"Some" foreigners will visit Phuket in July, says ATTA chief

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, school12 said:

Where are you finding this information?  I have some friends that want to come, but so far I haven't been able to give them any guidance?  Are sandbox people not allowed to just arrive after June 30th, present their paperwork and get on with their holiday?  

I thought the quarantine just meant you couldn't leave the island but you could move around the island without problem. I mean if you leave your hotel what constitutes 'activities and tours'?  The 2 links given do contradict each other but my guess is the second from the Nation is probably correct. At least I hope that's the case.

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, balo said:

I can book a ticket now, all I need is to bring with me a negative test within 48 hours from departure.  Who will stop me in Bangkok , it's just a transit.  

Well that's the obvious interpretation but a little while back there were posters on here asking if they could fly into BKK and then take a domestic flight to Phuket. If my wife were to be vaccinated that's how she would get there. There were a lot of replies saying you had to fly direct to Phuket and I said that was my understanding although I thought it didn't make sense that you could transit through airports outside of Thailand but not BKK which the Thai authorities can control. I did point out that I had no proof of this but was just going with what others had said. I hope you're right as that would mean I could fly with Gulf Air with whom I have gold status and then take a flight to Phuket.

 

As for who will stop you? From memory you fly into BKK and go through immigration, pick up your bags if you have them and then go through customs into the arrivals hall. You then go to domestic departures. Is there anything to stop you just arriving and then leaving the airport without going to an ASQ? I would guess so. Maybe KLM have an arrangement to make sure you you actually transit. That would make sense and I hope you're right.

 

Maybe someone else will be able to back this up 

 

************

 

Just checked and this does seem to be the case with some airlines. Qatar and Emirates already flew direct to Phuket and possibly Thai as well but others seem to as well now. KLM and Swiss look as if they now fly via BKK and maybe others as well. Unfortunately not Gulf Air.  ☹️????

Edited May 28, 2021 by kimamey

[pookondee]

Another question is:

will they

(or rather, how will they?)

be restricting the Thais that will no doubt be travelling from other parts of Thailand to go and work there?

 

I already know a few from BKK who are saying they will go and to work in Phuket

"as soon as the farangs arrive"

 

Not much use bothering with all the vaccinated/testing/certificates

hoo-haa

if there is going to be Thais wondering around from all other areas possibly infecting the cleared travellers.

[wensiensheng]

16 minutes ago, pookondee said:

Another question is:

will they

(or rather, how will they?)

be restricting the Thais that will no doubt be travelling from other parts of Thailand to go and work there?

 

I already know a few from BKK who are saying they will go and to work in Phuket

"as soon as the farangs arrive"

 

Not much use bothering with all the vaccinated/testing/certificates

hoo-haa

if there is going to be Thais wondering around from all other areas possibly infecting the cleared travellers.

In order to enter Phuket by land it’s necessary to show a negative test within last 72 hours, proof of full vaccination or do quarantine for 2 weeks. I don’t know about by air, assume it’s the same?

 

my wife is currently in Udon and basically stuck there unless she does one of the above

[mlmcleod]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

just "some foreigners" were likely to arrive in the third quarter

I wonder how many people are tied up in computing Thai tourism numbers for the future!  I suspect that very very few if any tourists are going to the Phuket "sandbox"'.

 

As always the truth will win out as no one comes on July 1st.

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, mlmcleod said:

I wonder how many people are tied up in computing Thai tourism numbers for the future!  I suspect that very very few if any tourists are going to the Phuket "sandbox"'.

 

As always the truth will win out as no one comes on July 1st.

The famous STV (Special tourist visa) comes to mind

anounced like THE solution to the lack of tourists during months

and ending  in a fiasco with only an handful of people having used it

[Chelseafan]

7 hours ago, balo said:

KLM offer trips to Phuket in July for around €530 , via Amsterdam/Bangkok. 

I am sure some will be tempted. 
 
 

 

Doesn't it have to be booked as a package ?

 

[habuspasha]

When I flew into BKK from Doha in February I couldn't just walk through customs or transfer.  After an hour of sitting, being interviewed and displaying papers, I was led to quarantine driver for full quarantine in Bkk.  After 15 days I came back to a virtually empty Suvarnabum where I had to go through a slightly shorter interview process where I had to show the release from the quarantine hotel to fly to Phuket.  I couldn't just transfer.

I suspect that will still be the case after July 1, which is why you can't stop in BKK.  I plan on Doha direct to Phuket to avoid quarantine in July for my return.

[Albert Zweistein]

2 hours ago, habuspasha said:

When I flew into BKK from Doha in February I couldn't just walk through customs or transfer.  After an hour of sitting, being interviewed and displaying papers, I was led to quarantine driver for full quarantine in Bkk.  After 15 days I came back to a virtually empty Suvarnabum where I had to go through a slightly shorter interview process where I had to show the release from the quarantine hotel to fly to Phuket.  I couldn't just transfer.

I suspect that will still be the case after July 1, which is why you can't stop in BKK.  I plan on Doha direct to Phuket to avoid quarantine in July for my return.

You can transfer in BKK to Phuket but only from Swampy. I remember from the past booking Amsterdam - Phuket with KLM the BKK - HKT leg was flown with Bangkokair, might be still the same.

@ Chelseafan : when you book as a package you don't have to collect your luggage at Swampy. If you want a full answer to your question, just go trough the KLM booking proces without making the payment.

[Gene1960]

I believe that they will demand that expensive COVID-19 insurance for the Phuket sandbox, the same insurance  we paid for before entering Thailand this year. 

[merijn]

15 hours ago, balo said:

KLM offer trips to Phuket in July for around €530 , via Amsterdam/Bangkok. 

