News Forum - Thailand to scrap pre-departure Covid-19 tests in April

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Samtrio said:

Dropping pre- departure test is a trap for tourists to test them fake positive for covid so they would quarantine them and charge'm 1000s of dollars... b4, some tourists sued the thai goverment due to wrong test results...this way, if a tourist fall for this trap and dont take a test in his own country, where labs are best, he wouldnt have a proof that he was clean of the virus..... i wonder why this goverment plays so many games to rip off western tourists, while indians, huh, of so many unkown viruses, are let free without nothing....they figure it is easy to scam rich europeans.while india is aware of thailand goverment scams, they cannot play games with them.

Just stop with the nonsense......really

You guys are ridiculous!

 

Countries all over the world are dropping Pre-arrival testing at the exact same time lime

 

Thailand is inline with so many countries in that regard

 

And if knew anything about the place, you would know they go over the top

 

My stepson has had to take 2-3 covid tests per week just to attend his University classes

 

I don't love the arrival PCR test

But it's not a scam, stop being ridiculous 

[Alavan]

27 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Just stop with the nonsense......really

You guys are ridiculous!

Countries all over the world are dropping Pre-arrival testing at the exact same time lime

Thailand is inline with so many countries in that regard

And if knew anything about the place, you would know they go over the top

My stepson has had to take 2-3 covid tests per week just to attend his University classes

I don't love the arrival PCR test

But it's not a scam, stop being ridiculous 

It is not about dropping pre-arrival test, it is about dropping the pre-arrival but keeping the more illogic after arrival test.

[ace035]

2 hours ago, Samtrio said:

Dropping pre- departure test is a trap for tourists to test them fake positive for covid so they would quarantine them and charge'm 1000s of dollars... b4, some tourists sued the thai goverment due to wrong test results...this way, if a tourist fall for this trap and dont take a test in his own country, where labs are best, he wouldnt have a proof that he was clean of the virus..... i wonder why this goverment plays so many games to rip off western tourists, while indians, huh, of so many unkown viruses, are let free without nothing....they figure it is easy to scam rich europeans.while india is aware of thailand goverment scams, they cannot play games with them.

Just wait after April 1st, there will be lots of false positives among incoming tourists upon arrival, I already know what they are going to do to us when the PCR test upon departure will be scrap.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Just stop with the nonsense......really

You guys are ridiculous!

Countries all over the world are dropping Pre-arrival testing at the exact same time lime

Thailand is inline with so many countries in that regard

And if knew anything about the place, you would know they go over the top

My stepson has had to take 2-3 covid tests per week just to attend his University classes

I don't love the arrival PCR test

But it's not a scam, stop being ridiculous 

Sorry mate but Thailand is only one of a few countries that insists on a arrival test. 

I go to Holland soon from the UK and I'm happy to do the pre departure tests but wouldn't dream of going there if tested on arrival. 

There must be so many tourists like myself who are waiting for Thailand to drop there rules for entering the country before we commit to buying flights. 

The thais will catch up to the western world soon but only if they want to

That's the question 

Do this military junta want tourists back?

It doesn't look like at the moment and that's not good for your average Thai citizen 

[Artemis080]

4 hours ago, Samtrio said:

Dropping pre- departure test is a trap for tourists to test them fake positive for covid so they would quarantine them and charge'm 1000s of dollars... b4, some tourists sued the thai goverment due to wrong test results...this way, if a tourist fall for this trap and dont take a test in his own country, where labs are best, he wouldnt have a proof that he was clean of the virus..... i wonder why this goverment plays so many games to rip off western tourists, while indians, huh, of so many unkown viruses, are let free without nothing....they figure it is easy to scam rich europeans.while india is aware of thailand goverment scams, they cannot play games with them.

That's some tin foil hat stuff. It may be a lot of things, ineffecient, self-defeating, inconvenient, frustrating, inconsistent and pointless, but that's pure conspiracy at best.

Thailand is adopting a similar model to many countries, which can indeed land you in quarantine. This makes travel a risk management proposition for anyone considering it. The pandemic is not over just because we are all fed up and is rapidly accelerating across Asia, and with it your chances of testing positive no matter the passport you hold.

In that changing landscape, and the threats of distruption to the global economy, some people are braver  than me in thinking it's a great time for international short term leisure travel. 

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, Alavan said:

It is not about dropping pre-arrival test, it is about dropping the pre-arrival but keeping the more illogic after arrival test.

But so many countries are just doing away with the pre-arrival at this time

Canada is doing away with the same date, April 1st

 

So Thailand is inline with a lot of countries in that regard

 

You can debate whatever you want about the arrival PCR test, other countries also make you test on arrival 

But to talk about it being a scam is just nonsense 

Plain and simple 

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Sorry mate but Thailand is only one of a few countries that insists on a arrival test. 

