The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has expected the Phuket reopening planned for 1 July would draw more than 600,000 foreign and local tourists to the resort island and generate a cash flow of about 15 billion baht in the next three months.
Phuket governor Narong Woonciew said the TAT predicted about 129,000 foreign tourist arrivals and 500,000 Thais will visit Phuket between July and September.
From 1 July, Phuket will waive quarantine requirements for foreign tourists who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 under the “Phuket Tourism Sandbox” model. The main goal is to be able to revive the local economy and prevent the spread of the pandemic at the same time. The model is being touted as a model for the reopening of the tourism industry.
Mr Narong added that all parties are speeding up preparations to ensure the reopening proceeds smoothly as planned, stressing that strict disease control measures must remain in place so that the province would not be put in a lockdown again.
