Thai Government considers easing entry rules, antigen testing may replace PCR test

In anticipation of more international arrivals in the coming months, the Thai government is reviewing current entry requirements. According to a Bangkok Post report, officials may replace the PCR test with antigen test kits and rules could be relaxed for people unfortunate enough to have sat near an infected passenger during their flight. Any amendment of the current rules would need approval from the national communicable disease control committee and the CCSA. The PM will chair a CCSA meeting later today.

Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the time it takes to get results from PCR testing could see the method replaced with ATKs in order to better manage the flow of arrivals during the coming months. He adds that the CCSA will also review the rule that currently requires travellers who sat 2 rows behind or in front of an infected passenger to be moved to quarantine facilities. According to the Bangkok Post report, officials are considering a change that would mean only people who sat next to an infected passenger would be quarantined, meaning a maximum of 2 people for each patient.

Other proposed changes include ditching mandatory hospitalisation for infected arrivals who are asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. Instead, they would be given a choice of alternative quarantine or a “hospitel”, with the period of stay reduced from 14 days to 10. As of November 9, just 28 of the 28,021 travellers who entered the country following the November 1 re-opening have tested positive for Covid-19.

Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi from the Thai Hotels Association says that if the number of foreign arrivals continues to rise, problems such as congestion at the airport and insufficient airport transfer vehicles could arise. Currently, only transportation services with the SHA Plus accreditation can transfer arriving passengers to their accommodation.

She adds that while SHA Plus hotels in Bangkok are benefiting from the mandatory 1-night stay to await Covid test results, hotels in Pattaya and Hua Hin continue to struggle, with fewer guests than expected. Ditching the PCR test in favour of antigen testing would mean tourists would be free to immediately travel to the destination of their choice. The current rules require them to stay at a hotel that is within a 2-hour drive of their arrival airport until they receive a negative result from their PCR test.

Cource - The Thaiger

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PayPal is cancelling personal accounts in Thailand from next year

PayPal will no longer be available to the vast majority of people in Thailand from February 2022.

PayPal recently announced that anyone in Thailand who set up a personal account before March 2021, will no longer be able to receive payments or even have a balance on their account from February 2022.

“PayPal is preparing to relaunch services in Thailand. If your account was opened prior to March 7, 2021, you will need to take some action to continue using your account in Thailand, the company says on its website.

The move essentially means that as of February next year, PayPal will no longer be available to customers with personal accounts in Thailand.

For people who rely on PayPal to receive payments from overseas, they will no longer be able to do so without a registered business account.

Online teachers, freelance workers, digital nomads or even people in Thailand who use PayPal to receive money from friends and family overseas will have to find an alternative.
In order to get a registered business account, people will need to be registered via the Thai government’s Know Your Business (KYB) scheme.

Registration for a business account requires applicants to submit their 13 digit registration number, as well as the identification documents of all company shareholders with more than 25% stake in the company. In addition, anyone who is authorised to use said business account is also required to submit their identification documents.

Furthermore, business accounts will then be charged 7% VAT on all transactions, while domestic transactions can only be made in Thai baht and must be linked to a Thai bank account.

Business customers will also no longer be able to transfer money bank accounts in the United States.

The move has come about after the Thai government overhauled regulation of the country’s fintech sector.

This means that PayPal has been forced to adhere to a new regulatory framework in order to be able to operate in Thailand.

However, speculation online says the move is to do with Thailand cracking down on money laundering.

Last year PayPal announced it was no longer accepting new registrations for accounts from people in Thailand.

Source - ASIAN NOW

 

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Desperate Thailand launches DISCOUNT TOURISM

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently launched the “Thailand Tourism Awards Winners Celebration 2021” campaign to promote domestic tourism while offering up to 70 per cent discount for rooms and services from tourism partners.
“The campaign has been organized consecutively for 13 years,” said the authority. “It aims to honor and celebrate tourism entrepreneurs that provide quality products and outstanding services based on international tourism standards, along with being socially responsible and environment friendly.”

Under the campaign, travelers will enjoy several benefits and discounts from participating businesses nationwide.

For every Bt4,000 spent at partner hotels or spas, customers will receive Bt100 e-coupon from Starbucks.

Holders of KTC credit card will also receive 12 per cent cash back when using KTC Forever points equal to the total spent per sales slip (no minimum and maximum limits).

ASAP is also offering a 70 per cent discount for car rental service, while Klook and Traveloka are offering on-top discount up to Bt200 when booking rooms worth over Bt1,000 via the applications.

For those booking hotels that won the awards in Ayutthaya, Rayong, Chonburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Nakhon Ratchasima, they will be entitled to Bt500 fuel coupon from PTT.

Discounted package tours are also available from Royal Orchid Holidays, Udachi Tour and Quality Express, which include both air tickets and hotel rooms.

