Bangkok Will Reopen Borders To Travellers On 15 Oct After At Least 70% of Population Are Fully Vaccinated

It’s been a depressing couple of years stuck in the COVID-19 pandemic, where many things we love have been taken away from us.

Including travelling.

Well, turns out, it’s not just us who misses travelling; there are countries out there who misses having travellers, and it’s one that we’re all familiar with.

Bangkok To Reopen Borders On 15 Oct

As you might’ve guessed from the headline, The Land of Smiles will soon be ready to open up to international travellers once again…with a smile.

Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan and Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang announced their decision during a conference on 15 September.

But first, they hope to carry out the vaccination program in every district of the capital city in order to protect citizens throughout Bangkok.

After at least 70% of the city’s citizens have been fully vaccinated, they wish to once again welcome international tourists on 15 October, a month from now.

Bangkok’s Current Vaccination Status

Currently, 70% of Bangkok’s population has received their first dose, but only 37% have completed the full vaccination regime.

The remaining 33% are expected to have completed their second dose by the time the reopening date rolls around.

It still remains unknown as to whether there will be any quarantine requirements for international travellers who visit after the official reopening, though.

Other Parts Of Thailand Slowly Reopening Too

As the capital city is strongly reliant on international tourists, the country’s economy has taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, making its reopening of utmost importance.

Soon, other cities in Thailand will follow.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha had actually already laid out plans in June for Thailand to fully reopen to international travellers within 120 days.

It began with Phuket, which opened to vaccinated international travellers with much fanfare on the 1st of July.

Under the Phuket Sandbox regime, those who had been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days and test negative upon arrival in Phuket would not need to quarantine themselves.

“Tourists who have completed their vaccination should be able to travel to Thailand without any quarantine or restrictions that would cause inconvenience,” the Prime Minister said then.

He also hoped for key tourist destinations to reopen as soon as possible in a bid to recover the country’s tourism industry.

More cities are expected to join the reopening program in October, including Chonburi, Petchaburi, Prajuab Khiri Khan and Chiang Mai, which will partially reopen on the 1st.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Thailand once again; that’s if our wallets are able to handle the stress of travelling again.

For reference, just check out how much it costs for one of our writers to fly out to Australia during this time.

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Feature Image: Craig Schuler / Shutterstock.com