TAT announces a roadmap to reopen Thailand to vaccinated tourists

[WaveHunter]

1 hour ago, Grusa said:

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.

I'm in the same situation.  I have business in both Vietnam and China that should really be conducted in person yet I'm now forced to do it electronically.  It majorly impact my business having to work like this.

 

If the vaccines are as effective as they seem to be, the number one priority for EVERY country in the world right now should be to get them distributed without any road blocks, political infighting, and other nonsense. 

 

Once 70% of the population of a country has been vaccinated, travel restrictions for vaccinated people should end immediately.  All of this Stage 1, Stage 2, etc seems unnecessary and actually detrimental to recovery.

 

IMO the real crisis right now is now a health one but an economic one.

 

We all need to get back to normalcy ASAP.  Our economic health depends on it 100%!

Edited April 4, 2021 by WaveHunter

[placnx]

2 hours 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

Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be approved in the US for children, from 12+ anyway, but by December the trials for down to around 2 years old could be done as well. As these vaccines are being administered without mishaps, hesitancy is decreasing. Now the US population is being educated to the fact that herd immunity can only be achieved by also vaccinating children.

Edited April 4, 2021 by placnx
clarify that it's approval in US, not Thailand

[Grusa]

1 hour ago, WaveHunter said:

I'm in the same situation.  I have business in both Vietnam and China that should really be conducted in person yet I'm now forced to do it electronically.  It majorly impact my business having to work like this.

 

If the vaccines are as effective as they seem to be, the number one priority for EVERY country in the world right now should be to get them distributed without any road blocks, political infighting, and other nonsense. 

 

Once 70% of the population of a country has been vaccinated, travel restrictions for vaccinated people should end immediately.  All of this Stage 1, Stage 2, etc seems unnecessary and actually detrimental to recovery.

 

IMO the real crisis right now is now a health one but an economic one.

 

We all need to get back to normalcy ASAP.  Our economic health depends on it 100%!

You are lucky you can do it electronically! My business does not even need to be done in the countries mentioned - except for stupid, illogical, beaurocratic(how DO you spell that?) rules set by self-serving jobsworths in UK and Europe. But, it must be done in person, no dispute there.

[Deli]

5 hours 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

Happy not to see the rug rats running around.

 

[Poet]

As official as all this sounds, I suspect the Thai government are yet again flying a kite to see how the Thai public respond. We will probably see a rapid acceleration of this timeline as other countries (and, especially, neighboring competitors) take a bolder approach.

Based on what we already know about how the vaccines reduce transmissabilty, It would be smarter to open up to all fully-inoculated visitors as soon as the various countries introduce certification systems that the Thai authorities feel they can trust. If they leave a full two-week period after the second jab for full inoculation to be reached, there is no reason to insist upon expensive (and, often, inaccurate) Covid tests, Covid-specific health insurance, a Certificate of Entry, or a track and trace app.

They should skip the reduced 7-night quarantine stage and jump straight to open entry for vaccinated visitors with certification. Israel has now fully vaccinated 60% of their population, their infection levels are well below 0.1%, and they will soon reach herd immunity. If Israel already has a certification system in place Thailand should start welcoming Israelis to Phuket today. If that goes well, open up the 5 other sandbox destinations by June, not October. That will allow a sense of normality to return and, during the summer, give potential tourists the confidence to make their bookings for the high season.

The message should be simple and unambiguous: If we can have a high level of trust that you will not transmit the virus in Thailand, you can come in as easily and with as little paperwork (apart from the certificate) as before the pandemic.

If they don't do this, other countries in the region will have a once-in-a-century opportunity to leapfrog Thailand's mighty tourism industry.

Thailand is geared for mass tourism. The many delusional attempts to transition to "five-star" tourists all failed. People come here because it is safe, fun, relatively cheap, and easy. The cost of Thailand was already becoming a problem, long before the pandemic. That, combined with the anti-foreigner mood engendered by the Army government, had already made Thailand less fun. If you also make it complicated, or even just unclear, you simply won't get the volume you need.

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Poet

[Pat 42]

Quote

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.

If quarantine is lifted why do I need ASQ paperwork? 

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, Poet said:

As official as all this sounds, I suspect the Thai government are yet again flying a kite to see how the Thai public respond. We will probably see a rapid acceleration of this timeline as other countries (and, especially, neighboring competitors) take a bolder approach.

Based on what we already know about how the vaccines reduce transmissabilty, It would be smarter to open up to all fully-inoculated visitors as soon as the various countries introduce certification systems that the Thai authorities feel they can trust. If they leave a full two-week period after the second jab for full inoculation to be reached, there is no reason to insist upon expensive (and, often, inaccurate) Covid tests, Covid-specific health insurance, a Certificate of Entry, or a track and trace app.

