On June 17th, the Government of Thailand announced that from July 1st entry restrictions for international arrivals will be lifted. Authorities of the Center for Situation Management Covid-19 (CCSA) said at a press conference in Bangkok that the wearing of masks outdoors will no longer be mandatory. Foreign travelers will be exempted from filling out an online form before entering the country.
Effective July 1, 2022, visitors are only required to show proof of a vaccination certificate or a negative professional RT-PCR or ATK (Antigen) test result within 72 hours prior to travel. These can be in hard copy or digital format. Random checks will be conducted upon arrival at Thailand’s international airports or land border checkpoints (in 22 provinces). Unvaccinated/unvaccinated travelers who undergo random checks and who cannot demonstrate a negative pre-arrival result will be required to undergo a professional ATK test at the point of entry.
The CCSA has also approved the elimination of the Thailand Pass registration scheme and a $10,000 health insurance requirement for foreign visitors. Both requirements were initially eliminated for Thai citizens effective June 1, 2022. According to CNN, some types of entertainment venues, including nightclubs, are expected to reopen on July 1st.
Thai authorities also announced that they will lift the requirement of temperature control at airports and the presentation of a health insurance with specific requirements concerning Covid-19. With these measures the country hopes to reactivate tourism in the country, one of the great engines of the economy.
Since May 1st, immunized travelers arriving in the Asian country have been exempted from quarantine and can enter with their vaccination certificate, while unvaccinated people are still required to present a negative PCR test.
The increasing relaxation of restrictions accompanies the downward trend of the pandemic in Thailand and aims to boost the economic reopening of the country, whose tourism sector has been hit hard by the health emergency.
The CCSA also approved the designation of Bangkok and 76 provinces as a Surveillance or Green Zone, allowing the resumption of new business and normal activities throughout the country. And while keeping health and safety measures under universal prevention, the Royal Thai Government is preparing to announce a new set of guidelines as the nation moves toward post-pandemic.
One of the most visited tourist destinations in the world, Thailand received some 428,000 foreign tourists last year, down 93.6% from nearly seven million visitors in 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The country has so far recorded more than 30,000 deaths and some 4.4 million infected by the pathogen since the beginning of the health crisis in 2020.
