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**Barfly** · 10-23-2021, 04:58 PM

Thailand is open for tourism again, sort of.....

Quarantine-free arrival, except that you’ll still need to book at least 1 night of stay in an approved hotel or AQ (alternative quarantine). No bars are open (officially) and, in most parts of the country, most shops remain closed. In tourist-dependent places like Phuket, more than 90% of the formerly open shops remain closed.

So how ‘open’ is Thailand as it approaches the magic November 01. 2021 deadline? It’s certainly more open than most other Asian countries at this time. At least there’s now a determination by the Thai government , rightly or wrongly, to ‘live with Covid’ and get the rusty tourist machinery churning again. But, for the tourists who used to be able to simply land in Thailand, visa free, or with a simple visa on arrival, those days are now in the rear view mirror.

But those who are happy to jump through the much-reduced set of hoops, you’ll be visiting a new Thailand – the beaches and temples much to yourself, the waters clear, few queues and a population eager to welcome you back. In many ways, there’s never been a better time to visit Thailand.

But there’s still a list of somewhat confusing restrictions and regulations if you want to travel back to the land of smiles at this time. If you want to re-enter Thailand, from November 1, mostly quarantine-free, you’ll need to be fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine. You’ll also need Covid insurance to the value of US$50,000 (it used to be US$100,000). There will initially be 17 provinces you will be able to travel to, although getting to those provinces, passing through higher-risk provinces, hasn’t been explained.

Even blogger Richard Barrow is warning people from travelling to Thailand right now…

“I would strongly advise people not to rush to come to Thailand. Transition periods are always messy.”

But at least the curfews, currently running from 11:00 am – 3:00 am in dark red provinces, are set to be lifted on October 31. 2021 according to the Thai PM this week.

And you’ll still need to wear a mask whilst in public at all times.

One of the sticking points, for some tourists anyway, is the ban on serving alcohol and the lack of nightlife. Whilst some vanguards have been opening up anyway, running the gauntlet with the local constabulary, the official line has been to keep Thailand’s nightlife, including its more lurid red-light offerings, closed. But, even there, there’s a ray of hope with speculation that this ban will too be lifted on December 01. 2021

The recent flurry of whittling away at Thailand’s Covid restrictions, and the almost daily announcements of new re-entry procedures, is a clear narrative that Thailand’s tourist industry can’t let another high season slip by with draconian border closures. The government’s trajectory is clear on this matter.

Even so, there is a long, long journey back for 10s of thousands of businesses that have been shuttered, some for more than 18 months. Most of these businesses will never open again. But, in time, new operators will come forward and pry open the doors as the travellers start heading back to Thailand. None of this will happen immediately, maybe not for many years.

And there’s an elephant in the room awaiting travellers. If you happen to test positive from your test upon arrival, it will be off to a Thai hospital or fired hospital, at your cost. That’s a lottery no visitors will want to win. So, will it be a dribble or a flood of new arrivals?

Whilst many of the tourist tzars in Thailand have been enthusiastically talking up business, almost since the day the country closed the borders back in April 2020, many of the more realistic pundits are saying Thailand’s tourism recovery could take up to a decade, assuming there are no new black swan moments.

Thailand’s department of optimism, rainbows and unicorns, aka. TAT Tourism Authority of Thailand, have over-estimated and underdelivered on every single prediction they’ve made in the last 18 months.

Seemingly indifferent to the world public health emergency presented by the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve been locking horns with health officials for the past year to try and get travellers back into the country. More tourists to Thailand means they get to keep their jobs.

Eventually a compromise was met in the country’s most tourist-dependent economy, Phuket, and the Sandbox was born. It was launched on July 1, against the odds. Some 40,000 travellers took advantage of the Phuket Sandbox in its first 3 months, around half of those arrivals actual tourists.

Hailed a ‘success’ by the TAT and Thai government, the Phuket Sandbox has been of limited economic advantage to the southern island, outside of a few, select hotels and well-connected tour operators. Other sandboxes have appeared, including Samui and Phang Nga. They’ve also had limited success and performed way below the predicted numbers from the TAT.

But, and this is an important ‘but’, the Sandbox experiment was the precursor to this November 1 phase of Thailand’s re-opening its borders to international travellers. It set standards and procedures which are now being rolled out for many more provinces, setting the stage for greater success as Thailand lurches towards the high season.

For people wanting to get their Thai ‘fix’, the Land of Smiles is spearheading a reopening to tourism compared to Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and other parts of Indonesia still in the early stages of their plans.

