Having already bungled the Thailand Pass website launch, Thai IT geniuses are about to inflict another website on inbound international tourists, creating even more confusion over how to enter the country.
Called "Entry Thailand", the new "central platform" in the works by the Tourism and Sports Ministry is supposed to "simplify international visitors' experience in making preparations to visit Thailand".
The website already joins a confusing mess of half-baked websites, including one listing SHA+ certified hotels that has no links to actually book rooms, another information portal stacked with obsolete information and, of course, Thailand Pass, which continues to confound users with error messages and its inability to accept PDF documents.
Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said the Entry Thailand website is being developed with hopes of facilitating convenience for the international tourists who will be visiting Thailand once the Covid-19 situation improves further.
He elaborated that the central platform would contain information about entering Thailand and will link to mobile applications and information sources that are necessary for tourists.
Examples of said linkages include those for the Thailand Pass system, the battery-draining Mo Chana tourist-tracking app, Covid-19 insurance purchase site, a tourism destinations directory, the tourism volunteers system, online visa application, and the tax refund system for tourists.
Pipat expressed confidence that the central platform will improve tourist satisfaction.