Thailand’s tourism industry has launched a campaign, called #OpenThailandSafely, with the aim to reopen the country for tourism from 1 July 2021.
Tourism Thailand has launched the #OpenThailandSafely campaign, with the hope to reopen the country to international tourists back on July 1.
The northern hemisphere summer goal date is said to leave enough time for travellers to get vaccinated, for travel, aviation and tourism operators to get prepared to welcome visitors and for the Thai medical authorities the time to vaccinate front line staff and vulnerable citizens.
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The Open Thailand Safely page is a call to reopen the country to ensure the wellbeing and livelihood of millions of Thais dependent on international tourism.
The petition needs 100,000 signatures and is currently sitting at over 11,000.
The group states, “As Thailand is starting to vaccinate its most vulnerable and its healthcare workers, we believe that now is the time to announce a firm and irreversible date to reopen its borders.
“This will give confidence to international travellers and encourage them to book a trip to Thailand. Thai tourism operators, especially those reliant on international travel, would then be able to start business planning, accept forward bookings, start to rehire staff, and conduct training programmes.
“Without a firm commitment to reopening made now, Thailand may lose all of 2021 as travellers will make plans for alternative destinations.”
Once the group hits its target number of signatures, it plans to send the request to the country’s prime minister general, minister of tourism and sports, and governor of the tourism authority of Thailand.
The popular beach destination, Phuket, has also set out a plan to vaccinate its own residents in order to begin welcoming vaccinated tourists by October.
Thailand has recently started allowing tourists to enter the country, on the condition they stay for several months and undergo a two-week quarantine.
Even if the reopening of Thailand does go to plan, organisers estimate it will take at least a year to return to pre-pandemic tourism numbers in Thailand.