Phuket Sandbox update

[gumblebee]

I know several people (mostly Thais in Europe) who are seriously looking at the Phuket Sandbox.

2 weeks in Phuket, with the freedom to move around looks way more agreeable than being locked-up in a room. I'm seriously considering it myself, but many questions remain.

A big one is getting to Phuket. Will the major airlines be flexible enough to allow entry via HKT and return from BKK without a silly mark-ups?

At least some bars and restaurants will need to be open (this is a chicken and egg problem) and personally I'd love to at least be able to have a (foot-)massage at times.

Wearing a mask on deserted streets doesn't make sense and would be highly uncomfortable.

To avoid the taxi-mafia we'd need to rent a car to get around Phuket, etc, etc...


A bit of paperwork also seems unavoidable, but it's not too bad.
- There's no need for a visa, visa exempt entry has been extended to 45 days
- A certificate-of-entry takes about a week to process, but this also allows embassies to sort out a lot of the particulars for the countries they serve (checking vaccinations, travel-insurance etc.)
- A Covid test before travel is not be a big deal - they are also needed for travel within Europe, and many countries require online registration before travel.

[StevieWonders]

The latest updates are in a separate thread - https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showt...-reality-bites

This thread has been abandoned to the fantasists and naysayers.

[Dodger]

Below is Sunday's update from Phuket News.

Nothing new...confusion still reigns.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket...ence-80320.php

[Blueskytoday]

I think nothing good for entry into Thailand will occur until end of this year........this daily over and over change of policy is ridiculous..

[Dodger]

I think nothing good for entry into Thailand will occur until end of this year........this daily over and over change of policy is ridiculous..

Agree.

Evan with the additional restrictions tossed in the Plan, the Plan itself won't be approved until confirmation is given by CCSA regardless of what you see printed in the newspapers. The CCSA is expected to bring the hammer down on June 18, and the cabinet will approve or disapprove the CCSA's recommendations on June 22.

It doesn't take an Einstein to see the writing on the wall: Phuket will have its superficial reopening on July 1st with all their restrictions so TAT and the Phuket Governor can save face, but, in reality, it's only open to tourists who are foolish (or desperate) enough to be sucked into this sand trap.

To your point, the REAL reopening could happen in the fourth quarter pending progress on the vaccine front. Phuket hotels and entertainment venues have to reopen as well to give tourists a reason to come, and right now the majority of those businesses aren't falling for TAT's sand trap either and are waiting until the virus is under control and the majority of the population has been vaccinated.

No rocket science here.

[StevieWonders]

Agree.

[shorten quotation]

No rocket science here.

Dodgems’ latest “argument” - whenever Phuket legally opens it won’t be really open until the bars are back in business

[Armando]

A key element of the opening was that certain airlines like Qatar would either start direct flights or increase frequency. With half the potential visitors now having backed out, when will those airlines start cancelling flights? And if a potential visitor is on a cancelled flight, will he/she bother to check prices on alternative ones with a refund probably taking some weeks to arrive - or just give up?

[Dodger]

A key element of the opening was that certain airlines like Qatar would either start direct flights or increase frequency. With half the potential visitors now having backed out, when will those airlines start cancelling flights? And if a potential visitor is on a cancelled flight, will he/she bother to check prices on alternative ones with a refund probably taking some weeks to arrive - or just give up?

Anyone who booked a flight to Phuket under the current circumstances has to be willing to accept the consequences of their decisions.

I imagine most, if not all potential tourists, have already scratched this trip off their calendars.

[Dodger]

Apparently a decision has been made to keep the bars and other entertainment venues CLOSED on Phuket going into July.

Even with the islands face-saving soft reopening attempt in July, any tourists foolish enough to travel their better bring their crossword puzzles along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMq6L85KrbA

[StevieWonders]

Apparently a decision has been made to keep the bars and other entertainment venues CLOSED on Phuket going into July.

Even with the islands face-saving soft reopening attempt in July, any tourists foolish enough to travel their better bring their crossword puzzles along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMq6L85KrbA

I see Dodgems is following up his concession that Phuket will open after all despite weeks and weeks of saying it won’t happen by describing it as a soft opening - it always has been a pilot and I am not sure what Dodgems think is the difference. Now he’s falling back on “it will be a failure because no-one will want to go”.

The decision to keep the bars closed is better described (and has been by the authorities) as “there’ll be no special treatment for Phuket: every bar in Thailand must follow the same rules”