The Ministry of Tourism of Thailand has vowed to start allowing the first set of international tourists to flood into Thailand with Bangkok City being the main destination and hopes that tourism operators will saddle up and prepare the appropriate marketing plans for this influx of tourists as soon as possible.
According to the Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, he states that “Tour operators can start promoting long-stay packages via the special tourist visa (STV) to potential customers now, while tourists can contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s overseas office for more information about travel plans using the services of tour operators or Thailand Longstay Company,”
What is important is that tourists must provide all the necessary documentation for their itinerary to their Thai consular officials, this includes payment for the ASQ or Alternative State Quarantine or ALSQ which is Alternative Local State Quarantine facilities, as well as post-quarantine accommodations, a COVID-free certificate, chartered or private flight bookings, and their travel & health insurance.
Once all visa applications are approved a COE, Certificate of Eligibility and STV will be issued to the tourists who will then be allowed to carry out their travel plans. According to Mr. Phiphat should all visa processing be completed before the date, tourists can begin entering the Kingdom of Thailand by the 1st of October via flights.
Bangkok will be the first stop for many visitors who will first go through a 14-day quarantine procedure as the capital city is more than capable of providing ASQ facilities which have proven to be successful in the past with handling the quarantine and foreigners.
For the first phase of the reopening of Thailand, all international flights will therefore be limited to only a maximum of three flights a week and each flight will be allowed at most, 100 tourists per plane which equate to 1,200 tourists a month which is according to the specifications of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
According to results gathered on several surveys, there is a substantial sign of intention to return to Thailand for many travellers and Mr. Phiphat states that the tourist capacity could reach its peak for the first month of reopening.
Should things run smoothly, My Phiphat hopes that the capacity for flights will be increased steadily.
As for domestic tourism, there is potential for the extension of the timeline for two stimulus campaigns and there is intention of increasing the privileges of these campaigns as such, the ministry will submit further details to the cabinet for discussions in the following month. These stimulus packages are aimed at providing support for tour packages from tour operators which will be distributed to helping to revitalize the sector in anticipation of returned foreign tourism. Besides that the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration has already helped to develop 81 communities and will provide channels which can help to promote these new community-based tourism packages throughout the nation using various tourism associations which include the Association of Domestic Travel and Association of Thai Travel Agents.