Getting to Know the Phuket Sandbox


The Phuket Sandbox plan is a new initiative that allows fully vaccinated travelers to enter Thailand without a 14-day quarantine. This project started on July 1, 2021, before Thailand fully reopened to tourists. Phuket is the first province in Thailand to implement this "sandbox" plan, and tourists visiting the island will no longer need to quarantine in their accommodations.

General Prayuth Chan-o-cha launched the Phuket Sandbox to welcome tourists starting July 1, aiming to open the country for 120 days, with a target of receiving 100,000 international tourists in the third quarter, generating 8.9 billion baht in revenue. In July, bookings from six airlines reached 11,894 people, with 8,281 arrivals and 3,613 departures, anticipating 426 flights, averaging 13 flights per day.

On June 30, 2021, at the Government House, Mr. Anucha Burapachaisri, spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, announced that General Prayuth would visit Phuket to inspect the screening system for travelers entering and exiting the province, including vehicles, individuals, and documentation, in preparation for the economic reopening under the Phuket Sandbox project at the Phuket checkpoint.

Conditions for Participation in the Phuket Sandbox Without Quarantine

  • Travelers aged 18 and over must be fully vaccinated according to the criteria of each vaccine type, with at least 14 days since the last dose, traveling from countries classified as medium/low risk according to the Ministry of Public Health and TAT's selected countries.
  • Children under 18 traveling with parents or guardians must have a medical certificate with laboratory results from an RT-PCR test indicating no COVID-19 detected, taken no more than 72 hours before travel.
  • Thai nationals and foreigners residing in Thailand returning from medium and high-risk countries.

 

Countries Eligible for the Phuket Sandbox

The Phuket Sandbox plan will be open to travelers flying to Thailand from low and medium-risk countries for the SAR-CoV-2 virus. The list of eligible countries is determined by the Ministry of Public Health and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The latest information can be found by clicking here.

(Information from the Ministry of Public Health and the Tourism Authority of Thailand https://bit.ly/2UbD0UH)

The list is expected to be updated every two to three weeks; however, more countries are anticipated to be added later.

 

Throughout July 2021, there were approximately 11,894 passenger bookings for the Phuket Sandbox from six airlines, with around 8,281 incoming passengers and 3,613 outgoing passengers. The total number of flights is estimated to be around 426, averaging about 13 flights per day.

Mr. Anucha further stated that the CCSA has set plans to suspend or cancel the Phuket Sandbox project if the situation changes, particularly if new infections exceed 90 cases per week, with disease spread across all three districts and more than six sub-districts experiencing outbreaks beyond three clusters or widespread outbreaks without identifiable causes or connections, as well as the capacity to accommodate patients if hospital bed occupancy exceeds 80% of the province's capacity where widespread outbreaks of uncontrolled variants are found.

How the Phuket Sandbox will unfold remains to be seen, as many critical factors are involved, including the spread of COVID-19 and the overall readiness of Thailand.