Kategorie: News
Border opening for vaccinated travelers
Starting November 1, Thailand will open its borders to fully vaccinated air travelers from abroad. Initially, tourists from ten countries that are considered low-risk countries will be admitted for quarantine-free entry. In addition to Germany, these include the USA, China, Great Britain and Singapore. In December the regulation is to be extended then to further countries like government leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha explained today.
A basic requirement for entry is that vacationers or travelers present a negative PCR test upon arrival and be tested again after entering the country, Prayut said. "After that, they can travel as freely as Thai people." The serving of alcohol in restaurants and bars will also be possible again from December onwards.
Flights via Bangkok are also possible again under the new regulation. This significantly expands route choices and once again brings more attractive price choices for those willing to travel.
New regulation brings advantages for divers
Due to the new regulation with only one test directly at the airport after arrival, we divers for example have a serious advantage: we can go directly on a liveaboard tour. Free travel in the country and no quarantine at all (also no more sandbox in Phuket) expands the vacation options significantly. Previously, travelers could only travel without restriction after the second test after 6 days. Also, all dive sites around Phuket and in Khao Lak can be visited at any time without restrictions, although some were located in other provinces, such as Phi Phi Island, which belongs to Krabi.
Phuket as a sandbox experiment
Currently, vaccinated tourists must remain in quarantine in a hotel for at least seven days. The island of Phuket offers an exception with the Sandbox Experiment. Here, vacationers are allowed to move freely and after a week they can travel on to other regions. Since July 1, 2021, fully vaccinated travelers could fly to Phuket without quarantine. However, there are still some rules to be observed, which is why the response in the travel industry and the Thailand fan community was divided. However, one thing should be kept in mind: Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia that allowed entry without quarantine. Apart from that, all other countries except Singapore currently do not issue tourist visas at all.
Prayut acknowledged that the decision could lead to an increase in coronavirus infections. But he said it is important to give people in Thailand an economic perspective again.
Pandemic hits tourism sector
The pandemic has severely affected the tourism sector, which is important to the Thai economy. It normally accounts for nearly 20 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product. Last year, the Southeast Asian kingdom lost around 50 billion dollars in revenue due to the absence of vacationers from abroad.
Thailand has recorded a total of more than 1.7 million Covid-19 infection cases and more than 17,700 Corona deaths to date.
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