Thailand’s Finance Ministry is to roll out an incentive scheme to encourage Thai people to travel and spend domestically, in order to revive the local tourism industry, hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CCSA assistant spokesperson Dr. Pannapha Yongtrakul said today that the incentives could be in the form of a coupon, worth about 3,000 baht, or cash, to be provided to the public, probably in July, when there will be numerous holidays, if the Government declares extra days off in lieu of the postponed Songkran celebrations in April.

People receiving the cash or coupons can spend them during the long holidays to promote local tourism businesses, she said adding, however, that hotels and food shops must participate in this scheme as well, by offering special discounts on room rates and food prices.

On the southern resort island of Phuket today, officials removed barricades and reopened all beaches, after more than two months of closure. Deputy Governor Supote Rodruang na Nong Khai inspected Patong Beach today, one of the busiest and most popular.  Tourists and locals alike were spotted strolling on the sand and frolicking in the sea.

The Patong municipal administration has issued a directive, to operators renting out deckchairs and massage service providers, instructing them to observe social distancing guidelines, arrange sanitizer gel for customers and to note the names and phone numbers of customers.

Most souvenir shops at Laem Promthep, another popular tourist attraction in Phuket, remain shuttered due to lack of foreign tourists.

Phuket recorded 227 coronavirus infections in total, but there has not been a new case on the island for the past 16 days.