Thailand wants to attract many tourists with quarantine-free visas | Financial

The government estimates that between 200,000 and 300,000 travelers will use the so-called Test & Go program in February alone, and this number is expected to increase in the coming months. Thailand has already welcomed tourists again, although the opening was then still aimed at visitors from a much smaller number of countries. About 350,000 visitors took advantage of the first phase of the Test & Go program before it was suspended at the end of December to curb the spread of the omikron variant.

The wider reopening is in line with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s aim to work towards a ‘life with Covid’. The latter is important for Thailand to be able to put the corona crisis behind it and get the economy back on top. Before the virus outbreak, tourism accounted for about a fifth of gross domestic product (GDP). The government already expects a total of about 5 million foreign visitors this year, mainly from Europe and the United States. The number could turn out to be higher if Chinese and Indian tourists also flock to the Thai beaches again.

The travel advice from the Dutch government for Thailand is still orange, which means that unnecessary travel is not recommended. That is still the case for many distant countries. Still, bookings to distant destinations are starting to increase, travel organizers such as Voja Travel, airline ticket seller Vliegtickets.nl and travel industry organization ANVR noticed earlier this week. Traditional holiday destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are lagging behind due to travel restrictions, travel specialist Koning Aap said.

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