Thailand May Fully Reopen Soon: No Quarantine for Vaccinated Travellers

Thailand is soon considering allowing vaccinated travellers to skip the mandatory quarantine. Under the proposed plan, aptly named “Welcome Back to Thailand Again,” the kingdom hopes to see travellers return by the third quarter of this year.

Travellers need to show the proof of COVID-19 vaccinations (both doses) and the usual visa requirements. If the plan pushes through, Thailand could be the first Asian country to fully reopen its tourism.

Vaccinations are rolling out in several countries and global estimates suggest that one billion people will be inoculated globally by June.

Thai authorities are reportedly interested in immunity passports or vaccine passports as part of the travel documents. Organizations like IATA have developed “travel pass” or digital health passes, which contain key testing and vaccine details. Airlines such as American and Singapore Airlines have trialled digital passes but as part of its contactless scheme.

Thailand verily relies on tourism but tourist arrivals fell by over 80% in 2020 due to the pandemic. Latest reports claimed that more than a million jobs have lost caused by the outbreak. The government agrees and supports that resuming travel will be the only way to prevent widespread job losses.