3 issues of incoming Covid-19 relief measures together with the overview of Thailand’s economic analysis in the future!
It’s been almost a month since a new strain of coronavirus, ‘Omicron’, has replaced Delta, which used to be the dominant strain that spread both in Thailand and abroad. However, it appears that the symptoms of Omicron are not as severe as other strains of the past, but governments in each country are not complacent. For example, in Thailand, when omicron infections were found in the area the government start to raise the warning level, suspend the opening of the country without quarantine, postpone the opening of entertainment venues, etc. To buy time for Thai public health and related agencies to prepare for Omicron. Until now, the number of infected people has begun to stabilize and the public health sector has increased readiness to deal with it. Therefore, the Covid-19 Situation Administration Center will have measures to adjust soon, which has some issues for us to talk about. Let’s go and see!
1) Reduced alarm level from 4 to level 3
At the beginning of January we probably already know the news that the Ministry of Public Health has increased the Covid-19 control measures in Thailand to a warning level of 4 out of 5, which is almost the highest level. There is important advice that people and agencies should follow to prevent the spread of the coronavirus again, such as refraining from entering high-risk places. And slow down travel across provinces, ask for cooperation to work from home 50-80%, and suspend travel to the country without quarantine. However, when the situation of infected people in Thailand starts to stabilize, we may soon have a chance that the covid warning level may drop to level 3, which gives more flexibility in public activities.
2) Open the Test & Go system to receive tourists again
This issue may cause Thai people who are planning to travel abroad or foreigners who want to visit Thailand to have another chance. Because after the Test & Go system has been suspended, which is to enter Thailand without quarantine It makes many people have to fold their plans for international travel first. The suspension of Test & Go in the past has affected the Thai tourism industry and deprived Thailand of the opportunity to earn income in Thailand during the high season. Therefore, on January 19, 2022, the Ministry of Tourism has proposed to consider opening the Test & Go system again on February 1, 2022, because they believe that the Ministry of Public Health can manage and control it.
3) Increase Sandbox Area
Sandbox area or tourism pilot area is regarded as a ‘hope’ of the Thai tourism industry, especially during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 situation because it is the only area where Thailand allows international travelers to travel across the sandbox area by no need to detain. Phuket is considered the first sandbox area in Thailand and on January 11, 2022, three more provinces were announced, Surat Thani (Only Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao), Phang Nga Province, and Krabi Province to become a sandbox area as well. In the future, we may see sandbox areas in other provinces across the region, which will be a good opportunity to help increase the economy in those provinces again.
Of course, the omicron has also affected the economy, especially in the first half of the year when measures were taken to control omicron. It has affected many business sectors such as tourism business, restaurant business, transportation business, the export business. The Bank of Thailand has reported that the Thai economy this year will grow 3.4% from 3.9% if the Omicron in Thailand is not very violent. The Thai economy may expand however, another important factor that will be a good indicator of Thailand’s economy is tourism revenue. In a normal situation, tourism revenue accounts for about 20% of GDP. The Minister of Tourism and Sports has predicted that by 2022 there will be not many tourists coming to Thailand maybe not more than 10 million people and will have an income of about 1.2 -1.5 trillion baht, contrary to the Bank of Thailand’s estimate that this year only 5.6 million tourists will arrive. Therefore, the Thai economy in 2022 will be in a positive or negative direction. It depends on the level of the Covid-19 epidemic in Thailand, the response of the Thai public health department and other relevant agencies, and how effective measures are taken by the government.
Thankyou information from
Workpoint Today https://workpointtoday.com/covid19-300/
Post Today https://www.posttoday.com/politic/news/673412
Prachachat
https://www.prachachat.net/general/news-835932
https://www.prachachat.net/tourism/news-845217
https://www.prachachat.net/finance/news-842278
TNN Thailand https://www.tnnthailand.com/news/covid19/102322/
PRD.go.th https://www.prd.go.th/th/content/category/detail/id/33/iid/65196
