The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will proceed with its plans to attract foreign tourists to the resort island of Phuket, without compulsory quarantine, starting July 1st this year, with flight promotions as an incentive.
The plan offers the first quarantine-free option for international arrivals in Thailand since the pandemic started last year, to help the crippled tourism industry.
The TAT aims to attract 129,000 visitors to Thailand in the third quarter of this year, through the “Phuket Sandbox” project, where fully vaccinated tourists, who have tested negative for COVID-19, can visit Phuket for a minimum period of seven days, before travelling to other provinces with airports, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said today (Thursday).
For interprovincial air travel, the TAT plans to cover the fares for one-way tickets, priced at no more than 2,000 Baht, while further details are still under discussion.
The project will focus on attracting tourists from long-haul countries, such as the United States, EU countries and the United Kingdom which, according to the TAT, will allow their citizens to travel to abroad from this Monday (May 17th).
Discussions are underway for travel from Phuket to nearby areas, while Bangkok, Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Chiang Mai, Chonburi, Buriram, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan are expected to open for quarantine-free visits, following the Phuket model, in October.
