PHUKET, Thailand — Thailand embarked on an ambitious but risky plan Thursday that it hopes will breathe new life into a tourism industry devastated by the pandemic, opening the popular resort island of Phuket to fully vaccinated foreigners from lower-risk countries.
As the first flight arrived, airport fire trucks blasted their water canons to form an arch over the Etihad jet from Abu Dhabi as it taxied to its gate.
Leaving the airport, Frenchman Bruno Souillard said he had been dreaming for a year of returning to Thailand and jumped at the opportunity.
“I am very, very happy,” the 60-year-old tourist said.
The “Phuket sandbox” program comes as coronavirus infections are surging in Thailand, including a significant number of cases of the Delta variant, and many have questioned if it’s too early to woo tourists…
