- Samui quietly reopens to vaccinated foreign travellers
Koh Samui opened to vaccinated foreign tourists on Thursday despite a nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases propelled by the Delta variant.
The islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are welcoming visitors as part of the kingdom's push to revive the battered tourism industry.
The country launched the "sandbox" scheme on July 1, allowing vaccinated travellers to visit Phuket island. Tourists do not have to quarantine in a hotel but can not leave Phuket for two weeks.
Under Thursday's expansion, tourists must stay at an approved hotel on Samui for a week and can leave their accommodation on day four.
They will have to produce a negative Covid-19 test before being allowed to venture to Koh Tao or Koh Phangan after their first week.: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...ign-travellers
- After Phuket success, hope of Thai tourism revival now hangs on Samui Plus
Following in the footsteps of tropical paradise Phuket, three more islands start welcoming fully vaccinated foreign tourists with relaxed quarantine rules from today (July 15). Surat Thani’s Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao have been cleared to go ahead under the Samui Plus model after the Phuket Sandbox scheme successfully trialled quarantine-free tourism in Thailand.
Since its launch on July 1, the Phuket Sandbox has attracted close to 4,000 foreign tourists. A few have tested positive over the past two weeks, but not enough to put the scheme in danger.
Samui Plus, however, is slightly different from the Phuket Sandbox.
What is the Samui model?
While the Phuket scheme offers fully inoculated tourists complete exemption from quarantine, Samui Plus imposes a short but flexible self-isolation period.
Instead of having to quarantine for 14 days, tourists from low- or medium-risk countries who test negative upon arrival on Samui are allowed to travel on the island along sealed routes from the fourth day of their holiday. They even have the option of boarding a yacht to explore the pristine 42-island archipelago of Ang Thong National Park.
From the eighth day, if they test negative again, they can roam around Koh Samui freely or travel on to Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao.
Samui Plus is only open to foreign tourists who arrive by air. To serve them, Bangkok Airways is operating three flights per day from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Samui.: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/after-p...on-samui-plus/
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