The campaign will run from November 8 until 19 (limited supplies). More details are available at https://www.tta2021.com/promotions/

Source - BangkokJack

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Tourists entering Thailand CONFUSED by travel rules

Just over a week after Thailand began a phased reopening to tourists, some international visitors are struggling to conquer the travel admin involved.
The country announced on 22 October that it would open to tourists from 46 countries on 1 November, starting initially with fully vaccinated travellers who apply for entry through the Thailand Pass.

In what sounded like a relatively simple system, arrivals must show a negative PCR test result before and after flying to the country, take one further test on arrival, self-isolate for one night in a hotel while the results are turned around, and – assuming the result is negative – may then freely continue their travels.

But online forums, Facebook groups and frustrated tweets tell a different story.

First, travellers to Thailand must store their proof of vaccination, passport info, health insurance document, hotel and flight bookings in the Thailand Pass, a one-stop digital system that the country brought in to replace its lengthy Certificate of Entry (CoE) process.

Once the criteria are met, the Pass generates a QR code that is scanned upon entry to the country.

However, in its first week, the Pass was so fraught with glitches and unresolved user questions that it made headlines across the country.

“Thai officials are working to fix and improve the Thailand Pass entry system for incoming passengers by air following a growing number of complaints during the week as users encountered bugs and difficulties in using the system and getting the appropriate approval in time to meet flights and bookings,” reported the Thai Examiner on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported on “complaints by some tourists that they had either experienced delays in receiving QR codes or in some cases had not received them at all, following the approval of their travel applications.”

Travellers on Facebook group Thailand Reopening reported issues ranging from never receiving a QR code despite multiple applications; the system requiring upload of a one-page insurance document when most policies are several pages long; and being rejected for including a middle name not displayed on their NHS Covid Pass.

Users of the system also reported challenges chasing up their applications once submitted, with no clear communications centre behind the digital system.

“Just sent our 10th request for the Thailand Pass, departure in 10 days (SF-Bangkok) – more than €1,200 already committed in this trip, starting to become crazy!,” tweeted Paris-based Lucie Hardy, tagging Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“My Dad finally received his QR code from Thailand Pass about 24 hours before his flight. We got there in the end but was a stressful experience,” tweeted James Goyder.

For UK-based travel writer Lucie Grace, however, who applied last Wednesday, the Thai Pass worked like a charm.

“Lots of people are getting in a flap about the Thailand pass, but mine did what it said on the tin,” she told The Independent ahead of a trip to Chiang Mai this week.

“I applied on 3 November, received it on 7 November and I’ll fly on 10 November. No complaints from me.”

She did identify one technical faff which could cause problems for less digitally confident travellers.

“It only accepts jpeg files of all your documents, which were emailed as pdfs, so I had to run everything through a converter. That could be challenging for some people.”

Meanwhile, some tourists have fallen foul of Thailand’s testing-on-arrival policy, with families forced into hotel quarantine when they tested positive.

Thailand-based journalist Richard Barrow published a newsletter earlier today about the consequences of testing positive while in the country, citing the case of a father separated from his family when he tested positive on arrival.

The man estimates that he will have to pay 350,000 Thai Baht (£7,882) towards hospital and quarantine fees if his insurance provider won’t cover it – and his wife and children may have to fly home without him as he will still be in isolation.

“I knew that I was taking a gamble when I chose to buy plane tickets as soon as the Thailand reopening was announced,” the father told Barrow.

“We lost that bet.”
Another man, James, interviewed by Barrow tested negative, but the friend he shared a car from the airport with tested positive, so he has found himself stuck in hotel quarantine regardless.

With this in mind, as her trip approaches, Lucie Grace remains anxious about the possibility of testing positive.

“My biggest concern is that I test positive on arrival. I’m doing the ‘test and go’ scheme – one night in a quarantine hotel and a PCR test. If I test positive but am asymptomatic, it’s a grey area as to whether the mandatory health insurance covers the expensive 14-day hospital stay,” she says.

“Some horror stories are coming out of £7k hospital bills, insurance companies saying ‘You’re not sick so it’s not covered’. That is my nightmare.”

Source - BangkokJack

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Tourist faces huge bill, separation from family after testing positive on arrival in Thailand

A tourist has revealed his anguish at the possibility of being hit with a large bill after falling foul of Thailand’s test on arrival policy.

The tourist, named only as Kirovs, told blogger Richard Barrow how he had arrived in Thailand on Nov 7.

Kirovs tested positive on arrival in Thailand and was sent to hospital, where he will have to stay for at least 10 days, despite not having any symptoms.

His family - wife and two children - were sent to hotel quarantine and are due to take another test on day 3 or 4. If they test negative they may be able to continue on their holiday without him.

Kirovs estimates he may have to pay 350,000 Baht towards hospital and quarantine fees if his insurance provider won’t cover it.

