Destinations known | Phuket Sandbox: dos and don’ts for ‘no quarantine’ reopening of Thai resort island
- If you are fully vaccinated Phuket welcomes you from July 1, but with some conditions
- These include showing proof of a negative PCR test, travel insurance and adequate funds, and downloading a contact-tracing app upon arrival
After 15 long months, quarantine-free holidays in Phuket are on the horizon, courtesy of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) pilot Phuket Sandbox plan, which will see the resort island open to vaccinated foreign travellers on July 1. But before you book your stay in the sun (or rain – it is monsoon season, after all), consider these dos and don’ts.
Do ensure that you have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 at least two weeks before your departure date with one of the vaccines approved by Thailand – currently Sinovac, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna – or one certified by the World Health Organisation, which adds Pfizer-BioNTech to the list.
Speaking to CNN recently, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said: “For the initial stage, only fully vaccinated tourists are allowed in, with the exception of children under six.” According to Phuket-based online news platform The Thaiger, “For those between the ages of six and 18, a rapid antigen Covid-19 test will be administered as soon as they arrive at Phuket International Airport.”
Don’t expect everything to be as it was before. The pandemic has made planning both arduous and essential, and there are many expensive hoops through which you, the hopeful holidaymaker, must jump before you actually step foot on foreign soil. In addition to a Covid-19 vaccination certificate, you’ll need to present a negative result from a PCR test taken within 72 hours of boarding the flight to Phuket, a valid visa and a certificate of entry from your local Thai embassy, and travel insurance with at least US$100,000 Covid-19 coverage.
Then there will be a contact-tracing app that will need installing, proof of personal funds to the value of 20,000 baht (US$640) that should be shown, a health declaration form to be completed, and that’s before you’ve even got to the accommodation.
