TAT announces a roadmap to reopen Thailand to vaccinated tourists

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to announce that the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA), chaired by Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, has approved the TAT’s three-stage roadmap to reopen six major tourist destinations – Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Chiang Mai – to vaccinated foreign travellers.

 

This development follows the Royal Thai Government’s latest announcement: Thailand reduces quarantine for international arrivals from 1 April 2021, which includes the reduction of quarantine from 14 days to 7 days for vaccinated international arrivals.

 

The TAT’s reopening roadmap, specifically for inoculated foreign travellers arriving in the six specified destinations only, will take place in stages in the second, third and fourth quarters of this year.

 

 

Stage One (Q2), from April to June, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to undergo quarantine in government-approved hotels or other facilities under a ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model. After completing the first 7 nights, they will be allowed to visit other destinations in Thailand.

 

The ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model means that during quarantine, vaccinated tourists will be allowed to engage in leisure activities within the premises of their hotels or other accommodation establishments. They will also be allowed to engage in outside travel activities within designated areas in their selected destination of arrival.

 

State Two (Q3), from July to September, Phuket will be the first destination to lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated tourists under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ programme. However, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in Phuket for 7 days and will then be allowed to visit other Thai destinations.

 

Vaccinated tourist arrivals to five other major tourist destinations – Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Chiang Mai – will still be required to undergo quarantine under a ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model.

 

Stage Three (Q4), from October to December, all five other major tourist destinations will join Phuket in lifting quarantine requirements for vaccinated tourists. Same as Phuket, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in these destinations for 7 days before they are allowed to visit other Thai destinations.

 

Upon arrival in all stages, vaccinated tourists will be required to undergo a COVID-19 screening, including RT-PCR tests, and download the specified track and trace application.

 

In order to be eligible to enter in Thailand, vaccinated tourists still need to have all of their advance arrangements in good order for arrival and entry.

 

These include a valid visa or re-entry permit, a Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate; a COVID-19 health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of US$100,000; confirmation of Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel booking, and a medical certificate with a RT-PCR laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected issued no more than 72 hours before departure. Travellers are recommended to enquire at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their home country for more details.

 

In addition, in line with the Royal Thai Government’s announcement, inoculated tourists must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a vaccine, approved, and registered with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) or approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), no less than 14 days before the travelling date. They must also be from countries with no mutated strain of SAR-CoV-2 virus as announced and constantly updated by the MoPH.

 

The following vaccines are accepted (as of 31 March, 2021): ARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) by Sinovac (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by SK BIOSCIENCE – AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); BNT162b2/CORMIRNATY – Tozinameran (INN) by Pfizer/BioNTech (2 doses needed); Covishield (ChAdOx1_nCoV19) by the Serum Institute of India (2 doses needed); Ad26.COV2.S by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (1 dose needed), and mRNA-1273 by Moderna (2 doses needed).

 

TAT is constantly providing updates on the tourism-related COVID-19 situation in Thailand at the TAT Newsroom (www.tatnews.org); Facebook (tatnews.org); and Twitter (Tatnews_Org).

 

For additional information and assistance relating to Thailand’s tourism, contact the TAT Contact Centre 1672 or Tourist Police 1155.

[ThailandRyan]

Well will this roadmap bring back Happiness to the Thai people like the good General Prayuts Roadmap has done.  Hmmmm let me think......um, what was I thinking about...oh yeah  mmmm maybe/maybe not.  Hoop jumping like fish in a barrel.

[Farmerkev]

"AZD1222 by AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by SK BIOSCIENCE – AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed)"

 

So, by your own admittance these are different vacvines

[Daithi85]

48 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Well will this roadmap bring back Happiness to the Thai people like the good General Prayuts Roadmap has done.  Hmmmm let me think......um, what was I thinking about...oh yeah  mmmm maybe/maybe not.  Hoop jumping like fish in a barrel.

U do understand it's not just  thailand having  problems, they've done  a far  better job than most countries have  done that's fOr sure. 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Daithi85
Spelll

[Frank Abegnale]

Thailand is becoming one of those “adults only” tourist venues. 

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, Daithi85 said:

U do understand it's not just  thailand having  problems, they've done  a far  better job than most countries have  done that's fOr sure. 

Why compare.  This is an OP on Thailand.  My post was in the reality of it bringing happiness back which has not truly happened under this government.  Possibilities loom large but in reality for true tourism to return the vaccinations of the Thai people and those living in this country need to be truly implemented on a much larger scale to ensure the virus can be eventually eliminated.  Area Tourism or bubble tourism is a fantasy if even after quarantine or vaccination one is not allowed to travel freely.  The plan they have is now for just certain Area's and not the whole country, at least for now, and that is to restrictive for many folks I know.

