In Thailand, it is the most important tourism sector that has jumped to the front of the Covid-19 vaccination line, with the country’s most popular tourist island embarking on a mass vaccination program two months ahead of the rest of Thailand.
The island of Phuket plans to provide vaccines to at least 460,000 people – the majority of its population – as it prepares for July 1, when vaccinated foreign visitors will no longer need to be quarantined.
Phuket also has its own international airport, which means that tourists should be able to visit the island without posing any risk of coronavirus to the rest of Thailand’s population.
“If we can build immunity for 70-80% of the island’s population, we can receive foreign tourists who have been vaccinated without the need for quarantine,” Phuket’s deputy governor, Piyapong Choowong, told Reuters.
Although medical professionals, cabinet members and the elderly were the first to be vaccinated, Thailand’s decision to prioritize Phuket over other parts of the country underscores the central role of tourism in the economy.
Spending by foreign tourists represented 11-12% of pre-pandemic GDP and the sector was devastated by the virus, with 1.45 million jobs lost since last year.
Only 6.7 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2020, spending $ 11 billion. That compares to almost 40 million in 2019, when they spent $ 61 billion.
The government wants to see at least 100,000 tourists coming to Phuket in the third quarter. He also expects that with the progress of vaccines worldwide, there will be an increase in demand in the fourth quarter and that 6.5 million visitors across the country will have spent 350 billion baht ($ 11 billion) by the end of the year.
“It is a challenge. But it will contribute to GDP to a certain extent,” said the Tourism Authority of the governor of Thailand, Yuthasak Supasorn.
“We don’t expect tourists to arrive as a broken dam, but we do expect quality visitors with high expenses.”
Visitors from Europe, the United Arab Emirates and the United States must return first, said Yuthasak.
Strict 14-day quarantine requirements for foreign visitors have helped Thailand to limit coronavirus infections to around 29,100 cases and 95 deaths, but have proved to be a major obstacle for most tourists.
Programs to attract long-term tourists with a negative test for coronavirus have largely failed, even with creative measures like quarantine at golf resorts.
The Maldives have seen hotel occupancy rates fall back to 70-80%, despite cases of the virus – a rapid recovery that Songklod Wongchai, an analyst at Finansia Syrus, believes can happen in Thailand.
“The pent-up demand may return faster than expected. I think Terra dos Sorrisos will smile again, ”he said.