A Thai tiger park in Phuket is gearing up to welcome back overseas visitors this week, as businesses on the resort island hope to benefit from a pilot program to allow tourists in the Southeast Asian country.
Under the plan, foreign tourists vaccinated against COVID-19 can bypass quarantine requirements and freely move around the island.
After 14 days, barring any virus issues, they can travel elsewhere in Thailand.
Photo: Reuters
Tiger Kingdom general manager Chadarat Taodaeng said that the park had taken precautions ahead of tomorrow’s reopening to ensure that foreign visitors are comfortable.
“We have vaccinated more than 90 percent of our staff and also trained them about the ‘new normal’ tourism,” he said.
The park, which offers close encounters with big cats, is home to more than 50 tigers and a cheetah.
Since the pandemic, visitor numbers have slumped from nearly 1,000 a day to fewer than 20.
Thailand missed out on about US$50 billion in tourism revenue last year as foreign arrivals plunged 83 percent to 6.7 million, from a record 39.9 million in 2019.
Phuket was hit particularly hard by job losses and business closings.
“I’m happy that finally there will be people visiting the tigers, and Phuket city will be bustling again,” park assistant manager Phonphawit Ton-od said, adding that the reopening would “help with both tigers’ and the staff’s mental health.”
There has been an increase in popularity of such parks, despite criticism by conservationists and concerns over safety after some instances of maulings.
For the Thai government, bringing back visitors has been a priority.
The government hopes Phuket’s pilot program will draw 129,000 visitors to Thailand in the third quarter of this year, a number still far below the average 3.3 million monthly arrivals in 2019.
“I’m happy about the park reopening, because our cheetah, Gregor, loves being around tourists and staff,” keeper Abdulrahim A-waekechi said.
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