From Bangkok Post

The Tourism and Sports Ministry vows to open the whole country without quarantine by January next year, but such a move largely depends on nationwide herd immunity.

Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the tourism and sports minister, said Bangkok was scheduled to reopen in October as part of the second phase for the country, but this phase has been delayed to November as the majority of residents will not receive their second vaccine dose until the end of October.

"The plan for Bangkok is more challenging as it has extended territory covering vicinities that require more elaborate standard operation procedures [SOPs]," he said.

Meanwhile, Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin) and Chon Buri (Pattaya) will go ahead as planned on Oct 1, as well as Phetchaburi, which hasn't yet started its SOPs and needs to speed up this month, said Mr Phiphat.

At a meeting between the ministry and the Tourism Authorities of Thailand (TAT) on Friday, he said they agreed to add some provinces to the third phase of reopening under the 7+7 extension programme.

As a result, from Oct 15 there are 25 provinces tourists can enter via the sandbox programme as second destinations after spending seven days in one of these destinations: Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi and Bangkok.

Continues at

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2176951/tourism-ministry-sets-january-date-to-reopen

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Phuket sours on Sandbox

The private sector in Phuket is urging the government to fully reopen the resort island by Dec 1, saying the move can bring in more than 210 billion baht in tourism-related revenue in just three months.

The call came as businesses in Phuket realised that they won't be able to survive with the island only partially reopened under the Phuket Sandbox scheme.

"Only over 20,000 tourists have come over the past two months since the Phuket Sandbox was launched," said the vice-president of Phuket Tourism Association, Nanthida Atiset.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2176819/phuket-sours-on-sandbox

Nice to hear but I don't believe in those predictions / promises until they will be firmly announced

27 minutes ago, reader said:

Chon Buri (Pattaya) will go ahead as planned on Oct 1,

Lets hope this is true.

Meanwhile malaysia is also thinking of the same line of living with the virus, though our timeline might be more realistic as we are 48% fully vaccinated and 62% at least first dose of all population. Of the eligible adult population, that number is much higher at 67%/87% respectively. We will also begin vaccination for 12-18 soon in states where majority of the adult has been fully vaccinated.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/01/covid-19-expected-to-become-endemic-in-malaysia-by-end-of-october-says-kj

 

My Phuket Sandbox Experience

A true horrors story LOL

 

 

Good video.....makes me glad I'm not planning to go back until it's open like he said, normal and not restrictions.

The comments on Youtube are funny....

From The Thaiger

Tourism officials push for resumption of Russia flights in last quarter

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it’s essential that commercial flights between Russia and Thailand be allowed to resume during the last quarter of the year. However, under Thailand’s emergency decree, international flights can only operate as semi-commercial, with limited seat capacity. Khanittha Phanworawat from the TAT’s Moscow office says this means the Russian aviation authority is still not allowing flights to Thailand.

The Bangkok Post reports that while there is some demand for Thailand in the Russian market, the lack of direct flights to places like Phuket is proving an obstacle. Further exacerbating the situation is Aeroflot’s decision to suspend flights to Bangkok until October 31 in order to avoid flying over Afghanistan’s airspace.

Khanittha says that if international air travel could resume between Russia and Thailand, Russian tour operators are prepared to operate charter flights within a month. Russia has recently resumed flights to 56 other countries, including destinations popular with Russian tourists, where there are fewer restrictions and lower costs, compared to Thailand.

During 2019, Thailand welcomed 1.48 Russian tourists, generating nearly 103 billion baht. Nearly 700,000 of them came in the last quarter of the year. During 2020, the number of Russian visitors plummeted by over 60%. Next year, the TAT hopes to lure 500,000 – 700,000 Russians.

Following the Thai government’s decision to approve the Sputnik V vaccine for tourists entering Thailand, Khanittha says around 100 Russians a day have applied for a Certificate of Entry. She says most are return visitors to Phuket, favouring destinations with no mandatory quarantine. However, she says the additional costs associated with travelling to Thailand at the moment risk being a deterrent, including payment for multiple PCR tests and Covid-19 insurance.

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/tourism-officials-push-for-resumption-of-russia-flights-in-last-quarter

1 hour ago, reader said:

..... favouring destinations with no mandatory quarantine. However, she says the additional costs associated with travelling to Thailand at the moment risk being a deterrent, including payment for multiple PCR tests and Covid-19 insurance.

 

At least they identified obstacles correctly, first step in right direction