On January 3, the Cabinet approved the third national tourism development plan (2023-2027), which will serve as a framework for post-pandemic tourism development. According to Deputy Government Spokeswoman Traisulee Taisaranakul, the plan seeks to rebuild the Thai tourism industry by promoting resilience, sustainability, and inclusive growth. The plan lays out several key indicators for tourism development, including tourism contributing a minimum of 25 percent to GDP and increasing tourism spending by 5 percent per year.
On January 9, Thailand removed its vaccine certificate requirement after temporarily reinstating it. Travelers from countries still requiring negative RT-PCR test results will need to have sufficient health insurance to cover the costs of getting treatment in the event of getting infected while in Thailand. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) Secretary-General Danucha Pichayanan also called on Thai tourism entrepreneurs to upgrade safety standards as Thailand is expected to experience a surge in tourism.
With China’s recent relaxation of COVID-related restrictions, NESDC increased expected tourism revenue from 570 billion baht to 1.2 trillion baht, with 13.3 million more expected foreign tourist arrivals in 2023. The initial forecast had assumed that Chinese tourists would begin arriving in the second half of 2023. On January 24, the Cabinet approved a 3.95 billion baht (US$120.61 million) budget to boost tourism and domestic travel.
