Kasikorn Forecast 1.2 Million Tourists Are The Best-Case Scenario For Phuket’s Sandbox.

Through Phuket’s “Sandbox” travel policy, up to 1.2 million foreign tourists could visit Thailand. According to the Kasikorn Research Centre, this is the best-case scenario. They anticipate that the program, which will allow vaccinated tourists to enter the country and stay without passing through quarantine, will attract between 550,000 and 1.2 million visitors between July 1 and the end of the year. So what would be the worst-case scenario? Only 250,000 tourists to arrive during the next six months.

Under Phuket’s Sandbox model, tourists vaccinated against the coronavirus will not undergo the 14-day quarantine. Instead, tourists must stay on the island for a minimum of 14 days before traveling to other provinces. In addition, tourists entering Phuket via the Sandbox program must produce documentation of complete vaccination against Covid-19, and negative Covid-19 test results had no more than 72 hours before travel.

“Starting July 1, the sandbox campaign is expected to attract between 550,000 and 1.2 million international tourists, assuming no additional cluster cases emerge in the province… However, in the worst-case scenario, foreign tourists are expected to number around 250,000. These numbers can be changed based on the Covid-19 situation, vaccination rates, and international tourists’ confidence in Thailand’s ability to handle the outbreak.”

According to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the program, initially submitted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, has been approved in principle by the Center for Economic Situation Administration. As a result, the island province has expedited its local Covid-19 vaccination campaign to attain herd immunity and vaccinate 70% of the island’s population by the end of the month.

The general state of tourism is expected to improve next year as the country achieves herd immunity against the coronavirus. However, domestic tourism hopes to improve first as health officials continue to roll out vaccinations and reduce cluster infections.

“Once Thailand’s overall outbreak situation improves, Thais will resume domestic travel and spending, benefiting other connected industries including as transportation and retail.”

Source: The Thaiger