Thailand could drop quarantine for some tourists from 1 October, as the tourism-dependent country attempts to recover from Covid-19.
The Southeast Asian nation also plans to shorten the quarantine time for visitors next month, from 14 days to 10 – with a shorter quarantine for visitors who have been vaccinated.
International arrivals who have been fully vaccinated for more than 14 days, and who present a negative PCR test, will have to quarantine for just seven days from 1 April, according to plans from Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Unvaccinated visitors with a negative PCR test must quarantine for 10 days, unless they come from a nation with a virus variant, reports the Bangkok Post.
From 1 October, all lockdowns will be lifted and quarantine will not be required in some parts of the country for low-risk tourists, which could pave the way for winter sun holidays.
Between April and the end of September, Thailand plans to supercharge its domestic vaccine roll-out.
The country signalled that it was thinking about axing the two-week quarantine requirement for travellers who have been vaccinated, and that it was looking into the issue of vaccine certificates.
The tourism minister announced that Thailand will open five provinces for international tourists: the island of Phuket; Surat Thani (which includes the islands of Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao); capital Bangkok; Chiang Mai; and Chonburi.
Leading hospitality businesses across Thailand have launched a campaign to reopen the borders to international tourism from July.
The campaign, #OpenThailandSafely, is supported by more than 15 major hospitality companies across the country. It is petitioning the Thai government to consider the merits of letting in travellers from countries such as the UK and the US, whose vaccination programmes are well underway.