The Business Times
LIVING WITH COVID-19: KICKSTARTING TRAVEL

Thailand to allow quarantine-free travel from 46 countries including Singapore from Nov 1

Published Sat, Oct 23, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Bangkok

VACCINATED travellers from Singapore, the US, the UK and most of Europe will soon be able to enter Thailand without having to undergo quarantine, in a further boost to the tourism-dependant economy.

They are among 46 countries, also including China and Australia, to be added to the quarantine-free travel list from Nov 1, said Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday (Oct 21).

Other nations on the list are Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the majority of countries in the European Union.

This latest move follows the approval of quarantine-free entry for visitors from five countries last week.

The night-time curfew in 17 provinces, including the capital Bangkok and tropical-island resort Phuket, will also be lifted from Oct 31.

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Mr Prayut said international visitors could skip mandatory quarantine as long as they arrive via air, have been fully vaccinated and have a document to show they have tested negative for the virus.

A decline in active cases and increase in vaccinations over the past several weeks has allowed the government to gradually relax restrictions for businesses to reopen and travel to resume, which are part of its "living with Covid" strategy that recognises the endemic nature of the virus.

The strict entry requirements and quarantine measures have resulted in Thailand's arrival numbers plummeting to a fraction of the nearly 40 million visitors seen in 2019. Thailand lost about US$50 billion in tourism revenue last year, an 82 per cent plunge.

It started with a pilot reopening that began on July 1 on Phuket, which has been vaccinating most of its local population. Just 100,000 foreign visitors are expected this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

On Friday (Oct 22) morning, Thailand's Public Health Ministry reported 9,810 new Covid-19 infections and 66 more fatalities. This takes the country's total case count to a little over 1.83 million, with the death toll now at 18,625.

Thailand's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration said earlier this week that about 37 per cent of the country's total population has received both doses of the vaccine. The aim is to inoculate about 70 per cent of the nearly 70 million population by the end of this year. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS

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