Special tourist visa to revive Phuket property market

BANGKOK, Oct 23, 2020, Bangkok Post. A plan to gradually open the country to tourists will be a boon for property sales in Phuket, following a slump due to travel restrictions that keep travellers at home, according to an online property marketplace, Bangkok Post reported.

Stuart Coakley, director of the Property Discount Centre Thailand, applauded the government’s decision to welcome tourists under the special tourism visa scheme, saying it was “positive news” to the property market on the resort island and other locations.

Phuket is one of the destinations for foreign touirsts under the special programme. The first group of 120 tourists from Guangzhou will arrive on the island after the end of the vegetarian festival on Sunday, according to the Sports and Tourism Ministry.

Mr Coakley said the property sector in Phuket would greatly improve after the world successfully developed Covid-19 vaccines as tourists and investors would return to the island and other destinations in Thailand.

“We trust that as soon as the problem with Covid-19 is solved and the Thai borders are opened for tourists again, Phuket will return to being a high traffic destination for foreign tourists and investors,” said the company.

Thailand’s success in containing the pandemic has also put the country on the map for property buyers and investors, he said.

“A big advantage is also the fantastic situation with an extremely small number of Covid infections,” he said.

The Property Discount Centre Thailand projects itself as a one-stop shop for buying and selling real estate both online and offline, with Phuket selected as one of its bases in Thailand.

Phuket is a favourite destination for foreign vacationers, especially the Chinese.