Thailand is ending quarantine for vaccinated visitors from more than 60 countries, the biggest reopening gamble in Asia and one that could mark a turning point for the revival of mass tourism during the pandemic.
Starting today, fully vaccinated travelers arriving from Taiwan, the US, China, Singapore, Japan, India and most of Europe will be able to freely tour Thailand’s sandy beaches, temples and tropical islands after testing negative for COVID-19 on arrival.
Inoculated visitors from countries not on the list can travel to Bangkok and 16 other regions, but they will be confined to their initial destination for the first seven days before being allowed to travel elsewhere.
Photo: AFP
It is the biggest step Thailand has taken to welcome back a slice of the nearly 40 million visitors it hosted the year before the pandemic, and is billed as a “fight to win foreign tourists” as countries from Australia to the UK also loosen COVID-19 curbs.
A successful Thai experiment could help salvage its battered economy and serve as a model for countries wary of a virus resurgence from reopenings.
“We’re not expecting the rooms to be full overnight, but it’s a great first step,” said John Blanco, general manager at luxury hotel Capella Bangkok. “All countries are taking the same posture. That is, we need to learn to live with COVID-19. It’s a general theme around the world.”
While Thailand fumbled in its previous reopening attempts due to a virus flareup and tardy progress in its vaccinations, it has had some success with the so-called Phuket Sandbox experiment that allowed vaccinated visitors to travel to other parts of the country after a limited stay on the resort island. Almost 60,000 tourists have visited the country since the plan started in July.
To boost the confidence of tourists and the public, Thailand is linking the reopening to a higher vaccination rate, which “is a measured approach that has a lot of logic to it,” said Amar Lalvani, chairman of US boutique hotel operator Standard International.
“You have examples in places like Mexico and Turkey, which have been quite wide-opened and very low on restrictions, and their business is actually booming,” Lalvani said. “Countries in Asia, Thailand included, have prioritized public health. Now that you have that under control, you’re going to feel more comfortable opening up.”
The travel industry is preparing for the Thai reopening. International carriers have scheduled more flights to the Southeast Asian nation, while hotels and beach resorts are offering bargains and Phuket is hosting a New Year’s Eve party featuring Italian opera tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, who was in Phuket and Bangkok for a film shoot, lauded Thailand’s tourism experiments and posted messages on Twitter about the country’s plan to welcome back tourists.
While Chinese tourists, who made up almost a third of the total arrivals before the pandemic, might be deterred by a 21-day quarantine on their return home, the reopening could still draw hundreds of thousands of visitors and stave off another year of economic contraction.
Thailand’s economy shrank 6.1 percent last year, the worst performance since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.
“The economic sector, which is the heart and affects the people of the whole country, is important,” Thai Chamber of Commerce chairman Sanan Angubolkul said. “Opening up the country is necessary. Because that is the way to ensure the survival of the people and the country.”
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