The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) is urging the government to allow quarantine-free entry for vaccinated tourists in June to prepare for the upcoming high season.
Vichit Prakobgosol, president of Atta, said more than 1 billion people globally will be inoculated by mid-year and operators are confident that segment will be safe to travel.
The government must set up a clear timeline for reopening and vaccine passports, which includes safety measures and a list of provinces ready to welcome tourists without quarantine, he said.
The association will submit a letter with the request to reopen the country by June to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, the Public Health Ministry, the Tourism and Sports Ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand this week.
The regulations on reopening must be completed by April to let operators prepare marketing plans before tourists change their mind in favour of other destinations.
Mr Vichit said there will be only 200,000-300,000 tourists during the first month of reopening due to limited international flights.
Demand will take 3-6 months to pick up, he said.
"Reopening helps tourism workers get back to work after 1 million jobs were lost in the sector, while another 2 million are on unpaid leave," he said.
If inoculated tourists visit Thailand by mid-year, the number of international arrivals is estimated to reach 8 million, generating 500 billion baht in tourism receipts this year, which would support GDP growth of 2-3%.
He said if Thailand were to open for tourists in July or in the final quarter, the number of tourists would stand at 6 million and less than 3 million, respectively.
"As vaccine rollouts gather pace in many parts of the world, we have to skip quarantine and find an effective solution to welcome vaccinated tourists." Mr Vichit said.
Mr Vichit said Thai tourism is expected to recover to the levels experienced in 2019, with 40 million travellers, in 2023.
He said the country has to prepare new tourism products to boost the growth of the recovery, including man-made attractions such as entertainment complexes.