Sunny Phuket Reopens Borders To Vaccinated Tourists Over A Year Into The Pandemic

After over a year of border closures, Thailand's popular paradise island Phuket has finally started welcoming its first batch of quarantine-free tourists! The long-awaited border reopening (known as the "Phuket Sandbox" scheme) is an effort by the government to revive Thailand's tourism, which accounts for about a fifth of the country's economy. The Prime Minister of Thailand mentioned that while there's a risk in the decision, it was made so Thai people can make a living.

As of now, approximately 70% of the population in Phuket has received at least one vaccination dose, which greatly reduces the risk of transmission compared to other places in the country where the pandemic is still at large. Daily case numbers in Phuket have remained in the single digits, and the local authorities mentioned that the scheme will be suspended if more than 90 cases are recorded in a week.

The island is currently only accepting tourists from a list of low to medium-risk countries such as Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, China, and more. Those who wish to visit Phuket will have to arrive vaccinated and provide proof of a negative COVID-19 screening test before being allowed to enter the country. They will not be required to quarantine upon arrival and can travel around the island freely, though their movements on the island will be monitored via an app that has to be downloaded upon arrival to facilitate tracking.

Besides being able to travel within Phuket, tourists will also be allowed to travel elsewhere in Thailand as long as they stay on the island for at least 14 days. The authorities have also put in place a list of SOPs to ensure the safety of the tourists and locals, including only allowing stays in certified hotels where 70% of their staff have been vaccinated.

Thailand has plans to reopen travel borders in other islands (such as Koh Samui, Koh Phi Phi, and more!) in the new few months, and full openings are scheduled to happen by end of 2021. The "Phuket Sandbox" scheme is an important experimental steppingstone as Thailand plans its way towards gradually opening up the entire country to international tourists again.

While Malaysia is currently listed as a high-risk country due to the surge in recent cases, we hope the curve gets flattened soon so life can return to normalcy in the near future. As of now, the Malaysian government has revealed that they are in talks with other countries on allowing international travel for those who are fully vaccinated soon. In fact, Singapore has been named as one of the first countries that fully vaccinated Malaysians may be able to travel to first. Where are you excited to travel to once the pandemic is over?