THE BRIGHTER SIDE OF AMAZING THAILAND

I do get calls, and inquiries, regularly, from readers, and friends – all wanting to know how, and when, they would be in a position to visit ‘The Land of Smiles.’

With the whole world, literally, turned upside down, due to the pandemic, checking out a destination, for a vacation, can be a daunting task because of travel restrictions, etc.

However, some of the holiday destinations are gradually opening up, but with limits as to what you can do. And, that means you won’t be able to experience the setup, the way it was in the pre-pandemic era.

Amazing Thailand was a shoppers’ paradise for most Sri Lankans, until Covid-19 showed up, and a good many are now awaiting the green light to check out that scene, once again.

Well, I’m told that Thailand expects to welcome thousands of holidaymakers, a month, with the kickoff of a quarantine-free visa programme. Wow, that’s certainly good news!

Visitors of any nationality can apply for quarantine-free entry into Thailand, provided they are fully vaccinated. The Thai government expects between 200,000 and 300,000 travellers to take advantage of the so-called ‘Test & Go’ programme.

The wider reopening (a previous quarantine-free programme was restricted to visitors from only about 60 countries) is part of the Thai Prime Minister’s push to adopt a “living with the Covid strategy” to rescue the pandemic-battered economy. About a fifth of gross domestic product, in Thailand, before the virus, came from tourism-related activities.

According to the President of the Thai Hotels Association, it’s a fine balance between tourism recovery and public health.

“We have to create confidence among the Thai society as there’s still a large group of people hesitant about foreign travellers. If other nations are still hesitant they can come and look at the Thai ‘Test & Go’ model.”

The Thai government is looking at welcoming around five million foreign visitors this year, with the majority of arrivals expected from Europe and the U.S., and the numbers may reach nine million if Chinese and Indian tourists return, they say.

The Chinese were the biggest group of visitors, to Thailand, before Covid, and, I am doubly sure most Sri Lankans also picked Thailand as their first choice.

I’ve been to Amazing Thailand 24 times – invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, on several occasions. And, in 2013, I won the Friends of Thailand International Media Award for promoting Thailand as the best holiday destination for Sri Lankans.

Thailand, most definitely, is among the world’s top tourist destinations because of all the beautiful attractions and, of course, the value for money.

I only hope the scene in Amazing Thailand will keep on improving and, before long, we would be in a position to experience the wonders of Thailand – with no restrictions!

Okay, now let’s check out what is required for you to get a Quarantine-Free Visa:

* A Covid-19 vaccination/recovery certificate issued at least 14 days before travel, if you are 18 years or older.

* Those aged, between 12-17, should have had at least one dose of vaccine.

*  A negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours of travel.

* A Covid insurance cover worth at least $50,000.

* Proof of payment for two separate nights of accommodation and RT-PCR tests.

* Download and install government tracking application MorChana.

Thailand has experimented with several plans, over the past two years, to revive the travel sector, which attracted 40 million foreign tourists and generated more than $60 billion, in 2019. (Just for the record, Sri Lanka had 1.9 million tourist arrivals in 2019.)

About 350,000 visitors took advantage of the first phase of the ‘Test & Go’ programme before it was suspended, in late December, to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

So let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that some of the policies won’t change again.

Glam Scene

Thanuja Rathnayake
Pic by: AshVin Fernando