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Phuket in southern Thailand

Come Jul 1, international tourists will be able to visit Phuket in southern Thailand without going through quarantine if they have been vaccinated. 

The decision was announced last week by the Center for Economic Situation Administration, following a proposal by Phuket’s private sector after nearly a year of economic woes due to the pandemic.

“And in order to remove the quarantine, we need vaccination.”

The popular resort island heavily relies on international tourists. In 2019, they made up 73 per cent of the total of 14.55 million visitors, based on data from the Phuket Provincial Statistical Office. This means when the government banned international commercial flights last April to control the pandemic, Phuket was hit hard.

The island’s pristine beaches are now mostly empty despite the high season. Many restaurants and bars are shut while hotels and resorts suffer from a drop in bookings. However, this could change over the next few months.

Many business operators in Phuket have already begun calling back employees and banks have also started giving out loans, Bhummikitti said. 

“Of course, the number of tourists may not be as high as it was in 2019 or the years before that but I think this will be a start. Everybody understands that during the initial period, international arrivals may not be overwhelming. Still, we’re confident that if we can reopen in July, the prospects should be very good from October onwards,” he added.

As the province prepares to welcome oversea travellers, a plan has been made to inoculate 70 per cent of its residents against COVID-19. The Phuket Provincial Administration has set a target of procuring 933,174 doses of vaccine from the government for 466,587 people, including local residents and migrant workers.

The reopening of Phuket will be used as a test to gauge international tourism demand as well as Thailand’s readiness to unlock more areas for overseas travellers later this year.

According to Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn, the southern island was chosen to pioneer the quarantine-free tourism model because of its readiness, strong reliance on international tourists and geographic insularity.The quarantine-free tourism model “Phuket sandbox” requires international visitors to complete their COVID-19 vaccination in their country and produce proof upon arrival in Phuket from July, along with a certificate showing negative COVID-19 test results obtained before flying to Thailand//CNA