Pattaya officials hope the city’s tourism outlook got a booster shot when the Food & Drug Administration added Russia’s Sputnik V to the approved list of coronavirus vaccines incoming tourists can be inoculated with.
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome said earlier the goal is to reopen the city to foreign tourists in time for the Russian tourism season. Hopefully that will be Oct. 1, he said.
The FDA last week added Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to its list of vaccines approved for international tourists with an eye toward attracting Russians to Phuket’s “sandbox” now and, later, to Pattaya.
In 2019, Pattaya drew 9.4 million domestic and international tourists, with 1.1 million coming from Russia, second only to the 2.7 million Chinese.
The same year, Phuket drew 14 million tourists, led by China, Russia, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Gov. Yuthasak Supasorn earlier called Phuket’s ‘sandbox’ program for fully vaccinated tourists a success, even though only 8,176 people have arrived there this month. By comparison, Phuket averaged more than 1.1 million arrivals a month in 2019.
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