After more than 15 months cut off from international tourists, hoteliers in Phuket are getting a glimpse of what recovery could look like.

Until July 1, travelers entering Thailand were required to spend 14 days in a quarantine hotel on arrival, dissuading the vast majority from coming at all, but the Thai government’s new “Sandbox” scheme will allow fully vaccinated international travelers to visit Phuket without having to go through that procedure.

After two weeks on the island of Phuket, guests will be free to visit the rest of the country, in theory at least.

Following a rise in COVID-19 cases across many parts of Thailand, new domestic restrictions introduced on July 21 meant the suspension until Aug. 2 of some air, boat and bus services between provinces.

From Aug. 1, foreign visitors to Phuket will be allowed to visit other tourist spots — including Koh Samui, Railay Bay in Krabi and Khao Lak — after seven, rather than the original 14, days in Phuket.

The mood among hoteliers in Phuket is excitement tempered with caution, as they hope the new strategy can be the beginning of a sustainable — if slow — path to recovery for Thailand’s tourism industry, which makes up 12% of its gross domestic product.

The strategy is to open up key tourist destinations one by one with the hope that by the time Northern European “snowbirds” are gearing up for their winter holidays in October and beyond, travelers will have regained confidence in the destination.

“Hopefully, hotels can move from the sub-10% occupancies they’ve had for the last 15 months to what we’re now approaching, 15% to 20%, and gradually higher than that in October when Europe starts to go into winter,” said Anthony Lark, president of the Phuket Hotels Association and director of Montara Hospitality Group.

“Crucially, the Sandbox program is built on 70% of the population in Phuket being vaccinated. They’ve got to have their bulletproof vests on,” said Kate Kemp, owner of The Sarojin, a luxury beach resort in Khao Lak, an hour north of Phuket.

“If the government shows they can make this work, then we can expand without taking shortcuts. Otherwise, we might end up in a mess, have to close the whole country and severely affect the local population,” she added.

To reach Phuket, there is just one bridge in and out, and that is being monitored by the army and immigration police. Arrivals must show proof of double vaccination, take a COVID-19 test at the airport and stay at a hotel certified by Thailand’s Safety and Health Administration.

Hotels and other properties must conform to an exhaustive list of protocols, including appointing a Sandbox officer, who keeps tabs on all guests and reports to the Ministry of Health every day to ensure they are staying at the hotel.

Travelers must take two more tests during their stay in Phuket, on days six and 12.

Such protocols have resulted in optimism about welcoming tourists.
The local residents “feel safe and confident because of the strict controls,” said Kanchanida “Naa” Tansup, The Sarojin’s sales manager.

“Everybody is constantly looking at the number of tourist arrivals,” she added.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand reported on July 22 9,358 foreign visitors between July 1 and July 21, while between July and September, 244,703 room nights were booked, generating 534 million Thai baht ($16.18 million).

Frederic Varnier, general manager of hotels Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Resort and Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, said “pre pandemic, we were regularly running at 100% occupancy. Over the past 18 months, this had dropped as low as single-digit figures for a period.”

Since Sandbox launched, he added, the property has averaged 47% occupancy, and that figure is increasing consistently.

For ONYX Hospitality Group, a Thai-based operator with two Phuket properties, reservation patterns from July to September show encouraging initial demand from international markets such as Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and the U.S., with a majority of the bookings being for longer stays of between eight and 14 nights.

Bookings are also picking up for the next couple of months, and even into 2022, at luxury resort The Pavilions.

“During lockdown times, we spent a lot of time on PR and creating exposure to different demographics and segments. This is positive to see that the work we did on this has helped us gain exposure to new markets and guests,” said the hotel's group director of marketing, Tim Sargeant.

More than 85% of bookings, he said, are for between seven- and 14-night stays, and some guests do plan to visit the rest of Thailand. The group has another property in Krabi, a two-hour drive from Phuket, which is being recommended to guests who want to make the most of their time in the country.

It’s not only holidaymakers entering Thailand via Sandbox.

Bill Barnett, founder and managing director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks in Phuket, estimated only about 50% of Sandbox arrivals are tourists.

He said expats and Thai nationals also have been using the program as a way to return to the country without quarantining.

Bloggers and influencers from the Middle East are also among visitors.

“I was stunned for the first time in 15 months when I saw a tour bus!” Barnett said.

He said, overall, he remains cautious about how much impact Sandbox will have.

“Hotel owners aren’t anywhere near breaking even, and there’s a cloud hanging over things right now with what’s happening in Bangkok,” he said, referring to the capital’s high rate of coronavirus cases and street opposition to the government’s COVID-19 policies.

“Phuket’s betting everything on the foreign market because the domestic market is really declining. With Sandbox, we’re just treading water until Thailand gets better. It will give us some cash flow and a pathway perhaps, but we can't live without Thailand recovering as Thailand has such an impact on Phuket. Sandbox is nice, but it’s not the long-term answer,” Barnett said.

Tourists who do make it to Phuket will see the island in a more pristine state than it’s been in for many years.

Since the destination’s Maya Bay was closed to tourists in 2019, well over 100 Black-tip reef sharks have returned to the area, making it now home to the highest shark population in Thai waters. In addition, rare Leatherback turtles have returned to lay their eggs in the greatest numbers in 20 years on Thai beaches.

“Nature can recover,” said Holger Schwab, managing director of Sea Bees Diving, Phuket’s longest-running dive company.

“It’s become clear that tourism needs to be controlled and that we need to not allow mass tourism to happen again and keep a close eye on nature and marine life. If this is the outcome, then at least COVID has done something good,” he said.

Schwab said he's keeping an eye on preparations for the high tourism season, which usually starts in October when northern Europeans and Russians, who stay in Phuket for an average of 13 nights, book their winter holidays.

At present, however, the Russian Sputnik vaccine is not approved as part of Sandbox, something Barnett hopes will change in the coming months.

“It's very important for that market that Russians are able to come back easily,” he said.

The Phuket Hotels Association’s Lark is hopeful things will continue to improve.

“There were a lot of naysayers about this Sandbox initiative, with many people saying that the Thai Government was being draconian, and that it was all too bureaucratic,” he said.

“The Sandbox headline is ‘so far, so good, fingers crossed.’ It’s been really good to see the entire community coming together for this,” he added.