tisdag 8 mars 2022

United States Center for Disease Control raises Thailand to its highest level of travel risk due to Covid-19 - The destinations were classified as “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High” risk when more than 500 cases per 100,000 people over 28 days were recorded, according to the CDC considerations. This means that it is recommended for all travelers from the US to avoid traveling to Thailand. If they must travel to the country, they are highly advised to be fully vaccinated and up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines before travel. TPN National News

United States Center for Disease Control raises Thailand to its highest level of travel risk due to Covid-19

PHOTO: BMA Health

National –

The United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added Thailand to its highest-risk Level 4 category for travel on Monday, March 7th, along with Hong Kong and New Zealand.

The destinations were classified as "Level 4: Covid-19 Very High" risk when more than 500 cases per 100,000 people over 28 days were recorded, according to the CDC considerations.

This means that it is recommended for all travelers from the US to avoid traveling to Thailand. If they must travel to the country, they are highly advised to be fully vaccinated and up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines before travel.

Travelers are also recommended to follow all requirements and recommendations while they are in Thailand, especially its "Test&Go" program that allowed vaccinated arrivals to enter the Kingdom without mandatory quarantine.

Currently, there are about 135 countries/destinations at Level 4, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The US does not classify themselves, notes TPN, but if they did they would also be considered as Level 4 under the current guidelines.





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Online travel agency Booking.com says travel in the Asia-Pacific region will be slow to recover as a number of countries adopt a more cautious approach to re-opening. Laura Houldsworth, MD for Asia-Pacific, says while some countries in Southeast Asia are starting to re-open, with various levels of paperwork and restrictions, most North Asian destinations still have significant entry restrictions in place. Thaiger / Reuters

Booking.com predicts bumpy recovery for travel in Asia-Pacific region

Online travel agency Booking.com says travel in the Asia-Pacific region will be slow to recover as a number of countries adopt a more cautious approach to re-opening. Laura Houldsworth, MD for Asia-Pacific, says while some countries in Southeast Asia are starting to re-open, with various levels of paperwork and restrictions, most North Asian destinations still have significant entry restrictions in place.

Further exacerbating the problem is Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has now led to a surge in cancellations over the last month. Popular destinations with the Russian market, such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives, and India, are expected to take a particular hit. In Thailand, the Russian market was the most popular arrivals since the re-introduction of the Test & Go re-entry program on February 1, 2022.

Read how Russia is re-shaping the world's travel industry at the moment HERE.

The conflict in Ukraine has affected travel sentiment among Eastern Europeans in general and Booking.com has suspended operations in Russia. Laura says the Booking.com is no longer accepting any bookings to Russia and expects the outbound market to shrink considerably.

"Any of these situations will have people rethink their travel plans."

However, according to the Reuters report, Laura is optimistic about a number of re-openings in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines, Cambodia, and Australia all ditching quarantine requirements for vaccinated arrivals and Vietnam following soon. Yesterday, Bali welcomed its first international tourists under similar conditions.

However, Laura says that while Thailand resumed its Test & Go entry program in February, the country's tourism operators want restrictions eased further. Most hoteliers and others in the tourism industry say the Thailand Pass paper-work-heavy registration process is still too burdensome and will put the country at a disadvantage compared to its competitors.

"The message is… the simpler the better for travellers."

SOURCE: Reuters








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Thailand Facing Labor Shortage of 700,000 – FTI - Many Thais are uninterested in labor-intensive work, leaving employers with no choice but to rely on migrant workers. There were previously more than 2 million foreign laborers in the country, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw that figure plummet by 500,000-600,000. Bangkok Herald

Thailand Facing Labor Shortage of 700,000 – FTI

Thailand Factory Labor Workers Garment

The Federation of Thai Industries warned that Thailand is facing a shortage of about 700,000 workers and urged the government to expedite the import of foreign labor and pardon employers who previously hired illegal workers.

The FTI explained that production businesses, as well as the export and construction sectors, are being acutely affected by the shortage. It also said in a letter to the Ministry of Labor in February that the issue is expected to impact the tourism and services sectors – and eventually the Thai economy as a whole – if left unaddressed.

Many Thais are uninterested in labor-intensive work, leaving employers with no choice but to rely on migrant workers. There were previously more than 2 million foreign laborers in the country, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw that figure plummet by 500,000-600,000.

The FTI has recommended that authorities quickly sign memoranda of understanding to import labor from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It has also advised officials to establish a program for migrant workers similar to the "Test & Go" scheme, in order to reduce or remove quarantine requirements.





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Thailand will not deport Russian or Ukrainian tourists - The dire situation of 7,000 Ukrainian and – to a lesser extent Russian – visitors trapped in Thailand is being formally discussed by the Bangkok authorities. Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn confirmed that tourists from both countries would not be formally expelled against their will, even if their visas had expired. Pattaya Mail

Thailand will not deport Russian or Ukrainian tourists
Barry Kenyon

A Russian man considers his options at a local bank exchange bureau.

The dire situation of 7,000 Ukrainian and – to a lesser extent Russian – visitors trapped in Thailand is being formally discussed by the Bangkok authorities. Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn confirmed that tourists from both countries would not be formally expelled against their will, even if their visas had expired.



Mr Yuthasak said that both nationalities would be able to extend their visas for a further month without payment of the 1,900 fee. However, officials at the immigration bureau were still awaiting confirmation as the matter needed to be cleared by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration later today (March 8). In Pattaya, two Russian tourists said they had been given 60 dayCovid-related extensions. This formal discretion for all nationalities ends later this month.

However, some better-off expats have long-stay visas, such as the Elite or annual extensions of stay based on marriage or retirement, and are not under immediate pressure. Some maintain healthy Thai bank accounts and are assisting their hard-up compatriots during the emergency. One Ukrainian national is borrowing money via a short-term loan, based on his ownership of a condominium unit in Jomtien.



With Visa and Mastercard blocked for credit cards issued in Russia and badly dislocated for Ukrainian nationals, tourism operators are working with UnionPay, an alternative payment platforms based in China. UnionPay actually handles higher cash-value transactions than Visa or Mastercard, although 99 percent are based in China. Russia's Mir financial network is known to be affiliated with the Shanghai-based financial giant.

Meanwhile, the number of Russian or Ukrainian nationals landing in Thailand has slumped for obvious reasons. The Pattaya office of TAT said the city was offering temporary asylum for Ukrainian nationals already here and that the Thai government was promising to pick up the tab for the time being. However, Pattaya Mail spoke to a group of Ukrainian nationals who stressed they were leaving for Bangkok in order to be geographically near to their embassy. One said his passport had run out and he needed an official letter to confirm its extension. "The safest place in this tragedy is our embassy," he said.





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