[edwinchester]

"In order to be eligible to enter in Thailand, vaccinated tourists still need to have all of their advance arrangements in good order for arrival and entry.

 

These include a valid visa or re-entry permit, a Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate; a COVID-19 health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of US$100,000; confirmation of Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel booking, and a medical certificate with a RT-PCR laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected issued no more than 72 hours before departure."

 

If I were a foreign tourist wanting to visit Thailand I would not be jumping through so many hoops for my two week restricted itinerary holiday that's for sure.

[pj123]

"They must also be from countries with no mutated strain of SAR-CoV-2 virus as announced and constantly updated by the MoPH.". 

 

Where can I find this list of countries? I checked the English language pages of the MoPH website and found nothing. 

[gunderhill]

Theyve  missed  an  opportunity, I'm  sure they could  add  way more divisions, sub divisions and  extra  categories, hell why not  make a  full  blown  book  out of  it.

[gunderhill]

6 minutes ago, pj123 said:

"They must also be from countries with no mutated strain of SAR-CoV-2 virus as announced and constantly updated by the MoPH.". 

 

Where can I find this list of countries? I checked the English language pages of the MoPH website and found nothing. 

Have you tried  Fantasy  Island,  boss  the plane,  probably  get more  sense  there.

[ThailandRyan]

7 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

Theyve  missed  an  opportunity, I'm  sure they could  add  way more divisions, sub divisions and  extra  categories, hell why not  make a  full  blown  book  out of  it.

"A Tourists guide to negotiating Thailands tourism Roadmap"

By: I C Tu

[mtls2005]

No mention of Stage 4? Was previously mentioned as 1 Jan 22.

 

 

Generally agree that all the stages, and various requirements, probably confuse potential tourists to the point where they say maybe best to wait until things are simpler?

 

 

 

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

40 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

No mention of Stage 4? Was previously mentioned as 1 Jan 22.

 

 

Generally agree that all the stages, and various requirements, probably confuse potential tourists to the point where they say maybe best to wait until things are simpler?

 

 

 

 

 

Is stage 4 like Cancer where the patient is circling the drain and has a max of 6 months left.  Will tourism return or be like Stage 4.

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, gunderhill said:

Theyve  missed  an  opportunity, I'm  sure they could  add  way more divisions, sub divisions and  extra  categories, hell why not  make a  full  blown  book  out of  it.

 

Remember, the military is running the country. They automatically think in terms of "barracks," "weekend passes," "acquisition decision memoranda," "inventory control points," "military standard procurements," "military standard transportation and evaluation," and training manuals that tell you how to do everything from brushing your teeth to launching an ICBM. Everything is a system of control, permissions, rewards, and retribution.

[internationalism]

2 hours ago, Farmerkev said:

"AZD1222 by AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by SK BIOSCIENCE – AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed)"

 

So, by your own admittance these are different vacvines

that vax is even not made yet. Will be available in June, if no hiccups.

But still it needs testing and formal approval.

Listing it already now indicates, that it somehow has preferable treatment, i.e. will be pushed forward no matter what test results are. That is because thailand is desperate for any vax 

[d1andonly]

So the 2 largest chinese vaccines are not included on the list? And no Sputnik either? No Russians and Chinese, somehow you really wonder who makes all these policies. Must be an epic fight between doctors who only worry about zero cases and the desperate tourisms industry. The result is a half baked solution no one will probably be happy with.

[bermondburi]

However, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas?

 

what does that mean exactly. Sounds suspicious.

[RichardColeman]

6 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

In order to be eligible to enter in Thailand, vaccinated tourists still need to have all of their advance arrangements in good order for arrival and entry.

 

These include a valid visa or re-entry permit, a Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate; a COVID-19 health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of US$100,000; confirmation of Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel booking, and a medical certificate with a RT-PCR laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected issued no more than 72 hours before departure. Travellers are recommended to enquire at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their home country for more details.

 

In addition, in line with the Royal Thai Government’s announcement, inoculated tourists must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a vaccine, approved, and registered with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) or approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), no less than 14 days before the travelling date. They must also be from countries with no mutated strain of SAR-CoV-2 virus as announced and constantly updated by the MoPH.

If they do not amend these requirements for 'vaccinated' tourists for October, that 6 million will like be just 6

[lapamita]

no sputnik no russian tourist

 

and now in europe people get only 1 astra zeneca shot plus another whatever shot ( not clear crazy depend on eu country).so they cant come too

 

good plan in thai.and even changes will be made day by day

 

so i will not come this year too,too dificult

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by lapamita

[Redoubt]

I am a properly Vaccinated foreigner from America who arrived in Bangkok on March 31st, and was then transported to my ASQ Hotel.

