Prime Minister Prayut gives green light for Phuket Tourism Sandbox program as of July 1
The Phuket Tourism Sandbox program will start on July 1, but the conditions have already been adjusted. At first there was a mandatory stay on the island of 7 days, but that will be 14 days.
Foreign tourists who have been fully vaccinated will be allowed to go to Phuket next month if they come from a country with moderate or few infections. The tourists must provide a vaccination certificate from their own country and the vaccines they have received must be registered under Thai law or approved by the World Health Organization.
They are not allowed to leave the island for fourteen days, must report regularly to the health authorities and comply with existing rules such as wearing a mouth mask and distance rules. Tourists are only allowed to book hotels that have a Safety Health & Administration Plus certificate. Children between the ages of 6 and 18 of vaccinated parents will be tested upon arrival at the airport.
The island population of 467.000 people must be 70 percent vaccinated, but that doesn't seem to be a problem because they are already at 60 percent.
The plan for the Sandbox has been proposed to the government by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Ministry of Sports and Tourism. Yesterday, the Center for Economic Situation Administration under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Prayut gave the green light for this. As is now known, the first Israeli tourists will arrive on July 7, and tourists from the US will come to Phuket on July 9.
The experiences are evaluated after two months. if these are positive, there will also be a Sandbox arrangement for Krabi and Koh Samui in September. And from October 1 for Bangkok, Cha-Am, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Buri Ram.
Source: Bangkok Post
I can't get an answer to the following question: a couple is fully vaccinated, but their two children, aged 7 and 10, are not. They must be tested upon arrival. The youngest child appears to have (asymptomatic) Covid among the members. Should only that child be quarantined, or the whole family? Which parent takes that risk? And who pays for the stay at the ASQ?
Yes Hans, this will only yield a handful of tourists. It is an escape for expats who want to go to Thailand for a long stay and don't feel like being locked up in an expensive hotel room in Bangkok for 14 days.
Did you really think this is a cheaper option?
Then you are quite mistaken
14 days in Phuket SHA Hotel a 1500 bah already comes down to 21000 baht
You do have to buy your own meals, don't you…?
You also have to pay 2 baht for your PCR test 3-3000 times
You also have to go to Phuket and possibly back to Bangkok
So all in all you are just more expensive than an ASQ Hotel of 30.000 INCL tests + 3 meals
But in your room
Well that 7 day option was still doable…but 14 days????…………NO WAY
Where do you get that 2-3x PCR test from? Please provide a source. And furthermore if you want to be locked up for 14 days, go ahead.
Dear Hans,
Not getting an answer to your question is because your outlined situation is irrelevant.
Under such conditions, you do not go on holiday with your children (you go through emigration and your children are tested with the risks of quarantine).
You are not exposing your children to this idiocy; then you go on holiday to another country.
Don
Good morning
Maar bv Buriram als dit 1 Oktober ook op deze manier open gaat : houdt dat in dat je alleen in de Stad Buriram moet verblijven 14 dagen ( of in de provincie Buriram overal mag verblijven ? )
Thanks for the info
Gerard , the Thai adjust the conditions almost weekly and Oct 1 is still 4 months away . Is there any point in asking or answering a question about that now?
Yes, I do this because of the purchase of the flight ticket (I have already canceled once) and in October there are great offers from Singapore Airlines
What I understand is that you can come anywhere in the province. Only the approved hotels will all be in the city…
If Buri ram is also designated from 1 Oct. and the residence period is then 7 days, then I can be happy with that, provided that the catering industry is open there.
Yes, what was feared is happening again, an adjustment that will negatively affect the result.
Ok, there are less attractive places in this world where you have to stay for 14 days, but not everyone loves the beach and sun.
I wanted to do the 7 days, 14 seems too long again.
I hope that in time we will know the result, but I fear that this will not bring the expected result.
What happens if there is an outbreak after about 10 days, Phuket in lockdown and tourists who cannot go home.
I experienced it in New Zealand in 2020, had to wait an extra 20 days before I could go home. !!!
wait again,
Jozef
I'm still waiting.....
Already fully vaccinated, yellow book etc...
Don't know who or what I should infect but don't sit on Phuket for 14 days.
So the Sandbox is a fact, but in Belgium when filling in the data for COE (Certificate of Entry) one suddenly comes to the box for submitting proof of hotel booking for quarantine in Bangkok.
So people can't go any further at the moment, I hope there will soon be a check mark with I'm going to Phuket for the Sandbox project because this is not working yet? A COE application must be submitted a few weeks in advance, but before July 1, even the application does not seem to succeed and we therefore lose a few weeks, anyone an idea?
Only after publication in the “Royal Gazette” is it a fact. Now it is only a proposal and moreover one must be given some time to adjust the website. Which will undoubtedly happen very soon.
Do you still need to apply for a visa and coa?
Ja
(visa will probably be a visa waiver, so you don't actually need a visa, just the waiver for it 🙂 ).
You can travel to Thailand visa-free, but you do need a Certificate of Entry, with the associated requirements,
First also considered this when there was talk of 7 days. Now that it is also 14 days, it is no longer interesting to me. Family lives in BKK, then I might as well go and sit in a cage there for 2 weeks. You are not allowed outside, but afterwards you are also immediately at home
Het zal vast aan mij liggen, maar ik vind dat er een enorm, zo niet gigantisch verschil is tussen de 14-daagse opsluiting in een hotel in Bangkok, of een verblijf van 14 dagen in een hotel in Phuket met de mogelijkheid om min of meer vrij te kunnen gaan en staan op het eiland. Phuket heeft de toerist erg veel te bieden, en die 2 weken lijken dan toch erg veel op een “gewone” vakantie, terwijl de quarantaine in Bangkok meer lijkt op een verblijf in een (luxe) gevangenis.
It is true, but whether it will be as fun is the question. Prices have doubled. Airline tickets have also become more expensive. I think many people go on holiday a little closer to be on the safe side.
By the way, I bought KLM tickets for the Christmas holidays the day before yesterday. I have a place. Isaan and hopefully the second week on a quiet Phuket. I think it's possible and everyone in Thailand is also vaccinated.