They should skip the reduced 7-night quarantine stage and jump straight to open entry for vaccinated visitors with certification. Israel has now fully vaccinated 60% of their population, their infection levels are well below 0.1%, and they will soon reach herd immunity. If Israel already has a certification system in place Thailand should start welcoming Israelis to Phuket today. If that goes well, open up the 5 other sandbox destinations by June, not October. That will allow a sense of normality to return and, during the summer, give potential tourists the confidence to make their bookings for the high season.

The message should be simple and unambiguous: If we can have a high level of trust that you will not transmit the virus in Thailand, you can come in as easily and with as little paperwork (apart from the certificate) as before the pandemic.

If they don't do this, other countries in the region will have a once-in-a-century opportunity to leapfrog Thailand's mighty tourism industry.

Thailand is geared for mass tourism. The many delusional attempts to transition to "five-star" tourists all failed. People come here because it is safe, fun, relatively cheap, and easy. The cost of Thailand was already becoming a problem, long before the pandemic. That, combined with the anti-foreigner mood engendered by the Army government, had already made Thailand less fun. If you also make it complicated, or even just unclear, you simply won't get the volume you need.

 

Nice to see someone with common sense.

My own view is for every 3 months of tourism lost Thailand will be a year in recovery, shut down 12 months now, so that's 4 years recovery, still not fully open end of year Thailand will be looking at 7 years, and if not by summer next then getting on for 10 years for to fully recover the Thai economy and tourism.

 

[herfiehandbag]

15 hours ago, newnative said:

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

Indeed. Having read that lot, a fortnight in Bournemouth looks good...

 

Thailand's rivals in the South East Asian tourism market will be watching, and chuckling.

 

This place is going to end up like North Korea, but without the laughs.

Edited April 5, 2021 by herfiehandbag

[WaveHunter]

16 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

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.

 

Actually, I guess I spoke too soon about this plan!  After thinking about it more objectively, it does sound like a pretty smart plan, using Phuket as a sort of testing ground, and then if things work well there, expanding it to the popular tourist regions. 

 

Perhaps an improvement would simply be that if it works in Phuket, they just proceed to roll it out nationwide, and forego the intermediate stage.

 

Bottom  line, it's a pretty optimistic plan and it sure would be nice to see things get back on track by the 4th quarter of this year!

 

I realize a lot of people will think this is too bold an idea, but I think the vaccines are going to be a powerful game changer once efficacy is really proved in the real world, and if that is indeed the case, the biggest priority should be to get the economy back on track as fast as possible.

Edited April 5, 2021 by WaveHunter

[WaveHunter]

13 hours ago, Grusa said:

You are lucky you can do it electronically! My business does not even need to be done in the countries mentioned - except for stupid, illogical, beaurocratic(how DO you spell that?) rules set by self-serving jobsworths in UK and Europe. But, it must be done in person, no dispute there.

Well, truth is I can't really do it effectively online.  Dealing with people Face to face is so important.  During the last year, not being able to do that is causing many sleepless nights and much lost income. 

[madmitch]

On 4/4/2021 at 8:52 AM, edwinchester 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."

 

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.

I have vaccinated friends in Singapore (good spenders!) that were thinking of coming to Phuket for a few days in July, subject to Singapore relaxing their entry rules, but there's absolutely no way they will comply with this.

 

Are they indicating that the sandbox concept necessitates booking an ASQ hotel? If so, this is not going to help most accommodation providers on the island and may even heve the reverse effect as domestic tourists avoid the areas where farangs are congregating.

 

As usual, over-convoluted and confusing rules, which won't be atractive enough for Thailand to get anywhere near its 6.5 million visitor target.

[WaveHunter]

Actually I think I misspoke about my enthusiasm about this plan earlier.

 

There is so much misinformation about this plan!  I'm not criticizing anyone on this forum BTW, but I have read several third-party interpretations of the 3 stage plan in my google searches, and all were misleading.  It's now sounding to me like just marketing hype by TAT (just like the earlier and failed Special Visa Program.)

 

I finally read the government plan itself and I am NOT impressed at all.  Stage 2 and 3 are still way too restrictive IMO and contain far too much red tape to seriously attract tourism.  They are not science-based at all and really rely on wishful thinking more than anything else.

 

In Stage 3, "...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..." sounds way too restrictive to me if someone has been vaccinated for over one week.

 

I mean, the average vacation for most people is one or two weeks.  Who is going fly halfway around the world and spend a significant amount of money only to sacrifice 50-100% percent of their vacation to these restrictions?

 

I think this "road map" deal is just another trial balloon doomed to failure just like the Special Visa program earlier.

