Thailand’s dream island of Phuket is one of the very few long-haul destinations where Europeans have been able to go on quarantine-free vacation again for a few weeks. How do tourists experience the exotic model region?
Patong – The sky over Phuket is clearing just in time for sunset. A man hastily brings plastic chairs and positions them in the sand on Patong Beach.
Perhaps a tourist is in the mood for a sundowner with an evening color spectacle over the Andaman Sea? Chilled drinks are available.
But nobody comes. Where life raged before Corona, there are now dead pants. Full beaches have mutated into lonely bays, otherwise well-attended temples and monuments such as the 45 meter high Big Buddha remain deserted.
On July 1st, the largest island in Thailand started its eagerly awaited corona model project “Sandbox” to revive tourism. Since then, Phuket has been one of the few long-haul destinations worldwide where people from almost 70 countries can take a quarantine-free vacation – provided they are fully vaccinated.
Fewer tourists than hoped
But as many as the authorities imagined did not come. There were around 17,000 in the first six weeks. Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Thailand Tourism Bureau, had hoped for at least 100,000 from July to September. And even that would still be a fraction of what it once was: Before Corona, more than nine million people traveled annually. 80 percent of all income in Phuket comes from the tourism sector.
The lack of enthusiasm is not only due to the rainy season. Because there are still enough hours of sunshine. “Most of them were probably put off by the complicated paperwork in advance and the strict rules,” says Hardy Wutke. The 59-year-old train driver from near Berlin has come because he has not seen his partner Watt from Pattaya since March 2020. The two have been together for 17 years – neither of them would have expected that they would not see each other for such a long time.
“But for a two or three week vacation, it’s all extremely time-consuming,” says Wutke. Some are here because they work in Thailand and want to bypass the hotel quarantine in Bangkok. Others – like Nina and Noé from Cologne – have planned a semester abroad in Thailand and have therefore chosen the sandbox program. But some also just had wanderlust after the long Corona break.
A stack of documents in my luggage
How different a Thailand holiday in 2021 will be becomes clear at the airport. Arrivals are greeted by airport employees in protective clothing including masks and face shields. Friendly but determined. Every traveler has a whole pile of documents that are strictly controlled. Negative PCR test? Hotel booking? Vaccination certificate? Certificate of Entry? Foreign health insurance?
If everything is okay, another PCR test is immediately carried out – through both nostrils. “They’re not squeamish here, I thought they’d dig into my brain,” says Wutke. Three tests are due within two weeks. Those who are Corona-positive have to be quarantined – to the hospital.
Meanwhile, a fever is measured in the hotel every morning. In addition, the guests have to install a tracking app. In temples, disinfectants stand next to Buddha statues. Written registration is often required even when renting a beach chair.
Anyone who dared the trip despite everything, experiences Phuket as it used to be: quiet and sleepy, no trace of partying in Patong, crowded sunbathers on Surin Beach or overcrowded excursion boats in Chalong Bay. The downside: Many Thais have lost their livelihoods due to the virus. Some doze off in their tuk tuks in the humid heat, others smile and advertise their goods, mostly for a few Thai baht. Often they wait in vain for a whole day.
“It’s not been going so well so far,” says Pip, who runs a massage parlor on Patong’s famous Bangla Road. “No prostitution. No weapons, ”says the door. There must have been a lot going on here, before Corona.
The petite Thai sits in the shade and pulls her red sarong straight. “Sandbox has been around for over a month now, but there are hardly any people. Yesterday I had no customers at all and two today. ”Still, she is grateful. “At least we have some work again – and that’s better than nothing to earn.”
Opposite Santos runs the tailor shop “Andaman”. Noble thread for tailor-made fashion is piled up to the ceiling. Cashmere, silk, the finest linen – Thailand is also known for this. “Before the pandemic, you could hardly see the street here for all the people,” says the man from Myanmar, who has been on Phuket for 15 years. And now? In the bars, bar stools pile up on the tables, doors are boarded up, bars have been abandoned, and only a few souvenir shops are open. His business has collapsed by 90 percent since Corona, says Santos.
The rules are always changing
Meanwhile, some tourists are dissatisfied. Because the rules are always changing. This has above all to do with the fact that on Phuket – as in the rest of the country – the corona numbers are increasing among the local population. The government had probably not expected that – they had vaccinated 70 percent of the island’s inhabitants in a hurry and hoped for herd immunity. The Chinese vaccine Sinovac was injected. In the meantime, however, experts are also certain that the funds from the Middle Kingdom are not particularly reliable.
While holidaymakers were initially promised that they would be allowed to visit other parts of the country after 14 mandatory days on Phuket, this hope has now been dashed for many. Domestic flights were suspended until at least mid-August, Phuket is largely cordoned off, and the capital Bangkok is also tight.
Bernhard from Westphalia managed to leave the island on a motorcycle at the end of July. He was driving north, in the provinces. “Even the authorities have never heard of the Phuket sandbox project,” he says. In one village, they wanted to immediately quarantine the Germans, despite all the documents. When he arrived in Pattaya – another tourist hotspot before Corona – he found that the beaches were cordoned off.
In the meantime, alcohol was banned on Phuket overnight. Suddenly not even being able to drink a glass of Singha or Chang beer is bitter for many. “The idea of the Phuket Sandbox is good,” says Hardy Wutke and looks out over the turquoise sea on Patong Beach. “Only it was not thought through in the final analysis.” And the tailor Santos is convinced that it will be at least two years before Phuket will be as it was before Corona. dpa
