PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) – In Thailand, it is the most important tourism sector that has taken the lead in the COVID-19 vaccination line, with the country’s most popular holiday island launching a mass vaccination program two months ahead of the rest. of the country.
Phuket Island aims to deliver shots to at least 460,000 people – the majority of the population – as it is ready on July 1, when vaccinated overseas visitors no longer need to be quarantined.
Phuket also has its own international airport and tourists will be able to roam the island freely without posing any coronavirus risk to the rest of Thailand’s population.
“If we can build up immunity for 70-80% of the island’s population, we can receive foreign tourists who have been vaccinated without the need for a quarantine,” Phuket vice-governor Piyapong Choowong told Reuters .
While medical workers, cabinet members and the elderly have been vaccinated first, Thailand’s decision to prioritize Phuket over other parts of the country underscores the central role of tourism for the economy.
Expenditure by foreign tourists accounted for 11-12% of GDP pre-pandemic 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 and spent about $ 11 billion. That compares with nearly $ 40 million in 2019, when they spent $ 61 billion.
The government wants to see at least 100,000 tourists come to Phuket in the third quarter. It also hopes that as vaccinations progress worldwide, demand will increase in the fourth quarter, and that approximately 6.5 million visitors nationwide will spend 350 billion baht ($ 11 billion) by the end of the year.
“It’s a challenge. But it will contribute to the GDP to some extent, ‘said Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of Thailand.
“We do not expect tourists to enter like a broken dam, but we hope that visitors will be of high quality with high spending.”
Visitors from Europe, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are expected to return first, Yuthasak said.
Strict 14-day quarantine requirements for overseas visitors have helped Thailand limit coronavirus infections to about 29,100 cases and 95 deaths, but this is too great a barrier for most tourists.
Programs to attract long-term tourists who test the coronavirus negatively have thrived, even with creative measures such as quarantine at golf courses.
Songklod Wongchai, an analyst at Finansia Cyrus, believes Thailand could see a rapid boom in tourism, citing the example of the Maldives, which has slashed hotel occupancy rates to 70-80% despite cases of the virus.
” An expert question may come back faster than expected. “I think the Land of Smiles will start smiling again,” he said.
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Reporting by Prapan Chankaew in Phuket, Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai in Bangkok; Written by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Edited by Edwina Gibbs