PHUKET, Thailand – In Thailand, it’s the all-important tourism sector that has jumped to the head of the COVID-19 vaccination line, with the nation’s most popular resort island embarking on a mass inoculation program two months ahead of the rest of the nation.
The island of Phuket aims to deliver shots to at least 460,000 individuals – most of its population – as it gears up for July 1, when vaccinated overseas visitors will no longer be required to quarantine.
Phuket also has its own international airport and tourists would be able to roam the island freely without posing any coronavirus risk to the rest of Thailand’s population.
“If we can build immunity for 70-80% of the population on the island, we can obtain international tourists who’ve been vaccinated without the necessity for quarantine,” Phuket’s Vice Governor Piyapong Choowong informed news agency.
Whereas medical staff, members of the cabinet, and the elderly were the primary to be vaccinated, Thailand’s decision to prioritize Phuket over other parts of the nation underscores the central role of tourism in the economy.
Spending by international tourists accounted for 11-12% of GDP pre-pandemic and the sector has been devastated by the virus with 1.45 million jobs lost since the last yr.
Just 6.7 million international tourists visited Thailand in 2020, spending some $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 within the third quarter. It also hopes that as vaccinations worldwide progress it will see a spike in demand within the fourth quarter and that nationwide some 6.5 million guests will have spent 350 billion baht ($11 billion) by the end of the yr.
“It’s a problem. But that will contribute to GDP to some extent,” mentioned Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
“We don’t expect tourists will come in like a broken dam but we hope to have quality visitors with high spending.”
Visitors from Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States are expected to return first, Yuthasak mentioned.
Strict 14-day quarantine requirements for overseas visitors have helped Thailand restrict coronavirus infections to around 29,100 cases and 95 deaths but have proven to be too great a hurdle for most tourists.
Programs to attract long-term tourists who test negative for the coronavirus have largely flopped, even with creative measures such as quarantine at golf resorts.
Songklod Wongchai, an analyst at Financial Syrus, believes Thailand could see a quick rebound in tourism, citing the example of the Maldives which has seen hotel occupancy rates bounce back to 70-80% despite cases of the virus.
“Pent-up demand may come back faster than expected. I think the Land of Smiles will begin smiling again,” he mentioned.