Thailand halts quarantine-free entry for travellers as Omicron tops tourism

Thailand halted its quarantine-free entry program after less than two months, citing concerns about the potential spread of the omicron variant by arriving tourists. 

The Covid-19 panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha suspended approval of visitors for quarantine-free entry from Tuesday to Jan. 4 amid rising imported cases of the strain. The Covid panel will reassess the policy on Jan. 4, said Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.

Tourism-dependent Thailand waived the requirement for more than 60 jurisdictions last month provided travelers were fully vaccinated and had negative tests for the virus both before and immediately after arrival in the country.

About 200,000 visitors previously approved to enter without quarantine will still be allowed in, although they would be closely-monitored and must comply with additional measures like having more PCR tests while in Thailand, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said at a briefing.

Of the travelers approved for quarantine-free entry, 110,000 have already arrived. Reimposing a lockdown will be a last resort, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. 

The baht dropped to its weakest in nearly three weeks, trading at 33.685 per dollar at 3:57 p.m. local time. The benchmark SET equity index pared gains of as much as 0.8% after the announcement.

The suspension threatens the nascent economic recovery of Thailand, where the government forecasts as many as 15 million tourists in 2022 would provide revenue of as much as 1.8 trillion baht ($53.4 billion). The World Bank last week warned that reimposing travel restrictions could lead to an economic contraction of 0.3% next year instead of the 3.9% growth it was projecting.