PHUKET, 16 June 2021: Representatives from Phuket’s private and public tourism sectors confirmed Phuket would reopen to international visitors on 1 July.
At a meeting hosted by Angsana Laguna Phuket, tourism leaders provided an update on the vaccination rollout and rules that will apply to visitors regarding the length of stay, PCR testing and the need to book hotels with SHA Plus certification.
Officials said the 1 July deadline to reopen was firm and that the required so-called “herd immunity” of over 70% has already been achieved. They claimed that the latest count showed 71% of the population of Phuket has now been vaccinated.
They emphasised that the island’s minimum 14-day stay requirement applied only to international travellers who intended to travel beyond Phuket to other destinations in Thailand. There are no minimum stay rules for domestic travellers and foreigners who fly direct to Phuket and intend to stay on the island for just a few days.
Domestic travellers, Thais and foreign residents can visit and leave as they wish, providing they are vaccinated or arrive with a negative Covid-19 test certificate. Likewise, international travellers may travel to Phuket for any duration as long as Phuket remains the single arrival and departure point.
If vaccinated international travellers want to travel to other parts of Thailand, they can do so after staying in Phuket for 14 days. During that time, they would have to take three PCR tests, one on arrival and two tests during the 14-day stay on the island.
“We are on. This is a clear message, and it has not changed… 1 July is happening, and we are nearly there,” said Phuket Tourism Association president Bhummikitti Ruktaengamin in his remarks to the audience representing over 300 hotels and tourism-related companies.
Travellers heading for Phuket must book SHA Plus certified hotels. The status is usually clearly identified on the hotel’s website or on the listings of online travel agency booking sites. The Plus refers to the hotel having vaccinated more than 70% of its employees.
The Phuket Sandbox project is open to nationalities that appear on a low-to-medium list of countries, but so far, the list has not been distributed to the media or the travel trade. As of 14 June, the list was not available on the Tourism Authority of Thailand or the Ministry of Tourism and Sports websites and popular bloggers such as Richard Barrow noted the omission on their Facebook or Twitter accounts.
(Source: News Delivering Asia Communications)
