Tourism Council of #Thailand calls for PCR testing on arrival to be dropped asap

Tourism businesses in Thailand are struggling to survive and barriers to increasing the number of foreign visitors to the kingdom must be removed immediately. That’s the view of Chamnan Srisawat from the Tourism Council of Thailand, who says the Omicron variant, coupled with Russia’s war on Ukraine, has dealt a double blow to the sector.

“Tourism operators are still struggling to maintain business as the number of tourists has yet to fully rebound due to the current travel rules. This obstacle needs to be removed before more operators collapse.”

The Bangkok Post reports on the findings of a recent TCT poll that surveyed 200 overseas travellers in the period from February 20 to March 10. Of those questioned, 71% agreed the process around the PCR test on arrival is cumbersome.

Chamnan says if Thailand’s tourism industry is to survive, it needs to retain 40% of its 2019 level of business this year. That’s 1.2 trillion baht in revenue, from 16 million tourists and 75 million domestic trips. He adds that in order to achieve this, the onerous Thailand Pass registration process and PCR testing on arrival needs to go as soon as possible.

According to the Bangkok Post report, TCT’s tourism confidence index during the first quarter of 2022 stood at 44, which was a big improvement from 36 during the same period in 2021. However, it’s still down from 47 during the last quarter of 2021. Any reading below 100 indicates weak tourism confidence among those in the sector.

740 tourism operators participated in the survey and its findings show that confidence is lowest among nightlife operators, who have been the most severely affected by Covid restrictions. The confidence level among those businesses is at 20, down from 41 during the same period in 2021.

According to Chamnan, 78% of tourism operators are struggling to increase their revenue, with 45% reporting a decrease and 33% only just managing to maintain the same level of income as during the last quarter of 2021. Entertainment venues were the worst affected, with around 44% planning to lay off workers in the second quarter of this year. They were followed by spa businesses, massage parlours, and tour operators.

Source - Bangkok Post / The Thaiger

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS - TEST & GO

Travel in 2022 – how Russia is reshaping the world’s travel industry

Russians were the most visible travellers heading to Thailand post February 1, 2022, when the Thailand Pass Test & Go option was rebooted. Even with its 2 days of pre-booked SHA+ quarantine and PCR tests, along with US$50,000 Covid insurance (which has since been reduced to $20,000), the Russian travelers were delighted to jump on a plane and take the long trip to the much warmer Land of Smiles.

That situation has now radically changed and the world is reverberating to the full impact of Russia’s aggression and the invasion of Ukraine.

Now there’s a mere trickle of daily flights between Russia and either Suvarnabhumi or Phuket in Thailand. Whilst much of the rest of the world have said ’nyet’ to the arrival of any planes from Russia, Thailand is still allowing them to arrive. But even if the planes are still coming (albeit in vastly reduced numbers), the pressure of world sanctions, bans and the plunge of the Russian Ruble has already made the decision for any potential Russian travelers.

Now, the latest data from ForwardKeys, shows that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, now into its 9th day, has prompted an instant spike in flight cancellations to and from Russia, worldwide. On the day after the first tanks rolled into Ukraine, every booking that was made for travel to Russia was outweighed by six cancellations of existing bookings.

Russians escaping their bleak winter and heading to sunnier destinations were suddenly cancelling their trips. The cancellation rates between February 24 – 26 were Cyprus (300%), Egypt (234%), Turkey (153%), the UK (153%), Armenia (200%), and Maldives (165%).

Bookings for March, April and May were already reaching 32% of the pre-Covid levels of travel for outbound Russians. They were heading to Mexico, Seychelles, Eygpt and Maldives. And Thailand.

The outlook for Q3 this year was looking even stronger.

All that Russian travel enthusiasm has now collapsed and, given the harsh economic weapons thrown at Vladimir Putin, his banks, his ‘friends’ and his citizens, any recovery will be a long, long way down the track. Even if there was a swift and unexpected reversal of the Ukraine situation, Russia has already been dealt a fatal economic blow – in just one week the country been turned into a pariah state and much of the rest of the world seems happy to punish the entire country for Putin’s violence.

