The Thai government says they’re pressing ahead with plans to waive the current mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Bangkok and five other major tourist destinations starting in October this year, to reboot the country's battered tourism industry.
From October 1, Dr. Traisulee Traisoranakul of the CCSA says, the new measures will provide easier to tour popular tourist locations such as Pattaya, Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Krabi, and Bangkok.
Phuket tourism and government officials also maintain that in 7 weeks, they are preparing to open up to vaccinated travellers as part of a pilot "sandbox" scheme. The positive moves forward at the same time local officials announced a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days for visitors from outside the province, starting May 14, to replace the rapid antigen test Any arrivals who hadn’t been fully vaccinated or who could have a negative PCR Covid test within the past 72 hours would be quarantined.
The key change in Thailand's new re-opening policy is it is quarantine-free, but it remains what paperwork or current restrictions may remain in place – nothing has been announced. The questions on who will visit or what will be open for them to enjoy when they arrive are still up in the air.
Meanwhile, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the Tourism, and Sports Minister reiterated this week that the island would register zero new infections before any quarantine-free reopening would be able to occur, adding to the earlier provision that 70% of the island's population be vaccinated. Only 22% of Phuket's population has been vaccinated as of today, but a new round of registration is happening in the next week. At this stage, Phuket is far ahead of the rest of Thailand in terms of vaccinations.
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