Process of reopening Thailand to foreign tourists in the pipeline, says minister
The government plans to reopen the country to foreign tourists in three phases, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Monday.
He added that process will be completed in cooperation with other authorities, such as the Public Health and Foreign ministries.
“However, the plan to reduce quarantine period for vaccinated tourists from this month and launching the Phuket sandbox on July 1 may not happen if there is opposition,” he said.
To make the Phuket sandbox happen, 900,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will have to be administered to Phuket residents by June.
“If this project is a success, we will expand it to other areas,” he said, adding that 100,000 doses have already been administered in Phuket.
He said the Phuket sandbox will focus on drawing tourists from the UK, Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US.
“From October, the sandbox project will focus on Chinese tourists, but that will depend on Beijing’s decision whether Chinese citizens will be allowed to leave their country,” he said.
He added that the ministry will also discuss the option of setting up a travel bubble to draw more tourists and is planning to discuss the subject with the governments of Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam and Laos.
“Talks are expected to start from October 1. The government believes at least 60 per cent of the population should be vaccinated by the end of this year,” he added.