泰国推新活动吸引医疗旅客

　　▲全球视野 本土思考

　　

　　为了吸引短程和长期停留的医疗游客到泰国，泰国旅游局(TAT)推出了一项新活动：“神奇的泰国，健康的旅程”。

　　由于全球旅游业仍在部分运作中，因此该活动仅针对东南亚和南亚国家的外国公民。

　　该活动考虑了游客对短途目的地的偏好和行为的变化，并更加关注健康和保健旅行。

　　TAT的目标客户是东南亚和南亚的国民，提供水疗和健康护理以及医疗检查。目标国家是：

　　·孟加拉国

　　·不丹

　　·文莱

　　·柬埔寨

　　·老挝

　　·马来西亚

　　·缅甸

　　·尼泊尔

　　·巴基斯坦

　　·斯里兰卡

　　·越南

　　当政府在7月放宽限制时，最早允许入境的人群之一是医疗游客。泰国仍然是世界上医疗旅游的最大目的地之一，这意味着可观的收入，可以帮助该国的医疗和酒店行业。

　　像所有允许返回泰国的旅行者一样，医疗游客必须接受14天的强制性隔离。与其他团体不同，他们所在的医院可以提供隔离服务，而不是备用的国家隔离酒店。

　　泰国正在准备医疗检疫设施，水疗中心，度假村和保健中心，作为替代性检疫场所，卫生服务促进司正在起草针对医疗游客，包括来自其他国家的老年人的指导方针。

　　医疗中心委员会希望政府允许更多的国际直飞航班前往检疫水疗中心和度假胜地，供医疗游客使用。苏梅岛、普吉岛、清迈和乌塔堡四个机场，以及曼谷现有的素万那普机场和廊曼机场，都将助医疗游客直接到达目的地。

　　迄今为止，替代性的国家检疫设施已经接待了1,123名外国人，包括医疗游客和他们的陪同者。另外2,220人申请有待批准，估计有3,000人将在不久的将来进入该国。

　　卫生部还提出了替代性国家检疫(ASQ)，允许短期游客在一些选定省份的14天隔离期间前往指定地区，而不是被限制在酒店内。

　　外国游客必须接受各省制定的旅行路线，而不能偏离路线。最重要的是，他们必须来自Covid-19风险低且三个月内没有局部感染的国家。游客必须在出发前72小时内对病毒进行阴性检测，并在离开本国之前家庭隔离14天。他们还必须通过旅行社预订航班和住宿。

　　准备重新开放的省份必须确保外国居民的路线不会被当地居民使用。向游客推荐的活动包括健康旅游活动，例如按摩，水疗和美食之旅。可以住宿的酒店必须是符合SHA（安全与健康管理）标准的酒店，并且外国游客可以访问的区域将被固定。

　　外国游客必须与跟踪Covid-19的旅行社的代表一起始终使用跟踪设备。符合新型ASQ条件的省份必须有足够的公共卫生系统和有能力治疗Covid-19患者的医院。医院还必须配备负压室和实验室。许多省其中大部分是旅游省，已表示有兴趣提供新型的ASQ，包括春武里府，武里拉姆府，罗勇府，清迈府，清莱府，普吉府和素叻他尼府。

　　根据泰国旅游当局的检疫规定，外国游客不受欢迎。泰国旅游委员会希望在第四季度接待5万名外国游客，占2019年数字的0.5%。该组织希望说服政府向更多游客开放。该委员会预计2020年将有674万外国游客，比2019年减少83%。2019年是泰国旅游业有史以来最好的一年，游客数量为3980万。

　　尽管官方旅游机构在2021年提出了2000万外国游客的数字，但2021年的前景仍然不确定。但是，如果没有疫苗和14天的隔离，这一数字可能会减少到几十万。

　　利用危机从大众旅游向高端旅游转变

　　泰国卫生部正在考虑将外国游客的强制隔离时间从14天减少到10天。减少量将在一个月后进行评估，如果成功，隔离区可进一步减少到7天。但是，此减少仅适用于从Covid-19认为安全的国家/地区来的旅客。来自高风险国家的人仍将受到14天的隔离。该国也正在考虑使用移动跟踪应用。

　　中国游客占泰国国际游客的1/4以上，并且可能是第一个签署免隔离旅行的低风险国家。

　　大多数中国游客来泰国一周，因此对许多人来说，被隔离不值得一游。2019年有1100万中国游客访问泰国。

　　除中国大陆外，泰国还可能与日本，韩国，新加坡和中国台湾建立旅行走廊。＊

　　New campaign to attract medical travellers to Thailand

　　To attract both short-haul and long-stay medical tourists to Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has a new campaign, “Amazing Thailand, The Healthy Journey.”

