Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and Department of Health Service Support (HSS) have teamed up with Agoda to ease the process of booking Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) packages for Thai repatriates and inbound travellers amid Covid-19.
This collaboration makes Thailand one of the first countries in the world to digitalise the booking process.
Returning Thais and inbound travellers can now search for and book MOPH-approved ASQ properties via a dedicated booking platform (www.agoda.com/quarantineTH) that allows the user to search availability, room type, and pricing in real-time. Initially, the listed ASQ properties on the platform include those in Bangkok, Chonburi, and Phuket, with more partners expected to join the programme in the coming months.
Quarantine hotel package bookings are required as part of the process to obtain approval from the local Thai embassies to enter Thailand.
Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the HSS, said the ASQ programme is an important mechanism that aims to benefit Thailand in two ways: first, in curbing the spread of Covid-19, and second, as a stimulus to help drive the economy by generating income for entrepreneurs.
“ASQ helps to promote the country’s economy with the 113 hotels participating as ASQ properties generating 1.2 billion baht (US$39.6 million) revenue for Thailand to date. ASQ facilities, which allow (travellers the) flexibility to choose where to stay for quarantine, can be one way to attract foreign tourists again from all over the world and generate income for the country,” he said.
To qualify to be part of the ASQ programme, hotels must pass strict standard checks in six categories from the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Defense.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and Department of Health Service Support (HSS) have teamed up with Agoda to ease the process of booking Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) packages for Thai repatriates and inbound travellers amid Covid-19.
This collaboration makes Thailand one of the first countries in the world to digitalise the booking process.
Returning Thais and inbound travellers can now search for and book MOPH-approved ASQ properties via a dedicated booking platform (www.agoda.com/quarantineTH) that allows the user to search availability, room type, and pricing in real-time. Initially, the listed ASQ properties on the platform include those in Bangkok, Chonburi, and Phuket, with more partners expected to join the programme in the coming months.
Quarantine hotel package bookings are required as part of the process to obtain approval from the local Thai embassies to enter Thailand.
Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the HSS, said the ASQ programme is an important mechanism that aims to benefit Thailand in two ways: first, in curbing the spread of Covid-19, and second, as a stimulus to help drive the economy by generating income for entrepreneurs.
“ASQ helps to promote the country’s economy with the 113 hotels participating as ASQ properties generating 1.2 billion baht (US$39.6 million) revenue for Thailand to date. ASQ facilities, which allow (travellers the) flexibility to choose where to stay for quarantine, can be one way to attract foreign tourists again from all over the world and generate income for the country,” he said.
To qualify to be part of the ASQ programme, hotels must pass strict standard checks in six categories from the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Defense.