I am sure some will be tempted. 
 
 

For now only direct flights are allowed in the plans.

[merijn]

3 hours ago, Gene1960 said:

I believe that they will demand that expensive COVID-19 insurance for the Phuket sandbox, the same insurance  we paid for before entering Thailand this year. 

Don't hope so as they rejected my Cigna international insurance as it does not have outpatient.

Had to buy a useless insurance which you even can't use.

[Tich]

Tourists coming to Phucket  ? -

I sincerly hope they both have a nice time !

[balo]

20 hours ago, Albert Zweistein said:

You can transfer in BKK to Phuket but only from Swampy. I remember from the past booking Amsterdam - Phuket with KLM the BKK - HKT leg was flown with Bangkokair, might be still the same.

 

That is correct, its the flight I found for €530 from Amsterdam.   Bangkok Air from Swampy. So there's no need check-in again , you're in transit .


 

[merijn]

5 hours ago, balo said:

 

That is correct, its the flight I found for €530 from Amsterdam.   Bangkok Air from Swampy. So there's no need check-in again , you're in transit .


 

This can not (yet) be used for the sandbox model.

Only direct international flights into Phuket are allowed for international travellers at this stage.

I know that KLM provides this option in their booking system but it is not allowed for the time being.

[LivinLOS]

On 5/28/2021 at 1:38 PM, balo said:

I can book a ticket now, all I need is to bring with me a negative test within 48 hours from departure.  Who will stop me in Bangkok , it's just a transit.  

 Currently they havent worked out transit protocols.. So yes sure you can book a ticket, then when you rock up with your COE and it doesnt have a bangkok ASQ involved, you wont be allowed to board. 

They are working on some kind of a transit protocol.. It may or may not be ready by launch dates.. Gates E9 keeps being mentioned in the FB groups where all this is being hammered out, but it isnt in place now. 

 

[LivinLOS]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:41 PM, pookondee said:

Another question is:

will they

(or rather, how will they?)

be restricting the Thais that will no doubt be travelling from other parts of Thailand to go and work there?

 

I already know a few from BKK who are saying they will go and to work in Phuket

"as soon as the farangs arrive"

 

Not much use bothering with all the vaccinated/testing/certificates

hoo-haa

if there is going to be Thais wondering around from all other areas possibly infecting the cleared travellers.

Thais without vaccinations have to do PCR test (72 hours) to enter phuket. 

[pookondee]

27 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

Thais without vaccinations have to do PCR test (72 hours) to enter phuket. 

 

Ok, Hopefully it does play out that way.

 

I can't help but have a few doubts though, being Thailand 

and knowing how far a crisp 500baht note can go towards making inconveniences disappear.

 

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, pookondee said:

 

Ok, Hopefully it does play out that way.

 

I can't help but have a few doubts though, being Thailand 

and knowing how far a crisp 500baht note can go towards making inconveniences disappear.

 

Yes all of this is supposed to work if you can control the airport

(Easy to do) and the road way (Less easy but doable) to come into the island

 

Now how much costs a speed boat trip to enter in the island outside of a controled point?

[kingofthemountain]

44 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 Currently they havent worked out transit protocols.. So yes sure you can book a ticket, then when you rock up with your COE and it doesnt have a bangkok ASQ involved, you wont be allowed to board. 

They are working on some kind of a transit protocol.. It may or may not be ready by launch dates.. Gates E9 keeps being mentioned in the FB groups where all this is being hammered out, but it isnt in place now. 

 

At J-30 you could think thay had already enough time to put their acts together

and establish a clear list of the countries allowed to come, what types of

vaccination are recognised, what are the airlines allowed to operate and so on

but nooooo, it's probably better to wait the 30 june for all of this

TIT

[pookondee]

2 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

Yes all of this is supposed to work if you can control the airport

(Easy to do) and the road way (Less easy but doable) to come into the island

 

Now how much costs a speed boat trip to enter in the island outside of a controled point?

 

Yep, i

4 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

Yes all of this is supposed to work if you can control the airport

(Easy to do) and the road way (Less easy but doable) to come into the island

 

Now how much costs a speed boat trip to enter in the island outside of a controled point?

Yes thats a valid point.

 

In a place where even the land borders between neighboring countries are said to be "porous"

how much confidence can you have in them being able to properly monitor all the roads and waterways into Puket?

 

When traffic builds up, I can see a lot of cars being waved through, especially important people with flash plated and driving  Beamers.

 

Not to mention the old

<wind the window down and hand goes inside car to collect your 500baht>

trick, so the camera cant see. ????

 

[school12]

A friend of mine went to a Thai embassy website and they linked to thailandinsider.com on what is needed.  Why the Thai embassy would link to a site and not have the info on their own website is a mystery.  They do have a countdown clock on the insider website for the sandbox opening.

[kingofthemountain]

28 minutes ago, school12 said:

A friend of mine went to a Thai embassy website and they linked to thailandinsider.com on what is needed.  Why the Thai embassy would link to a site and not have the info on their own website is a mystery.  They do have a countdown clock on the insider website for the sandbox opening.

The trick is if the information is not on the embassy site

they will not be taken for responsible when the whole thing

will be canceled at the last mnute

[LivinLOS]

On 6/1/2021 at 3:02 AM, school12 said:

A friend of mine went to a Thai embassy website and they linked to thailandinsider.com on what is needed.  Why the Thai embassy would link to a site and not have the info on their own website is a mystery.  They do have a countdown clock on the insider website for the sandbox opening.

 

Because despite what all kinds of travel agents claim.. None of this is finalized yet.. Its a plan, which is still in the planning stages.. 

Its likely that it will be mid june before CSSA and cabinet approval.