Phuket which turned deserted is all set to reopen for tourists

Monday, June 21, 2021

The owner Viwat Sakulrat, since pandemic, estimates that his boxing school has incurred a loss of around a million pounds.

The time when Thailand closed its borders and enforced strict 14-day hotel quarantine, international tourists stopped coming which dried up the money.

With 95% of the income of Phuket is associated to tourism, now the island is planning to restart the industry in a safe manner.

For it to work, by 1 July, 70% of people living in Phuket must be vaccinated.

If they meet that target successfully, then the plan is to allow fully vaccinated foreign tourists from low to medium risk countries will be to visit the Phuket with no quarantine.

For the first two weeks, they cannot leave Phuket however are allowed to travel in and around the island area as long as they’re COVID free.

The expectation of the island is that they’ll pump money back into the local businesses which are struggling hard for months.

To quote Mr. Sakulrat, “All of them are very excited because at least they have some kind of protection from COVID…it’s like a new life for them.”

“They have been staying home for the last two years but now I think they’ll be back to work again, back to the regular life again,” he says.

“It will make a big difference because on this island [and] all over this province we rely on the tourism and without the customers from overseas, it’s a ghost town.”

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