Thailand's Phuket Is Now Open To All Fully Vaccinated Travellers Including Indians

In what will comes as music to the ears of many tourists, the Thai Government has announced that fully vaccinated travellers from any country can now book holidays in Phuket. under tweaks to a struggling quarantine-free travel scheme.

The country¡¯s tourism industry has been crippled due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent restrictions that were imposed to curb the spread. It has led to the number of visitors slashing from 40 million in 2019 to a mere trickle over the last two years, AFP reported.

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Pre-COVID, the sector made up a fifth of Thailand¡¯s national income, and the travel curbs have fed into the country¡¯s worst economic performance in more than two decades.

Under the sandbox scheme, tourists have to stay within a certain area for seven days after arrival and take covid tests. The scheme was first initiated in Phuket, but Indians were not allowed to travel at that time due to the Delta variant of COVID-19.

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However, this will change with the Bangkok Sandbox as Thailand has allowed all travellers with double vaccination to enter the country.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced late Friday that the scheme had been broadened from the around 80 countries already eligible.

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"This means Thailand is now welcoming travellers from any country in the world to the sandbox programme," it said in a statement.

The sandbox programme has already lured more than 38,000 visitors to the white sands of Phuket and generated $66.67 million.

But tourism operators are lukewarm on the revival of the island's economy, where 90 per cent of hotels have been shuttered.