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Thailand Plans Quarantine-Free Tourism Return From July

March 30, 2021Tom Spruce

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Thailand authorities have announced the country will be opening to vaccinated tourists without the need to quarantine from July.

The Thai government are rolling out their phased reopening plans for summer tourists — The Thai government are rolling out their phased quarantine-free re-opening plans for summer tourists

The Thailand government’s two-phase plan, which will see the country welcome back tourists without the need for them to quarantine on arrival, is set to kick in from July.

Phase one

In a bid to make the most of the usually busy summer market, the first phase of the Thai government’s plan comes into effect from 1 July. When fully vaccinated travellers will be able to explore the iconic island again without the need to quarantine on touch down.

Throughout phase one of the reopening guidelines travellers must fly directly into Phuket International Airport (not via Bangkok). They will then be required to complete a COVID-19 test on arrival at their hotel.

Visitors will then need to spend a minimum of 7 days in Phuket before embarking on any onward travel around the country.

The door looks to be opening on a summertime Thai escape again

Phase two

Phase two of the reopening will commence from 1 October and will be comprised of looser guidelines. Fully vaccinated travellers will then be allowed to visit six provinces in Thailand without any quarantine requirements.

The six provinces where travel will be allowed are:

Krabi
Chonburi (Pattaya)
Phang Nga
Phuket
Chiang Mai
Koh Samui

Government guidelines in phase two allow for arrivals into any of the listed provinces (if travelling to Pattaya, arrival in Bangkok is permitted). Similarly to the phase one approach, visitors will be required to take a COVID-19 test on arrival at their hotel and a minimum stay of seven days in the province they arrived in is required before travellers are allowed free roam into other provinces.

However, there are also requirements of travellers before they start their Thailand getaway.

Know before you go

Before embarking on a journey to the island, tourists will need to show documentation confirming:

A Certificate of Entry (CoE)
Proof of both inoculations
A negative COVID-19 test (taken within 72 hours of departure from the UK)
Possession of COVID-19 inclusive travel insurance.

Tourists will also be required to download the Thailand Plus tracking app and upload the relevant information. This is in order to help the authorities keep track of any potential outbreaks.

Island-hopping may be back on the menu for winter

Things are looking up

The reopening of Thailand’s tourism industry will come as a welcome boost to the local economy and travel providers everywhere selling into the popular holiday destination. As well as potentially providing the tropical light at the end of a particularly dark and unstable 12 month-long tunnel for most.

Moving into April the positive news keeps coming for those ready to kiss goodbye to restrictions in the UK. This encouraging news from the Thai government comes as Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy also confirmed the UK is on course to hit the government’s 21 June restriction ending deadline.

In addition to those updates from Thailand and the UK government, one more piece of positive travel news has come from ABTA this week. A study conducted by the travel industry leader recently revealed customers are more likely to book package holidays now than before the pandemic. With 51% stating they preferred the security of knowing there’s coverage should something go wrong.