New Test & Go sees over 100,000 tourist applications in the first 5 days
More than 105,000 foreign tourists applied for a Thailand Pass in the first five days after the quarantine-free under Test & Go scheme resumed on February 1, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said on Tuesday.
So far, 86,500 Thailand Passes had been issued to tourists over that period, said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. February 5 alone saw 14,527 applications and 8,906 passes issued, he added.
The Test & Go scheme has resumed with stricter conditions, including pre-booked stays in government-approved hotels on day 1 and day 5 for mandatory RT-PCR tests.
The Thailand Pass has been granted to 71,984 foreigner visitors under Test & Go, 13,039 under the Sandbox scheme and 1,497 under the quarantine scheme.
Bangkok tops the list for hotel bookings, followed by Phuket, Chonburi, Samut Prakan and Surat Thani.
Meanwhile, Thai Hotels Association chairwoman Marisa Sukosol-Nunbhakdi has urged the government to waive land tax on hotels for two years to ease financial pressure from the pandemic.
Marisa also asked the government for co-payment of suspended staff’s wages, a grace period bank-loan repayments, and increased funding for the "We Travel Together" tourism subsidy scheme.
She also called for a subsidy to reduce ATK test expenses as well as other government support including a health guarantee for vaccinated travellers and more convenience in RT-PCR screening of foreign tourists.
