Tourism Operators Call To Drop All Entry Restrictions Before July 1

Tourism operators and the hospitality industry can no longer wait until July 1, the day on which the Thai government declares Covid-19 an endemic.  Chamnan Srisawat of the Thailand Tourism Council said July 1 is over 4 months away and many firms are struggling to stay afloat.  He wants to remove the Test & Go entry program before July 1, in order to offer Thailand a chance to compete on the global tourism stage.

“Thailand is the pioneer of reopening plans but the country will suffer losses being one of the last countries to completely reopen.”

Chamnan is urging the government to drop all travel restrictions by Songkran, stating that the tourism industry is more worried about the economic impact of restrictions and the increase of suicide rate in the country.  He says that the infections rate from foreign tourists is so low that it does not justify the current entry requirements.

According to Thai Hotels Association President Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, Thailand’s tourist business would suffer if restrictions were not dropped before July 1. She also wants Test & Go to be removed earlier than the expected date in order to jump-start the economy.

Meanwhile, the Thai Chamber of Commerce Sanan Angubolkul said that Covid-19 should have been declared endemic sooner.

“Thailand should expedite the process of declaring the disease an endemic before June 2022”

Sanan cites numerous European countries that despite daily reports of new infections, all travel restrictions have been lifted due to governments’ recognition that the Omicron variant is less severe than the previous variants. Also, Vietnam has declared the virus endemic ahead of the planned schedule in order to reopen the country to foreign tourists.

“Thailand should ease restrictions and enable activities to make it easier to restore the economy after a prolonged period of decline.”

Source:  Bangkok Post

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