“I knew that I was taking a gamble when I chose to buy plane tickets as soon as the Thailand reopening was announced,” Kirovs told Richard.

“We lost that bet.”

Richard Barrow also highlighted the plight of a man named James who found himself in an equally unfortunate situation after arriving in Thailand.

Despite himself testing negative, James shared a car from the airport with someone who tested positive, which for James meant he also had to go to hotel quarantine.

James said he was travelling to Thailand to be reunited with his wife. He was travelling with his friend who was visiting his girlfriend. It was his friend who tested positive.

“Upon arriving at the hotel, we both were tested at 2:30 p.m. and sent to our separate rooms. At midnight we both received a message, James said.

“His said that he had tested positive and will be transferred to hospital, and mine said that mine is negative, but I’d need to stay in quarantine for 14 days”.

James said both he and his friend were not showing any symptoms.

While the chances of testing positive on arrival in Thailand are small, it is perhaps a risk simply not worth taking for some tourists.

To date, approximately 25,000 tourists have entered Thailand since the country reopened to tourists on Nov 1.

Only 26 tourists have tested positive.

However, the issue is compounded by the fact that there is next to no official information about the risks of travelling to Thailand and testing positive on arrival.

Despite the myriad of infographics, Facebook posts and tweets from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other related agencies on the requirements for foreigners to enter Thailand, there is very little about what a positive test on arrival could mean for foreigners, especially those travelling in groups, as a family or with young children.

Information regarding the impact of a positive test on arrival could (and should) be clearly publicised on the Thailand Pass website, which foreigners are required to upload documents to prior to travelling to Thailand.

Foreigners should also be urged to check with their insurance companies if their policy covers them for quarantine and other expenses in the event of a positive test.

Source - ASIAN NOW

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Thai Government officials meet to discuss long-term visa options for foreigners

 A government spokesman says the Thai PM has met with several members of his cabinet to discuss long-term residency options for foreigners. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana says PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is currently in talks with a number of ministries and relevant agencies as to how to attract more foreign investment to the kingdom.

The Bangkok Post reports that the PM met yesterday with Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Customs Department director-general Patchara Anuntasilpa, and members of related agencies. Thanakorn says the officials discussed various long-stay visa options aimed at highly-skilled professionals and wealthy investors. The Cabinet recently approved in principle 2 draft regulations related to the visas.

At yesterday’s meeting, officials also reviewed visitor numbers since Thailand re-opened with minimal quarantine for vaccinated tourists from approved quarantines. Since the November 1 re-opening, over 20,000 foreign visitors have arrived. According to the Bangkok Post report, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has previously forecast an average of 300,000 arrivals every month between now and the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, Dr. Apisamai Srirangson from the CCSA says out of the 22,832 who’ve received in Thailand since the beginning of the month, just 20 have tested positive for Covid-19. So far, most arrivals are from Germany, the US, the UK, Japan, and South Korea.

“The policy to allow fully vaccinated tourists to get into the country without quarantine will benefit the economy and enhance public health security.”

Thanusak Phungdet from the Phuket Chamber of Commerce says there’s been a steady increase in foreign tourist numbers since the start of the month and this is expected to increase by 30% during the forthcoming peak season.

The Russians too, are making a return, with the first Aeroflot flight from Moscow touching down in Phuket on Saturday. As Russia has not made Thailand’s list of 63 approved countries, arrivals will be participating in the island’s sandbox scheme.

Source - The Thaiger

 

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Leisure travellers unlikely to visit Thailand until next year

Thailand will not see leisure travelers visiting in any significant numbers until next year, a leading figure in the tourism industry has predicted.

Despite Thailand having now reopened to vaccinated foreign tourists, it may be some time before the country sees an influx of leisure travellers or vacationers.

According to Suthiphong Pheunphiphop, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), Thailand’s leisure tourism sector will pick up only when it becomes easier for people to travel globally and quarantine and other measures which tourists consider a hassle were no longer required.

Meanwhile, Sasithorn Kittidhrakul, president of the Krabi Tourism Association said tourists are unlikely to commit to holidays while mandatory quarantine is still in place upon return to their home country, which is currently still a requirement for Chinese nationals returning home.

The news comes as Thailand on Monday revealed that over 20,000 tourists had entered since it reopened on Nov 1.

By comparison, over 100,000 tourists per day visited Thailand pre-pandemic.

And while the arrival of tourists since Nov 1 had seen a slight rise in hotel occupancy rates in some areas, the average occupancy rate at hotels throughout Thailand remains at 23.5%, up from 15.5% in September, according to a survey conducted jointly by Thai Hotels Association (THA), said that the Thai Hotels Association and the Bank of Thailand.

The survey also found that approximately 33% of hotels throughout the country remain closed, with owners reporting that the low demand is not enough to cover operating costs on utilities and staff salaries.

Source - ASIAN NOW

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