Thailand lifts travel restrictions for 56 countries

Travellers from Japan, Singapore and other countries will be able to enter Thailand but will still have to quarantine.

Thailand.- The country has lifted some entry restrictions for travellers from 56 nations in time for the holiday season.  

Travellers from the US, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Italy, France and other countries will be able to enter without a visa.

The move has come earlier than expected. Thailand had not been expected to open its borders until early 2021.

The goal is to help the tourism industry recover after the impact of the pandemic. In 2019, over 40 million foreign visitors arrived in Thailand, generating US$60 billion in revenue.

The local government is still requiring visitors to present Covid-19 test results and to go through 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

A source from Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration told Bloomberg that more frequent tests for visitors during the quarantine might help the government shorten the isolation period to 10 days instead of 14.

On Friday, Thailand reported three new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, taking its overall tally to date to 4,300.

Visitors from the US, Singapore, Japan, Australia and Italy are allowed to stay in Thailand for tourism for up to 30 days. Those from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and South Korea, can stay for 90 days.

Cambodia and Myanmar have been left off the list for now due to Covid-19 numbers in the countries, Bloomberg said.