(Bloomberg) -- Thailand plans to scrap a mandatory polymerase chain reaction test on arrival for foreign visitors from next month as the Southeast Asian nation steps up efforts to attract more tourists amid a rebound in global travel.
The RT-PCR tests will be replaced with antigen tests at the airports, Deputy Health Minister Satit Pitutecha told reporters in Bangkok on Friday after a meeting of the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Vaccinated travelers will also no longer need to reserve a one-night hotel accommodation to secure visas, he said.
Thailand joins countries from Australia to the Philippines and Singapore in easing entry rules as it counts on the return of tourists in large numbers to sustain a nascent economic revival facing risks from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The nation’s hotel industry has long demanded the cancellation of the so-called Test & Go visa program, seen as a major deterrent for travelers.
The virus task force will again review the proposed visa relaxations after next week’s Songkran holidays to mark the Thai New Year, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman, told a briefing.
The biggest challenge for Thailand’s tourism industry is the lack of visitors from China, which has a zero-Covid tolerance strategy and is experiencing a surge in omicron cases, Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note Thursday. The scrapping of RT-PCR tests may help to strengthen the baht at the margin, he said.
The baht, which has lost more than 3% against the U.S. dollar since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is headed the sixth weekly loss in seven, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Thailand is still battling an omicron-fueled virus wave with new daily infections near a record and fatalities at a six-month high. The country reported 25,140 new cases and 89 Covid deaths on Friday, Health Ministry data showed.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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