Unrestricted Travel to Thailand; When?

[Kelsall]

My guess is 2 years or longer.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Kelsall

[BritTim]

For travel from many countries free of Covid-19, probably around this October. For most nationalities, we will probably need to wait until wide availability of an effective Covid-19 vaccine (whose use will be compulsory before entry will be allowed). Third quarter of next year is my guess, but this may be over optimistic.

[bkk6060]

If you are talking about no medical or insurance documents just come and go, I say by the end of the year.  That is 6 months I bet therapies to slow the disease to very low to non fatality will be out sooner then a vaccine.

 

2 years of restrictions will put this place into a recession/downturn that will take 5 to 7 years or more to recover cannot do.

[Puchaiyank]

As soon as the Chinese give approval.

 

 

[Boomer6969]

As far as I am concerned they could make it unrestricted for anyone who can show tree items:

a) a health certificate of less that 3 days,

b) a paid booking for 14 days in a quarantine facility,

c) a Health/Covid insurance covering at least 3-4 weeks in ICU.

 

Some months after the onset of vaccinations campaigns a (some?) vaccination certificates may become the sole requirement for entry.

 

There is still a pandemic, at various stages, raging out there. The tighter the borders remain, the more they can relax internal restrictions.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Boomer6969

[otherstuff1957]

I think that they will start with 'travel bubbles' allowing people from low case count countries in first.  They may require a recent C19 test and some kind of insurance, but the tourist businesses will strongly oppose that.  I suspect that travel from US/UK/Italy/Spain/France/Brazil will not happen for at least a year.

 

If a vaccine is developed, a vaccine certificate may very well be needed in order to fly anywhere (not just Thailand).  Sorry to go off topic here, but antivaxers may find themselves having to choose between their principles and being able to fly.

[Martyp]

I guess I would define unrestricted as meaning not having to stay in 14 day quarantine. Most tourists will not travel under those conditions. That I think is at least a year away.

[ubonjoe]

I could not vote since there was nothing I could vote for. At this time is unknown what it will be next month or after.

[Caldera]

Very tricky to predict at this point. They might see that as their chance to finally sell tourists their own compulsory insurance, or require insurance upon entry with specifics TBD. With that in place, they might be willing to waive quarantine for those coming in from low-risk areas.

 

I don't expect a full return to (the old) normal anytime soon.

 

[kingofallasians]

Definitely by the end of July!

 

Woo, party time!

[Zikomat]

Not earlier than 2022 (second half).

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by Zikomat

[kingofallasians]

Lol, let's close all this <deleted> and tank out economies just for the really old people who have lived life already.

[madmen]

They won't need big numbers  but just enough to keep travel industry alive until next year and the Chinese alone will provide that.

 

Say what you like about China but EVERYBODY wants a slice of that market. Mess with China at your own peril, look at OZ multi billion dollars lost through trade and China just issued a no travel warning.

[Stocky]

We might have a travel bubble encompassing ASEAN (excluding Indonesia and Philippines) - China - S.Korea - Japan - Australia & New Zealand by end of the year early next. But the rest of the World will depend on infection rates. I would say at least 2-3 years before we get back to near normal.

[holy cow cm]

In the New Year after the second rising of the pandemic wave hits all countries after winter. No where near that point at the moment.

[drbeach]

6 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

As far as I am concerned they could make it unrestricted for anyone who can show tree items:

a) a health certificate of less that 3 days,

b) a paid booking for 14 days in a quarantine facility,

c) a Health/Covid insurance covering at least 3-4 weeks in ICU.

 

Some months after the onset of vaccinations campaigns a (some?) vaccination certificates may become the sole requirement for entry.

 

There is still a pandemic, at various stages, raging out there. The tighter the borders remain, the more they can relax internal restrictions.

Mandatory vaccines for entry? Looks like that was the whole intention all along - to get vaccines becoming a requirement to travel, to get a drivers license etc. (coming in the future). That being said, it will deter many travelers from ever coming again IF this enters into force.

 

Anyway, there are many indications that a covid vaccine may never be developed. Coronaviruses mutate all the time and no successful corona vaccine has ever been manufactured. If it does happen, an annual vaccination requirement, along with a list of others will be imposed as a condition of entry. It's not ever about one vaccine.

 

My hunch is that mandatory vaccines for travel aren't coming just yet - it would be a bit too soon. Maybe in 3 years. What we will be seeing is thermal screening at all ports of entry and exit that will remain with us permanently.

[Keyser Soze666]

I voted Never.

[drbeach]

My guess is around October, at the same time as other countries. There is a possibility they will impose some new entry requirements so travel may never be the same again, such as payment of an insurance fee attached to an e-visa application (visa free entry may go the way of the dodo).

 

For visa holders, proof of mandatory health insurance.

 

Tracking and/or filling out of health declarations on arrival even if the normal arrival form is scrapped as they've been planning could also become a permanent new travel feature.

 

Therefore, so-called "unrestricted" travel may never return, depending on what your definition of "unrestricted" is.

Edited June 11, 2020 by drbeach

[Chivas]

I'd say having thought about it around about this time 2022. Thats fluid obviously but could be either way hopefully earlier.

Under no circumstances am I coming to sit in bars metres apart wearing a mask talking to myself as clearly no Girls for reasons obvious now

June 2022 I'd say....

[smudger1951]

Some very despondant comments but looks accurate. As Iran reports second wave of Covid, selective entry seems most likely. The number of people waiting to get back to their partners and family is tragic.

[Huckenfell]

1 hour ago, Keyser Soze666 said:

I voted Never.

And i voted "In a year or more"

 

[DaLa]

7 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

As far as I am concerned they could make it unrestricted for anyone who can show tree items:

a) a health certificate of less that 3 days,

b) a paid booking for 14 days in a quarantine facility,

c) a Health/Covid insurance covering at least 3-4 weeks in ICU.

