I agree with you about the pre departure test. I do not think anyone wants to risk getting stuck in a hospital or a quarantine facility in Thailand.

Just my personal opinion but dropping the pre-departure doesn't make sense. I will not travel to Thailand until that awful Thai Pass website (with glaring security and data privacy issues) bites the dust.

Part of the issue is that the PCR tests are not identical. The test used in Thailand is more "sensitive" then what the majority of the world uses. I don't know the specifics, but it will ping positive at a lower detection level then tests typically done in the USA / Europe / Etc.

Another potential issue upcoming....with more and more locations getting rid of test requirements, the ability to easily get PCR tests, especially with tight / quick turnaround times, will get more difficult....or much more expensive. Or likely, both.

Pre-departure PCR tests are gone as of 1 April. PCR testing upon arrival and ATK testing on day 5 will apparently continue, as will the $20K insurance requirement, as will Thailand Pass/Test&Go.

Good luck with that, Thailand.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...d-from-april-1

I would rather do the pre arrival PCR than the testing on arrival. It is a pain in the neck.

At the same meeting they‘ve said, that they will decide in April if they will change the PCR test on arrival to an ATK test. The odds are very high, that this will happen.

It‘s very likely that the Thai Pass will be scraped starting on July 1. And between July 1 and now, they will go on easing the measures.

That is as much as they can do. And yes, if anyone thinks, that it‘s not acceptable, he should avoid traveling to Thailand.

[QUOTE=thbe;34086064
That is as much as they can do. And yes, if anyone thinks, that it�s not acceptable, he should avoid traveling to Thailand.[/QUOTE]

Correct. Definitely Thailand is not yet ready to receive "normal" tourists. There is an obsession for wearing masks absolutely everywhere at least in Bangkok, not only in closed places, mass transit or crowded markets (where it is appropriate), but even at 6 AM in a park.

Doesn't make for a relaxing holiday.

People are absolulety scared, except when they are eating their sweets with friends from the same plate or eating their sticky rice from the same basket.

If Thailand makes it easier for people to quarantine and also not get scammed in the process then obviously more people would go and the tourism would be a lot better.
The cost of a limo from AOT was about 850 BHT to downtown. A PCR test is about 1500 to 2000. Then add a hotel room at a 4 star which is about 2500 to 3000 at max. I normally pay around 1700 to 2200 depending on the season. But now most of the hotels charge you around 5900 to 6200 BHT just for that one night.

Completely agree - restrictions are gradually going away and that is a good thing. Compared to the rest of Asia we in Thailand are miles ahead!

Well that is a pretty unreasonable comparison - and AOT�s cheapest option (the Isuzu) has been 1,100 (or 1,050?) for a long time before covid.

The one night charge comparison is unreasonable too - that contains sealed transport from airport to hotel, includes testing. So by all means, stay away - I don�t see people complaining like crazy about Singapore, Hong Kong etc which are by far more crazy..

That�s already the case and there are less examples for scams like that as you maybe think. Many tourists had their quarantine in their hotel after testing positive on arrival. The quote of positive tests is down to 0,27% after scraping the PCR test on day 5 and after the number of travelers from Russia went down to almost zero.

Right now Thailand has the highest numbers of infections of the whole pandemic. Same for many traveler�s countries. But they are still scraping all regulations within 4.5 months (starting mid of February until end of June). It�s up to you to think, that they should be faster and that they should scrap all measures right now.

I�ve been to Phuket in September last year and six times to Bangkok since November 1. And I�ve saved more money on flights and hotels than I�ve spent on PCR tests and transportation. Also I�ve had special experiences. I.e. being the only person at Patong beach within 200 yards or more on a Saturday afternoon. That won�t happen again.

We all want our old life back. And I�m happy that the Thai government now follows the plan to scrap all rules until July 1.

No reason to be passive-aggressive (like the rest of your cheerleader mates here) when responding.....just say "if YOU think it's not acceptable, then YOU should avoid traveling to Thailand."

I do think it's unacceptable and I will avoid traveling to Thailand. Given the bumbling dictatorship's recent track record on "opening up for tourists", I suspect millions of other prospective tourists will join me in that decision.

Don't know about millions, but here are 2 who just cancelled their trip.. If you don't trust the testing procedures in other coutnries, why don't you ask your local reprerenstatives to arrange this? I wouldn't mind to do any test monitored by the Thai embassy or consulate BEFORE departure..

With or without the restrictions there aren‘t additional millions of tourists who would go to Thailand until end of June.

Think again.

Mexico - another tourism dependent country but one which has no entry restrictions - had 1.65 million tourists in January 2022. Thailand had 133,000 "visitor arrivals" in the same month.

https://tradingeconomics.com/mexico/tourist-arrivals

In 2021, Mexico had 31 million tourists that brought in $18.5 billion dollars in tourism revenue. In the first ten months of 2021, Thailand had 106,000 tourists.

https://mexicobusiness.news/aerospac...-tourists-2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/20...ors%20a%20year.

People are traveling - and want to travel. They just don't want illogical, inane, and expensive barriers to entry (e.g., Thailand Pass, Test & Go, insurance and quarantine scams) foisted upon them when they do.

In the travel context Singapore are now well ahead of Thailand when it comes to ease of entry requirements. Pre-departure lateral flow/antigen test, pre-registration of your vaccination status in a easy to use website (where as far my personal details have not been compromised) and a self administered, self procured on arrival lateral flow/antigen test.

Whilst on the subject of crazy this article did make me laugh though.