Thailand's economy is heavily dependent on tourism (precoronavirus it made up around 20% of the country's GDP). However, borders have been largely closed to allow for people who want to travel freely without being quarantined.
The Thai government has now proposed a plan for reopening borders. This could lead to the country opening up to more tourists within a matter of weeks.
Thailand opens again on November 1.
Prayut Chano-cha, Thailand's Prime Minister, announced today that he is pushing for the country to reopen to fully vaccinated travellers from 10 countries. This will be effective as of November 1, 2021. This plan would allow travelers to fly into Thailand without the need for quarantine.
The United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Germany are among the 10 first-choice countries. It would then be possible to allow vaccinated travellers from other countries starting December 1, 2021 and continuing to open for them until January 1, 2022.
If this plan is approved, the plan will be able to help the tourism industry recover for the holiday season. This plan would allow travelers to travel anywhere in the country. It is not a sandbox model, as we have seen.
Now it is up to CCSA and the Ministry of Public Health to review this and approve it in the next week.
Thailand could be open to travelers who have been vaccinated in November
It could happen.
Thailand's reopening plan for Thailand has been a mess. There have been dozens upon dozens of reopening strategies that various Thai government officials suggested, but nothing has happened. This is why I haven't written much about Thailand's plans.
Despite that, I believe we are finally at the point where this could happen.
The Prime Minister is speaking about a plan that will be implemented across the country and not just the previously developed plans which were largely regionalized
It seems like we are finally at the point in the pandemic when even conservative destinations start to make realistic plans for opening up. Just look at countries such as Australia, Fiji and Singapore.
Once there are widespread vaccinations in countries, I believe we have reached the new normal. There is no magic to eradicate coronavirus soon.
Thailand has been hit hard by the absence of tourism and cannot afford to close its doors forever.
Maybe Im just naive but I really believe that Thailand may open soon on a wider basis.
Is Thailand really going to reopen?
Bottom line
Today, Thailand's Prime Minister presented a plan that would allow fully vaccinated travellers from selected countries to travel to Thailand starting November 1. There would be no quarantine and they could move around freely within the country. Although there have been many reopening options, this one seems the most realistic and comes from the top.
I'm curious to find out if this plan is actually implemented or if it's just a new concept.
Are you positive that Thailand will adopt this strategy?