 

I seek to learn if healthy vaccinated visitors like me can be released from quarantine after spending 7 nights in quarantine?

 

If I had arrived just 24 hours later, on April 1st, I would be eligible for release after 7 days.

 

Does anyone know who I may contact in Thailand to ascertain the correct answer to this question?

 

Thank you.

Edited April 4, 2021 by Redoubt
Remove background color

[mr_lob]

7 hours ago, Frank Abegnale said:

Thailand is becoming one of those “adults only” tourist venues. 

Yep, with many countries saying they won't vaccinate kids, and Thailand insisting on vaccines for everyone, they have just killed a big sector of the market, especially over high season 2021/2

[sirineou]

17 minutes ago, mr_lob said:

Yep, with many countries saying they won't vaccinate kids, and Thailand insisting on vaccines for everyone, they have just killed a big sector of the market, especially over high season 2021/2

Unvaccinated people can still come in. they just have to quarantine three more days than vaccinated people. 

[Grusa]

I am quite sure these plans will solve all the tourism related problems (sarcasm alert).

 

What about real people? I need to go to Singapore or KL,  nothing to do with being a tourist of any sort. Normally a day trip does the job. I am now one year overdue, with consequential loss of my rights to do certain things. Quarantine both ends is a non-starter, practically and financially. I know several others in the same predicament.

[Niko0112]

So cos my thai kid not guna be vaccinated and i had both jabs i still guna have to do 10 days with him for him to see his family. Great 10 days trapped with hyperactive autistic 8 year old at nearly 1k sounds like heaven

[toolpush]

4 hours ago, d1andonly said:

So the 2 largest chinese vaccines are not included on the list? And no Sputnik either? No Russians and Chinese, somehow you really wonder who makes all these policies. Must be an epic fight between doctors who only worry about zero cases and the desperate tourisms industry. The result is a half baked solution no one will probably be happy with.

From the lead article: The following vaccines are accepted (as of 31 March, 2021): ARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) by Sinovac (2 doses needed)

Sinovac is Chinese 

[WHansen]

2 hours ago, bermondburi said:

However, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas?

 

what does that mean exactly. Sounds suspicious.

I suspect you will be able to walk round the hotel grounds. Still quarantine but at least we will not be staring at 4 walls

[Lingba]

so families (with kids) won't be coming as kids are not being vaccinated

[newnative]

Still way too complicated even in Stage 3.  Few tourists will put themselves through this. Back to the drawing board. 

[WaveHunter]

8 hours ago, Daithi85 said:

U do understand it's not just  thailand having  problems, they've done  a far  better job than most countries have  done that's fOr sure. 

I agree.  I think Thailand has reacted to the pandemic in in incredibly responsible way over the last year.  It's easy to criticize with hindsight how a country reacted to this pandemic, but it was an entirely different story when this all started and there was virtually no science to explain what was happening, and decision makers had to make hard decisions.

 

I have to say that this plan sounds overly convoluted and very confusing (as many bureaucratic things in Thailand always seem to be).  It's doubtful that potential tourists looking at it now will be very impressed and be booking trips as it stands now, but at least it's a positive sounding plan, and one that can be improved and simplified as time goes on.

 

It makes me feel optimistic that there's light at the end of the tunnel at least ????.  I sure wish my home country, the USA, would come up with an optimistic plan instead of the hopeless partisan bickering that seems to be all you hear about lately.

 

[Cake Monster]

8 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Why compare.  This is an OP on Thailand.  My post was in the reality of it bringing happiness back which has not truly happened under this government.  Possibilities loom large but in reality for true tourism to return the vaccinations of the Thai people and those living in this country need to be truly implemented on a much larger scale to ensure the virus can be eventually eliminated.  Area Tourism or bubble tourism is a fantasy if even after quarantine or vaccination one is not allowed to travel freely.  The plan they have is now for just certain Area's and not the whole country, at least for now, and that is to restrictive for many folks I know.

And the entire concept of this program does not in any way mention the requirements of other Governments around the Globe that will be  / not allowing their Citizens to travel to Countries with poor Vaccination History, and the Tourists obligations upon returning to their Homelands. Re _ Quarantine Etc

The UK for instance has a restricted Countries policy, and also a returning repatriation policy, and this is almost Daily being updated.

Many of the policies employed by the Governments such as the UK, will be the final No-No in a Foreign Holiday for almost everybody.

TAT really are living with their heads up their own Exhaust Pipes.