Koh Samui hotel, business owners call for PCR test price cut to draw in Test & Go tourists

Hoteliers and business owners on the southern island of Koh Samui are asking the Thai government to lower the costs of RT-PCR tests in an effort to draw in more foreign tourists. The calls follow the decision to reopen registration for the Test & Go entry scheme starting February 1. The quarantine exemption scheme requires tourists to isolate themselves at an approved hotel or resort while they wait for the results from their on-arrival RT-PCR Test before travelling throughout the country. Under the revised rules, travellers will now need to book a night at an approved hotel on Day 5 and take a second RT-PCR test.

Travellers need to pay for the costs of their RT-PCR tests which can cost around 2,000 baht to more than 4,000 baht. At Bangkok Hospital, prices range from 4,000 to 4,300 for “screening of Covid-19 using RT-PCR test through nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs with…