Phuket will open to foreign tourists in July, and consider providing free air tickets for international tourists.

Thailand is considering providing free air tickets for international tourists, and Phuket will be the first to open.

Reporter | Zheng Editor | Yin Youan 1 Recently, according to Thai media reports, Pippa, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, said that during the holidays of foreign tourists, free flights in Thailand can be provided for foreign tourists who have been vaccinated to promote inter-provincial tourism in Thailand.

Prior to this, Thailand approved the request of the local civil aviation authority to provide 40,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for airline employees.

"From July 1 day, if we can provide free or discounted provincial air tickets for international tourists, then passengers who have been exempted from inspection and vaccinated can continue to extend their holidays after staying in Phuket1day." Pippa said

Thai AirAsia has indicated that it is willing to provide discounted fares or free air tickets for domestic flights to ensure tourists' travel confidence.

If there are no accidents, starting from July 1 this year, Phuket will be the experimental field for Thailand to open international tourism, taking the lead in implementing a more relaxed entry policy for tourists, and international tourists who have been vaccinated will be allowed to be exempted from the quarantine period. However, inbound passengers must show proof of vaccination, take a COVID-19 negative test on arrival, and install Thailand tracking application on their mobile phones.

In addition, from 10 to 1, several major tourist areas such as Krabi, Panya, Samui, Chiang Mai and Pattaya will also allow vaccinated passengers to enter without compulsory isolation.

Su Peijie, the operator of BadongSunsetVilla, Phuket Hotel, told Interface News that due to the recent Songkran Festival in Thailand, the hotels with good local scenery are nearly full, but the hotel guests are mainly from Thailand, so the hotel price has dropped by 40%-50% compared with the previous time when there were international tourists.

"At present, the Phuket government is actively vaccinating people, with an average of 1 000 people participating in vaccination every day. People from all over Phuket are working hard for the opening of tourism in July. " Su Peijie said

Tourism accounts for one-fifth of Thailand's GDP. In 2020, when there is a shortage of international tourists, Thailand's overall GDP data will decrease by 6. 1% year-on-year, which is the most serious contraction after the Asian financial crisis 1997.

According to statistics, only 6.7 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2020, spending about 1 1 billion dollars. In 20 19, nearly 40 million foreign tourists entered Thailand, and they spent 6 10 billion dollars in Thailand.

According to Thailand's current plan of gradually opening up inbound tourism, it is estimated that Phuket will receive/kloc-0.5 million foreign tourists from July to September, with an estimated income of 30 billion baht.

From April this year 1, Phuket began to shorten the entry quarantine time.

According to local media reports, the international terminal of Phuket International Airport was opened in the early morning of April 1. On April 3, the first batch of international tourists arrived at Phuket International Airport. They flew directly from Frankfurt to Phuket on a Thai Airways flight, which was regarded by the Phuket media as the beginning of the restrictions on open inbound tourism.

However, local senior people in Thailand believe that the possibility of China tourists 202 1, the main group of international tourists in the past, entering Thailand is still very low.

In order to welcome more international tourists, Phuket is making every effort to promote vaccination. "Some people have been vaccinated and are ready to travel, but they will only choose destinations that have been vaccinated for their residents and do not need isolation." YuthasakSupasorn, director of Thailand Tourism Bureau, told the media.

The mass vaccination in Phuket began in April 1, and the Phuket government hopes to achieve more than 70% mass vaccination before July 1 this year. By 2020, the local population of Phuket will be 4 14 and 47 1 respectively.

The bad news is that a tourist from Phuket, Bangkok, was recently found to be infected with coronavirus pneumonia-19 virus. The tourist attended a party at Kolour Beach in Phuket on April 2nd. Before his trip to Phuket, he went to a Bangkok bar where COVID-19 infection broke out. According to the latest information disclosed by Phuket Public Health Office, as of the morning of April 7th, eight people in Phuket have been diagnosed with COVID-19 virus. Prior to this, there were no cases of COVID-19 infection in Phuket for more than 100 days.