Thailand to scrap quarantine for vaccinated visitors from Nov 1

[alyx]

1 hour ago, Nupy147 said:

 Now Thailand needs to lobby the UK to take us off the Red List and accept vaccinations in Thailand from November!  And our Government needs to speed up vaccinations across the country and more testing. 

As much as I love UK and their subjects....this kingdom is not the centre of the world and a lot of readers/ travellers would love to see that in effect in some of the 197 remaining countries countries ???? 

No offence meant

[Blumpie]

Don't get excited and buy your tickets.  If you do you are getting close to being a fool.

More than likely they will change their minds.  There is a chance they won't though.

Will this have a huge effect on the economy?  Probably not.  

Families will still not travel because of restrictions at home, the high costs of travel, and there will probably be a test when you arrive in Thailand and if you are asymptomatic you will have a very expensive and boring hotel stay for you and your family waiting for you.

This will not bolster tourism in any meaningful manner, not yet.  

[searcher22]

I am fully vaccinated and arrived in Bangkok on September 24. Will I still need to do the 14-day quarantine until Oct 8?

[alyx]

1 hour ago, Cherrytreeview said:

Then no volume of people will come.

100,000 people expected through Phuket sandbox, 6000 tourists came.

Peanuts.

hum....Define tourists ????

[alyx]

1 hour ago, aussiexpat said:

Not true, 37,477 up to yesterday 

 

Agreed on the numbers but as I posted above...Define tourists

[Blumpie]

18 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

Post-covid world travel = so many unanswered 'What if' use case questions....

The what if question also apply to when you get home - if you get home - if you test positive and need that to re-enter your country - what will happen if I do, will work accept that I will be away for 10 days or whatever to isolate - is it worth it for the insurance, all these what if questions?

 

I can accurately say that there will be absolutely no surge in Chinese visitors.  

[alyx]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

they may lift the three points he mentioned,  I just don't know if they would take the Covid health insurance off the table ..... but hey !   lets hope some common sense prevails and they do get rid of all the requirements.

as you mentioned,  folks won't come if they don't.

As much as I hate this "insurance" thing, it does make sense as a few of us have put some burden on the health system (not only in Thailand). What bothers me is that they insist on having "their" recognised insurance and will not take in account that the majority of the travellers already hold an insurance forcing them to buy into a new one

[Jorgendk]

35 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

private?

?? In Mukdahan Schools opened a week ago.

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, Cherrytreeview said:

If i was a betting man, you will not be free to get a passport stamp and walk to the taxi line unhindered.

Until that day comes I won't be returning.

Those days are months off and indeed may never return. 

 

Flew down to Had Yai last week and minimum mandatory vaccinations are required to get on the plane. Soldiers were checking that passengers have completed the necessary online forms before being allowed to enter the arrivals area. 

[freedomnow]

4 minutes ago, Blumpie said:

The what if question also apply to when you get home - if you get home - if you test positive and need that to re-enter your country - what will happen if I do, will work accept that I will be away for 10 days or whatever to isolate - is it worth it for the insurance, all these what if questions?

 

I can accurately say that there will be absolutely no surge in Chinese visitors.  

..and what if a person gets pulled by immi in Swampy for too long a history in Thailand/not enough funds to support the trip" and made to go back to their home country like they used to..straight into pricey quarantine hell back home.

 

Wonder if they will still do the IDC routine with people now many countries have blocked inbound from Thailand by air....THAT is an interesting one... a person could end up in IDC if they could not front up quarantine hotel costs back home.

[pixelaoffy]

So will they please allow booking for ASQ for 7 days. At the moment its still 14 days only at the hotels in the programme 

[stigar]

I will belive it when my embassy says that on their website.

[PizzaBoi]

In 2019, 40 million foreign visitors entered Thailand. 10 million (25%) of those went to Phuket. So by those numbers this plan means little to nothing even if it does go ahead, because Phuket has already been "open" the last 3 months to international arrivals and almost no one came.

So far the Phuket Sandbox has attracted roughly 6,000 actual tourists (the rest were just people using the Sandbox to get back into Thailand for other reasons), that's 24,000 people a year, or 0.24% usual numbers. 0.24%! It's completely insignificant and means nothing to local businesses, hence why most of Phuket is still shut.

 

Why would other parts of Thailand be any different?

 

[Cherrytreeview]

7 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Those days are months off and indeed may never return. 

 

Flew down to Had Yai last week and minimum mandatory vaccinations are required to get on the plane. Soldiers were checking that passengers have completed the necessary online forms before being allowed to enter the arrivals area. 

I think your right.

I think Thailand will not give up it's hard fought gains by a quick return to opening up the country.

It annoys me that certain posters seem to live in cloud cuckoo land and ignore the facts.

I think farang business owners on the main tourist areas are going to be very disappointed.

 

 

[Cherrytreeview]

7 minutes ago, PizzaBoi said:

In 2019, 40 million foreign visitors entered Thailand. 10 million (25%) of those went to Phuket. So by those numbers this plan means little to nothing even if it does go ahead, because Phuket has already been "open" the last 3 months to international arrivals and almost no one came.

So far the Phuket Sandbox has attracted roughly 6,000 actual tourists (the rest were just people using the Sandbox to get back into Thailand for other reasons), that's 24,000 people a year, or 0.24% usual numbers. 0.24%! It's completely insignificant and means nothing to local businesses, hence why most of Phuket is still shut.