And as soon as some enterprising web site developers have created reasonably authentic fake documents that provide the above.

[Keyser Soze666]

1 minute ago, Huckenfell said:

And i voted "In a year or more"

 

I think I will be proved right soon.

[gearbox]

2 hours ago, madmen said:

They won't need big numbers  but just enough to keep travel industry alive until next year and the Chinese alone will provide that.

 

Say what you like about China but EVERYBODY wants a slice of that market. Mess with China at your own peril, look at OZ multi billion dollars lost through trade and China just issued a no travel warning.

The Chinese tourists in theory can save the Thai tourism,  however it is more or less one way street - the Thais are desperate for tourists, the Chinese not so much about coming to Thailand. it is more or less the same for every big tourist market. Greece is opened for the Chinese and many other countries, but there is no rush of people coming in. The countries not dependent much on tourism are keeping the travel bans and warnings for overseas travel, and most of the insurance companies don't cover covid-19. Add to these the hassles with testing, possible quarantine, and the chance of getting stuck again if the situation deteriorates quickly. NZ is dependent more than Thailand on tourism, they rely on the Aussies to save the industry, but I don't see many going unless there are massive discounts offered.

 

I voted for October but hope to be earlier, I want to go back, miss Thailand a lot.

[unheard]

4 hours ago, andy said:

There will be a lot of pressure to open up somewhat by late October so there can be a "high" season for tourism.  I can see restrictions lifted for some areas in the travel bubble for that (but probably no chance for Europe & USA anytime soon).

Why do people keep saying that Europe and USA are somehow much more dangerous than other "safe" countries?

As long as there's a mechanism established to test anyone prior to travel and then shortly after the arrival, there shouldn't be any differentiation between the countries of origin.

Some of the safe countries are simply not testing enough to show a significant number of positive cases.

[unheard]

4 hours ago, drbeach said:

Therefore, so-called "unrestricted" travel may never return, depending on what your definition of "unrestricted" is.

The unrestricted travel will come back as soon as the world develops sufficient herd immunity and the Covid19 will then become just another form of a seasonal flue.

[sezze]

59 minutes ago, unheard said:

The unrestricted travel will come back as soon as the world develops sufficient herd immunity and the Covid19 will then become just another form of a seasonal flue.

Which might be never .... herd immunity is nowhere present and so far has not the slightest proof of the option of existing ( meaning , they don't know yet if the antibodies do stay active in the blood and for how long ) .

That it might become a seasonal flu or even just a cough has bigger chances since 1st signs of that are showing , and history in virology shows that most virus making a species jump , do tend to become weaker or even disappear .

 

Now as for the question of the poster ... i do not vote , simply because the situation is not clear anything further then 1-3 weeks down the line . I can only speak for now and so far , and that means not showing anything of those times coming back anytime soon . Especially the part of OP question ... travel like before Covid .... is a bold statement and how much i wish to see it , i'd say never . Some things change the world forever , and i think this is such a event . Like travel before and after 9-11/IS has changed , this also will change travel and some things will never ever go back to the situation like it was before .

Being quarantined , i hope and think this might be out in the next few months , prob october .

[JackThompson]

47 minutes ago, sezze said:

Which might be never .... herd immunity is nowhere present and so far has not the slightest proof of the option of existing ( meaning , they don't know yet if the antibodies do stay active in the blood and for how long ) .

It would be a very rare thing if people did not develop immunity.  Agree there is a lot of seemingly-conflicting data out there - but so far, all predictions have been far worse than what transpired.

 

47 minutes ago, sezze said:

That it might become a seasonal flu ...

That would be worse, in some respects.  At least this bug only affects those who are very old or have specific co-morbidities - though it does hit them harder than flu.  But the flu knocks the young and healthy into the dirt, as well as disproportionately harming the old and/or sick.

 

47 minutes ago, sezze said:

... or even just a cough has bigger chances since 1st signs of that are showing , and history in virology shows that most virus making a species jump , do tend to become weaker or even disappear .

If most people get it, it dies out from lack of viable hosts.  I am assuming acquired immunity, because there is no evidence of a rare-exception to the rule.

 

47 minutes ago, sezze said:

Now as for the question of the poster ... i do not vote , simply because the situation is not clear anything further then 1-3 weeks down the line . I can only speak for now and so far , and that means not showing anything of those times coming back anytime soon . Especially the part of OP question ... travel like before Covid .... is a bold statement and how much i wish to see it , i'd say never . Some things change the world forever , and i think this is such a event . Like travel before and after 9-11/IS has changed , this also will change travel and some things will never ever go back to the situation like it was before .

Being quarantined , i hope and think this might be out in the next few months , prob october .

I think it is likely some type of virus-screening with quick-tests will become the norm for air-travel and border-crossings.  The tech is already working - just not scaled-up yet.

[BritTim]

5 hours ago, JackThompson said:

It would be a very rare thing if people did not develop immunity. 

The immunity conferred by a virus infection is highly variable. As an example, people typically suffer from multiple infections of the common cold each year. You develop very little immunity as a result of a rhinovirus infection.

 

It is likely that a decent level of immunity with be conferred by a bout of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, this is not certain, and the duration of such immunity before it degrades is absolutely unknown.

[BritTim]

5 hours ago, JackThompson said:

I think it is likely some type of virus-screening with quick-tests will become the norm for air-travel and border-crossings.  The tech is already working - just not scaled-up yet.

Hopefully, this will at some point become true. The reality, so far, is that the quick tests are much less reliable than the slower rPCR tests. Based on what I have read, the fastest tests with 95+% reliability still take about six hours to yield a result.