By Prapan Chankaew and Orathai Sriring
PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) – 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 before the rest of the country.
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 visitors vaccinated abroad will no longer need to be quarantined.
Phuket also has its own international airport and tourists could move around the island freely 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 about $ 11 billion. This 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 as vaccines progress worldwide, demand will increase in the fourth quarter and that around 6.5 million visitors will have spent 350 billion baht (US $ 11 billion) across the country. ) until 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 like a broken dam, but we do expect quality visitors at high expense.”
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.
Songklod Wongchai, an analyst at Finansia Syrus, believes that Thailand may see a rapid recovery in tourism, citing the example of the Maldives, which saw hotel occupancy rates return to 70-80%, despite cases of the virus.
“The pent-up demand may return faster than expected. I think the Land of Smiles will start to smile again, ”he said.
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(Reporting by Prapan Chankaew in Phuket, Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai in Bangkok; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)