The Health minister announced today that the vaccination checks would not go ahead as originally indicated.
Thailand has reversed an earlier decision that would have required foreign travelers to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or meet qualified exemptions to enter the country. The requirement was due to be implemented today, Monday, January 9th, across the nation and applied to most incoming visitors.
The plan met with stiff resistance from the country’s tourism sector, as travelers struggled to find updated information. Authorities in Thailand have now confirmed the requirement was not to go ahead as planned, citing sufficient worldwide immunization levels and the inconvenience to passengers. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed the changes to reporters in Bangkok on Monday:
“International travellers arriving in Thailand are not required to show proof of vaccination.
“Showing proof of vaccination would be cumbersome and inconvenient, and so the group’s decision is that it is unnecessary.”
Authorities will still require foreigners whose next destination is a country requiring a negative pre-entry COVID-19 test to show they have health insurance covering treatment.
A swift change in direction
The vaccine certificate requirement was first announced last week and was due to come into effect on Monday. The mandate required airlines to check the vaccine status of passengers bound for Thailand to ensure they had the complete dosage of an approved COVID-19 Vaccine. The policy included exemptions for all travelers under 18, Thai nationals and legal residents covered by the state healthcare system, and inbound tourists who recovered from COVID in the last six months and tested negative at least seven days before travel.
Thailand only recently removed most of its pandemic-related requirements for visitors from abroad in October, and the tourism industry was quick to react to the reintroduction of restrictions. According to the Phuket Tourist Association, which is expecting up to 30,000 visitors per day to the island this winter, travelers worldwide were forced to abandon travel plans. Many of them were already en route to the airport and did not have vaccine certificates with them. Tour operators in Europe were also forced to cancel trips and refund customers due to the sudden nature of the announcement.
Source SimpleFlying.com
