Thailand will resume quarantine-free travel from February 1

…a quarantine-free visa programme for vaccinated visitors starting next month, as the tourism-reliant nation shifts its focus to economic recovery following an ease in new Covid-19 infections

PRAVASISAMWAD.COM

With Thailand’s rate of new Covid-19 infections has waned in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported that the south-east Asian nation will restart a quarantine-free visa programme for vaccinated visitors starting next month, as the tourism-reliant nation shifts its focus to economic recovery following an ease in new Covid-19 infections.

International travelers from all countries can apply for visas under the so-called Test & Go entry programme from February 1, the government said after a meeting of its main Covid task force recently. Visitors will be required to undergo two Covid tests after arrival, one upon entry and another on the fifth day. “We can no longer close our borders as the economic costs will be too high,” Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said. “Reopening and managing the outbreak need to go hand in hand.”

The Test & Go program, which previously allowed vaccinated travelers from about 60 countries to skip quarantine, helped attract about 350,000 visitors in just two months before it was suspended

Thailand has experimented with several visa, quarantine and tourism programmes over the past two years to support a sector that contributed about one-fifth of GDP before the pandemic, with 40 million foreign tourists generating more than $60 billion in 2019.

The country suspended its quarantine-free programme in late December after spikes in the omicron variant were detected among foreign arrivals and in several local communities. The decision to revive the quarantine-free travel programme is in line with the government’s call to treat Covid-19 as endemic and efforts to revive an industry that employs millions of people.

The Test & Go program, which previously allowed vaccinated travelers from about 60 countries to skip quarantine, helped attract about 350,000 visitors in just two months before it was suspended

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