Bringing convenience and safety to tourists, supporting mission of national reopening
The Government and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approved in principle to open for foreign tourists in Phuket, in the “Phuket Sandbox”. This followed a proposal by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and is planned to start operations on 1 July 2021. AIS is giving its full and close support to government and private sectors under its mission, “Connect and Assist the Thai People”, to ensure the Phuket Sandbox attains its goals through the gearing of digital tech: Networks, Digital Services and full tech support, and an announcement of partnership with TAT to drive the mission.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “TAT has a mission to promote tourism as a tool to stabilise the Thai economy. Thus we have partnered with both public and private entities to power the Phuket Sandbox, which will be taking in foreign travellers from 1 July 2021 onwards. We expect that by the end of 2021, tourist arrivals may exceed the minimum 4 million, bringing much-needed revenue to the tourist sector of around 850,000 million baht. A key component of that success will be hospitality to the returning tourists, as a welcoming host. AIS 5G has supported this obligation by providing telecom and network services, with special services for foreign visitors to Thailand complying with the Phuket Sandbox measures. TAT is confident that this model can be applied to other tourist destinations such as Samui, Pha-ngan, Khao Tao, Buri Ram, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin-Cha-am from October 2021, the start of Thailand’s High-season.”
AIS CEO Somchai Lertsutiwong commented, “AIS has helped to recover tourism since the pandemic first hit, and continues this mission with the Phuket Sandbox, which has three main parts.”
• Preparing communication systems for tourists for Safe Tourism in collaboration with TAT, and bodies representing tourist service businesses in Phuket both government and private sectors, including airlines. There is support of free SIM cards for tourists with the free Mor Prom application, for tourists to be assured of convenience, monitoring and safety throughout their visit.
• Delivering network and industrial-level tech to tourist services. For instance, there is cooperation with DEPA, Tech startups, Ao Por Marina and Yacht operators to provide the “Digital Yacht Quarantine” service over an NB-IoT network and smart wristband. This is deploying digital tech to monitor health information of tourists throughout their quarantine period. The programme has been warmly welcomed by yacht charter business operators, as previously, no infections were detected among tourists who had used the service. 5G, 4G and free Wi-Fi networks are deployed to boost the capabilities of the Phuket health sector at main hospitals, field hospitals and vaccination sites.
• Earning confidence and trust with special privileges for tourists, by upgrading service safety standards. AIS Shop employees have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, both at Phuket airport and in department stores. All premises are arranged in strict compliance with the highest health and safety standards, consistent with measures from the State and the Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA). There are also privileges from tourist stores to help out local tourist operators.
“The hard work of AIS has enabled business continuity, and has prioritised tourism, which is a key economic motor for the Thai economy, which must recover. We continue to be of the belief that working together, we can lead the country out of this crisis. The Phuket Sandbox is yet another example of close cooperation between the public, business operators, the private sector and the Government, who all have the same goal of reinvigorating the country and bringing Phuket back to life once again,” concluded Somchai.
