Back to the beach?
by Asia Yacht Press 29 Mar 2021 23:21 PDT
Phuket King's Cup 2019. Squeaky clean Kata. Fleet at anchor © Guy Nowell / PKC19
Currently anyone arriving into Thailand from abroad is subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, but on 01 April this is set to be cut to 10 days for both locals and foreign visitors, while vaccinated tourists could end up facing an even shorter self-isolation period of seven days. On 01 July the quarantine rules will be waived completely for vaccinated tourists in Phuket. Authorities plan to drop the quarantine restrictions in other tourism hotspots such as Koh Samui in the coming months.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that Phuket has lost tourist income to the tune of approximately USD9.6bn in 2020 due to the effect of the pandemic and ongoing global travel restrictions.
The Thai government is now looking to vaccinate 70% of the island’s residents ahead of the return of tourists. Currently there are also plans for the whole of Thailand to reopen to vaccinated travellers from October with no need for quarantine rules. (Although there could be restrictions in place for countries with Covid mutations).
Thailand has already looked at ways to entice back holidaymakers, such as offering the opportunity to quarantine afloat (bareboat charter, 14 days exploring Phang Nga Bay and all the way down to the Butangs and Koh Tarutao. Nice) or staying in a hotel at a golf resort – 18 holes before and after lunch, as long as you don’t actually leave the resort area.
The Bay Regatta (Phang Nga Bay, Thailand) is on at the end of this week. An easing of restrictions as of 01 July would allow Phuket Raceweek back into the calendar with international visitors, and ditto for the Phuket King's Cup in December. Are we seeing light at the end of the tunnel?