The honorary chairperson of Prachuap Khiri Khan Chamber of Commerce has called for the Oct 1 reopening of Hua Hin to be delayed.
Mr Nipon Suwannawa told Thai media on Tuesday that Prachuap Khiri Khan, including Hua Hin, is not yet ready to reopen to foreign tourists.
Mr Nipon said “Hua Hin is still not 100% ready.”
He said that many hoteliers and restaurants owners were not prepared for the reopening, which at the time of posting is due to take place in less than four weeks.
Mr Nippon cited the province’s relatively close proximity to Myanmar and the fact that people travelling to Hua Hin would need to pass through Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram, the former of which was at one time an epicentre of a COVID-19 wave in Thailand, as risks of potential further outbreaks.
Mr Nipon also cast doubt on the numbers of foreigners who would actually be travelling to Hua Hin and even Thailand amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Mr Nipon said that many countries in Europe, as well as China, still have travel restrictions in place, in particular concerning their own citizens returning home after they had visited Hua Hin.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Hua Hin Today, learnt that a small outbreak of COVID-19 infections have been discovered among chefs at one of Hua Hin’s leading hotels.
The staff, some of whom had already received two vaccine doses, tested positive on Monday and displaying only minor symptoms.
