November 1 re-opening of Thailand – The Fine Print

And now for some of the fine print, answering questions you may have had about re-entry to Thailand from next Monday, November 1.

Who can travel to Thailand?
Travellers will be categorised into 3 groups…

• The first are fully vaccinated visitors from 46 countries (www.thaiembassy.com).

They must stay one night in either a SHA+ certified hotel or an ASQ hotel for a RT-PCR test and wait for the result.

Then they can travel anywhere in Thailand.

• The second group is fully vaccinated visitors from countries NOT on the list of 46.

They must stay in SHA+hotels for 7 nights in a “sandbox” area… which will include 17 provinces, including the original Sandbox, Phuket. As well as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri and Krabi.

• The third group is unvaccinated, or not fully vaccinated, travellers.

They are required to stay in ASQ hotels for 10 nights. When they pass the second Covid-19 test they are able to travel to other places in Thailand.

(A link to further details below)

Getting the Thailand Pass
All international travellers must apply for a Thailand Pass which will be formally introduced on November 1 at 9am (Thai time).

This replaces the Certificate of Entry.

Here’s the website for the Thailand Pass.


Here you can upload required documents including a vaccination certificate and medical insurance with minimum coverage of US$50,000.

It will take 1-7 days for approval of the traveller’s Thailand Pass. Once approved, a QR code is generated which the traveller can use as they enter Thailand.

Note that the approval process will be faster if the traveller’s vaccine certification is in a digital format.

So, if you want to enter Thailand in the first 7 days of November you’ll probably need an existing CoE.

Arrival in Thailand

International travellers can enter Thailand through 6 international airports… Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and U-Tapao airport in Rayong. Buri Ram airport will also be an option, but only for charter flights.

Travellers need to present a negative RT-PCR test result issued within 72 hours before travelling, and their Thailand Pass QR code as they pass through health screening and immigration.

They must download the Mor Chana application on their phones. The app will require them to evaluate their health condition daily while in Thailand.

From the airport to their approved ASQ or SHA+ hotel, they must travel in SHA+ vehicles, not in a normal taxi. Your hotels will organise this for you.

The approved hotel will provide the RT-PCR test, in conjunction with a local hospital.

There will be price ceilings set for RT-PCR to avoid any price gouging.

Fully vaccinated local or foreign residents can’t quarantine in their homes for the first night after they arrive in Thailand. They must stay in an approved SHA+ hotel until they receive a negative test result.

If the result is positive, they will be sent to a hospital or an ASQ hotel, at their expense (check the fine print on your Covid insurance).

Travelling with children
Children under 12 years of age, travelling with their parents, aren’t required to have a vaccine certificate.

For children older than 12, a vaccine certificate and medical insurance will be required.

Medical insurance
Only Thai nationals aren’t required to have medical insurance because any medical costs incurred by citizens will be covered under Thailand’ universal health care system.

The CCSA is working to extend that insurance exemption to foreign residents who already have medical and health insurance in Thailand. This may be announced before next Monday.

Foreign travellers need to ensure that their insurance policy does not only specify Covid-19 health coverage, but other general illnesses and hospital expenses.

Visitors from 46 countries
Fully vaccinated travellers from the 46 listed countries and territories are required to have stayed at least 21 days in one or more of THOSE countries before travelling to Thailand.

But fully vaccinated local and foreign residents can travel to to one of the 46 countries for a shorter period and then return. They are not required to stay a full 21 days in that country.

But that exemption doesn’t apply to local and foreign residents who visit countries that aren’t on the list of 46 eligible countries or territories.

Transit passengers
For transit passengers passing through countries that aren’t on the list 46 approved countries or territories, they can continue their trip to Thailand IF the transit period does’t exceed 12 hours and if they stay in the airport.

Source - The Thaiger

VISA AGENT  /  How to register for: THAI PASS

Vietnam to test reopening starting with Phu Quoc Island

Vietnam was one of the earliest countries to lockdown due to Covid-19, a strategy that had done it well until a massive outbreak in April, just like Thailand. And now, also like Thailand, they are looking to relaunch their tourism industry after close to two years of closures. Vietnam is now looking to reopen in late November, starting with the popular resort island of Phu Quoc.

