It’s official: Tourism to return to Phuket in October

Tourism to return to Phuket in October

In a surprise move, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand told Reuters that tourists seeking long-stay holidays in the southern resort island of Phuket will be allowed into the province from October 1. The news comes with restrictions: tourists will be limited to staying in the alternative quarantine system but within a 1 kilometre radius of their hotel, giving them access to the seashore in many instances. The “safe and sealed” scheme to allow limited tourism has already been discussed, but an announcement wasn’t expected until September. Earlier proposals had put the date in November.

The news effectively means that Phuket will be, for a period, the gateway through which the hundreds of thousands of foreigners stranded outside Thailand since the end of March can gain access. These include foreigners who haven’t been able or eligible, up to now, to obtain certificates of entry from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok since entry requirements were widened in May, June and July.

The proposal was pushed hard this week by beleaguered Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, as officials from the Centre for Covid 19 Situation Administration were seen visiting Phuket. It’s understood that he received the support of new the economic czar, Minister of Energy and former PTT boss Supattanapong Punmeechaow.

Phiphat has in the last few months seen several proposals rejected by the health-minded CCSA.

The development is likely to drive a wave of tourism to Phuket from October, leading to what many foreigners are hoping for: safe and reasonable access to the country that many see as a home from home. Phuket could well become a boom town in October.

Source: The Thaiger