Thailand said on June 17 that starting July 1, it will no longer require international travelers to pre-register. The “Thailand Pass” system, which required international travelers to acquire permission from Thai officials ahead of time.
The Thailand Pass system will be phased out on July 1, according to Tourism Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan, erasing one of the country’s last remaining travel restrictions. Aside from that, all visitors to Thailand will no longer be needed to obtain travel insurance, according to CNA, citing the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Masks will still be suggested for the general public, but they will not be required unless the location is congested or poorly ventilated, according to the statement.
Visitors will now simply need to bring their vaccination certificates or take COVID tests when they arrive. Rapid antigen tests will only be necessary for persons experiencing respiratory symptoms at social gatherings, according to CCSA spokesperson Taweesin Visanuyothin.
“Only suspected cases with respiratory symptoms will be subjected to the antigen test. Please contact the infectious disease committee in the provinces or Bangkok in the event of gatherings of more than 2,000 individuals so that transmission can be monitored and prevented.
“he stated According to the CCSA, there were 348,699 international arrivals in Thailand between June 1 and June 15, with the majority of visitors hailing from Malaysia, India, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. Nearly 40 million people visited Thailand in 2019, but after COVID, one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations came to a halt.
However, when the pandemic receded, the tourism-dependent kingdom’s restrictions were gradually eased in an effort to boost visitor numbers. Despite lowering quarantine regulations, the country saw less than 1% fewer tourists last year than it did this year.
According to government figures, more than 1.6 million foreign tourists arrived in the first six months of 2022, with foreign tourist receipts totaling 99.7 billion baht. Thailand has lost over 30,000 people to COVID-19, but the disease has been substantially confined thanks to a vaccination rate of over 80%.
According to Phiphat, the government will also enable bars, pubs, and karaoke clubs to extend their service hours beyond the present midnight-closure regulation, with maximum service periods based on local rules.
All 77 provinces will be designated as low-risk Covid-19 outbreak areas, or “green zones,” allowing local governments to remove some economic and travel restrictions. In a statement, the Health Ministry also decreased the Covid-19 alert level to 2 to indicate a decrease in cluster cases.
The precautions are being eased as the number of local Covid cases has reduced to around 2,000 per day, down from around 30,000 in early April.
Despite the fact that the mask requirement for outdoor spaces will be eliminated in July, “they are still suggested when other people are present or in crowded places such as marketplaces, sports arenas, and concerts,” Phipat said.
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