The island aims to reopen to inoculated foreign tourists starting November 20 with charter flights bringing fully vaccinated international travelers to the tropical paradise. Phu Quoc is known for beautiful white sand beaches and clear blue waters on the coast with jungles and mountains inland.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese government was angling to turn the island in the Gulf of Thailand about 10 km off the coast of Cambodia into a beach-going tourist hot spot along the lines of Bali and Phuket. Phu Quoc had already been drawing massive crowds with figures from 2019 reporting US $18 billion generated by approximately 670,000 international travellers.

Like Thailand’s reopening, Vietnamese authorities hope to attract travellers from countries that are low risk for Covid-19 infections, citing parts of Europe, the Middle East, Northeast and Southeast Asia, North America, and Australia as their target market.

The reopening was originally planned for October, then postponed due to low local vaccination rates, with only about 20% of Vietnam’s 100 million people having received the full inoculation. But the Vietnam economy is suffering after closed borders and some of the strictest lockdowns in the world, with almost no commercial flights being allowed to land in Vietnam since the beginning months of last year.

So Vietnam is dipping its toe in the water with Phu Quoc, hoping to bring in a few vaccinated tourists next month and, if successful, slowly trickle in another 5,000 foreigners on charter flights between December and the end of March.

Vietnamese authorities hope that the experimental reopening of Phu Quoc Island will pave the way to reopening other popular tourist destinations like Ha Long Bay and Hoi An in the near future, but no timeline or details have been set yet.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World / The Thaiger

VISA AGENT

China - Hainan resorts to visa-free access for tourism payoffs

China's southern resort island of Hainan, which has benefited from its visa-free access by reaping local tourism boom and greater connectivity, is set to further open up, according to local authorities.

Hainan will introduce more open visa-free entry policies and further simplify entry procedures for cruise ships and yachts, according to a provincial government plan announced last month.

China aims to build Hainan into a high-quality pilot free trade zone by the end of 2020 and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics by 2035.

Since May 1, 2018, group and individual tourists from 59 countries, including Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, have been given visa-free access to Hainan on condition that they would book their tours through travel agencies.

"More than 80 percent of foreigners come to Hainan through visa-free policy, which has benefited more than 770,000 foreign tourists so far," said Liu Zhichun, an official from the Haikou General Station of Immigration Inspection in the provincial capital.

Tommy Hunter, an English teacher from the US, worked for more than 10 years in various parts of China and finally decided to settle down in Hainan.

"It is really easy to visit and travel to Hainan. Visa-free policy is very convenient, which can save a lot of time and costs for my family," said Hunter.

Apart from facilitating work, the visa-free policy has promoted Hainan as a popular tropical resort among overseas tourists.

The island attracted 1.42 million tourists from overseas in 2019, up 12.4 percent from a year earlier, while the tourism revenue totaled 105 billion yuan ($14.81 billion), according to the provincial department of culture and tourism.

The convenient access policy deepened the connectivity, economic, trade and cultural exchanges between Hainan and the countries enjoying visa-free policies, Liu said.

In July 2019, Hainan's visa-free policy was further optimized as foreigners are allowed to enter Hainan visa-free for a wider range of purposes, including business, visiting relatives, medical treatment, exhibition, and sports.

Thanks to the policy, the new BMW Hood to Coast relay was held in Hainan for the first time In December 2019. The event attracted more than 2,000 runners from 40 countries and regions.

"The event has benefited from the visa-free policies and the large number of overseas routes, which provided convenience for international runners," said Wang Liming, an official from Hainan's sports bureau.

The province aims to attract 2 million overseas tourists by the end of 2020, according to a three-year action plan released in 2018.

Sun Dahai, an official with the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the province would roll out more favorable visa-free policies and gradually expand to a wider range of purposes and countries.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Thailand - Chon Buri beach polluted by garbage from sea

                             Local vendors and tourism operators are angry as a popular beach in Chon Buri's Sattahip district has been covered in garbage from the sea for over a week, chasing tourists away.

On Tuesday, waves continued to wash huge amounts of garbage on to the Ban Amphoe Beach in Tambon Na Jomthian.

The garbage, including plastic bottles, foam pieces, bamboo and wood pieces, has polluted the beach for more than half a kilometer, causing a bad odour in the area.

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Food vendors on the beach said they collected some of the garbage in the morning and evening but more garbage has washed ashore each day for more than a week.

They called on the authorities to step in to help clean up the beach to get tourists back.

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Source - The Nation