Thailand’s Centre of COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) today approved the removal of the Thailand Pass registration scheme and the mandatory US$10,000 health insurance requirement for foreign visitors.
Effective from 1st of July 2022, foreign nationals are only required to show proof of either a certificate of vaccination OR a negative RT-PCR or professional ATK test result within 72 hours of travel. These can be in print or digital format.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) UK & Ireland, Ms. Sadudee Sangnil said: “This is the news we have been waiting to share. The removal of the online Thailand Pass application simplifies travel to Thailand once again and removes what was a barrier to travel for some. Although bookings to Thailand have considerably picked up in the last few months, the removal of pre-departure requirements makes Thailand accessible to everyone once more.”
TAT just hosted its annual Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) in Phuket, after a 2-year hiatus, attracting a total of 277 buyers from 42 countries and 264 sellers from across four regions of Thailand. Around 90 domestic and international media also attended the event.
At the show, TAT announced its ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023’ campaign under the concept of ‘Amazing New Chapters – A to Z, Thailand has it all’ corresponding with the TAT’s ‘smart tourism’ strategy aimed at elevating Thai tourism’s competitiveness through its soft-power foundations such as food, film, fashion and festivals.
The show facilitated 8,000 business appointments which is expected to generate some 1.29 billion Baht for the Thai economy. Sangnil added “our UK buyers said it was great to be back in Thailand again, nurturing business relationships and discovering new and exciting products. Together we are confident travel demand will resume in Q4 this year through to Q1 in 2023 and I am excited by the immediate potential for summer travel with the removal of the Thailand Pass.”
For 2022, Thailand has set a target of 7-10 million international tourists and 160 million trips from the domestic market with tourism revenue generation of 1.5 trillion Baht. In the first five months of the year already, international arrivals numbered 1.23 million. With the lifting of the Thailand Pass from 1st July, TAT is expecting at least 500,000 international arrivals to the kingdom each month jumping to 1 million international arrivals each month over the popular winter period of October to December. For 2023, the target tourism revenue is 2.4 trillion Baht and 3 trillion Baht in 2024.
Next year’s edition of the TTM+ is tentatively scheduled to take place in Bangkok from 31 May to 2 June, 2023.
