Popular tourist destination Koh Samui is ready to reopen on July 1 after tourists have been kept away for several months to curb Covid-19 infection
Ratchaporn Phoonsawas, president of Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association, said some 50 per cent or 57,000 of Samui residents have been inoculated.
“We need to vaccinate another 36,000 people to ensure 70 per cent of the population is inoculated to achieve herd immunity,” he said.
“Next month Koh Samui can reopen to tourists under the ‘Samui Sealed Route’ model, in which tourists who have tested negative for Covid-19 can stay in a hotel and enjoy the beaches for seven days.”
Tourists wanting to stay beyond the initial seven days will be tested again either via the swab or PCR method.
If they test negative again, they will be allowed to travel within Koh Samui as well as hop over to Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao.
“On Tuesday [June 8] the association will call on the Tourism and Sports Ministry and Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration [CCSA] to come up with suitable measures to reopen Koh Samui,” he said. “We believe CCSA will allow flights to Samui, which will significantly boost tourism in the area.”
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