The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects to start implementing the third phase of the “We Travel Together” tourism stimulation scheme on May 1 pending the improvement of anti-graft tools.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the cabinet approved the third-phased We Travel Together scheme which offered subsidies for the reservation of 2 million hotel rooms and its implementation should start on May 1.
According to him, the implementation cannot start before the upcoming Songkran festival mid next month because its system has yet to be improved to prevent graft.
It will take about six weeks to improve the system that will include the face scanning of tourists when they check in at hotels.
However, the delay will not affect travel in the Songkran festival because the second phase of the We Travel Together scheme will be valid throughout April.
In response to hoteliers’ proposal to welcome visitors without quarantine on July 1 instead of Oct 1, Mr Yuthasak said that visitors could be received in a ‘sandbox’ plan on July 1 but prior to that they would have to receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and at least 70% of people in the provinces of visitors’ destinations must be inoculated against the disease. (TNA)
