Like the Philippines, Thailand enjoyed a very lucrative tourism sector before the pandemic started. The country formerly known as Siam suffered a lot of losses due to lockdown protocols. However, it is looking to turn things around real soon.
As per PhilStarLife.com, the kingdom is reopening its doors to vaccinated travelers from more than 40 countries. Starting November 1, vaccinated travelers from 46 countries and territories that Thailand deems “low risk” will be allowed to enter without going through quarantine.
Some of the countries in the ‘low risk’ list include China, Hong Kong, France, the United States, and Britain. A slew of other European countries is on the list too — such as Germany, Spain, and Italy — while some Asian neighbors Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, and Japan are also included.
However, all travelers must have a negative COVID test before flying into Thailand and get re-tested upon arrival. They must also book a single night in a government-approved hotel as they wait for the test results.
To put things into perspective, Thailand still reports about 10,000 new cases per day. Authorities aim to have 70% of the population jabbed by the end of the year. So far, about 40% of Thais have been fully vaccinated.
By opening its borders to tourists, Thailand aims to welcome a million visitors by March 2022. However, experts claim that things won’t go back to normal until 2024.
The thing is though that China — the biggest source of visitors — still requires returnees to undergo a strict quarantine, which is expected to discourage foreign travel. The United States also still has a travel alert out for Thailand, advising Americans to avoid the country due to high COVID-19 infection numbers.
Unfortunately, travelers from the Philippines aren’t allowed to visit Thailand just yet. We’ll still have to wait until we can book our flights accordingly.Â
Art Daniella Sison
