Hua Hin opts for quarantine-free re-opening, similar to Phuket sandbox

The head of Hua Hin Recharge, which aims to re-open the popular tourist spot from October 1, says the programme will be similar to the Phuket sandbox scheme. Krod Rojanastien adds that he’s confident Hua Hin can achieve the required herd immunity in time.

The Bangkok Post reports that as of yesterday, 55% of Hua Hin’s 90,564 residents have been vaccinated, with 59.2% of those having had their first dose and 22.2% fully vaccinated. Krod plans to ask Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn for help in allocating 30,000 – 40,000 vaccine doses by this month.

Krod is optimistic that if Thailand’s infection rate keeps dropping, the country could be put back on the safe list for international visitors. He says Hua Hin is targeting 100,000 foreign tourists in the last quarter of the year, generating around 1.2 billion baht.

“If the infection rate in Thailand continues to drop and many countries put Thailand back on the safe list, we can expect a travel rebound in the last 3 months.”

There are currently 56 of Hua Hin’s 200 hotels operating, each of which has applied for the Safety and Health Administration Plus accreditation. Foreign tourists arriving under the Hua Hin Recharge programme will be permitted to travel independently or book tour packages through the scheme, which covers an area of around 86 kilometres between Hua Hin Municipality and the Nong Kae district.

Fully vaccinated visitors will be required to take a PCR test on arrival at the airport and will then be taken directly to their hotel. Once their result comes back negative, they can leave the hotel and explore freely.

According to a Bangkok Post report, Hua Hin tourism operators are also working with the Public Health Ministry on a plan to open Hua Hin airport to wealthy tourists arriving by private jet. Krod says such tourists are a significant market for wellness tourism.

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SOURCE: Bangkok Post