PHUKET, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s tourism industry has been devastated by the pandemic, and nowhere has it been felt more than the resort island of Phuket, where nearly 95% of the economy is related to the industry. Even though coronavirus numbers are rising elsewhere in the country, officials say there’s too much at stake not to forge ahead with a plan known as the Phuket sandbox to reopen the island to fully vaccinated travelers on Thursday It’s an experiment officials hope will breathe new life into the moribund travel sector. There is skepticism too. The Bangkok Post daily wondered in an editorial this week headlined “Welcome to your prison vacation?” whether tourists would bother going through all the hoops for a holiday.
