Last week, the Tourism and Sports Ministry announced "Area Quarantine," a more relaxed mandatory quarantine scheme that will go into effect on April 1.
Vaccinated tourists are only required to quarantine for seven days instead of two weeks within hotel areas under the plan. They can travel to any province after one week.
Those who have not been inoculated must spend ten days in quarantine, but they are allowed to roam around the property in restricted areas.
The pilot project involves specific areas of the country, such as islands. Most of the destinations are in the South, which relies heavily on international markets.
The move is seen as a lead-up to the opening of Thailand's boundaries to the rest of the world in October, with quarantine-free entry.
Is this endeavour, though, worth the effort? Or will it be another flop, like the special tourist visa (STV) scheme, that required tourists to go through long and complicated procedures? Will it be well-received by the local community? Last year, the "Phuket Model" was undone because locals were not convinced it was safe.
The most important question is whether this scheme can sustain tourism growth in a country that lags behind other countries in providing mass vaccination.
HERD IMMUNITY GOAL
Thailand needs to take the right steps to open up to tourism, according to Dillip Rajakarier, group chief executive of Minor International, starting with inoculating the population until herd immunity is achieved.
"If we look at other countries where mass vaccination has progressed well, such as the United Kingdom, where 30 percent of the population has been vaccinated," he said, "they made it a priority to ensure their people are safe before easing travel restrictions."
The first step, Mr. Rajakarier said, is the most critical, so the government should speed up Thailand's vaccination program, as this is the best way to reopen the country. He said that mass inoculation is needed before enabling vaccinated tourists to enter the country without being subjected to quarantine.
However, Mr. Rajakarier reached out that the government's order for vaccine doses is insufficient for a population of nearly 70 % of the population.
Private hospitals and companies are pleading with the government to allow them to import vaccines with their own and distribute them to staff or residents who can afford to purchase them, but some obstacles remain in the way of local communities gaining herd immunity quickly.
He reported that Minor Group is ready to set up a vaccine budget for its employees, but that it will be unable to obtain vaccines as hospitals seem unable to obtain regulatory approval. According to Mr. Rajakarier, the average prices from vaccine manufacturers in Thailand's private sector are higher than in other countries.
To speed up the process, he suggested that Thailand's Food and Drug Administration approve more vaccines that have already been approved by national public health agencies in other developed countries, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mr. Rajakarier said, "Thailand should urgently consider more vaccine options from other manufacturers around the world."
He said that once herd immunity is achieved and the quarantine-free option is available, the government should prepare an efficient Covid-19 passport, guaranteeing that the country adopts the digital technology required to facilitate seamless entry.
QUARANTINE CONUNDRUM
"Vaccines help build local confidence," said Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, president of Bangkok Airways. "However, the country can begin reopening the scheme gradually with low-risk countries or those that have effectively implemented a mass vaccination program."
Mr. Puttipong says the government must realize that offering quarantine-free travel is essential to the tourism industry's rebound. There will be fewer opportunities to attract foreign visitors as long as a mandatory quarantine is in place, he said.
Even as airlines want international passengers to boost their bottom lines, they want the government to reach a balance between public confidence in the country's health and safety measures and the need to generate revenue, according to Mr. Puttipong.
He suggested that the government consider using a technology-based system to identify vaccinated visitors, such as the IATA travel pass.
The IATA pass is an application that can make foreign travel easier, and airlines want the Thai government to lead by example and ensure that everyone follows the same regulations.
Mr. Chotechuang stated that Thailand starts a test run for a quarantine-free scheme by first selecting tourist origin countries with high demand for travel and good diplomatic relations with Thailand. He explained that this will mean signing a travel bubble agreement with both China and Japan, both of which have had strong tourist exchanges with Thailand in recent years.
"A partnership with China is feasible because Thailand is always the preferred destination for Chinese visitors, and there is a lot of pent-up demand a deal with Japan also is possible because Thailand is a big market for them, but the quarantine requirement has proven to be unpopular. With the government's efforts to introduce more relaxed options such as a villa quarantine, the number of guests that entered the country via that route proved to be a drop in the ocean "Mr. Chotechuang said.
Only 10,822 international tourists arrived in Thailand between October and December, since Thailand reopened its borders to specific groups of restrictions and issued STVs with a mandatory quarantine last year.
LOST OPPORTUNITIES
According to the Federation of Thai Industries, the seven-day quarantine for vaccinated foreigners may not be the best option if Thailand wants to benefit from mass injections around the world to boost its economy (FTI).
"Vaccinated people are allowed to travel more freely in many countries. The FTI believes that if a seven-day quarantine is required, vaccinated travelers will not visit Thailand "Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the FTI, said, "We'd be squandering an opportunity to restart our economy."
Mr. Supant said, the government must balance the need to prevent further outbreaks of Covid-19 with efforts to recover the economy in a way that "corresponds with the direction" around the world.
Mr. Supant said that Thailand should reduce the quarantine period for vaccinated travelers to three days or eliminate it. He thinks the government should worry about how businesses can survive in the case of a pandemic.
"Foreign businessmen and high-end visitors want to come to Thailand if they are allowed free movement with a vaccination certificate." "A lot of business people come for a short visit."
If the government is worried about the transmission of Covid-19, this could require foreigners to use a mobile app that allows authorities to be alerted of their whereabouts, he said.
Last year, many foreign companies demanded that the government reduce the quarantine period to 1-3 days, according to Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chairwoman and group chief executive of WHA Corporation.
Because investors are not tourists, they cannot be kept in state quarantine for a long period, as this could damage their company, she said.
TOURISM DEPENDENCY
"Thailand's economic recovery will be largely determined by the tourism industry's outlook and when the country reopens to international visitors. The Covid-19 vaccines and each country's reopening policy will have a significant impact on Thailand's tourism industry's recovery in 2021 "Kasikorn Research Center assistant managing director Kevalin Wangpichayasuk said.
According to Ms. Kevalin, the development of vaccination programs in tourist origin countries and Thailand are key factors determining the tourism recovery outlook.
"Other critical factors include whether Thailand's quarantine period is reduced, clarity on vaccine passport policy and whether countries will allow their people to enter Thailand," she said.
The forecast of 2 million foreign tourist arrivals by the think tank is based on the progress of vaccination programs in ten countries that make up the plurality of tourists to Thailand, such as China, European countries, Japan, and the United States. It is also based on the Thai government's announcement of an inoculation schedule.
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