From November 1, in Thailand, the paperwork trail has been drastically reduced, the cumbersome Certificate of Entry is bering replaced by a Digital Thailand Pass, airlines are announcing more flights direct into Phuket and Bangkok, and even unvaccinated tourists will be able to return, albeit with a 10 day quarantine. But the whole process is a huge advance on where Thailand was a year ago when everyone had to do a full 14-15 day quarantine on arrival.

So how ‘open’ is Thailand? Not fully open but the door is opening wide, quickly.

**Barfly** · 10-25-2021, 02:48 AM

TAT want Russia and India on Safe List

Now that the 63 countries that can enter Thailand on November 01.2021 without quarantine have been announced, many in the tourism industry are calling for some notable absences to be added to the list. Tourism groups in major travel hubs are calling on the government to add Russia and India to the list of approved countries, believing it will massively boost the number of travellers coming into Thailand this high season.

Russia didn’t make the cut for the 46 approved countries because of a recent surge in Covid-19 in the country the only has about a 33% vaccination rate with a fair amount of vaccine hesitancy. The acting president of the Chon Buri Tourism Council lamented that charter flights may have to be cancelled as travellers from Russia aren’t interested in sandboxing or jumping through excessive hoops to come into Thailand.
India finds itself in a similar situation as many people have been vaccinated using Covaxin which has yet to be recognized by the World Health Organisation or the Thai government as an approved vaccine. As a result, those inoculated with Covaxin will not qualify as fully vaccinated and will have to endure a quarantine of 10 days, or 14 if they travel overland into Thailand. Any sort of quarantine eliminates a large portion of potential travellers from India as they tend to travel for an average of four to five nights for a short getaway anyway.

While 63 countries will be able to enter Thailand without more than a one-night delay while waiting for test results, those who aren’t from those countries but are fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine can go through a Sandbox program and what is now called the Blue Zone, 17 provinces that require a one-week arrival day before being allowed to travel freely in Thailand.

The tourism council president says that without the Indian and Russian markets, Pattaya will suffer this high season. The extra restrictions placed on those two countries plus required quarantine upon returning home for some residents in low-risk countries will drive away potential tourists.

Add to that the confusion over the Thailand Pass that is replacing the certificate of entry in just over a week but has not yet been launched or fully laid out, and the tourism revenue prospects of places like Pattaya are unlikely to look terribly rosy for the time being.

The stupidity of the TAT - Thailand Authority of Tourism - is hard to Beat

**Barfly** · 10-25-2021, 02:50 AM

Hua Hin Supports Reopening Delay

Prachuap Khiri Khan, the Western province that is home to tourist magnet Hua Hin, may not be ready for reopening in just over a week. Amid spiking Covid-19 infections, some officials in Hua Hin are calling for a delay, pushing back reopening for the town until December.

The province had 240 infections in today’s report, half as many as the day before after experiencing a spike over the last few days. The last 7 days have seen 1,698 new Covid-19 infections, averaging 242 a day. That’s nearly 4 times higher than the same 7-day period last month, which saw 457 infections, or an average of 65 infections per day.

But, unlike Chiang Mai that uncovered clusters in markets and suspect spread from illegal gatherings, Prachuap Khiri Khan is tracing their Covid-19 infections to a different source: migrant and immigrant workers. The majority of infections recently have been in Pran Buri district, where 362 of Saturday’s 445 reported infections were found.

A good chunk of those infections was traced to 4 factories that produce canned fruit as well as the staff dorms at the construction site of a dual-track railway project underway. Many of those who tested positive for the virus are Burmese workers.

The surges of infections are worrisome as the resort town of Hua Hin is experiencing a parallel surge in hotel bookings this holiday weekend. Many local businesses are fearful that the influx of tourists in the town could lead to big outbreaks with Covid-19 spiking in the province as well as nearby provinces as the tourists return home after a long weekend holiday.

An advisor to the Hua Hin-Cha Am Tourism Business Association expressed the concern of the local businesses and called for the reopening of their city to be delayed until December instead of joining the November 1 reopening plan along with many provinces around Thailand in order to get the Covid-19 infections under control.

