Tourism News
Thailand tourism news, travel updates, visa policies, and destination highlights—stay informed on hospitality trends, cultural experiences, and major infrastructure projects. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Thailand travel news.
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Samui and Phangan reopening: bars open, 5,000 baht Covid tests
Koh Samui and the surrounding islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are preparing for their Samui Plus reopening beginning July 15. The rules for the reopening are more stringent, with 3 full days of quarantine required and then 4 days of being allowed to travel only on sealed routes to specific tourist destinations before finally being allowed to travel…
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Sandbox tourist forced to stay in ASQ hotel after fellow passenger on her flight tests positive
Stefanie came to Phuket as a kick start to a new adventure and a long term stay in Thailand. The Phuket Sandbox option would allow her to visit around the island for 14 days before heading off to other destinations in Thailand. But it didn’t work out as planned. Now, she’s stuck in a small room for up to 14…
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2,500+ in Phuket Sandbox, flight and hotel numbers increasing
Despite the first international Covid-19 case of the Phuket Sandbox and the subsequently quarantined passengers requesting to leave Thailand, increasing numbers of international travellers continue to arrive each day in the reopening scheme. Yesterday 125 more travellers arrived on flights from Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi, with 11 more flights scheduled for the next 2 days. That…
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12 Sandbox travellers in quarantine request to leave Thailand
The strict rules and closed entertainment venues have discouraged many potential tourists from coming to the Phuket Sandbox just yet, but many who have arrived have expressed happiness to be enjoying the beauty of Thailand, even with the complex process and limitations on the ground. But predictably, one group of Sandboxers who have are in quarantine after one traveller tested…
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Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern
More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…
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Phuket Sandbox growing with 33 airlines requesting flights
The Phuket Sandbox is slowly bringing international travellers back to Thailand, and while it’s had a few problems, signs indicate that confidence is growing in the scheme. With El Al, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways bringing in flights from the Middle East, Singapore Airlines connecting people in Southeast Asia, and Thai Airways operating 5 flights from Europe, international flights are…
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Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening
The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…
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Bangkok Airways revises Koh Samui flights ahead of reopening
To prepare for the Samui+ reopening programme launching July 15, Bangkok Airways is revising its schedule to operate 3 inbound flights and 3 outbound flights daily between Koh Samui and Bangkok. The new schedule, released today and promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in a press release this afternoon, will feature a morning, afternoon, and evening flight option beginning…
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3 travellers escaped Phuket Sandbox but were quickly caught
In light of the recent discovery of the first internationally imported case of Covid-19 in the Phuket Sandbox scheme, the news that 3 people so far have “escaped” from the strictly regulated accommodations might be a little unnerving. While the Sandbox may not be airtight, authorities successfully located and handled 3 tourists reported missing from Phuket hotels this week. The…
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Phuket Sandbox over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection
On day 7 of the Phuket Sandbox, international arrivals have surpassed 2,000 people, the first Covid-19 infection from abroad has been found, and a few hiccups have been addressed. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew says the reopening is definitely benefiting the economy, but plenty of improvements are to be made. Government officials have been pleased to announce that with their strict…
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Entry registration under “Samui Plus” reopening planned to open this week
The registration for entering Thailand under the slated “Samui Plus” reopening scheme is planned to open this week. Similar to the Phuket “Sandbox,” the programme will allow foreign tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to the trio of islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao are…
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Survey shows most hotels can only cover operation costs for less than 3 months
A survey by the Bank of Thailand shows that most hotels can only cover their operating costs for less than 3 months. 220 properties were surveyed between June 14 and 27. Of those, 17 are alternative state quarantine facilities, while 3 properties serve as “hospitels”. 68% of those surveyed say they only have enough liquidity to cover their operating costs…
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Phuket reviews taxi rates after “Sandbox” tourists report high prices
The notoriously high taxi rates in Phuket have been looked into after reports of overcharging the “Sandbox” tourists. The governor says he ordered local authorities to review claims of overpriced rides and found that rates are appropriately priced. From the Phuket International Airport to Patong, a “Sandbox” tourist can pay 600 to 1,050 for a ride. One tourist planning a…
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Surat Thani province to launch “Samui Plus” re-opening model
From July 15, the islands of Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Pha Ngan embark on the “Samui Plus Model”, to re-open the Surat Thani tourism destinations to vaccinated tourists. Provincial governor Witchawut Jinto has confirmed that preparations are underway, with over 70% of the islands’ residents now vaccinated. The “Samui Plus Model” will be a local rework of the Phuket…
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Tourism Ministry to ask for soft loans to help operators prepare for re-opening
The Tourism and Sports Minister says that if the Phuket sandbox is a success, he will have talks with the Finance Ministry about allocating soft loans to tourism operators. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn says the loans would come from the government’s 500-billion-baht borrowing and would help tourism operators prepare for an October re-opening. In the interim, he says domestic tourists can help…
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Meet the Sellers: First arrival in the Phuket Sandbox
