From next month, Thailand plans to ease quarantine rules for foreign visitors as part of a series of steps being considered to revive the country’s tourism sector, according to the Bangkok Post.
The Covid-19 Situation Management Center is due to consider a proposal on Monday that will allow foreign visitors to leave their hotel rooms after three days of mandatory two-week quarantine, the newspaper said. The so-called quarantine of hotel areas will still require restrictions from tourists, he said.
The quarantine easing, discussed at a meeting chaired by Tourism and Sports Minister Piphat Ratchakit Prakarna on Saturday, will initially be considered for the top five tourist destinations, such as Phuket and Krabi. The Covid Commission will also discuss a proposal to lift the quarantine requirement for vaccinated visitors.
Thailand is betting on a revival of tourism, which accounted for about a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product before the pandemic, to return Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy to growth. The local tourism industry has called for the abolition of mandatory quarantines as early as July 1 so that it can be opened to potentially millions of vaccination visitors.