Vaccine holidays for Thai residents
The pandemic has affected the whole world, including Thailand, in countless ways. The surge in Covid-19 cases has negatively impacted our country’s tourism industry, causing most Thai tourism operators to shutter operations for more than a year.
Amid semi-closed borders around the world, outbound Thai tour operators have broadened their scope to include “vaccine holidays”, where they take Thai residents overseas for Covid-19 inoculations.
Here are the current plans available for an international vaccine holiday, and how you can sign up for one if you’re interested.
Covid-19 updates:
- Thailand starts locally producing AstraZeneca
- One million doses of Sinovac vaccines arrive in Thailand
- No national lockdowns confirmed by National Security Council
- List of hospitals for free Covid-19 testing & treatment
Bypass vaccination waiting lists for a hefty fee
These tour operators offer “vaccination holiday packages” to places like the United States. Most packages include medical costs, accommodation and a tour guide.
The cost of the company’s tour package – that excludes airfare – starts around ฿140,000 (~USD4,500) – ฿150,000 (~USD4,810), according to Unithai Travel Co., Ltd.’s President Mr. Anake Srivechart.
The hefty price tag makes it feasible for those with high purchasing power to get vaccinated overseas in lieu of the vaccine rollouts in Thailand.
Image credit: Shelia via Pexels
Tour operators should confirm the vaccination bookings in the destination country before putting the tourists on the planes, shared the company’s General Manager, Mr. Rachol Yamsaeng.
“Most customers don’t want to wait for another three to five months for Thailand’s vaccination rollouts”, stated Mr. Srivechart via Bangkok Post.
So far, it appears that these operators have received positive feedback.
Multi-week vacc-ation includes quarantine
While some may be ready to fork out thousands of dollars to get a Covid-19 vaccine, not all of us have the luxury of taking multiple weeks off at once.
Prior to signing up for one of these “vacc-ations”, it’s important to note that travellers would need to be at their destination country for several weeks if a multi-dose vaccine is chosen.
Additionally, they’d have to factor in the cost of Thailand’s quarantine program, which starts at ฿30,000 (~USD962).
Will you consider a vaccine holiday?
Even though vaccine holidays are now available to Thai residents, it still requires a lot of time and money to participate in one.
Perhaps this is the way to get a headstart for when travel opens during the post-pandemic era.
Do give us some insights on what you think about signing up for a vacc-ation in the comments.
Images are used for illustration purposes only
Cover images adapted from: Shelia Via Pexels (Left), UNICEF (Right)
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