SEOUL, South Korea, 22 February 2021: The first group of golfers arrived in Thailand at the weekend marking the official launch of a special quarantine programme for golfers.
The news was posted on the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s deputy governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool on her Facebook Page.
She confirmed the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Seoul organised the group that will spend their 14-day quarantine in a golf resort complying with all the strict rules except for enjoying a daily round of golf on the resort’s links. The group of 41 golf enthusiasts boarded a semi-commercial Korean Air Airlines’ flight at Incheon International Airport in Korea.
According to the TAT statement, the golfers will stay in Thailand for at least two months. They will quarantine for 14 days at the Athitaya Golf Course in Nakhon Nayok Province with opportunities to play golf while complying with safe distancing rules before transferring to the Athitaya Golf Course and Resort in Chiang Mai. Staff at the resorts and golf courses used for the quarantine undergo testing and self-isolate at the resort for the duration of the golfers’ stay. Golf courses signed up for the quarantine package are closed to other golfers.
It is one of many projects to promote sports tourism which is likely to make a come back before leisure travel. Commenting on the golf quarantine packages, Thapaneee said there would be “more good news to follow” as programmes are established to revive tourism while keeping the nation safe.
A Bangkok Post report last week said a group of 70 international tourists flew from Indonesia to Phuket under “villa quarantine package” rules, but tourism and hospitality leaders in Phuket still wonder why island tourism competitor, the Maldives, managed to safely open its islands tourism with thousands of visitors arriving since December.
They draw parallels claiming Phuket as an island could initiate safe programmes for visitors who are prepared to stay on the island and undergo testing on arrival and during their stay.
