The Ministry of Tourism and the Tourist Association of Thailand are recommending an end to pre-registration for arrivals from July 1 but with an added headache for airlines and airport immigration. That’s because vaccination-status paperwork and proof of anti-Covid insurance worth at least US$10,000 would need to be shown by the passenger, either at check-in or on arrival in Thailand. Probably both.
It had been widely assumed that the expected end of Thailand Pass (yet to be agreed by the Cabinet) would mean the automatic ditching of the insurance requirement for tourists. Such policies may cost between 700 baht and 11,000 baht for one month, but the cheaper ones are considered worthless and are simply a disguised entry tax. Neighboring countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam have already scrapped the insurance demand in an attempt to win extra market share of overseas visitors.
If the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration this week were to accept the proposal to have ongoing insurance, extra delays would occur when passengers checked in for their flights because staff would need to ascertain their paperwork was in order, or risk being fined by Bangkok authorities. This happened under the now defunct Test and Go procedures when airlines had to ensure that Thai-bound customers had their downloaded QR code. Some airlines initially refused to board people who did not have an onward ticket for flights out of Thailand.
The next step would be for immigration officers to check the vaccination records and insurance paperwork of all arriving passengers, likely a prolonged task in some cases as insurance documents can be complex, written in several languages and not always clear about Covid cover. If Thailand’s tourist rebirth is to avoid airport chaos and unhelpful publicity, the rules to replace Thailand Pass need a very cool rethink. As ever, the devil hides in the detail.
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