Just some countries that are now open for tourism, and not requiring tourists to quarantine or vaccinate to enter their country.

The Full List can be seen here - https://www.traveloffpath.com/countries-reopening-their-borders-for-tourism-the-complete-list

So my question to you guys is.

Why isn't Thailand on this list?

Thailand has one of the lowest death rates from Covid-19. 

Are the countries below going about reopening wrong?

Is Thailand with its great Covid-19 record being a bit too cautious with it's reopening schedule?

When I look at the regularly updated list from the article above it certainly looks that way to me.

Your thoughts are appreciated indeed!

 

 

Dominican Republic

Open Without Restrictions

The Dominican Republic reopened to tourists starting on July 1, 2020

No test or quarantines are required, and all nations can visit. 

 3%-10% of arrivals will be randomly tested at the airport, but it’s an easy, fast and painless breath-based test.

Costa Rica

Open Without Restrictions

Costa Rica first reopened its borders for tourism on August 1, 2020, allowing tourists from Canada, United Kingdom and the European Union.

Then, visitors from ALL US became welcome as of November 1, 2020

PCR testing requirement has been REMOVED effective October 26

 

Tanzania

Open Without Restrictions

As of June 2020, Tanzania is now accepting tourists under normal and regular ‘pre-covid’ border rules. 

No mandatory quarantine period is currently in place, however temperature checks, mask wearing, and social distancing is in effect.

No testing is required.

Albania

Open Without Restrictions

Albania reopened borders for international tourism on July 1, 2020.

All nations welcome. At this time there are only temperature checks at the airport. No tests. No quarantines. 

Albania is a great option for travelers who need a country to meet up in with no restrictions. 

North Macedonia 

Open Without Restrictions

The Republic of North Macedonia has officially reopened for international tourism July 1, 2020 and is now allowing tourists from all countries to visit, restriction free.

No testing and no quarantines are required. All nations welcome. 

Armenia

Open – with restrictions 

Armenia has reopened borders for international tourism on August 12, 2020

They’re accepting tourists from all nations, making Armenia a great option for many bi-national couples currently separated by travel bans.

Arrivals can either bring a negative 72-hour PCR with them to circumvent quarantine – OR –  they can schedule a PCR test in their hotel/rental, and when the test comes back negative, the tourists can leave quarantine early. 

Bahamas

Open – with restrictions 

The Bahamas officially reopened for tourism in July, re-closed, and then reopened again in October. 

Tourists from all countries are welcome to visit the Bahamas at this time. A negative PCR test is required, taken no longer than 5 days before arrival, as well as another rapid test on-island for any stays longer than 5 days.

Barbados

Open – with restrictions

Barbados officially reopened for tourism on July 1^, 2020, allowing travelers from all countries and nations to visit.

While all nations are welcome to visit the island nation of Barbados, there are different entry requirements depending on where the travelers are coming from. 

USA, Canada, the UK, and other countries are currently considered ‘high-risk’, meaning 2 PCR tests are needed. (one prior and one on-island)

 

Belize

Open – with restrictions 

Belize has reopened borders on October 1, 2020. 

All nations can visit, but everyone will need to bring a negative test no older than 96 hours.

New in 2021: Vaccinated travelers are exempt from the PCR testing requirement for entry.

Brazil

Open – with restrictions

Brazil officially reopened their borders for tourism on July 30, 2020

Starting on December 30, 2020 a 72-hour negative PCR test will be required by ALL for entry into Brazil. 

Bulgaria

Open – with restrictions

Bulgaria announced that tourists from 30 countries can visit starting June 1, 2020. Now in 2021, Bulgaria is one of the only EU nations accepting third-party travelers from places like Canada, Israel, Turkey, UAE and more.

Approved passengers will need to bring proof of a negative PCR test, taken no longer than 72-hours before arrival.

Cuba

Open – with restrictions

Cuba has reopened for tourism on July 1, 2020, starting with select areas like Cayo Coco. As of December, the rest of Cuba, including Havana, reopened. 

Starting January 1, 2021 ALL passengers will also have to bring a 72-hour negative PCR test in combination with getting tested at the airport. 

Ecuador

Open – with restrictions

Ecuador has now reopened for tourism

As of August 16, 2020 tourists can now travel to Ecuador WITHOUT quarantine, as long as they bring a negative PCR test, no older than 10 days.

Egypt

Open – with restrictions

Egypt first reopened its borders for tourism to seaside resorts starting on July 1, 2020 and later expanded to other areas. 

