The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Yuthasak Supasorn, said that the government of the kingdom is discussing with the Thai Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) insurance options for vaccinated foreign tourists, which would cover quarantine costs in case of detecting mild or asymptomatic cases of coronavirus on vacation. This was reported on January 24 by The Bangkok Post.
According to the official, the cost of such a policy will be from 800 baht (approximately UAH 700 – Ed.). At the prices of a 10-day forced observation in hotels – from 30 thousand baht (26 thousand UAH).
The head of TAT recalled that at the last meeting of the Thai CCSA – the COVID-19 Situation Management Center – it was indicated that tourists must pay for quarantine at their own expense if their insurance does not cover such expenses. “This means that if the traveler refuses to pay the bill, the traveler will be brought to court. As well as the hotel management, who admitted that their guest with a positive PCR test escaped observation, ”explained Yutasak Supasorn.
Cases of “escape” from hotels of tourists who have been diagnosed with covid are becoming more frequent, said Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotel Association (THA). Some travelers are simply not able to pay the amounts for unforeseen expenses, sometimes unreasonable. For example, one of the hotels in Pattaya, the standard cost of living in which is about 2 thousand baht (1.7 thousand hryvnias) per day, asks three times more for the observation – 6.5 thousand baht (5.6 thousand hryvnias). At the same time, the hotel does not incur any additional costs, because the service of the “quarantine” guest differs only in that he needs to deliver food to the room, and this is done for an additional fee.
It is possible that in the near future, Thai insurers will develop special policies for tourists who have landed on a forced observation. However, quarantine insurance for those who have been in contact with the sick person has not even been discussed yet. Meanwhile, its duration, as a rule, is longer than for the most infected – 2 weeks. Recall that the medical policies of those traveling abroad cover only the costs of covid treatment in the hospital, but not for isolation in mild and asymptomatic cases, as well as after contact with an infected coronavirus.