Thailand’s tourism industry slowly gets into gear
With the easing of almost all restrictions to enter and enjoy a stay in Thailand, the country’s battered tourism industry is starting to recover, albeit slowly.
The gradual easing of travel restrictions has brought as many as 1.61 million tourists to Thailand so far until mid-June, up 3,895 per cent from all of 2021.
Tourist arrivals especially surged after Thai authorities scrapped the unpopular Test & Go scheme from May 1 and from June 1 allowed unvaccinated or partly vaccinated tourists to enter the country by just providing a negative Covid-19 test.
The next surge in arrivals is expected from July 1 when Thailand will end all entry restrictions and most Covid-19-related regulations for entertainment venues. From that day, the mandatory pre-travel registration for foreigners – called Thailand Pass – and a compulsory Covid-19 health insurance will be dropped.
Longer service hours for bars, pubs
All bars, pubs, karaoke clubs and other nighttime entertainment venues in the country have been allowed to reopen, although the midnight closing requirement still remains in place as matters stand. It is understood that maximum service times depend on rules in the respective municipalities,
The outdoor mask wearing mandate will also be widely eased from July 1 as the number of new virus cases continues to decline.
Expectations of up to ten million arrivals this year
Since January 1 to mid-June, the highest number of tourists traveling to Thailand came from India (169,131), followed by Malaysia (137,969), the UK (107,438), Singapore (98,701) and Germany (86,480).
The government expects about 1.5 million international tourists a month for the remainder of this year, up from the previous target of one million.
Thailand’s tourism and sports minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said that at least 7.5 million international tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year. However, he added that his ministry will launch additional campaigns, especially during the October-to-December high season, to bring the number of arrivals up to ten million this year. In comparison, a record of nearly 40 million arrived in the country in the last year before the pandemic hit.
With the easing of almost all restrictions to enter and enjoy a stay in Thailand, the country’s battered tourism industry is starting to recover, albeit slowly. The gradual easing of travel restrictions has brought as many as 1.61 million tourists to Thailand so far until mid-June, up 3,895 per cent from all of 2021. Tourist arrivals especially surged after Thai authorities scrapped the unpopular Test & Go scheme from May 1 and from June 1 allowed unvaccinated or partly vaccinated tourists to enter the country by just providing a negative Covid-19 test. The next surge in arrivals is expected from...
With the easing of almost all restrictions to enter and enjoy a stay in Thailand, the country’s battered tourism industry is starting to recover, albeit slowly.
The gradual easing of travel restrictions has brought as many as 1.61 million tourists to Thailand so far until mid-June, up 3,895 per cent from all of 2021.
Tourist arrivals especially surged after Thai authorities scrapped the unpopular Test & Go scheme from May 1 and from June 1 allowed unvaccinated or partly vaccinated tourists to enter the country by just providing a negative Covid-19 test.
The next surge in arrivals is expected from July 1 when Thailand will end all entry restrictions and most Covid-19-related regulations for entertainment venues. From that day, the mandatory pre-travel registration for foreigners – called Thailand Pass – and a compulsory Covid-19 health insurance will be dropped.
Longer service hours for bars, pubs
All bars, pubs, karaoke clubs and other nighttime entertainment venues in the country have been allowed to reopen, although the midnight closing requirement still remains in place as matters stand. It is understood that maximum service times depend on rules in the respective municipalities,
The outdoor mask wearing mandate will also be widely eased from July 1 as the number of new virus cases continues to decline.
Expectations of up to ten million arrivals this year
Since January 1 to mid-June, the highest number of tourists traveling to Thailand came from India (169,131), followed by Malaysia (137,969), the UK (107,438), Singapore (98,701) and Germany (86,480).
The government expects about 1.5 million international tourists a month for the remainder of this year, up from the previous target of one million.
Thailand’s tourism and sports minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said that at least 7.5 million international tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year. However, he added that his ministry will launch additional campaigns, especially during the October-to-December high season, to bring the number of arrivals up to ten million this year. In comparison, a record of nearly 40 million arrived in the country in the last year before the pandemic hit.