For countries like the Seychelles, Maldives and Cyprus, Russian arrivals represented a high percentage of their international arrivals. In Thailand that was about 8% of the total tourist mix. And, whilst the Chinese are still in China for at least the rest of this year, the loss of the Russian travel market probably represented an even higher percentage of tourists that won’t be coming to Thailand in 2022.

Sourse - The Thaiger

According to ForwardKeys, before Russia invaded Ukraine, the top twenty destinations most booked by Russian travelers in March, April and May were…. Number one, Turkey, then the UAE, the Maldives, Thailand, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, Armenia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Hungary, Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, Azerbaijan, USA, UK, Qatar, Italy and Uzbekistan.

The world travel industry will be further hit by rising airfares (due to the sharp surge in oil prices), cancellations of routes (across Eastern Europe), a higher resistance to international travel (for perceived safety reasons) and a lingering instability in world politics.

While the Thailand Pass is still seen by many potential travelers as a significant barrier to their choice of Thailand as their next travel destination, and the Russian and Chinese traveler-tap turned off, Thailand’s immediate travel future looks bleak. And this follows nearly 2 years of border closures, false restarts, over-hyped TAT arrival projections and the former Thai tourism workforce heading home to find other work.

The loss of the Russian travelers underscores a critical need for the Thai government to quickly modify the Thailand Pass, or scrap it completely. With so many other factors now making international travel difficult, Thailand will have to rethink their short to medium term tourism strategies to retain its share of the international travel market.

Of course there is no comparison of the humanitarian tragedy underway inside the borders of Ukraine at this time, but Russia’s aggression will likely have much more long-term, and far-reaching, effects than the clear and present danger it poses on the Ukranian nation right now.

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS - TEST & GO

Emirates A380 to return to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to meet increased demand

The A380 is to return to the skies over Bangkok as Emirates upgrades capacity on flights to the capital to meet increased demand. TTR Weekly reports that Thailand’s recent re-opening to vaccinated tourists from approved countries has led to strong demand, with around 10,000 arrivals registered at Suvarnabhumi every day.

In order to add capacity and frequency to its services, Emirates is bringing back the Airbus A380, which will operate daily from November 28. Flight EK372 will depart Dubai at 09.30, touching down in Bangkok at 18.40. The return flight, EK373, will depart Bangkok at 20.35, arriving in Dubai at 00.50 the following morning.

The A380 service is in addition to Emirates’ other daily service to Bangkok on a Boeing 777 aircraft, as well as 5 weekly flights to the capital via Phuket. It’s understood the carrier will increase the frequency of these flights from December. The increase in frequency and capacity is to meet demand from travellers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The increase in services means Emirates will be offering over 8,600 additional seats a week, which could increase further, subject to demand.

On November 1, Thailand re-opened with minimal quarantine for vaccinated travellers from 63 approved countries. Passengers still need to take a PCR test within 72 hours of travel, and again on arrival, but only have to stay at a SHA-accredited hotel until they receive a negative test result.

As global travel tentatively resumes, Emirates is re-introducing its flagship A380 aircraft on an increasing number of routes. According to TTR Weekly, the aircraft currently serves 25 cities in 6 continents. That number is expected to increase to 28 cities by the end of the year, as travel demand continues to rise.

Sourse - The Thaiger

Entry requirements for international arrivals starting November 1

The Thailand Pass is set to launch in 5 days, aiming to ease the process to get approval to enter Thailand. The entry requirements for international travellers still require some hoops, but the government hopes this streamlining will help welcome back much-needed tourism to the country.

The website for the Thailand Pass has been created at tp.consular.go.th but it is not active yet, displaying a message that registration begins at 9 am on November 1. All currently issued certificates of entry will be honoured and travellers can request refunds from their hotels for the cost of lifted requirements.

