By Thailand’s Tourism Reopening Could Be In Doubt with New COVID-19 Surge
In early April, TAT had announced its plan to reopen the country for vaccinated travelers.
The Phuket sandbox program was divided into 3 phases. In phase one of this program, upon the arrival of the vaccinated travelers, they are required to do quarantine for seven days. The other two phases were set to start in July, which gives travelers more freedom to travel around the country.
A couple of days ago, the New York Times issued an article explaining why Phuket's reopening in July is unlikely to occur due to the recent surges. Other reports also stated the lack of vaccine supplies is making the reopening plan vague. The private sectors are now stepping up their calls for leaders to increase vaccination efforts to combat the recent outbreaks, to increase the possibility to reopen the country this summer.
Few weeks after the announcement of the plan, it is already entering the murky waters. Destinations are eager to promote themselves and attract visitors, and announcements make for good publicity.
It’s hard to invest in traveling anywhere this summer, no matter how good the news seems at the moment, it will only take a few moments for things to change drastically.
We wish everyone in the world especially in Thailand the best in combating the recent surge. With more than two months to go until the Phuket reopening on July 1st, there’s still plenty of time for things to turn the corner.
Source: Forbes
