The final plans for Hua Hin’s proposed reopening to foreign tourists from October 1 are set to be ironed out during a meeting scheduled to take place on Sunday (Sept 5).
According to Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports a zoom meeting will take place between the key stakeholders involved in the Hua Hin Recharge project.
The aim of the meeting is to finalise the plans to reopen the resort to vaccinated foreign tourists without the need to quarantine.
Hua Hin Today can now exclusively reveal some of the measures which will be discussed in the meeting.
Hua Hin Today recently spoke to Isra Stapanaseth, the newly appointed director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan office. (The full interview is available in the latest edition of the Hua Hin Today newspaper – check it out).
Khun Isra said that Hua Hin’s reopening will be inline with the Prime Minister’s pledge to reopen the country from October.
Khun Isra said that two sub districts in Hua Hin will be reopened to foreigners, these are Hua Hin City Centre and Nong Kae, which is approximately central Hua Hin and from BluPort down to Khao Tao lake.
“Hua Hin has been making preparations to reopen 2 sub-districts of the city, Nong Kae and Hua Hin city centre, 83.36 sq.km with a population of 90,000. The principle of the plan is that 70% of the population of this area must be vaccinated first, currently 50% has been achieved but it is expected the target will be reached before the end of September”, Khun Isra said.
Some of the other options being discussed is the opening of a command centre which would provide information to tourists during their stay.
Currently there are several safety measures in place for someone to enter Thailand via the Phuket Sandbox, the model which Hua Hin hopes to replicate.
These measures include:
- Gaining a Certificate of Entry to Thailand (COE)
- Obtaining a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result within 72 hours prior to travel
- Showing a COVID-19 vaccination record card
- Further RT-PCR COVID-19 testing after arrival at Survarnabhumbi
It is proposed that for tourists visiting Hua Hin, a further safety measure will be added which will see them required to take a RT-PCR COVID-19 test on arrival at their hotel.
They will then be required to stay in the hotel for three hours while awaiting the results of the test. If the test is confirmed negative they will then be free to leave the hotel but they must stay within the Hua Hin City and Nong Kae districts.
They will then be required to take further RT-PCR COVID-19 tests on day 7 and day 13 of their stay.
Only if all three tests are confirmed as negative will they be free to travel throughout Thailand.
Check out the full interview with Isra Stapanaseth in the latest edition of the Hua Hin Today newspaper
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