Visa Global Travel Plan Survey in recent weeks shows that 63% of foreign tourists come to Thailand seeking relaxation from modern life and particularly identified the country’s massage parlour industry, hospitality sector, restaurants and cultural attractions as key reasons for choosing to visit the kingdom. The scrapping of the face mask mandate from mid-June will be a very welcome development although some face mask requirements will remain until the disease is declared endemic which is now expected to happen by July 1st.  

The Ministry of Public Health has indicated that the national face mask mandate, introduced last year at the height of the pandemic crisis, will be rescinded from the middle of June. The move will be seen as a boost for the country’s foreign tourism, entertainment and hospitality industry as the kingdom aims to return to normal by July 1st next although regulations announced last week by the ministry suggest that staff in bars and massage parlours will still be required to wear face masks when interacting closely with customers. 

face-mask-mandate-scrapped-from-mid-june
The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Public Health announced on Tuesday that face masks in public will no longer be mandatory from mid-June but stressed that they will still be required in certain situations such as closed settings with poor ventilation, crowded events and for those with vulnerabilities. The move is being seen as a step forward for the foreign tourism industry’s efforts to recover this year coming after the proposed reopening of nightlife and entertainment venues on June 1st next.

Thailand, on Tuesday, announced the abolition of the mandatory national requirement to wear face masks from the middle of June.

However, in a briefing, Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit told reporters that this does not mean all requirements to wear masks were being rescinded.

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Public Health said that his ministry would still be recommending that face masks be worn by those at high risk such as the elderly and those with underlying illnesses. 

Ministry official says face masks still to be worn in spaces lacking ventilation and by those at risk

He also suggested that face masks should be worn in closed spaces where there was a lack of ventilation and in activities or at events where large crowds are gathered.

It is understood that the current regime where a fine of up to ฿20,000 for non-compliance and the mandatory wearing of face masks in public places will be lifted by mid-June or over the next three weeks.

This legal provision was introduced in Thailand early in 2021.

The top official at the Ministry of Public Health who has been seen as the driving force behind plans to make the disease endemic in Thailand by July 1st was speaking in Surat Thani.

He also recommended that pregnant women continue to wear face masks as protection against any possible health threat.

Situation improving faster than expected

Dr Kiattiphum said that the pandemic situation in Thailand was alleviating itself faster than expected and indicated that the country is on course to achieve its objective of declaring endemic status by July 1st next.

Face masks an issue for western tourists as Singapore already scrapped its outdoor mask mandate in March

In recent weeks, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul had expressed a determination to keep mask mandates in some format and had tasked officials at the ministry to examine how this could be achieved.

The comments by the top ministry official suggest that the blanket face mask mandate will now be removed in any event.

This had been posing a problem for incoming foreign tourists from western countries where face mask-wearing has, by and large, been discarded in recent months.

Singapore scrapped its mask mandate in mid-March and recent surveys in the kingdom have suggested that the public, who strongly embraced face mask-wearing during the crisis, are now more relaxed about discarding the requirement as confidence returns with things beginning to return to normal.

Face masks in massage parlours as foreign tourists identify ‘relaxation’ as a reason for visiting Thailand

Last week, when announcing the reopening of nightlife and entertainment venues from June 1st next, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) top spokesman Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin made it clear that as well as weekly testing of staff they should continue to wear face masks, particularly with regard to massage parlour activities.

‘The wearing of face masks is required for services involving close contact between staff and customers, such as those offered in a massage parlour,’ he explained. 

Thailand, according to the Visa Global Travel Plan Survey of destinations in Southeast Asia, conducted in recent weeks, among those who visit the country, is seen primarily as a holiday destination for foreign tourists seeking relaxation from the stress involved in the pace of hectic, modern life.

48% of respondents cited relaxation and activities that helped them relieve stress as the key reasons for visiting Thailand while a further 25% identified relaxation in addition to adventure activities.

Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here

Further reading:

Thailand Pass app retained for foreign tourists but Thai nationals are to be exempted after June 1st

Face masks to be still needed in Thailand even after the emergency said Minster Anutin this week

Thailand Pass linked to Emergency Decree as Anutin wants priority for Thais ahead of foreign tourists

Proposal to scrap Thailand Pass from June 1st as Thailand seeks tourism-driven economic growth

Anutin may agree to abolish Thailand Pass but wants all foreign tourists to have booster shots

Thailand Pass stalling visitors who wish to travel after May 1st as industry wants the app scrapped

Test and Go scrapped, a giant step by officials that removes testing for incoming air passengers to Thailand

Decision time on plans to ease further restrictions on foreign tourists with strong conflicting views at this time

Minister proposes that vaccinated tourists fly in without notice from May 1st to boost the economy

Fears growing that Covid may yet derail plans to reopen fully to foreign tourism from July 1st next

Minister says Thailand Pass could be gone by June 1st, but suggests the retention of a test on arrival

Travel sector calls for endemic status, scrapping of Thailand Pass and full normality on entry to the country

Thai tourism emphasises its neutrality in the Ukraine war, calls for a review of payment systems

Thailand moving to scrap all tourist restrictions this year once the Covid virus is declared endemic

Opposition targets Test and Go for spreading the virus as government insists on endemic status

Test and Go ready for take off again but this time with added baggage including a second PCR test

PM orders a re-evaluation of the balance between public health and economy as Omicron fears ease

Pandemic drawing to a close, senior public health official says growing Omicron strain is harmless

Top official describes the popular ‘Test and Go’ entry as a loophole exposing Thailand to Omicron

Tourism business owners think the unthinkable, the Omicron storm may bring with it good news

Minister suggests that ‘Test and Go’ now paused entry regime may be restarted in the New Year

Omicron nightmare for already troubled tourism sector: plan to suspend ‘Test and Go’ entry route

Omicron has arrived in Thailand but top officials believe they can manage an escalating situation

Thailand pushes ahead with foreign tourism drive, may defer switch to antigen testing over Omicron

Health officials asks for a review of the list of 63 countries allowed to enter without quarantine

Nightlife to reopen on a certified basis as officials try to balance public health and the economy

Thailand Pass is being upgraded but passenger stress stories continue with cancellation threats

Tourism reopening may lose momentum as government pivots back to public health priorities

Incoming passengers vent frustration at problems and bugs with the Thailand Pass system this week

Kingdom may see up to 1 million tourists this year but it will be an uphill battle to get back to 2019

Vaccinated tourists from 63 countries can leave SHA plus hotels after 1st night says top official in Phuket

Fears for travellers trying to access Thailand in the interim period as Thailand Pass launch nears GO

Russian and Indian travellers unhappy at entry rules for November 1st, call for simpler plans

Most tourists will be able to travel freely in Thailand once they pass their first test on arrival here

46 countries green-lighted as Thailand’s tourism business is set to take off from November 1st

Bright lights may be turned on again for foreign tourism as hated Certificate of Entry is to be axed

TAT boss: quarantine remains for 1 day to test all visitors, no going back to old tourism pub scenes

PM’s reopening order-only the beginning of the end of this cataclysmic crisis for Thai tourism

High-quality tourism dream may be making the COVID-19 crisis for the industry even worse than it should be

Tourism chief again plans to open up Thailand’s rock bottom tourism industry to cryptocurrencies

Dysfunction hits reopening of Thailand to tourism as Health Minister dismisses October 1st date

Bangkok reopening delayed as figures for fully vaccinated must nearly double by October 15th to go ahead

New normal tourism may see foreign and local tourists segregated at Pattaya tourist attractions

Only 13% will visit Thailand under the kingdom’s demanding entry process with 2021 economic growth at stake

October reopening of foreign tourism to Thailand could be another false dawn with cumbersome entry regime

Richest man in Thailand says COVID-19 is like a World War, the kingdom could end up a big loser in the end

Foreigners in Thailand have nearly ฿600 billion in the bank as inequality and poverty rise alarmingly

Rising prospect of GDP contraction for 2021 may see government breach the legal public debt limit

A dead mother beside her children and a taxi driver who slept, show us a nation riven by an extended crisis

Economic fears rising as Thailand faces a bigger crisis than 1997 with rising job losses and debt

Baht falling with confidence in Thailand waning as foreign tourism closure and virus drive funds out