Can international tourists visit Koh Samui's beaches from October?
Updated June 6, 2020:
As Thailand has stopped international flights due to the coronavirus outbreak everybody, who loves to travel to Thailand, asks the same question: When will Thailand allow the immigration of international tourists again?
One answer: "It is still dependent on the outbreak situation, but I think at the earliest, we may see the return of tourists could be the fourth quarter of this year," Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), tells CNN Travel.
Yuthasak adds there will likely be restrictions on who can visit and where they can go. Its quite sure, that Thailand will only open for tourists from countries, who have their coronavirus situation under control.
For the moment The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has banned all international commercial flights into the country until June 30, excluding repatriation flights. The Thais who do return on these flights are put into quarantine facilities for 14 days.
Thailand is now focused on reopening to domestic tourism in June, Yuthasak told CNN. So far malls, markets, museums have reopened. Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market reopened on May 9. Bangkok's Grand Palace will do so June 4. Restaurants now allow dine-in customers but are not allowed to serve alcohol. Streetfood vendors - for example at Yaowarat road in Bangkoks Chinatown - are open. Boxing stadiums, Thai traditional massage parlours, spas and movie theatres are likely to reopen in June according to Bangkok Post. But pubs, bars and night entertainment venues will remain closed.
In the past it was easy to spot the famous food vendors on Yaowarat Road as there were always a big crowd waiting to be served. Now it is like a big reset as everyone is equal. If you can, please come & support the vendors. Lot’s of good street food here #Bangkok pic.twitter.com/p17q0LAOFe— Richard Barrow in Thailand 🇹🇭🇬🇧 (@RichardBarrow) May 28, 2020
Hotels and resorts in Hua Hin have already been given permission to welcome Thai visitors, same for hotels in Nan Province.
Phuket International Airport remains closed until June 15. Phuket island had the highest coronavirus infection rate per capita out of all of Thailand's 77 provinces and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand does not want to take the risk to spread the infection to other parts of Thailand for the meoment, as Phuket News reported. But now the reopeing is announced for June 15. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai and Songkhla’s Hat Yai International Airports have reopened for domestic flights. In May four airlines – Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air – have resumed domestic flight operations from airports in Buri Ram, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Lampang, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phitsanulok, Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon, Surat Thani, Tak’s Mae Sot, Trang, Ubon Ratchathani, and Udon Thani, as Pattaya Mail noted. But Airports of Thailand warns domestic airline passengers to check provincial travel restrictions before they book flights. There are different rules for quarantine for arriving passengers in every province. Wo arrives in Chiang Mai has to qo for quarantine for 14 days at designated hotels, more informations here. Bangkok Airways has resumed its daily flights to Koh Samui. It performs body temperature checks on all passengers at the point of origin and destination. From June 6 the following airports are open for domestic flights too: Tak, Trad, Nakhon Ratchasima, Narathiwat, Pai, Phetchabun and Sukhothai.
Interprovincial bus services to Thailand’s North, Northeast and East have restarted from 18 May. interprovincial bus services to Thailand’s South have been suspended by The Transport Co. Ltd. until 30 June. Read guide to inter-provincial travel in Thailand by TAT. Find bus schedules and tickets here.
Meanwhile Thailands Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is planning to close all 157 national parks for at least two months every year to allow the ecosystem to take a break and rejuvenate, as Bangkok Post reports. The closure times will differ, due to different seasonal weather conditions from North to South and West to East in Thailand. The National Park authorities are planning to control the volume of visitors with ticket sytems. Popular Maya Bay near Koh Phi Phi - famous due to the movie "The beach" - has been overrun especially by Chinese tourist groups for some years and is permanently closed since 2018. Since then its ecology is gradually recovering and now the national park authority has created a new nature trail and vantage point so that tourists can admire views of the beach and the bay from far away. The entrance has moved to Loh Sama Bay at the back of the island.
Foreign nationals who are permanent residents in Thailand or hold work permits will soon be allowed to return to Thailand, a government official said on May 27 according to The Nation. Many foreign nationals who have Thai spouses had been complaining that the lockdown and flight ban is keeping them from their families.
Find more informations:
Thailand Tourism Updates by TAT
News by Richard Barrow
Quarantine rules in Thailands provinces in Thai