TOURISTS from 28 countries have shown interest in visiting Phuket after the government has agreed to waive the mandatory quarantine for vaccinated foreign visitors.
Tourism operators in the province said among the 28 countries are China, Singapore, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, where Phuket is a popular destination.
The Thai government had announced that as part of the plan to reopen the country and boost its economy, starting July, Phuket will be the first province to waive the quarantine requirement for vaccinated foreign visitors.
Phuket Tourist Association president Phumkit Raktaengam said even though foreign tourists have shown interest in visiting Phuket, it remains to be seen if they can actually proceed with their holiday plans as they also needed to be allowed to travel by their respective countries.
According to a Bangkok Post report, he said the province was expected to welcome some 150,000 foreign visitors from July to September, bringing in an estimated income of 30 billion baht.
The high season for the resort island usually starts in mid-October.
However, Phumkit said that despite the approval to allow vaccinated tourists in without quarantine, provincial authorities will still need to submit details to the Thai Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for approval.
"The details involve what documents they need, what they are supposed to do while in Phuket, and if their vaccines are endorsed. We have to take the health safety of local people into consideration too," he said.
He added that the province must inoculate at least 70 per cent of its 460,000 population to create herd immunity.
However, Phumkit said the reduction of the mandatory isolation period from 14 days to seven days which took effect on April 1, was unlikely to revive the general tourism industry in the country.
"Those who are likely to visit are businessmen or people who have families in Thailand. We have a survey indicating that foreign tourists are turned away by the quarantine," he said.
On Saturday, Thai Airway's first flight from Germany's Frankfurt touched down at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, the first since an international travel lockdown started early last year when the pandemic broke out.
The flight carried 130 German tourists, with 16 of them continuing their journey to Phuket.
The next such flight will be on May 7.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government hoped to complete its targeted vaccination programme in 77 provinces by the end of this month.
Speaking in a PM Podcast programme, he said that 800,000 doses of China's Sinovac vaccine will be distributed to target populations in the provinces.
Of the total, 300,000 doses each will be given to people in outbreak areas and, tourism and border provinces. -- AFP