will no longer have to go through a mandatory RT-PCR COVID test. However, visitors are encouraged to take a voluntary self-administered antigen test upon landing. Indeed, the new rules will make it a lot more convenient to travel to Thailand as visitors will no longer need to reserve a one-night hotel accommodation to secure visas.
Travelers, however, are still required online travel clearance for which proof of vaccination and insurance must be presented. The insurance coverage needed for a Thai visa has also been halved from $20,000 to $10,000. Unvaccinated travelers will still need to present a negative COVID test.
Gradual easing
Thailand has gradually been lifting entry restrictions for incoming travelers in an attempt to lure more tourists. The new measures follow last month’s easing of rules for arriving visitors to Thailand.
Before April 1st, passengers arriving in Thailand had to take a PCR test no later than 72 hours before boarding flights. This was followed by an on-arrival test, a one-night hotel quarantine, and a Day-5 antigen self-test.
Thailand first began allowing tourists into the country quarantine-free in July 2021 as part of its Phuket Sandbox scheme. By November, international travelers could visit the rest of the country quarantine-free in line with "Test & Go" entry requirements.
The scheme was suspended in December after the emergence of the Omicron variant before it was brought back in February.
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Boost to tourism
Tourism provides significant economic support to Thailand, accounting for about 12% of gross domestic product before the pandemic. While the sector is picking up in the country, it is nowhere near what it used to be before COVID.
As reported by Bloomberg, foreign tourist arrivals jumped to 497,693 in the first quarter of this year, up from 20,172 a year earlier when the country was mostly shut to visitors. However, it’s a far cry from the pre-COVID monthly average inflow of 3.3 million tourists in 2019.
Apart from the occasional surge of COVID infections such as the Omicron variant, the visiting requirements, such as pre-departure and on-arrival testing, mandatory quarantine period, and insurance, were seen as deterrents to driving the passenger numbers up.
According to Tim Leelahaphan, a Bangkok-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, the tourism outlook still remains tentative, with 4 to 5 million visitors expected this year. Hopefully, with most restrictions now lifted, more travelers will be encouraged to visit the country again.
Are you planning to travel to Thailand anytime soon? How excited are you about the testing rules being scrapped? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.