“What’s really important is that EU countries – the national governments, spurred on by travel agents, the media, and other people – recognize that it’s necessary to disengage the perception of Phuket from the rest of Thailand. It should be a situation where Thailand could be a red alert zone but Phuket could be a green zone,” said Mr. Ho. It could be possible to create a series of Sandboxes in other destinations, such as Koh Samui (which recently launched Samui Plus), Bali, and Phu Quoc. As long as that Sandbox is well-organized, as it is in Phuket, it should be separated from the rest of the country.”

Vice Governor of Phuket, Mr. Piyapong Choowong, added: “I would like to confirm we support Phuket Sandbox. We are making sure people on the island and all visitors are safe so we can run the Sandbox smoothly and continue to welcome more tourists to Phuket.”

thailand 4 a | eTurboNews | eTN — ಫುಕೆಟ್ ಸ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ಬಾಕ್ಸ್: ಉಳಿದ ಥೈಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸಂಯೋಜಿಸಬೇಡಿ

thailand 4 b | eTurboNews | eTN — ಫುಕೆಟ್ ಸ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ಬಾಕ್ಸ್: ಉಳಿದ ಥೈಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸಂಯೋಜಿಸಬೇಡಿ

Presenting the most up-to-date data, C9 Hotelworks Managing Director, Bill Barnett, added: “There is a lot at stake but what is clear is that Phuket Sandbox is alive and well, and it’s working.”

The Phuket Sandbox Summit was held at Laguna Phuket, attended by:

• Phuket Vice Governor, Piyapong Choowong

• Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor, Siripakorn Chaewsamoot

• Banyan Tree Group Executive Chairman, KP Ho

• Laguna Phuket Managing Director, Ravi Chandran

• Phuket City Development CEO, Nipon Aekwanich

• British Honorary Consul, Martin Carpenter

• Honorary Consul of Germany, Anette Jiminez Höchstetter

• Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Seven Smulders

• S Hotels and Resorts Senior Vice President Operations, Stefano Alberto Ruzza

• Dusit Hotels and Resorts Vice President Sales, Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk

• Singapore Airlines Station Manager Phuket, Louis Tan