Thailand will remain closed to international visitors until 2021

There are no current plans to lift the country’s tourist ban, says a senior official

We could all do with a sun-splashed adventure after the horror of 2020. But if you were hoping to hit up the night markets of Bangkok or the mountains of Chiang Mai before the year is out, you might want to think again. Tourism now looks unlikely to return to Thailand until 2021. 

Although the country has already reopened its borders to foreigners with work permits, residency or families in the country, leisure travel will not return any time soon, according to Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, a deputy governor at the Tourism Authority of Thailand. ‘I see no signal from the government that the country will open this year,’ he said in a recent webinar. 

‘Last month, there was talk about forming travel bubbles,’ continued Ayudhya, according to TTG. ‘That talk has not continued so far because of outbreaks in many of the countries we were hoping to get tourists from.’ 

Australia and South Africa are among the other countries that have hinted they are unlikely to welcome travellers until 2021.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of Thailand’s tourism authority, had previously told CNN that when Thailand does reopen the country, would only allow travellers from other countries ‘if their situation has truly improved’. 

Supasorn also said it was likely that any reopening would be limited to specific locations, suggesting islands like Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui could become closed-off resorts for overseas travellers from cities with no current infections – a similar approach to that taken in Cuba. 

Tourism supports 20 percent of Thailand’s GDP, with more than four million people usually employed in the sector. However, in a recent Bangkok Post poll (the Daily Telegraph reports), 95 per cent of respondents believed foreigners should be barred from entering the country to preserve public health.

So if you’re looking for your fix of street food and tropical islands any time soon, you may want to look elsewhere. 

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