**Barfly** · 10-25-2021, 02:54 AM

Chiang Mai Covid-19 Infections Increasing

November 1 is fast approaching and with it a major reopening effort all across Thailand. But a few of the target Blue Zone areas that the government has focused on due to their popularity with foreign tourists are struggling, as Chiang Mai in particular has been battling a swell in Covid-19 infections. Chiang Mai has seen their daily infection numbers jumping since the second week of October and they steadily climbed from under 200 to now in the 350 to 450 range each day. Officials attribute this jump to the uncovering of new infection clusters as the province tests residence for Covid-19 ahead of the reopening in just over a week.

Today’s Covid-19 report saw 461 new infections in the province with officials from the Provincial Communicable Disease Office saying just 5 of those infections were brought in from outside of Chiang Mai. Since the beginning of July, the total number of infections stands at 9,660, likely to surpass 10,000 in the next day or two.

A number of big clusters have been uncovered in Chiang Mai in the last few days, according to the head of the Disease Control Unit of the Provincial Public Health Office. They have infected 120 people, with 67 patients alone being infected by a cluster traced to Muang Mai market.

He fears that clusters like this will continue to be found in part because people don’t want to admit that they visited illegal nightlife venues, parties, or gambling dens, where are they get infected and then spread Covid-19 among their family and community.

On the plus side, Chiang Mai has 74% of its population vaccinated, over 934,000 people. Almost 300,000 of those vaccinated are vulnerable, either over 60 or with underlying health conditions. And health officials report that the majority of new infections have been categorised in the green group, designated for those who are asymptomatic or experience only very mild symptoms.

**Sundance2020** · 10-26-2021, 06:56 PM

Department of Health Survey November 2021 | Reopening concerns majority of Thais

While many seem excited with the plan to reopen the country to vaccinated travellers on November 1, apparently the majority of Thais are concerned with how the Covid-19 situation will be with an influx of visitors from overseas. Thailand’s Department of Health conducted a survey from October 14 to 20 and found that 94% of participants are concerned with how the Covid-19 situation will be after the reopening, although the department did not report how many people took part in the survey.

The department also reported that…

72% of participants believe that Covid-19 prevention measures should be tightened and vaccinations should be accelerated to make sure each province reaches herd immunity.
60% of participants say border patrol should be tightened to prevent illegal entry where people evade Covid-19 screening and quarantine.
55% of participants say they support strict monitoring of Covid-19 preventative measures.
28% of participants say they are confident in the disease control measures.

Visitors from the following 63 Countries do not need a Quarantine
Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Bhutan Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Cambodia Canada Chile China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland srael Italy Japan Kuwait Laos Latvia	Lithuania Luxemburg Malaysia Malta Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Norway Oman Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Saudi Arabia Singapore Slovenia Slowakia South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Taiwan UAE UK USA Vietnam
Travel to Thailand by air only. Must be in one of the 63 countries above for at least 3 weeks before travel. An exception is made for people who leave Thailand and stay in an approved country less than 3 weeks before returning to Thailand.
Must have Requirements
Thailand Pass Replacement for the Certificate of Entry Thailand Pass Website Medical Certificate With a negative RT-PCR test within 72 hours of travelling. An exception is made for a Medical Certificate of Recovery showing a Covid-19 recovery within 3 months. US $50,000 Insurance Policy Covering all Covid-19 expenses for the whole duration of travel in Thailand. Returning Thai citizens eligible for national health insurance are exempt. Paid Hotel for Minimum 1 Nght stay at either an SHA Plus Certified Hotel or: Alternative Quarantine, Organisation Quarantine, or Alternative Hospital Quarantine Booking must include the cost of RT-PCR Test and ATK. Certificate of Vaccination With the following options: Full vaccination approved by the Thai Ministry of Public Health or WHO at least 2 weeks before travel. An approved vaccine allowing one dose at least 2 weeks before travel. Travellers under 12 with negative RT-PCR test within 72 hours, travelling with a vaccinated guardian.
To-Do List
Take an exit screening Covid-19 test before travelling to Thailand. Be tested immediately on arrival, either at a test centre or accommodation. Travel by approved airport transfer. Stay in the approved accommodation until results are received. Download and use the MorChana App. Once negative test results are returned, travellers can go anywhere in Thailand. Travellers will receive an ATK kit that was prepaid with hotel booking. If they experience any Covid-19 symptoms, they must take the ATK. If not, the test should be taken on day 6-7, with results reported in the MorChana app and to hotel staff. Travellers must self-monitor for 7 days and report any symptom to their hotel, who will notify local communicable disease control authorities.

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FAQ - Thailand Travel Options from November 2021

FAQ - Thailand Travel Options from November 2021

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