Phuket welcomes first group of Test & Go tourists travelling by sea

Petch PetpailinWednesday, March 9, 2022Last Updated: Wednesday, March 9, 2022

242 1 minute read

Phuket welcomes first group of Test & Go tourists travelling by sea

Phuket welcomed its first group of Test & Go travellers entering the island province by sea and tourism officials say more visitors travelling on cruise ships and yachts will be entering under the quarantine exemption scheme.

On March 1, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration eased travel restrictions, allowing Test & Go travellers to enter Thailand by land and sea, not just air. Under the entry scheme, travellers must undergo an RT-PCR Covid-19 on arrival. Those travelling by air must stay at an approved hotel or resort for a night while they wait for their results while those travelling by sea must isolate on the yacht or cruise ship.

Yesterday, Phuket provincial authorities and relevant departments welcomed the first group of tourists who travelled from Singapore by the Malaysian yacht named “The Maggie.” The ship had docked at Ao Por Grand Marina, which was developed to be a so-called “smart pier” equipped with auto gates, CCTV with temperature detector, and passport scanner.

The Director of Phuket’s TAT, Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, office shared that tourists from yachts and cruise ships are a target market as they have a high spending potential. She added that most groups came from European and Mediterranean countries, and some came from neighbouring countries.

Nanthasiri shared that Phuket was a destination for yachts and cruise ships because the province has more than 30 state and private piers and a deepwater port. She revealed that 91 ships with 323 passengers visited Phuket in 2021, and 27 ships with 92 passengers visited from January to March of this year. Aside from that, there would be more cruises requested to travel to Thailand under the Test & Go programme.

SOURCE: PR Phuket | Khaosod

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If you are fully vaccinated and looking to travel to Thailand, you may enter by a 1 Day Test & Go Packages.

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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.