Tourists returning in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest PM suggests

PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is downplaying the notion that international tourists will be allowed to return to Thailand in July, in an apparent effort to quell rumors and undue optimism. The government had set a tentative deadline of July 1 to lift all restrictions that were put in place under the Emergency Decree to combat Covid-19 spread. Last week it was reported that lifting the restrictions would mean the resumption of international arrivals from July 1.

But the Thai PM said yesterday Thailand also has a long way to go in battling the virus until foreign visitors can be permitted to travel. He added that the Cabinet hasn't even addressed the problem yet, and that only visitors from those countries will be permitted to visit Thailand, including those where the epidemic is considered under control.

When visitors are finally permitted back in, he said, "a range of limitations" that he did not mention would be met. This will include so-called "travel bubbles," using bilateral agreements with individual governments to help limit any additional infection outbreak or second wave.
The principle is close to those implemented internationally as countries seek to kick-start their tourism industries safely.

In May, a "travel corridor" allowed people to travel between Seoul and 10 regions in China, including Shanghai, and on May 15 they established their own travel bubble in Europe, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Australia and New Zealand, potentially as early as September, have discussed plans to resume travel between the 2 countries.

The news comes as the governor of Thailand's Tourism Authority said last week that he is not expecting international tourists to return to Thailand until later in the year.

"It's still dependent on the outbreak situation, but I think we may see tourists returning in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest."

If and when international visitors are permitted to travel to Thailand, regulations would possibly remain in effect to decide when they will stay. The resumption of some sort of tourism would also depend heavily on airlines, most of whom are coping with tremendous financial losses and coping in a modern international travel environment of restarting flights.

The PM has said he is in no hurry to open the borders, reminding reporters that all the new infections are now coming from Thais being repatriated.

"We don't open everything at once. We are still on high alert, we just can not let down our guards. We need to look at the country of origin to see if it has really improved their situation. And finally, we have to see if our own business operators are prepared to welcome tourists under the 'new normal'."

A ban remains in place on all international travel within and outside Thailand until at least the end of June. At this point, the CAAT did not comment on the dates for a potential resumption of flights from the international airports of Thailand. Phuket Airport is closed to traffic at all times.

Source Thaiger