Thailand plans to open Hua Hin from October 1 under the “Hua Hin Recharge” scheme which allows foreigners to visit without having to quarantine. The Nation

Hua Hin gets ready to welcome tourists from Oct 1

Thailand plans to open Hua Hin from October 1 under the "Hua Hin Recharge" scheme which allows foreigners to visit without having to quarantine.

Krod Rojanasatien, president of the Thai Spa Association who will lead the "Hua Hin Recharge" scheme, said he and his team will meet Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn on Sunday.

The key topics to be discussed at the meeting will be the administration of vaccines in Hua Hin and its sub-district Nong Kae, which covers 86.36 square kilometres. The aim will be to provide jabs to 90,564 people or 70 per cent of the population in the area to create herd immunity. So far, 75,740 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the area.

The meeting will also discuss the standard operating procedure for tourists under the scheme. The current plan is for them to undergo an RT-PCR test upon arrival and check into a SHA-plus hotel while waiting for the test result.

If the result is negative, they can move freely within Hua Hin.

They will undergo another two tests – one on the seventh day of arrival, after which they can move out of the SHA-plus hotel. And then again on their 13th day in Thailand. If they test negative in the last test, they can then travel to other areas in Thailand.

Tourism agencies are preparing special activities and tour packages to keep travellers busy, Krod said. The main target is Europeans because they usually visit Thailand during the high season to escape freezing temperatures back home.

Krod said Hua Hin can expect as many as 100,000 tourists on the day of opening and should be able to generate up to 1.2 billion baht in revenue from the programme.