Thailand has recently announced that it will reduce the time unvaccinated visitors will have to spend in quarantine from 14 days to 10. At the same time, we can expect restrictions to be eased further in the coming months, putting Thailand, once again, on the table for would-be travellers. The announcement about the shorter quarantine was made ahead of the country’s Songkran or water festival, and its goal is likely to boost internal tourism before the event.
10 days or just 7. With exceptions. And later, zero
Visitors from almost every country around the world have to quarantine for 10 days when entering Thailand – unless, of course, they are fully vaccinated. In this case, they’ll only have to make do with playing games on their phones, or คาสิโนออนไลน์ as the locals say, for seven days. Only after that are they free to jump into a tuk-tuk and dig into the countless delicious dishes served in the streets, one of the things Thailand is famous for. The government is planning to completely phase out the quarantine requirements by next year, hoping for vaccinations to be widespread enough by this time.
Phuket, the popular tourist destination, will become accessible without quarantine for those who are fully vaccinated as early as June – and unvaccinated visitors will only have to stay in isolation for a week.
The current regulation does not apply to visitors coming from certain countries – South Africa and several other African states – to prevent the South African variant from spreading.
According to tourism industry insiders, the 10-day quarantine is a step in the right direction… but not a solution in itself – after all, it’s still quarantine, even if it’s a few days shorter. But this time of the year is a low season for European tourists anyway – they usually visit Thailand between September and March.
Mass vaccination
Until the great reopening of Phuket for foreign visitors, the local authorities are preparing for the mighty task of vaccinating 70% of its residents, planning to administer more than 900,000 doses. There are already many people who are fully vaccinated and ready to travel, said Thailand Tourist Authority Yuthasak Supasorn. The authorities hope to welcome at least 2 million tourists, mostly from Europe and China, this year.
The first of many
The reopening of Phuket will be the first major test of the Thai government’s reopening plan. If all goes well, the same regulations will apply to other major tourist hotspots.
Vaccinated tourists will be able to visit Pattaya, Phang Nga, Samui, Chiang Mai and Krabi without having to quarantine at all, starting this October. If all goes well, these new rules will apply to the entire country starting January 2022.