The Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA), chaired by Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, has approved the TAT’s three-stage roadmap to reopen six major tourist provinces – Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Chiang Mai – to vaccinated foreign tourists.
This development follows the Royal Thai Government’s latest announcement: Thailand reduces quarantine for international arrivals from 1 April 2021, which includes the reduction of quarantine from 14 days to 7 days for vaccinated international arrivals involving the *11 groups of people currently permitted to enter Thailand.
The TAT’s reopening roadmap will take place in stages in the second, third and fourth quarters of this year, specifically for vaccinated foreign tourists arriving in the six specified provinces, which are Thailand’s major tourist destinations.
Stage One (Q2), from April to June, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to undergo quarantine in government-approved hotels or other facilities under a ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model. After completing the first 7 nights, they will be allowed to visit other destinations in Thailand.
The ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model means that during quarantine, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to engage in leisure activities within the premises of their hotels or other accommodation establishments. They will also be allowed to engage in outside travel activities within designated areas in their selected destination of arrival.
State Two (Q3), from July to September, Phuket will be the first destination to lift quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists under the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ programme. However, they will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in Phuket for 7 days and will then be allowed to visit other Thai destinations.
Vaccinated foreign tourist arrivals to five other major tourist destinations – Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (Ko Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Chiang Mai – will still be required to undergo quarantine under a ‘0+7 nights + designated routes’ model.
Stage Three (Q4), from October to December, all five other major tourist destinations will join Phuket in lifting quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreign tourists. Same as Phuket, tourists will be restricted to travel activities within designated areas in these destinations for 7 days before they are allowed to visit other Thai destinations.
Upon arrival in all stages, vaccinated foreign tourists will be required to undergo a COVID-19 screening, including RT-PCR tests, and download the specified track and trace application.
In order to be eligible to enter in Thailand, vaccinated foreign tourists still need to have all of their advance arrangements in good order for arrival and entry.
These include a valid visa or re-entry permit, a Certificate of Entry (COE) issued by the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate; a COVID-19 health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of US$100,000; confirmation of Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel booking, and a medical certificate with a RT-PCR laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected issued no more than 72 hours before departure. Interested vaccinated foreign tourists are recommended to enquire at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their home country for more details.
In addition, in line with the Royal Thai Government’s announcement, vaccinated international arrivals must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a vaccine, approved, and registered with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) or approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), no less than 14 days before the travelling date. They must also be from countries with no mutated strain of SAR-CoV-2 virus as announced and constantly updated by the MoPH.
The following vaccines are accepted (as of 31 March, 2021): ARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) by Sinovac (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); AZD1222 by SK BIOSCIENCE – AstraZeneca/Oxford (2 doses needed); BNT162b2/CORMIRNATY – Tozinameran (INN) by Pfizer/BioNTech (2 doses needed); Covishield (ChAdOx1_nCoV19) by the Serum Institute of India (2 doses needed); Ad26.COV2.S by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (1 dose needed), and mRNA-1273 by Moderna (2 doses needed).
TAT is constantly providing updates on the tourism-related COVID-19 situation in Thailand at the TAT Newsroom (www.tatnews.org); Facebook (tatnews.org); and Twitter (Tatnews_Org).
For additional information and assistance relating to Thailand’s tourism, contact the TAT Contact Centre 1672 or Tourist Police 1155.
*The 11 groups of people currently permitted to enter Thailand.
(1) Thai nationals.
(2) Persons with exemption or persons being considered, permitted or invited by the Prime Minister, or the head of responsible persons accountable for resolving state of emergency issues to enter the Kingdom, pertaining to necessity. Such consideration, permission, or invitation may be subject to specific conditions and time limits.
(3) Persons on diplomatic or consular missions or under International organisations, or representatives of foreign governments performing their duties in the Kingdom, or persons of other international agencies as permitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pertaining to necessity, including their spouse, parents, or children.
(4) Carriers of necessary goods, subject to immediate return after completion.
(5) Crew members who are required to travel into the Kingdom on a mission, and have a specific date and time for return.
(6) Non-Thai nationals who are spouses, parents, or children of Thai nationals.
(7) Non-Thai nationals who hold a Certificate of Residence, including their spouses and children.
(8) Non-Thai nationals who have a work permit or have been granted permission to work in the Kingdom in accordance with the Thai laws, including their spouses and children, or foreign workers who have been granted exemption from the government to temporarily stay in the Kingdom and permitted to work through their employers or licensees who are permitted to bring in foreign workers to work in the Kingdom.
(9) Non-Thai nationals who are students of educational institutions approved by Thai authorities, including their parents or guardians, excluding students of non-formal educational institutions in accordance with the law on private schools, and of other similar private educational institutions.
(10) Non-Thai nationals who are in need of medical treatment in Thailand, and their accompanying persons. However, this shall not include medical treatment for COVID–19.
(11) Non-Thai nationals who have been granted permission to enter into the Kingdom under special arrangements between Thai government agencies and other countries, or persons or groups of persons who have been granted permission by the Prime Minister upon the submission for consider after the examination and review by the Ad Hoc Committee for the Consideration of the Relaxation of the Enforcement of Measures to Present and Suppress the Spread of the Communicable Disease Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), and shall comply with disease prevention measures determined by the Ad Hoc Committee.