I go to Holland soon from the UK and I'm happy to do the pre departure tests but wouldn't dream of going there if tested on arrival. 

There must be so many tourists like myself who are waiting for Thailand to drop there rules for entering the country before we commit to buying flights. 

The thais will catch up to the western world soon but only if they want to

That's the question 

Do this military junta want tourists back?

It doesn't look like at the moment and that's not good for your average Thai citizen 

I didn't comment on the logic of the arrival testing 

That's a debate to have, there are still a decent amount of countries that still require testing on arrival

 

My comment was about the utter nonsense spread on this forum that it is a scam

 

As I said, my stepson has had to do all sort of stringent covid requirements at his University in Thailand.

Thailand is just more stringent than other countries, that doesn't mean it's a scam 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Artemis080 said:

That's some tin foil hat stuff. It may be a lot of things, ineffecient, self-defeating, inconvenient, frustrating, inconsistent and pointless, but that's pure conspiracy at best.

Thailand is adopting a similar model to many countries, which can indeed land you in quarantine. This makes travel a risk management proposition for anyone considering it. The pandemic is not over just because we are all fed up and is rapidly accelerating across Asia, and with it your chances of testing positive no matter the passport you hold.

In that changing landscape, and the threats of distruption to the global economy, some people are braver  than me in thinking it's a great time for international short term leisure travel. 

This is what I've been saying

 

 

 

[pascal]

well if the country goes to endemic in July all test and so on should vanish, so just a little more to wait and avoid all the hassles.

[Leo]

Annoying small steps....scrap the self-test 5 days later and make it mandatory on day 1, instead of the (expensive and time consuming) PCR test. That will do away with the 1-night quarantine also (yes, the hotels that gave some kickbacks will not be happy). And scrap the senseless Thai Pass while you're at it.

[Alavan]

5 hours ago, Marc26 said:

But so many countries are just doing away with the pre-arrival at this time

Canada is doing away with the same date, April 1st

So Thailand is inline with a lot of countries in that regard

You can debate whatever you want about the arrival PCR test, other countries also make you test on arrival 

But to talk about it being a scam is just nonsense 

Plain and simple 

Other countries ask a test before flying, not after you arrived.

I have no problem at all taking a test 48/72 hours before flying, limiting the chances of getting covid during the flight, but where is the logic in taking the test after staying in the most likely place where you could get infected? It is like asking a test after leaving a busy theater/disco/movie theater in stead of checking if everybody was OK before entering (and so diminueing the chances of infection).

Plus of course oblige you to stay in room in your hotel after arrival.

[Marc26]

5 hours ago, Alavan said:

Other countries ask a test before flying, not after you arrived.

I have no problem at all taking a test 48/72 hours before flying, limiting the chances of getting covid during the flight, but where is the logic in taking the test after staying in the most likely place where you could get infected? It is like asking a test after leaving a busy theater/disco/movie theater in stead of checking if everybody was OK before entering (and so diminueing the chances of infection).

Plus of course oblige you to stay in room in your hotel after arrival.

So many countries are just doing away with it right now

 

Believe me, I'd rather it not be there also

 

It looks like they may scrap a lot of it May 1

 

I land Aprl 28

I looked to push my trip back a week but it's too expensive to change it

 

So I may have to do T&G 3 days before it ends!   :)

[brownronin]

17 hours ago, Marc26 said:

So many countries are just doing away with it right now

Believe me, I'd rather it not be there also

It looks like they may scrap a lot of it May 1

I land Aprl 28

I looked to push my trip back a week but it's too expensive to change it

So I may have to do T&G 3 days before it ends!   :)

I was in the same position last month as i arrived on the 25th, just missing the removal of the 5th day pcr and quarantine, :- \ . The cost and hassle aside though (and excluding the flaws of the online application system), T&G seems to be a pretty painless and smooth affair. I'd even venture to say, apart from the lack of any nightlife (not a major bummer, but me and the missus do like a night on the town once in a while), Chiang Mai felt the way it was 10 years ago, no traffic, and very few tourists, very chill, lol. Already planning another trip in July maybe , since prices for quick jaunt to Kanchanaburi seem to pretty cheap at the moment, heh.

[Marc26]

4 hours ago, brownronin said:

I was in the same position last month as i arrived on the 25th, just missing the removal of the 5th day pcr and quarantine, :- \ . The cost and hassle aside though (and excluding the flaws of the online application system), T&G seems to be a pretty painless and smooth affair. I'd even venture to say, apart from the lack of any nightlife (not a major bummer, but me and the missus do like a night on the town once in a while), Chiang Mai felt the way it was 10 years ago, no traffic, and very few tourists, very chill, lol. Already planning another trip in July maybe , since prices for quick jaunt to Kanchanaburi seem to pretty cheap at the moment, heh.

Yes I am very much looking forward to a less tourists Thailand