All arrivals will need to bring a negative PCR test, taken no longer than 72 hours prior to departure of the last direct flight into the country. 

Finland

Open – with restrictions

Finland has now reopened for tourism as of July 15, 2020 and has recently updated the countries that are permitted to visit. As of July 23, 2020, additional third-party countries are now permitted to enter Finland as well.

2021 Note: Approved countries will have to now provide a 72-hour negative PCR test for entry.

Jamaica

Open – with restrictions

Jamaica officially reopened its borders to ALL international tourists on June 15, 2020.

Starting March 11, 2021, ALL passengers arriving to Jamaica will need to show proof of a negative PCR or antigen test, taken no longer than 3 days before the flight.

Maldives

Open – with restrictions

The Maldives reopened borders for tourism on July 15, 2020 

Tourists from all countries will be able to enter the Maldives. 

Travelers will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test that was taken no more than 96 hours prior to departure..

Every tourist will be provided with a free 30 day visa.

Malta

Open – with restrictions

Malta reopened for tourism on July 1, 2020, allowing visitors from 20+nations to enter the country without an isolation period or testing.

Winter Note: While Malta has seen a few closures and heightened restrictions, it has not gone into lockdown like other EU nations. Malta still has a decent-sized list of countries that can visit without restrictions and another list of who can enter, but with a negative PCR test.

 

Nicaragua

Open – with restrictions

Nicaragua reopened for tourists on October 1, 2020

In fact, Nicaragua never really closed their borders for tourism in the first place, but flights were suspended, effectively cutting the nation off to tourists. 

Flights from cities like Miami, Houston and Mexico City resumed Oct 1.

A 72 negative PCR test is needed to enter.

Paraguay

Open – with restrictions

Paraguay was one of the last tourism reopenings in the Western Hemisphere but is now accepting tourists to enter.

All passengers will need to bring a 72-hour negative Covid test, but thankfully Paraguay is accepting PCR, LAMP and Nucleic Acid tests. 

Russia

Open – with restrictions

Russia began reopening to a small list of nations on July 15, 2020, which has seen some additions over the past few months. 

20+ nations in total can now go, and they are quite a mix of countries!

72-hour PCR testing is required to avoid quarantine.

Saint Lucia

Open – with restrictions 

Saint Lucia began reopening its tourism industry in phases on June 4, 2020

Visitors will be required to fill out an online form, present certified proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 5 days of boarding their flights, and upon arrival in St. Lucia, they must continue to wear facemasks and practice social distancing.

Seychelles

Open– with restrictions

As of June 1^st the Seychelles reopened to tourists from 19 countries, and since reopening, have now added another 20+ countries to the list.

All arrivals will need to bring proof of a negative PCR test, taken no longer than 72 hours prior to departing their home country. 

Sweden

Open – with restrictions

 Sweden has been a unique country during the pandemic because many services and establishments never actually closed down in the first place.

However, they still have an entry ban in place for countries outside the EU/EEA (with the exception of the EU’s small third-party list)

As of Feb 6, 2021 a 48-hour negative PCR test is needed for entry.

Turkey

Open – with restrictions

Turkey has reopened its borders to international tourism starting on June 12th.

As of June 12th, they have been welcoming all tourists from all countries and nations under normal travel regulations. 

Update December 28: Starting Dec 28, ALL passengers entering Turkey will need to present a 72-hour negative PCR test. 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

So my question to you guys is.

Why isn't Thailand on this list?

Thailand has a ZERO covid plan.

17 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

Thailand has a ZERO covid plan.

One more time for the dummies 

breaking news The end is in sight: Thailand outlines plan for re-opening, target of no quarantine from 1 Oct

Rate this topic

The real reason Thailand continues to drag its feet and making zero effort to get expats back to their Thai families is. $$$ Anyone wish to explain why some of the most expense hotels in Thailand are the only places that can offer quarantine? Why is a ordinary hotel in Nakhon Nowhere not good enough? The health insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank. With the help of their agents on various Facebook expat pages they are hovering 24/7 like sharks waiting to get their next foreign SUCKER victim. This has little to nothing to do with the virus nor making any effort to get things back to normal anytime soon. As long as their rich hotel, insurance, doctors, lawyer can make a buck off of desperate foreign SUCKERS it will never change. Once they wake up to the fact their wacky ideas for $$$ has been a complete and total failure and the economy is dying. They might open things up 100% but not without another money making scam involved like mandatory insurance for all.

Thailand in only interested in mass tourism. Mass tourism can only really get going again as a certain number of tourist-providing countries hit the 70% vaccinated milestone and see their levels of infection fall back down below 0.1%.

