From Hanoi to Bali and tourist haven Bangkok - South-East Asia’s visitor hubs easing travel restrictions

HANOI, March 20 (Bloomberg): South-East Asia’s tourist havens from Bali to Bangkok to Hanoi are moving to further reopen, rolling back Covid-19 restrictions to attract more visitors and bolster growth in their tourism-reliant economies.

Thailand announced Friday that it will further ease entry rules for vaccinated visitors starting April 1.

Foreign tourists will no longer be required to hold a Covid-free certificate issued within 72 hours of boarding a flight, but they will have to undergo an RT-PCR test on arrival and a self-administered antigen test on day five.

Vietnam on Thursday waived quarantine rules for all international travellers, building on earlier efforts including allowing limited group tours after two years of stringent curbs.

Cambodia has dropped testing requirements before and upon arrival, Khmer Times reported.

The Philippines and Malaysia will also allow quarantine-free entry to all fully vaccinated travelers from April 1.

In Indonesia, the government is set to give an update on its virus measures on Monday, after saying that it would lift quarantine measures for international travel in April or sooner following a trial run in Bali.

Tourism accounted for 12.1% of South-East Asia’s economic output and employed 42 million workers in 2019, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Then the pandemic hit and plummeting visitor arrivals pushed more people into poverty and unemployment.

Covid infections have eased in places like the Philippines and Indonesia, but remain elevated in Vietnam and Thailand.

The good news is that vaccination rates are improving across the region, allowing further reopening.

In Singapore, the target is to open to all fully vaccinated travellers sooner rather than later, as part of a push to restore passenger volumes to at least 50% of pre-Covid levels this year. - Bloomberg