Thailand fully reopens to international tourists

Source: Pexels

Effective from 1 October until 31 March 2023, the period of stay in Thailand will be extended to 45 days (from 30 days) for tourists from countries/territories entitled for visa exemption, and to 30 days (from 15 days) for those eligible for a Visa on Arrival (VOA).

Thailand began a gradual reopening to international tourism from 1 July, 2021 with the Phuket Sandbox, Samui Plus, and 7+7 Extension programmes. This was followed by a four-phase reopening timeline from October 2021 to January 2022 in which destinations throughout the country reopened to tourists. On 1 July 2022, came the removal of the Thailand Pass registration scheme, and foreign nationals as of then only had to show proof of vaccination or a negative ATK test result within 72 hours of travel.

Yuthasak Supasorn, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) covernor, said “Thailand has fully reopened to the world’s tourists with the message, through the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign, that our fascinating destination offers something for everyone under the ‘From A-Z: Amazing Thailand Has It All’ concept.

“We invite tourists to come and experience the existing and new tourism offerings in Thailand which, together with the kingdom’s increasing move towards sustainable and responsible tourism, will make for a truly memorable holiday.”

Arrivals, events and flights on the increase

With the kingdom fully reopened, TAT states that international visitor arrivals are on the rise, international events and local festivals are being held, and major international and regional airlines are resuming flights from countries around the world.

Thai Airways International in its recently announced 2022-2023 winter schedule (30 October 2022 – 25 March 2023) is operating flights on 34 European, Australian and Asian routes with increased frequencies on selected routes. This includes daily flights between Bangkok and London, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Manila, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi, Mumbai, Dhaka and Karachi.

On the event scene, as the host of APEC 2022, a number of APEC meetings are taking place in Thailand, most recently the SME Ministerial Meeting (SMM) from 5-10 September 2022 in Phuket. The 11th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting and the 60th APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting took place from 14-20 August in Bangkok. Next, the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) is scheduled from 19-21 October, 2022, and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) is from 14-19 November 2022.

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The OR Thailand Grand Prix 2022 – the third edition in Thailand of this MotoGP world championship motorcycle racing event – has just concluded. And the world’s first fully-branded Columbia Pictures movie theme park featuring rides and attractions from Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Hotel Transylvania and other blockbusters is set to open in Bang Saray on 12 October this year.

Furthering Thailand’s standing as a gastronomy destination, the sixth edition of the Michelin Guide Thailand is due for release at the end of 2022. It will feature for the first time Northeast Thailand or Isan in addition to Bangkok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Phang-Nga.

The resumption of flights to Thailand from all over the world, together with the return to pre-pandemic entry requirements, and the extension of stay periods for tourists, have all come in time for the kingdom’s high season which runs from October to March.