The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced a three-stage roadmap to reopen six major tourist provinces – Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya), and Chiang Mai – to vaccinated foreign tourists.
The TAT’s reopening roadmap will take place in stages in the second, third, and fourth quarters of this year, specifically for vaccinated foreign tourists arriving in the six aforementioned destinations.
The development comes after the Royal Thai Government’s latest announcement – Thailand has reduced quarantine for international arrivals which includes the reduction of quarantine from 14 days to seven days for vaccinated international arrivals involving the 11 groups of people currently permitted to enter the country.
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 seven nights, they will be allowed to visit other destinations in Thailand.
The ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model indicates that during quarantine, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to indulge 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.
Stage Two (Q3), from July to September, Phuket will be the first destination to lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ programme. However, visitors will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in Phuket for seven days following which they will be allowed to visit other Thai destinations.
Stage Three (Q4), from October to December, all five other destinations– Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya), and Chiang Mai will lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists. Alike Phuket, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in these destinations for seven days before they are allowed to visit other Thai destinations.
Upon arrival vaccinated foreign tourists, in all stages, will be required to undergo a Covid-19 screening, including RT-PCR tests, and download the specified track and trace application.
Other travel documents required for entry into Thailand 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 an RT-PCR test result indicating that Covid-19 is not detected, issued no more than 72 hours before departure.
Vaccinated international arrivals 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.
