Chairman of the Corporation Chamnan Srisawat told the page ttgasia : “The current wave of Covid-19 infections may affect the final decision. But when we have been suffering from a pandemic for 15 months now, only mass tourism can save us.” Officials in Phuket have placed tight restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and are speeding up vaccinations to achieve herd immunity by the end of next month. Phuket is now close to the goal of vaccination against Covid-19 for 70% of its residents so that it can open its doors to foreign tourists. Locals say they are ready to welcome tourists on July 1 as planned. In 2019, Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million visitors, generating about $60 billion in revenue. Photo: livingnomads.com The tourist island of Phuket is expected to reopen and welcome international visitors from July. Thus, Phuket will be the first locality of Thailand to reopen, followed by 10 other destinations in October. Under this plan, travelers in low-risk countries who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to fly directly to Phuket without the need for a 14-day quarantine. It is forecasted that in 2021, Phuket will only welcome about 500,000 visitors, much less than the 6.7 million arrivals in the first months of 2020. Before the Covid-19 epidemic, 2019, Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million. visitors, generating about 60 billion USD in revenue. Currently in Phuket there are about 70,000 accommodation rooms. Mr. Chamnan Srisawat expects about 1 million room nights sold in July, bringing in about 40 billion baht ($1.28 billion) to the hotel and service industry. Mr. Chamnan Srisawat added: “In preparation for the reopening of Phuket, we have discussed with major suppliers and travel agents. They are all ready to help.” Phuket is an attractive destination of the Thai tourism industry. Photo: The Thaiger TCT’s proposal has been submitted to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Ministry of Tourism & Sports of Thailand, then submitted to the Government of this country for approval in June. If the campaign is “one USD, one night” As a result of Phuket’s success, the Thai government and private sector could expand the program to other destinations such as Koh Samui, Pattaya and Bangkok.

The beaches in Phuket are empty of foreign tourists. (Photo: Bangkok Post Office) The Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand said that the number of Covid-19 cases per day has increased to more than 2,000 and is not sure how the pandemic will break out, so the previous goal is to attract 6.5 million foreign tourists in 2021 are difficult to achieve. The Thai government currently expects international arrivals by 2021 to be only 3 million to 4 million visitors. Meanwhile, local tourists are predicted to make about 100 million -120 million trips this year, down from 160 million in the previous forecast. However, Thai officials will continue to plan to attract international tourists who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, through a pilot project in the tourist city of Phuket from July 2021. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will help distribute Covid-19 vaccine to 70% of Phuket’s residents in preparation for international tourists. Regarding the Covid-19 situation in Thailand, today (April 24), health officials of this country recorded a record high number of new cases in the day, with 2,839 cases and 8 more deaths. To date, this Southeast Asian country has recorded a total of 53,022 cases of Covid-19, of which 129 died and 22,327 are under treatment./.