The Tourism and Sports Ministry is preparing to propose the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to revoke the Thailand Pass requirement and mandatory PCR testing for foreign tourists upon arrival from May 1.
The tourism authority expected to pull off mandatory PCR testing for foreign visitors and replace them with ATK testing beginning May 1 and to withdraw the Thailand Pass requirement for arriving travelers from June 1 in an effort to boost tourist arrivals.
Krungsri Securities (KS) is bullish on this move and remains positive on Thailand’s tourism sector. The Erawan Group Plc. (SET: ERW) and Central Plaza Hotel Plc. (SET: CENTEL) are the top picks as they generate a larger share of revenues from domestic hotels compared to peers.
According to KS’s report, preliminary February tourist arrival data is positive at 153k, a slight increase from January. This is being driven by the resumption of the Test & Go quarantine-free program from 1 February. International pax arrival during 20-26 March reached 8.8% of 2019-level and exceeded the peak of 7.4% during 19-25 December. This indicates that the increased number of domestic COVID-19 cases and the Ukraine conflict have had a little effect on Thailand’s tourism industry.
