The travel graph to Thailand, the most popular international destination for Kolkatans, is showing promise with the southeast Asian country deciding to withdraw Thailand pass registration scheme from July 1, said tour operators on Friday.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, from July 1, at the point of entry to the country, travellers would only need to show proof of either a certificate of double dose vaccination or a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours of travel. Thailand had relaxed Covid norms from May 1, exempting fully vaccinated travellers from getting quarantined at a hotel for a day on arrival.
Tour operators in Kolkata said the decision by the Thailand authorities to allow all areas in the country to become green zone would also attract more tourists because all business and entertainment activities would resume normally.
To apply for a Thai pass, a traveller needed proof of double dose vaccination, hotel booking, return flight ticket and overseas health insurance for minimum $10,000, according to the Thailand embassy website.
“There have been cases when Thai passes were not approved and a person could not travel to the country despite having the visa. So many people were unable to plan their holidays to Thailand,” said Manav Soni, chairman, eastern region, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). “Now there should be a boost in travel to Thailand because lesser documentation eases travel. So, even if now someone is not booking through a travel agent, they should not face much difficulties,” Soni pointed out.
Kolkata airport authorities are also expecting an increase in international passenger footfall after the ease in travel restrictions to Thailand. The airport is recording around 44,000 passengers, including around 5,000 international passengers everyday on an average. Sources said the number would cross 50,000 on weekends.
However, the number is far less compared to pre-Covid pandemic number that was between 65,000 and 70,000.