Phuket opens for business in push to save vital tourism industry

Thailand is pushing ahead with plans to jumpstart its crucial tourism industry by reopening the popular resort island of Phuket to vaccinated travelers, even as the more virulent delta strain of coronavirus sweeps through the region. Starting Thursday, inoculated tourists from low- and medium-risk countries such as the US and Spain will be allowed to holiday in Phuket without quarantining. If successful, the experiment could lead to a wider reopening of the Thai tourism industry as soon as October. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Before the pandemic, tourism contributed about 20% of Thailand’s gross domestic product -- about double the global average. On Phuket, tourism accounts for more than 90% of the economy and employment. But with beaches empty and many restaurants, bars and massage parlors shuttered, average income is expected to drop below the poverty line this year. “It’s the start of the reopening of Thailand’s tourism sector in the new normal,” said Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, president of the Tourism Council of Phuket. “We’ll gradually reopen and continuously learn from it to chart the course for tourism to become one of the country’s key economic engines again.” Even as the island reopens, expectations are low. Only 100,000 foreign tourists are forecast to arrive in Q3, compared to more than 2.5m a quarter pre-pandemic. Booking data from six airlines shows 426 flights and 8,281 arrivals to Phuket during the first month of the reopening.<br/>