The Thailand Tourism Authority has said that tourists will have to wait a little longer before  they plan to visit Thailand .The Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand said that tourism could return in the fourth quarter of this year. Even then, there will be restrictions on who can visit and where they can go said Yuthasak. 

“We are not going to open all at once,” he said. “We are still on high alert, we just can't let our guards down yet. We have to look at the country of origin (of the travelers) to see if their situation has truly improved. And lastly, we have to see whether our own business operators are ready to receive tourists under the ‘new normal'.”

Similar versions of this strategy are already being looked at in the region — referred to as “tourism bubbles.” Basically, a country will open borders reciprocally with destinations that also have their coronavirus situation under control.

Once Thailand does open to international tourists, they'll likely only be able to visit certain spots, says Yuthasak.

“We have studied a possibility of offering special long-stay packages in isolated and closed areas where health monitoring can be easily controlled — for example, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui. This will be beneficial for both tourists and local residents, since this is almost a kind of quarantine.”

Yuthasak says they're finishing up a framework to restart tourism, but much of the decision-making lies in the hands of the CCSA — the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration — which will decide when is the best time to open the border.