July 15 is the first day of reopening under the "Samui Plus" model, with no international visitors to Samui island.
Ratchaporn Poolsawas, Chairman of Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association, said that 11 international guests who took a flight from Bangkok to Samui today were all media. Tomorrow, July 16, the island is expected to welcome 4 international guests.
Surat Thani province reopened to welcome visitors on 3 islands: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. All visitors must enter the island of Samui and stay there for 7 days before being able to move around the island or to the other two islands. Photo: JC Gellidon/Unsplash
Tourist operators in resort islands such as Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are still ready to welcome visitors, although this time the return of international visitors is assessed as "" slow". 177 of Koh Samui's 671 hotels have reopened.
177 of Koh Samui's 671 hotels have reopened.
"We don't expect many visitors to Thailand in the third quarter of this year. The country's rise in daily infections hurts their confidence.
However, what we can do is to start tourism activities according to standard procedures, to stimulate tourism in the country," Poolsawas said. The head of the association hopes that infections will decrease in the last quarter of the year, so that Thailand can welcome more international and domestic visitors.
Poetic beauty of the island is known as the Pearl Islands of Thailand
On 4/7, the head of Surat Thani province, Witchawut Jinto, said the three islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao will open to visitors from 15 /7, according to the "Samui Plus" model. This is the same model "Phuket Sandbox". In Phuket, on the first day of opening on July 1, about 300 international visitors entered.
On July 4, the head of Surat Thani province, Witchawut Jinto, said that the three islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao will open to guests from July 15, according to the "Samui Plus" model.
If the number of nCov infections according to this model increases by more than 40 cases in two weeks, Covid-19 prevention measures will tighten. This is also the limit for island governments to decide whether the Samui Plus model needs to be discontinued. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, 80 international guests have booked tickets with Bangkok Airways, flying from Bangkok to Samui between July and October.
