From June 1st, Thailand will no longer be able to use several mechanisms to reopen the country starting in early 2021.
The ministry of tourism and sports said that they are looking at scrapping the scheme if the caseload in the country decreases.
It's hard to understand why Thailand has to regulate arrivals from abroad in order to drive up tourism arrivals.
Thailand was the only country in the region that allowed foreign arrivals relatively early on, but they have now been outpaced by other countries that have all but abandoned restrictive and punitive measures for visitors as long as they arevaccinated and tested before departure.
Thailand still has a Thailand Pass information system, a complicated booking system for the first night, and a chance of being locked up for a week or longer if tested positive, even though other countries are now more progressive in their approach.
The Tourism Ministry is looking at the measures with concern and will either abandon them or amend them, according to the Bangkok Post.
The Test and Go scheme and Thailand Pass registration are expected to be scrapped by June 1 if there is no surge in infections or fatalities during the Songkran festival in April, says the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said Thai tourism has to move forward after opening the Phuket sandbox in July 2021.
“Thailand started like a rabbit, running quickly last year as we reopened to visitors. We cannot let the country fall behind as many nations are opening borders and have fewer restrictions than us,” Mr Phiphat said.
The government and tourism agencies have to work together to propose further loosening of travel restrictions, allowing more tourists into the country, with a target of 7 million arrivals this year, he said.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) recently dropped the 72-hour pre-travel RT-PCR test for international arrivals starting from April 1.
The next phase of reopening is expected to take place on May 1, with the RT-PCR test on arrival to be replaced with an antigen test kit (ATK) check conducted by a medical professional.
Mr Phiphat said the upcoming Songkran holidays will be a critical test for further easing of rules. The number of daily cases, including results from ATK tests in April, has to remain stable. An acceptable rate might be 50,000-60,000 cases, while the fatality rate should stay below 100, he said.
The ministry plans to submit an additional proposal in May to the CCSA after monitoring the situation in April, said Mr Phiphat.
Mr Phiphat said if the country fully reopens and returns to pre-pandemic norms, there would be no need to require RT-PCR test results from tourists. However, an ATK test should be administered the arrival day to maintain confidence locally and prevent uncertainty, he said.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Association of Thai Travel Agents on Thursday, Mr Phiphat said the ministry’s proposal regarding an end to Covid testing from June 1 still requires approval from the Public Health Ministry based on the caseload. …
Tourism revenue could reach 30% of levels recorded in 2019 this year, before improving to 50% next year and fully recovering by 2024, said Mr Phiphat.
He said the country needs to improve its ranking in the safety index. Thailand ranked poorly at 111 out of 140 countries in the 2019 Tourism Competitiveness Index, said Mr Phiphat.
There are several contradictions in the article about Mr. Phiphat's plans and reality in Thailand.
They are talking about dropping caseloads while at the same time currently caving in to pressure from local business groups to allow an easement of restrictions during Songkran such as allowing water splashing, alcohol sales, etc.
I can't believe they're considering making concessions to operators in the party destinations. Thailand has been battered economically since Covid began, but especially since the country experienced its own mass infections last year. In Thailand, all outbreak have been connected to entertainment, be it a music festival in Phuket, fancy nightclubs in Bangkok, or last year's Songkran Festival where people ignored all calls for caution.
The Tourism Ministry is pinning hopes on stabilizing or reducing cases. There are around 25,000 new cases per day. 50-60,000 cases per day is acceptable according to Mr. Phiphat. It sounds like he expects an explosion after Songkran and better sets expectations right from the start.
There is a chance of abandoning Test, but there has to be an ATK test upon arrival to maintain local confidence. He says infections could carry up to 60,000 daily. The mindset of trying to please locals is nonsense.
When will these people start to think about the confidence of the visitors? The on arrival testing regime is keeping people from flying to Thailand.
I wrote about Thailand removing the pre-flight tests.
Confirmed: Thailand Scraps Pre-Flight PCR Testing From April 1, 2022 While On Arrival Test Remains In Place
There will be no more government mandated tests for flights to or via Thailand on April 1, 2022. Travelers who enter the kingdom under the Test&Go scheme will still have to take the mandatory on arrival test.
It would have been better to keep the pre-flight test in place and scrap it on arrival like Vietnam did. The new system increases the risk of being dragged down with someone who is positive if you sit next to them. I am not a fan of this solution.
I don't know if this is going anywhere, but we all might get surprised. There is a lot less risk when flying to the other popular tourist destinations in countries around Thailand. Thailand is being forced to remove the overly strict regulations because tourism arrival numbers are contracting again.
These approaches to relax regulations aren't voluntary because times have forced the politician's hands, not just in Thailand but worldwide. It needs one domino to fall for the chain reaction to start. The opening of the Philippines and Vietnam was over as soon as it was announced. Thailand does not have a chance of keeping its Covid entry system up and running. Tourists won't take the idea that there are better alternatives.
Conclusion.
Thailand's Minister of Tourism has announced that his agency would propose the removal of the Test Go system but still have an ATK test in place.
The number of new Covid infections in Thailand is mentioned in the Bangkok Post article and should serve as a sign of reduced entry measures. Thailand is rife with Covid and policymakers think that they can still pick and choose about their Covid entry policy while trying to grow tourism. It's amazing!
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