 

Instead, why not just wait a month or two from today, see whether the efficacy of the vaccines are being proven around the world, and then just open up the entire country to tourism with the only restriction being that you must have been vaccinated for at least 7 days, and test negative to enter the Kingdom....AND THAT IS IT!  No more red tape, no travel restrictions...PERIOD!

 

Of course I realize that such a simple and science-based plan would probably be incomprehensible and distasteful to all the bureaucratic paper pushers, but until it is that simple and straightforward, I can't imagine many tourists showing up here by Q-4.

 

My biggest complaint since moving here is how the powers that be seem to feel the urge to make even the simplest things complex, convoluted, overwhelming, and totally confusing to the average person.

Edited April 5, 2021 by WaveHunter

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2021 at 8:08 AM, 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

Different producers of the same vaccine.

[madmen]

After the 1st July do tourists need to stay in a hotel in designated Phuket areas for 7 days or can it be air bnb or private rentals? 

[WaveHunter]

50 minutes ago, madmen said:

After the 1st July do tourists need to stay in a hotel in designated Phuket areas for 7 days or can it be air bnb or private rentals? 

The official TAT announcement states that you must stay in an approved ASQ hotel for the first 7 days whether you are here for Stage 2 (Phuket), or Stage 3.

 

This requirement sounds absurd to me, considering you would already have been vaccinated!

 

So I guess that answers your specific question.  Here is the link to their official announcement:

 

https://www.tatnews.org/2021/04/tat-announces-a-roadmap-to-reopen-thailand-to-vaccinated-tourists/

 

As for where you can visit or stay after 7 days, they do not address that at all!

 

This so-called "roadmap" plan has not really been thought out too well, and appears to only be an enhanced version of the previously failed Special Visa Program.  It amounts to nothing more than another trial balloon to gauge how potential tourists react I think.

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by WaveHunter

[Misab]

Hua Hin not mentioned as a tourist area?

[pj123]

On 4/4/2021 at 8:52 AM, 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. 

 

Found the list here: https://www.thephuketnews.com/tat-announces-full-list-of-requirements-for-international-arrivals-under-reduced-quarantine-79554.php

 

"The current 14-day quarantine period remains in place for people arriving from the 11 countries with SAR-CoV-2 virus mutations and variants as announced by the MoPH (as of Mar 31); namely, Botswana; Cameroon; Congo; Ghana; Kenya; Mozambique; Rwanda; South Africa; Tanzania; Zambia, and Zimbabwe."

 

I thought the list would be longer and include some European countries and Brazil.

Edited April 5, 2021 by pj123

[kimamey]

On 4/4/2021 at 2:52 AM, edwinchester 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."

 

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.

My guess is that in the early stages it won't be the normal 2 to 4 week tourists that take advantage of this but longer term visitors and those who live here. The latter stages are when the larger numbers will hopefully arrive.  

[kimamey]

On 4/4/2021 at 9:29 AM, 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

Is there an exemption for children? It doesn't say but maybe that's the plan. 

[placnx]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:56 AM, WaveHunter said:

Actually I think I misspoke about my enthusiasm about this plan earlier.

 

There is so much misinformation about this plan!  I'm not criticizing anyone on this forum BTW, but I have read several third-party interpretations of the 3 stage plan in my google searches, and all were misleading.  It's now sounding to me like just marketing hype by TAT (just like the earlier and failed Special Visa Program.)

 

I finally read the government plan itself and I am NOT impressed at all.  Stage 2 and 3 are still way too restrictive IMO and contain far too much red tape to seriously attract tourism.  They are not science-based at all and really rely on wishful thinking more than anything else.

 

In Stage 3, "...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..." sounds way too restrictive to me if someone has been vaccinated for over one week.

 

I mean, the average vacation for most people is one or two weeks.  Who is going fly halfway around the world and spend a significant amount of money only to sacrifice 50-100% percent of their vacation to these restrictions?

 

I think this "road map" deal is just another trial balloon doomed to failure just like the Special Visa program earlier.

 

Instead, why not just wait a month or two from today, see whether the efficacy of the vaccines are being proven around the world, and then just open up the entire country to tourism with the only restriction being that you must have been vaccinated for at least 7 days, and test negative to enter the Kingdom....AND THAT IS IT!  No more red tape, no travel restrictions...PERIOD!

 

Of course I realize that such a simple and science-based plan would probably be incomprehensible and distasteful to all the bureaucratic paper pushers, but until it is that simple and straightforward, I can't imagine many tourists showing up here by Q-4.

 

My biggest complaint since moving here is how the powers that be seem to feel the urge to make even the simplest things complex, convoluted, overwhelming, and totally confusing to the average person.

If we really want to be scientific, we will have to make distinctions between vaccines. Not all will be effective enough against the variants already circulating. As there are more and more vaccines available, not even counting the vaccines produced under license, figuring out which travelers are really "safe" will be chaotic.