Yacht quarantine introduced to attract high value tourists to Thailand

Perfect Isolation: Thailand is looking at ways to make quarantine more appealing to tourists. Photo / Unsplash, Oliver Sjostrom

Tourists to Thailand can now serve their two-week, mandatory isolation period on a luxury yacht.

On Monday the Thai government's Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) announced a pilot inviting visitors with proof of a negative Covid-19 to spend quarantine cruising around Phuket.

The country's tourism industry, which is largely reliant on international visitors, recorded a deficit of $14.5 billion last year.

Depa said the programme - dubbed "Digital Yacht Quarantine" - would help bring in 1.8 billion baht ($80 million) into the country.

"The coronavirus crisis has severely affected the tourism industry of Thailand, and causing a lot of economic damage," said Depa director Natthaphon Nimmanphatcharin, who is exploring technology-driven solutions to reopening Thailand's borders.

The agency said visitors would be required to wear "smart health tracking wristbands", to help boost confidence from both visitors and Thai nationals in their ability to manage quarantine safely.

Thailand's Digital Yacht Quarantine trial was announced by DEPA on Monday. Photo / DEPA, Supplied

Initially the project would be trialled on a flotilla of 100 small boats and cruise ships.

Using the wristbands to track health and whereabouts of tourists, the Thai government says it can monitor the wearers from up to 10km away. Sending GPS readings as well as temperature and blood pressure, the wristbands from POMO also can be used to monitor wearers for symptoms of Covid-19.

Thai Yacht quarantine and isolation resorts are aimed at making quarantine more appealing to tourists. Photo / Unsplash, Oliver Sjostrom

The programme has been modelled on the Cayman Islands' "Bubble Resorts" isolation scheme for inbound travellers.

In January the country had proposed creating luxury isolation facilities, or golf resorts to welcome visitors to the country and make the prospect of quarantine more appealing.

The country has slowly been re-opening to international travellers since October, last year.

Thailand's tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said he was in discussions with popular tourism destinations, including Krabi, Phuket and Chiang Mai, to create quarantine areas for tourists.

The minister told the Bangkok Post they were aiming to attract 5 million tourists through the scheme.

"If we can attract 5 million tourists this year under the current circumstances, that would be a success," he said.