Darren and Supattra Sellers may not have been part of the Siamese revolution that changed Thailand to a constitutional monarchy, or the coup that overthrew the government 7 years ago, but they will forever be a part of Thailand’s modern history now. You see, the Sellers and their 2 children were the first family off of Etihad flight 430 on…
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Inside Phuket’s Sandbox – Questions answered | VIDEO
Tim tries to answer as many Phuket Sandbox questions as possible as the fourth day of the ‘reopening’ emerges. So far, so good. Vaccines, tourism, getting back onto the island as an expat, flights, etc. The Sandbox is the first step in reopening Thailand to vaccinated travellers, without a formal 14 day quarantine in a hotel. Unfiltered, unshaven, unscripted. I…
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Flights and passenger numbers slowly rising in Phuket Sandbox
As we enter day 4 of the Phuket Sandbox reopening, while numbers aren’t anywhere near earlier estimates or historical totals, they are steadily growing day by day. Each day has brought a few more flights and passenger numbers to Phuket and the arrivals are steadily creeping up. By today, the original first-day estimate of 1,500 arrivals, should be surpassed. Today’s…
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Sandbox: 6000 registered, no positive Covid-19 tests, new land restrictions
Now that the Phuket Sandbox is up and running, international travellers are trickling back in to enjoy the Thai tropical island. More than 6,000 people have reportedly registered for the Phuket Sandbox so far, no arrivals have tested positive for Covid-19 yet, and officials are tightening up the land entry borders to the island. The Director-General of the Department of…
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Despite struggles, Phuket tourists are happy to be here
One thing many forget when they’re considering the condition of Phuket for the returning international tourists is that, while we are comparing it to the pre-Covid-19 glory days of Phuket, those travelling in the first days of the Sandbox are comparing it to their life at home now. While Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the Thai economy and tourists are…
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Thailand still plans to fully reopen on October 15, despite Covid-19 uptick
Despite the recent and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections still peaking, Thailand is on track to reopen on October 15 to those travelling from overseas who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The “Phuket Sandbox” model, which launched yesterday, will serve as a pilot project for the nationwide reopening plan. The “Samui Plus” travel model next on the list,…
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Phuket Sandbox: European flights have 400 people arriving Saturday
As flights roll into Phuket International Airport today, the Sandbox scheme is slowly coming alive. Tomorrow (July 3) should see the arrival of the first European flights into the Phuket Sandbox reopening as Thai Airways welcomes 3 arriving flights. Overnight flights from Copenhagen and Frankfurt departing now should arrive in the early hours of the morning followed an hour later…
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Phuket Sandbox trickle: Friday’s arriving international flights
The Phuket Sandbox scheme is off the ground and the desperately needed foreign travellers have begun to trickle back onto the Thai island. The earlier predictions of 1,500 people on the first day were met with just over 20% of that amount actually arriving on the first 4 flights to land internationally in Phuket. But slow and steady wins the…
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PM in Phuket visit calls for cooperation in making re-opening a success
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has called on all sectors on Phuket to work together to make the sandbox re-opening a success. The PM was speaking while on a visit to the southern island, which re-opened to vaccinated foreign tourists yesterday. The first international arrivals in over a year jetted in on Etihad Airways, which had 25 passengers from Abu Dhabi…
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3 planes arrive in Phuket; 25 on 1st flight, 400 expected today
The first 3 flights have now arrived in Phuket for the Sandbox reopening, with details emerging from the first arrival this morning, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. A total of 25 passengers, down from yesterday’s estimate of 37, were the first to be welcomed back to Phuket with fanfare and celebration. A total of 400 international travellers are…
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Phuket reopens but botched preparation limits travellers
So Phuket is finally reopened with today marking the start of the Phuket Sandbox and the welcoming of international travellers without quarantine. But the days leading up to the launch saw a precipitous drop in expected arrivals as constant changes, lack of preparation, delays in implementation, and overall chaos marred the Phuket rollout and damaged tourist confidence in the scheme.…
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Phuket opens – Around 300 seats sold for July 1 arrival flights
Officially, Phuket is open again. The doors are now open to vaccinated international travellers. Driving north along Thepkasattri Road this morning around 6.45am was a convoy of 15 white passenger vans, vans which haven’t really seen the light of day, ferrying tourists around the island, since April or May last year. Today they are being pressed into service for a…
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Small businesses fear Phuket Sandbox will leave them behind
With the Phuket Sandbox reopening just hours away, many businesses in the tourist-reliant province hopefully await the return of foreign travellers and the restart of the economy. But while businesses that had the financial means to weather the long-term closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic prepare excitedly, many smaller businesses that lacked the funding to revive themselves are not nearly…
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Tourism jobs continue to be lost – nearly 1 million in 2021
It’s easy to look scornfully at the government and tourism industry’s rose-tinted predictions of the Phuket Sandbox reopening and further return of international tourism to Thailand by the end of the year. But a look at the current statistics for the battered tourism industry helps explain the need for hope. This quarter, 550,000 jobs were lost in the tourism industry.…
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Thailand tourism officials predict best and worst case scenarios for reopening
The best-case scenario in Thailand’s reopening… 3 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, Tourism Council of Thailand says. It’s a far cry from the around 40 million welcomed to Thailand in 2019. But with Phuket set to reopening tomorrow under the “Sandbox” travel model, and other areas posed to reopen later this year, tourism officials guess, that in the best…
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