Ignore all the current contradictory statements from politicians. Once those milestones are reached in Israel, the UK, the UAE, Chile, and the US this summer (with the EU, Russia, and many other countries following in summer 2022) all destination countries will rush to capture that market of Western tourists eager to escape from the boredom of over a year in lockdown. There is no way that Thailand will allow Vietnam to leapfrog them as South East Asia's leading tourism destination.

The vaccination status of the Thai population, which keeps getting brought up by clueless members here, is completely irrelevant once you have a supply of safe tourists being flown in by airlines who will no longer carry unvaccinated adults. That scenario is significantly safer for the people of Thailand than the current quarantine system. The vast majority of outbreaks in Thailand will be continue to be due to the uncontrolled flow of migrants over land borders from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

 

The bottom line is and will be to forget any chances of tourism normality coming back any time THIS year, any and all other statements are nothing but wishful thinking...

14 minutes ago, ezzra said:

The bottom line is and will be to forget any chances of tourism normality coming back any time THIS year, any and all other statements are nothing but wishful thinking...

Most people that go on vacation , do so for a few weeks at most, I also don't see how someone will go on vacation , travel one day. spend 10 days quarantine if not vaccinated, then allowing for one day traveling back, and probably having to quarantine when they get back home. 

That IMO does not leave much time for vacation. I am sure some people who have a lot of time will come, but IMO not many.                                               But it's good for us who stay in Thailand long term.   

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

The bottom line is and will be to forget any chances of tourism normality coming back any time THIS year, any and all other statements are nothing but wishful thinking...

I don't think anyone has claimed that there will be a return to the previous norm, which was to simply turn up with your passport.

There is, however, no reason to presume that the new norm, of turning up with your passport and vaccination certification, won't start just as soon as a sufficient number of people in the tourist-providing countries have finished their course of vaccination. The US, Chile, UK, UAE, and Israel - that's a combined population of 433m - are clearly going reach that point by May this year.

Once mass tourism can be done safely again, the focus of all tourism-dependent countries will switch to making sure they get their share of these eager, cashed-up travellers. None of these countries will voluntarily cripple their tourism industry any more than it already has been, not while their regional competitors race ahead. 

Regardless of what the Thai politicians say in public, imagining that they won't dance as commanded by the elites, and start to re-open just as soon as it is practically possible, is simply a different type of wishful thinking. I get it, Thailand without millions of tourists is a joy, but, realistically, prepare yourself for that to be over by the start of July, the start of the second half of this year.

 

7 hours ago, Don Chance said:

So my question to you guys is.

Why isn't Thailand on this list?

Travel off Path are obviously biased against all ASEAN countries......... Why? Because none are on their list, although I note the majority that are on it have restrictions; as does Thailand. 

1 hour ago, donnacha said:

I don't think anyone has claimed that there will be a return to the previous norm, which was to simply turn up with your passport.

there is only the one Normal... 

 - at the moment, we are enduring a long term abNormal

8 hours ago, BillyBobzTeeth said:

Thailand has one of the lowest death rates from Covid-19. 

And this due to not being open!  So best to keep it that way. 

8 hours ago, BillyBobzTeeth said:

Brazil

Open – with restrictions

Brazil officially reopened their borders for tourism on July 30, 2020

Starting on December 30, 2020 a 72-hour negative PCR test will be required by ALL for entry into Brazil. 

And only last Wednesday, their daily new infection rate just broke the 90,000 barrier.

Most of these places have some form of restrictions.  And! That could change in an instant.  Perhaps like some of my friends who were en-route when the change occurred.  Cost them thousands of dollars.  Or like my other friends who went to South Africa to celebrate their anniversary at a winery.  Only to have SA cancel all sales of alcohol.  Ugh....

The answer is simple. People have tested negative on their 72 hour test before coming to Thailand and tested positive after a week in quarantine in Thailand. Therefore, eliminating quarantine for people in these examples would be releasing an infected person into society. Suck it up for 10 days and come if you really miss Thailand so much! 

23 minutes ago, anthony0339 said:

The answer is simple. People have tested negative on their 72 hour test before coming to Thailand and tested positive after a week in quarantine in Thailand. Therefore, eliminating quarantine for people in these examples would be releasing an infected person into society. Suck it up for 10 days and come if you really miss Thailand so much! 

 

There have also been reports (which are rare) of people who have tested positive after 28 days in quarantine. 

What would you do? increase quarantine to 28 days be absolutely sure? prevent imports to prevent the transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus on the surfaces of items being imported?

