Phuket opens for business in push to save vital tourism industry

Employees wait for costumers at an ice cream shop in Patong beach as Phuket gets ready to open to overseas tourists from July 1, allowing fully vaccinated foreigns to visit the resort island without quarantine, in Phuket, Thailand June 30, 2021. - Reuters

PHUKET (Bloomberg): Thailand is pushing ahead with plans to jumpstart its crucial tourism industry by reopening the popular resort island of Phuket to vaccinated travellers, even as the more virulent delta strain of coronavirus sweeps through the region.

Starting Thursday (July 1), inoculated tourists from low- and medium-risk countries such as the US and Spain will be allowed to holiday in Phuket without quarantining. If successful, the experiment could lead to a wider reopening of the Thai tourism industry as soon as October.