Three more Thai islands yesterday opened to vaccinated foreign tourists, despite a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases propelled by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
The islands — Samui, Tao and Phangan — welcomed visitors as part of the kingdom’s push to revive its battered tourism industry.
Thailand launched its “sandbox” scheme on July 1, allowing vaccinated travelers to visit Phuket island. Tourists do not have to quarantine in a hotel, but cannot leave Phuket for two weeks.
Photo: AFP
Under the expansion, tourists must stay at an approved hotel on Samui for a week and can leave their accommodation on the fourth day.
They would have to produce a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to venture to Tao or Phangan after their first week.
The rest of the country is struggling to rein in infections from the Delta variant, which authorities say now makes up nearly 80 percent of its caseload.
Virus hot spot Bangkok and nine provinces are under tightened restrictions, including a nighttime curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than five people.
Thailand yesterday recorded almost 9,200 new infections and a record daily high of 98 deaths.
Phuket has received 5,000 foreign tourists since its reopening, 10 of whom have tested positive for COVID-19.
Authorities are not expecting a big influx of tourists immediately to Samui and the other two islands. Tourism Association of Koh Samui president Ratchaporn Poolsawadee described the start of the “Samui Plus” scheme as a soft opening.
He said that 75 percent of residents on the three islands were vaccinated.
“It is expected that arrivals will improve after tourists learn the rules and regulations, and then some rules and regulations could be tweaked,” Ratchaporn said.
“We don’t want to rush” Samui Plus, he added.
Tourism makes up one-fifth of Thailand’s income and the economy is suffering its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Tourism was worth US$918 million to Samui before the pandemic, but the virus cut turnover to US$88 million last year, Ratchaporn said.
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