Nothing is water tight there is no perfect degree of protection, but we can’t allow fear to knee-cap common sense. 

Preflight Covid-19 testing (travel with negative certification) and arrival Covid-19 testing with a day or two quarantine while awaiting a negative result should be more than enough to minimise the risk of a virus which impacts such a minority of the ageing (or at risk) population. 

 

While a response is necessary the ongoing response is extreme.

 

At which point does the continued response of isolating Thailand create greater consequences to the wellbeing of the nation than allowing people who have tested negative into the country?

 

"Suck-it up if you miss Thailand so much” is a convenient response for someone who hasn’t had their life turned upside-down by the reaction to Covid-19, however, what about the millions in Thailand who have lost their jobs already, particularly those in the tourism industry ?

‘When people get desperate and crime increases, when you get mugged or robbed, who will tell you to suck-it-up anthony0339 ???

 

 

 

 

17 hours ago, PGSan said:

And this due to not being open!  So best to keep it that way. 

Sorry I serious question the numbers.

the problem is most European countries are not letting their citizens travel overseas, without returning under a quarantine

so completely pointless, and nothing is going to happen before Oct 1

10 hours ago, anthony0339 said:

The answer is simple. People have tested negative on their 72 hour test before coming to Thailand and tested positive after a week in quarantine in Thailand. Therefore, eliminating quarantine for people in these examples would be releasing an infected person into society. Suck it up for 10 days and come if you really miss Thailand so much! 

And get infected in quarantine ?

No vaccines, no leadership, no end in sight. How Brazil became a global threat

Isn't Brasil on your "dream open for tourism" list?

Sounds grim.

Almost as grim as someone desperate for Tourism during a global pandemic. ????

Somehow a useless list. You can always find countries that don't care (much). If such countries don't care then people going there obviously don't care too. So a perfect match. But don't complain if you get Covid at such locations. 

If people don't like what Thailand does they should not come here but choose instead one of your alternatives. Thailand doesn't need more tourists here that don't care about any restrictions as soon as they arrive - and I see many foreigners here every day without masks for instance. Such people should not come here. 

22 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

14 days hard labor at navalny camp ...pois....errr vaccine available upon arrival

this is the only way the EU people will be able to get the vaccine and don't be surprise if some take a trip just to get the jab seems the only way for them  

14 hours ago, anthony0339 said:

The answer is simple. People have tested negative on their 72 hour test before coming to Thailand and tested positive after a week in quarantine in Thailand. Therefore, eliminating quarantine for people in these examples would be releasing an infected person into society. Suck it up for 10 days and come if you really miss Thailand so much! 

well that;s one way but now if they got tested before getting on plane then again when landed 5 days maybe 10 max quarantine should do but if you have been vaccinated then 5 day.s will do with a test done at hotel if required. when more are vaccinated change all    

Interesting that no ASEAN countries are on the list.

 

 

 

????

6 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Interesting that no ASEAN countries are on the list.

 

 

 

Their dear leaders are peeing in their nappies for fear and cluelessness.

the history of visitors and expats to Thailand have a lot to do with the decisions made. All the bribing and low life activity that goes on here has made them realize foreigners just can't be trusted to do the right things regarding this pandemic. All Thailand needs to do is watch other countries to get a heads up on how those folks will act here..

A very nice list of countries that I have no interest in visiting. I have been to Belize and enjoyed the 2 islands, also  seen the Tikal ruins in Guatemala

and to Roatan Island at Honduras , most other  countries have their restrictions, or issues. No way I want to go to Brazil or Venezuela either.

  Guess I will wait until October to see the revised list, and should have both vaccines by then.

Geezer

Oh darn!  I was so hoping to visit North Korea and spend a week at their glorious beach resorts this June but they weren't on the list.

On 3/19/2021 at 10:44 PM, BillyBobzTeeth said:

So my question to you guys is.

Why isn't Thailand on this list?

 

Thailand (and many other ASEAN countries) are on the list.  The problem is how you filtered the list for only fully open countries. 

 

Thailand

Partially Reopen For Select Tourists

 

Thailand is beginning to cautiously reopen for tourism and start a long recovery process for its tourism sector. Only select tourists are allowed at this time under strict entry requirements, including a 14-day quarantine. 

Thailand has plans to shorten the 14 day quarantine to 7 days for vaccinated travelers.

See more information on Thailand reopening to tourism

If they require a test, I won't be doing that either so it really doesn't matter. Can't say why I won't allow them to test me tho. It will be deleted.