Phuket sandbox
- Hua Hin News
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…
- Thailand video news
Good Morning Thailand | Autopsy confirms suffocation, some travel restrictions lifted | August 31
A newly-released autopsy report confirmed that 24 year old Jirapong Thanaphiphat, the man who died in police custody in northern Thailand’s Nakhon Sawan province, died of suffocation and not of a drug overdose. The ban on public transportation out of “dark red” zones has been lifted. Following the CCSA’s decision to ease the restrictions, both the Civil Aviation Authority of…
- Thailand video news
Thaiger Bites | Your comments and Feedback | August 30
Thai Cannabis, Police, Tourism, Vaccine passports and monuments. Tim and Jay go through your viewer comments and feedback from GMT, TNT and the Thaiger Talk forum on our website.
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | Sandbox tug-of-war, Covid trend downward | August 30
A government spokesman says the daily rate of new Covid infections continues on the decline, with recovered patients outnumbering new cases for the last 10 days. Anti-government protesters have vowed that protests will take place around the country every day, and continue indefinitely, until the Thai PM resigns. Tourism operators on the southern Sandbox island of Phuket say Covid-19 restrictions…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket tourism operators call for curbs to be eased despite surge in infections
Tourism operators on the southern island of Phuket say Covid-19 restrictions must be eased to help the sector recover, even with a surge in infections. The island has been recording around 200 daily new cases in recent days. However, Thanet Tantipiriyakit from the Phuket Tourism Council points out that the infections are mostly caused by local activities as opposed to…
- Phuket News
UK residents cancel reservations, flee Phuket, following Thailand’s inclusion on the “red list”
Phuket hotels are reporting a rise in cancellations from England, as well as current guests checking out early to eschew expense self-quarantining when they go back to the U.K. Last week, the country famous for James Bond and Jack the Ripper announced its plans to move Thailand from its amber list to its red list, starting tomorrow. The move is…
- Phuket News
1 new death as daily Covid-19 infections in Phuket top 200
Just 16 days after Phuket saw domestic Covid-19 infections surpass 100 cases in a day, the island has now passed the 200 mark with 209 new Covid-19 infections reported yesterday. The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office also released data confirming 1 more Phuket Sandbox international traveller infection and 1 death from Covid-19. The surge in cases has now pushed the…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | Policeman confessions, UK puts Thailand on red list | August 27
Thitisan Utthanaphon, aka… Joe Ferrari, the policeman who allegedly tortured and killed a drug suspect in Nakhon Sawan, surrendered late yesterday afternoon in Chon Buri late. Bad news for British sandboxers on Phuket, or elsewhere in Thailand, as well as anyone else planning to travel from Thailand to the UK. Packages containing around 1.2 million methamphetamine pills were found floating…
- Phuket News
Officials inspect Phuket and consider Covid-19 lockdown extension
As Covid cases surge and weekly infections rates are now over 10 times the original threshold of 90 infections that would prompt a reconsidering of the Phuket Sandbox, officials in Phuket are now discussing an extension of lockdown measures on the island. Pol Maj-General Surachet Hakparn (yes, Big Joke is back!) and his team inspected the Phuket Sandbox and the…
- Tourism News
Phuket hoteliers looking to winter wonderland to bolster the Sandbox
by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com As the Phuket Sandbox program continues to be the international gateway for overseas travellers to Thailand, island hoteliers are looking at what the winter season could look like. Traditionally a legacy market, many visitors during this period are called ‘snowbirds’ and are from Northern and Eastern Europe. Snowbird travellers are long-stay visitors, with a key…
- Phuket News
Phuket Covid-19 over 3000 total, nearly 900 this week, 189 today
Today’s Covid-19 numbers in Phuket push the overall total above 3000, bring the weekly total to just about 900 (10 times the original threshold for reevaluating the Phuket Sandbox), and sets yet another daily record. 189 new domestic cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday, making the count for 6 of the last 7 days over 100 infections. 3 new Sandbox…
- Thailand News
“Sandbox” tourist safety measures tightened in Phuket following murder case
Safety measures for “Sandbox” travellers in Phuket are being tightened following the suspected murder of a Swiss woman who had entered Thailand under the “Sandbox” and was found dead in a creek near the Ao Yon waterfall. Accommodations that have the SHA+ certification are being told to closely watch Phuket Sandbox Tourists who are old, feeble, women travelling by themselves,…
- Covid-19 News
Record 156 Covid-19 infections as Phuket edges near 800 a week
The number of weekly rolling Covid-19 infections in Phuket is poised to pass 800, as 5 of the last 7 days have seen infections of over 100 people and the 7-day total now stands at 798 new local Covid-19 infections. According to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, yesterday marked a new daily high of 156 new infections and one…
- Transport News
Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today
Flights between Phuket and Koh Samui that had originally been cancelled until the end of the month have now resumed nearly a week early as Bangkok Airways relaunched the flight route with limited service. From today, the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus schemes will be reconnected as part of the Sandbox 7+7 Extension, allowing people to arrive in Phuket, spend…
- Thailand video news
GMT | Sandbox experiences, VDO of Nakhon Sawan police goes viral | August 25
Today Tim, Jay and guest commentator Mike Kenner are talking about the real experience of the Sandbox. Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered a full investigation into the alleged killing of a drug suspect by a policeman in Nakhon Sawan policemen. An 80 year old Australian man was assaulted after he smacked a car that almost ran him over. A…
- Thailand News
TAT plans to launch Chiang Mai tourism plan in October