　　As global tourism is still partially operational, the campaign is targeting foreign nationals from Southeast and South Asian countries only.

　　The campaign takes into account the changes in tourist preferences and behaviour towards short-haul destinations and placing more focus on health and wellness trips.

　　TAT is targeting Southeast and South Asian nationals, for spa and wellness plus health and medical check-ups. The target countries are:

　　· Bangladesh

　　· Bhutan

　　· Brunei,

　　· Cambodia

　　· Laos

　　· Malaysia

　　· Myanmar

　　· Nepal

　　· Pakistan

　　· Sri Lanka

　　· Vietnam

　　When the government eased restrictions in July, one of the first groups that were allowed entry was medical tourists. Thailand remains one of the biggest destinations for medical tourism in the world, which will mean significant revenues that can help out the medical and hospitality industries in the Kingdom.

　　Like all travellers allowed back into Thailand, medical tourists are required to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Unlike other groups the hospital in which they get medical treatment can provide the quarantine instead of alternate state quarantine hotels.

　　Thailand is in the process of preparing Wellness Quarantine facilities, spas, resorts and wellness centres as alternative quarantine locations, with the Department of Health Service Promotion drafting guidelines for medical tourists including the elderly from other countries.

　　The Medical Hub Board wants the government to allow more direct international flights to quarantine spa and resort locations for medical tourists. Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai and U-Tapao airports would be additional direct destinations for medical tourists, as well as the existing Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in Bangkok.

　　Alternative state quarantine facilities have so far taken on 1,123 foreigners- medical tourists and those with them. Another 2,220 are pending approval, with an estimated 3,000 expected to enter the country in the near future.

　　The Ministry of Health has also proposed an Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) to allow short-term visitors to travel to designated areas during their 14-day quarantine in some selected provinces, instead of being confined to their hotel premises.

　　Foreign visitors would have to accept travel routes set by the provinces and not veer off course. Most importantly, they must come from countries with a low Covid-19 risk and no local infections for three months. Tourists must test negative for the virus in 72 hours prior to departure and stay in home quarantine for 14 days before leaving their country. They must also book flights and accommodation through travel agents.

　　The provinces which are ready to reopen must make sure that routes for foreign visitors will not be used by local residents. Recommended activities for tourists include wellness tourism activities such as massage, spa and gastronomic tours. Hotels where they can stay must be hotels with SHA (Safety and Health Administration) standards and areas where foreign tourists can visit will be fixed.

　　Foreign tourists are required to use tracking devices with representatives of agencies responding to Covid-19 travelling with them at all times. Provinces eligible for the new type of ASQ must have adequate public health systems and hospitals with the capacity to treat Covid-19 patients. The hospitals must also be equipped with negative pressure rooms and laboratories. Many provinces, most of which are tourism provinces, have shown an interest in offering the new type of ASQ including Chon Buri, Buri Ram, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Surat Thani.

　　According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand the quarantine rules are discouraging foreign tourists. The Tourism Council of Thailand?hopes to welcome 50,000 foreign tourists in the 4th quarter, which represents 0.5% of the 2019 figure. The organisation would like to convince the government to open its doors to more visitors. The Council expects 6.74 million foreign tourists in 2020, a drop of 83% compared to 2019, the best year ever achieved by the Thai tourism sector with 39.8 million visitors.

　　The prospects for 2021 remain uncertain, although the official tourism agency puts forward the figure of 20 million foreign tourists in 2021. But if there is no vaccine and a 14-day quarantine, that number could be cut to a few hundred thousand tourists.

　　The country is taking advantage of the crisis to move from mass tourism to high-end tourism.

　　Thailand’s Health Ministry is considering reducing the mandatory quarantine period for foreign tourists from 14 days, to 10 days. The reduction would be assessed after one month and, if successful, quarantine could be further reduced to 7 days. However, this reduction would only apply to those arriving from countries considered safe from Covid-19. Those arriving from high-risk countries would still be subject to 14 days’ quarantine. The country is also considering a mobile tracking app.

　　Chinese tourists accounted for more than a quarter of Thailand’s international tourists and may be the first low-risk country to sign up for quarantine-free travel. Most Chinese visitors come to Thailand for a week, so being quarantined would not be worth the trip for many. 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019.

　　Aside from China, Thailand may also establish travel corridors with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.