Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha got people’s hopes up yesterday with talk of Thailand opening up to international tourists from 46 countries on November 1st without the need for quarantine. Needless to say, after the requirements were released today, unless you are desperate to visit Thailand, it is unlikely few tourists will bother. After all,…
One of the questions on people’s minds when it comes to visiting Thailand in 2021 is this — Which tourists won’t have to quarantine in Thailand after November 1st? This after the Thai government of Prayut Chan-oh-cha announced mandatory quarantine is being dropped for vaccinated tourists from at least 10 ‘low-risk countries’ as of November…
Although the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has approved both the reopening of 10 types of business, and the reopening of various places in Thailand to foreign tourists beginning October 1st, bars and clubs in Thailand will still remain closed. Unfortunately for Thailand, for foreign tourists looking for a country to vacation in over…
Various new resolutions about Covid-19 in Thailand were passed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in a meeting earlier today. These resolutions will change some of the restrictions currently in effect due to the virus, including quarantine in Thailand for those arriving from overseas. The changes will…
With Thailand not now reopening to international tourists in the next few weeks (or months, who knows?), Thai immigration is allowing those foreign nationals already in the country to remain longer. To the end of January, 2022 at the moment, it seems. Thai immigration confirmed this week the new deadline for a visa extension due…
More than a year and a half of Thai government flip flops on decisions about Covid-19 continued today as authorities have announced Thailand is not opening to international tourists in October like they said. Not even if they insisted the country would be only a few weeks ago. Instead, the government has delayed plans to…
While Thai officials are still promoting a country reopening to international tourists in the next few weeks, new Covid-19 cases in Thailand for September 18th are still high. In fact, new Covid cases in Thailand outnumber recoveries. For the third day in a row. This morning, another 14,109 new Covid cases were reported by the…
Anyone who has spent any time in Thailand knows, should a government official set a specific date for an event, that date will often change many many times before it happens. If the event ever takes place at all. Such could be the likely outcome of the recently announced Thailand October 1st reopening for international…
As Phuket continues to struggle to contain rising Covid-19 cases, several months after the Phuket Sandbox holiday scheme opened, and almost six months after cases began to rise in Thailand itself, the Thai island reported another 238 new cases today, September 17th, as well as 5 more deaths. That brings the total number of Covid-19…
As panic over Covid-19 continues in Thailand, the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi is closing to most visitors. That means anyone that planned on vacationing on Koh Phi Phi via the Phuket Sandbox will likely see increased restrictions upon arrival, while others who may want to holiday there will be required to stay away….
OPINION While most people have been saying all year Thailand tourist numbers for 2021 will be nowhere near what the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said they would be, officials from the organization insisted the country’s international tourism industry would be well on the way to recovery before the end of the year. At one…
The number of Covid-19 deaths on Phuket rose again today, as one more death related to the virus was reported yesterday. That brings the total of deaths on Phuket to 31 since the beginning of April. The more worrying situation on Phuket, however, is hospitalizations are now at almost 80% of the total number of…
With Thailand’s tourism industry still barely functioning, 52% of hotels in Thailand could close temporarily in the next few weeks, while the operators of 9% of Thai hotels say they may close permanently. That is on top of the many Thai hotels that have already closed due to the country being locked to most international…
At the current time, Thailand has been closed to most international tourists for 18 months — since the end of March, 2021 when the Covid-19 mess first began. As a result, the country’s economy has been devastated, tens of thousands of Thai businesses have closed, and millions of Thais are now unemployed. Now, Tourism and…
With a total of 242 new Covid-19 cases on Phuket reported today by the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO), that number now pushes the Phuket past 5,000 Covid-19 cases for the first time since April 3rd. Another 25 people tested positive for Covid via an antigen test kit, but those positive results still need…
According to a new announcement from Phuket Governor Narong Woonsiew today, vaccinated domestic tourists and other travelers can enter Phuket beginning September 8th, 2021 This will be the first time in more than a month many domestic tourists will have been allowed to enter Phuket after restrictions were tightened due to rapidly increasing Covid-19 cases…
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) reported 235 new Covid-19 cases on Phuket yesterday (Thursday, September 2nd). That brought the total number of Covid-19 cases on Phuket since April 3rd to 4,772. An additional 23 Thais also arrived in Phuket from other countries and then tested positive for the virus. The total number also…
Phuket residents have been complaining for weeks that is was difficult, and sometimes impossible, to be able to leave and return to the Thai island. This due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, and Phuket all but blocked off from the rest of Thailand since the beginning of August. Today, however, the extremely strict Phuket restrictions…
It appears Malaysia may be considering following in the footsteps of Thailand and its Phuket Sandbox. At least if the comment of a Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture official of Langkawi Island to be the first tourist destination in Malaysia to reopen is to be believed. The comments about Langkawi Island came from Datuk…
Only a couple of months ago, Thai authorities said if Covid-19 cases on Phuket rose to more than 90 a week, the Phuket Sandbox would be shut down, and international visitors would not be allowed to visit the Thai island. Fast forward two months, and the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) says 257 new…
Bangkok Airways resuming flights from Phuket to Samui starting August 25th The Thai budget airline Bangkok Airways has announced the resumption of direct two-way flights from Phuket to Samui starting on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021. The flights will occur in support of the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus travel programs that are being run in…
Although some international tourists taking advantage of the Phuket Sandbox to enter Thailand may also have been planning on visiting the Thai island of Koh Larn once their 14 days in the Sandbox had ended, it appears their plans may need to change. At least, according to the Koh Larn Local Committee. That organization announced…
OPINION One thing that makes little sense when it comes to Thailand is Thai authorities’ insistence on continuing to push the Phuket Sandbox. Particularly since a Swiss diplomatic worker was murdered on Phuket last week, and Covid-19 cases on Phuket are also rapidly increasing. But, in true Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) style, a new…