Thailand’s plan to reopen Phuket to foreign visitors delayed by new local coronavirus transmission

The Thai government has been trying to promote domestic tourism with a campaign to foot 40 per cent of travellers’ hotel bills

Local spending alone can’t compensate for a loss of foreigners, who contributed to two-thirds of tourism income before the pandemic

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Governments are fearful of striking the wrong balance between public health and economic help. Photo: EPA

Published: 5:16pm, 8 Sep 2020Updated: 5:19pm, 8 Sep 2020

Thailand’s plan to reopen its tropical island of Phuket to foreign visitors next month has hit a speed bump with the nation ending a 100-day streak of no local community coronavirus transmission last week.

“The government is ready, but there are still concerns from some groups that the reopening will lead to infections,” Deputy Premier and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday. “It’s been nine months now. We have to learn to fight and live with the pandemic. We can’t be afraid of it.”

The reopening plan faced more scrutiny after authorities confirmed the first local case since May 26 in a 37-year-old male inmate of a Bangkok prison with no recent history of travelling abroad. Reopening to tourists has led to the resurgence of infection in some places like the Caribbean island of Aruba, and governments are fearful of striking the wrong balance between public health and economic help.

Thailand’s hospitality and tourism sectors are counting on the return of international visitors, who contributed to two-thirds of tourism income before the pandemic, to reverse a slump in business and save millions of jobs. The government and businesses are weighing the cost between curbing infection risks and limiting damage to the economy, which is on track for a record contraction of 8.5 per cent this year.

“Thailand’s failure to relaunch overseas tourism creates a dangerously perilous scenario for Phuket’s hospitality industry,” said Bill Barnett, managing director at consulting firm C9 Hotelworks. “The situation is bad, and likely to get worse, as operating hotels incur losses day in and day out.”

Tour operators for Phuket show options to customers at a domestic travel fair in Bangkok. Photo: EPA