Countdown to July: Phuket gears up for reopening

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has confirmed that the Phuket Sandbox Programme is still on and the island will welcome vaccinated foreign tourists without the need to undergo the 14-day quarantine from 1 July 2021.

The countdown to Phuket’s reopening has started and tourism stakeholders are preparing to safely welcome back foreign tourists.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said, “All of us at the Tourism Authority of Thailand share the excitement and anticipation of everyone in Phuket in the preparation to welcome back foreign tourists in the not-too-distant future. From 1 July, 2021, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to visit Phuket without quarantine, so the countdown starts now to the reopening of Phuket!”

Part of the preparation is for businesses and operators to acquire the Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA) Plus Certificate, which certifies that at least 70% of the staff has been vaccinated.

According to TAT, there are 1,389 venues and businesses across Phuket that have received the Amazing Thailand SHA certificate. These include 882 in the hotel, accommodation and homestay category; 169 in the restaurants and diners’ category; 157 in the travel agency category, and 181 in other categories.

The Amazing Thailand SHA is used to assess 10 types of business; namely, restaurants and diners; hotels, accommodation and homestays; recreational activities and tourist attractions; transportation; travel agencies; health and beauty; department stores and shopping centres; sports for tourism; activities and meetings, theatres and entertainment, and souvenir shops and other shops. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) recently certified the Amazing Thailand SHA certification in alignment with the WTTC SafeTravels protocols.

Now that more people are getting vaccinated, especially in the US and Europe, Phuket is projected to welcome at least 129,000 international tourists in the first three months.

Source: TAT Newsroom