Chiang Mai is getting ready to launch a “Bubble and Sealed” tourism plan where visitors can travel to 4 districts in Chiang Mai, the northern Thai province. The plan comes by way of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The 4 districts are the Mueang District, the Mae Rim district, the Mae Taeng district, and the Doi Tao district. The opening…
- Phuket News
Phuket tourism operators more hopeful after Sputnik approval
Phuket’s tourism operators are feeling slightly more confident about the last quarter of the year, following the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has added the Russian vaccine to the list of vaccines that will be accepted when granting entry to foreign tourists arriving through the Phuket’s sandbox scheme. Thailand’s tourism sector has taken…
- Koh Samui News
Koh Samui flights resume Wednesday despite Covid-19
The Samui Plus international reopening plan has seen a fraction of the success of the Phuket Sandbox reopening and were hampered by the grounding of nearly all domestic flights in Thailand, despite an exception for Sandbox flights. Now the province that’s home to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao will continue the Samui Plus programme and expects flights to…
- Phuket News
Phuket sees third consecutive day over 100 Covid-19 infections
For the third day in a row, new Covid-19 infections in Phuket had topped 100 people as 126 new local infections were identified in the province yesterday. 2 new infections were found in Phuket Sandbox travellers as well. There were no new deaths reported yesterday, and the total remains at 17 fatalities from Covid-19’s third wave. The rolling weekly total…
- Phuket News
Phuket Sandbox order revises rules to cancel or modify
A new updated Phuket Provincial Order revises the international reopening scheme to include the new Sandbox 7+7 program but also slips in a revision to the parameters for cancellation or modification of the Phuket Sandbox. The order issued yesterday mostly revises the rules to include conditions for travelling to other destinations in Thailand after the first 7 days in Phuket.…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | PM ponders restriction relaxation, no bail for Penguin | August 19
A 7 year old is living by himself after his 8 family members who also lived with him tested positive for Covid. Thailand’s PM says some Covid-19 restrictions may be relaxed from next month, IF the infection rate starts to come down. Phuket officials have amended the requirements for domestic travel to the island’s Sandbox experiment, allowing some domestic categories…
- Phuket News
Happy Paradise plan to welcome tourists, encourage spending
In an attempt to boost revenues and welcome more tourists to the Phuket Sandbox and beyond, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a “Happy Paradise” programme. The plan aims at creating activities and excitement for Sandbox travellers and has kicked off with 1,000 Happy Paradise Welcome Kits. The program helps to invigorate not just Phuket arrivals, but also travellers…
- Phuket News
Phuket entry requirements updated to admit some domestic travellers
Phuket officials have amended the requirements for domestic travel to the island, allowing some categories to enter. The measures are in place until at least the end of the month. According to TTR Weekly, domestic arrivals who meet the criteria below can enter Phuket via land, sea, or air. – Anyone returning to Phuket who can produce a house registration…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | 7+7 approved for Phuket, new record Covid deaths | August 17
Police deny claims that live ammunition was shot at protesters on Sunday night outside Bangkok’s Din Daeng police station. The government is seeking to press charges against red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar over protests in Bangkok on Sunday. Phuket is instituting new measures as ordered by the provincial communicable disease committee. 239 coronavirus-related deaths, a new record high, and 20,128 new…
- Phuket News
CCSA approves “7+7” island hop extension to “Phuket Sandbox”
The so-called “7+7” island hop extension to the “Phuket Sandbox” reopening scheme has been approved by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, allowing travellers from overseas who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter Phuket, stay on the island for seven days, and then travel on a sealed route to specified destinations in Surat Thani, Krabi, and Phang Nga. Under the…
- Tourism News
TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19
Many of the original Sandbox-style plans to reopen tourist destinations to international travellers have been delayed as Covid-19 outbreaks spread and domestic travel has been mostly shut down, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still hoping to launch its 7+7 model to allow Phuket Sandbox travellers to stay one week before continuing on to a handful of other destinations.…
- Phuket News
Phuket Covid-19 infections break 100 for the second time
The Phuket Sandbox originally planned to suspend or revise the programme if ever Covid-19 infections reached over 90 in a week, but that ideal has been abandoned as daily infections hit triple digits for the second time in a week. Local infections hit a new record today of 109, topping the August 11 record of 104 by 5 people as…
- Thailand News
Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism
Doubting PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to reopen Thailand fully to international tourists by mid-October, the Thai Hotels Association is calling on the government to focus on plans to boost domestic tourism. The association says that the Thai government is laser-focused on international tourism and on achieving the reopening goal, but a backup plan is needed to encourage domestic tourism if…
- Tourism News
Phuket Sandbox Express Bus to be ended August 16
On the back of the news that the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has approved airlines to schedule charter flights in and out of Phuket, officials announced that the Sandbox Express Bus set up last week to transport Phuket Sandbox travellers to their exit flights from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport will be discontinued after August 16. The bus was set up…
- Phuket News
Tourism officials to launch major Phuket marketing campaign overseas
Following the recent murder of a Swiss tourist, and the US government advising citizens to avoid travel to Thailand, Phuket’s tourism sector faces some serious challenges. The southern island re-opened to international tourists on July 1 under its sandbox scheme but now officials fear that may be in jeopardy. The Bangkok Post reports that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is…
