Chiang Mai along with Pattaya, Hua Hin opens from October with the hope of attracting international visitors to revive the tourism industry.
Chiang Mai (the districts of Muang, Mae Rim, Mae Tang and Doi Tao) and many beach resorts such as Pattaya, Cha-Am and Hua Hin will welcome tourists from October 1. Other tourist destinations such as Chiang Rai, Koh Chang and Koh Kood will open their doors to visitors in mid-October and implement "tourism bubble" plans to link up with some neighboring countries in 2022,
according to the minister. Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, this plan will be implemented according to the model of Phuket from 1/7. The plan will be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for approval.
Bangkok is also in the group of tourist destinations that are about to reopen, but the time may be November 1. By the end of September, about 70% of the capital's population will be vaccinated with two doses, and vaccination in neighboring provinces will reach 70% by the end of October.
The push to end restrictions on tourists is part of a new "living with Covid-19" strategy in The epidemic is still spreading. Accordingly, many countries in the region such as Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines are also coming up with new policies to deal with the pandemic, protect their livelihoods and save their economies from a prolonged recession.
According to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, tourism recovery needs to be a priority because this economic sector contributes up to one-fifth of Thailand's GDP in 2019. One of the important criteria for tourist destinations in this country when To welcome guests who have been vaccinated enough, the local injection rate must also reach 70%.
Phuket was the first province to reach the target and opened in July. The program has since been expanded to many islands and beaches such as Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Pha Ngan, etc., the Thai government said. , "Phuket Sandbox '' was a success and the show would become a model for the whole country. According to Phuket officials, more than 26,000 tourists to Phuket in the past two months have brought in 1.6 billion baht in tourism revenue. Localities still increase infections, but less than 1% of tourists have tested positive for Covid-19.
Thailand has vaccinated the whole population 14%, of which 35% completed the first dose. The Ministry of Health said that most of the tourist destinations selected to reopen had higher-than-average vaccination rates. of the country and continue to strengthen vaccination levels with increasing doses of vaccines.