 

Why would other parts of Thailand be any different?

 

Excellent, concise post.

Totally agree.

[Puccini]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

...Pending Cabinet approval, Thailand will seek to buy 2.79 million doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines and 165,000 AstraZeneca shots from Spain and 400,000 AstraZeneca doses sourced from Hungary, a spokesperson said.

No purchases from the Thai manufacturer of AstraZeneca's vaccine?

[Blumpie]

12 minutes ago, PizzaBoi said:

In 2019, 40 million foreign visitors entered Thailand. 10 million (25%) of those went to Phuket. So by those numbers this plan means little to nothing even if it does go ahead, because Phuket has already been "open" the last 3 months to international arrivals and almost no one came.

So far the Phuket Sandbox has attracted roughly 6,000 actual tourists (the rest were just people using the Sandbox to get back into Thailand for other reasons), that's 24,000 people a year, or 0.24% usual numbers. 0.24%! It's completely insignificant and means nothing to local businesses, hence why most of Phuket is still shut.

 

Why would other parts of Thailand be any different?

 

It's absolute trash the "re-opening".  There was one person who went and said it was so not worth it.

And little wonder.

What are you going to do, go tour around and see all the closed restaurants?  NO, stare at the beach for 14 days.  I'd go nuts if I had a vacation like that.  

[rbkk]

5 minutes ago, Cherrytreeview said:

Excellent, concise post.

Totally agree.

That's what the like button is for.

[Rodbayne94]

 i wait 

[Cherrytreeview]

4 minutes ago, rbkk said:

That's what the like button is for.

and that's what the confused button is for.

[CartagenaWarlock]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

Not to mention the COE or insurance requirements.

COE will be required as long as Emergency decree is in effects. I see a future with insurance or some form of insurance baked into your air travel price. 

[Lucky Bones]

52 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Yes, but you tell that to them! Catching up by foregoing the October mid-term break and cancelling public holidays seems obvious to us but not to Thai Schools. Vaccines for the staff and students is the issue that will allow them to perhaps begin around November I would guess.

And what happens to my 8 year old step-grandson?

Mom and Dad both too busy making a baht all day. TIT.

Does he repeat this year or move ahead a year at school?

No, Nice try. Don't give me home schooling rubbish. It does not happen living mostly with great grandma/grandpa in the country provinces.

 

[VBF]

16 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

COE will be required as long as Emergency decree is in effects. I see a future with insurance or some form of insurance baked into your air travel price. 

For genuine tourists, as long as your regular travel insurance covers Covid (mine does) then that's just not a problem.

I've little doubt that airlines will accept that if you show it with your booking - rather like you show your visa when you check in

 

As you say, the issues are the other nonsense like the CoE, and the "what-if" you test positive in Thailand.

 

And, of course, what happens when you return to your own country?  Thailand might relax rules but if it's on your home country's "red list" there are still unlikely to be many tourists.

Edited September 27, 2021 by VBF

[Cherrytreeview]

15 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

COE will be required as long as Emergency decree is in effects. I see a future with insurance or some form of insurance baked into your air travel price. 

I hope this is the route they go down.

I would gladly pay a reasonable levy to give reassurance and remove another hurdle from travel.

[Danderman123]

I have seen no confirmation of this report anywhere else. 

 

Other reports say that quarantine will be reduced to 7 days in October, pending publication in the Royal Gazette. No mention of elimination of quarantine for vaccinated visitors. 

[rbkk]

2 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

And what happens to my 8 year old step-grandson?

Mom and Dad both too busy making a baht all day. TIT.

Does he repeat this year or move ahead a year at school?

No, Nice try. Don't give me home schooling rubbish. It does not happen living mostly with great grandma/grandpa in the country provinces.

 

My 11 year old has 3 to 4 hour long classes a day. Mainly in the morning. Homework is on top of that and on Sunday he 'Catches up'; 6 hours  last Sunday. It's definetly not perfect but on the plus side I'm fully aware of his learning regime now. Only a few years ago the technology  wasn't there to allow this to happen.

[KeeTua]

3 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thailand will waive its mandatory quarantine requirement in Bangkok and nine regions from Nov. 1 to vaccinated arrivals, authorities said on Monday

Please provide link to story in the Thai press to confirm.

[Cherrytreeview]

1 hour ago, Kadilo said:

Excellent news. 
 

As predicted by some, the announcement of opening up of the main tourist areas for Xmas/NY , which was always their main target.  

It will help bring about much needed  financial relief to many of those families who have suffered the most under this extended lockdown and through lack of tourism. 
 

At the current vaccination rates and continuing reduction in infection and  death numbers further easing will hopefully continue in the run up to the main holiday season. 
 

 

 

 

Think this might cramp your style a bit.

 

 

[Cherrytreeview]

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/09/27/thai-government-announces-more-relaxation-of-covid-19-domestic-measures-emergency-decree-extension-and-plans-to-welcome-vaccinated-tourists/

 

Adam Judd is normally not far off the mark.

I would think this is what 'reopening' looks like.

I wouldn't be going through this endurance test.

[aussiexpat]

11 minutes ago, KeeTua said:

Please provide link to story in the Thai press to confirm.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-thailand-idUSKBN2GN0E4

 

https://www.tatnews.org/2021/09/thailands-ccsa-approves-4-phase-reopening-plan-from-october-until-january/