Thailand Pass will open for registration on 1 November 2021 at 09.00 hrs. We recommend you to register for Thailand’s new electronic entry document (Thailand Pass QR code) at least 7 days prior to your travel date. For travellers who have been granted COE (Certificate of Entry) and will arrive in Thailand from 1 November 2021 onwards, the COE remains valid for entering Thailand. Travellers can update the approved COE with the revised terms and condition of stay complying with new entry regulations by downloading the new COE at the registration website (coethailand.mfa.go.th) or the link from your COE approval notification email.

The Department of Consular Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have prepared an infographic outlining the 5 steps of the entry requirements for Thailand starting November 1.

1/ PREPARE: Required documents
1/ Passport
2/ Thai visa (if required)
3/ Vaccine certificate (for Test & Go or Sandbox Blue Zones scheme – unvaccinated travelers can quarantine 7 or 10 days for air travelers and 14 days for overland travelers.)
4/ Insurance with a minimum of US $50,000 coverage
5/ Paid SHA+ or AQ hotel reservation (including fee for RT-PCR test)

2/ REGISTER: Register at tp.consular.go.th at least 7 days before travel
1/ Fill in details and immigration forms
2/ Upload to the site
3/ Wait for pre-approval of your vaccine certificate
4/ Receive a Thailand Pass QR code

3/ TEST: Within 72 hours before departure, obtain a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test

 
4/ ARRIVE: Travel to Thailand
1/ Officers will check your Thailand Pass QR code and negative RT-PCR test
2/ Pass through immigration and disease control checkpoints
3/ Take another RT-PCR Covid-19 test
1/ At the airport OR
2/ At your approved hotel OR
3/ At designated accommodations in the Test & Go or Sandbox Blue Zones schemes

5/ STAY: According to which entry program you do (see below)
1/ Test & Go – 1 night in AQ or SHA+ hotel while waiting for test results
2/ Blue Zone Sandbox – SHA+ hotel for 7 nights
3/ Happy Quarantine – AQ hotel for 10 nights (14 if you enter by land)

Source - The Thaiger

 VISA AGENT  /  THAI PASS

Thai Government outlines 7 conditions of quarantine-free re-opening

As the grand re-opening date of November 1 approaches, with little clarity as to what that will look like, here’s some of what we know – and what we don’t. According to a Thai PBS World report, the government has outlined 7 conditions that will determine if someone can enter the kingdom quarantine-free. The following conditions have been communicated by the Bureau of Risk Communication and Health Behaviour Promotion, part of the Disease Control Department.

1. Foreign visitors must arrive by air and come from a list of “low-risk” countries approved by the Public Health Ministry

2. Have proof of vaccination with 2 doses of a recognised Covid-19 vaccine

3. Have a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of departure from your home country

4. Have at least US$50,000 in Covid-19 insurance coverage

5. Have proof of a hotel booking

6. Travellers must download the Mor Chana app and take a second PCR test on arrival or within 24 hours of arrival

7. If the second test is negative, visitors can continue their journey without any further quarantine

However, with just over 10 days to go, a number of things remain unknown. Chief among them is the list of “low-risk” countries, as well as the rules for vaccinated adults travelling with unvaccinated children. Clarity is also needed on whether travellers need proof of a hotel booking beyond their first night in the kingdom and if this applies to expats with homes here. Furthermore, Thai embassies continue to advise people to book quarantine hotels, insisting they’ve received no communication about the re-opening process.

Thai PBS World reports that the government is moving to a 3-model approach for admitting foreign arrivals. The first – and original – model is that unvaccinated visitors will be subject to mandatory hotel quarantine for between 7 and 14 days. The second model is the sandbox model currently in operation in Phuket, Samui and other tourist destinations, which is being extended to several other provinces. The third model will be the quarantine-free model discussed above.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World

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