Samui Plus
Samui plus is a Model that was introduced by the Thai government and the ministry of Public health in Thailand to open Koh Samui island for International tourists during the COVID 19 Pandemic. This model was not very successful when compared to Phuket Sandbox Model. There were many limitations and obstacles making the Application of this model very Hard and very complicated to the travelers.
This Model was introduced in August 2021 after the successful implementation of the Phuket Sandbox Model. It required the travelers to Koh Samui island to Split their 14 days quarantine Stay into 2 different types of properties. The first one was the ALQ (Alternative Local Quarantine Hotel) for 7 consecutive Nights. And the second 7 Nights to stay in a SHA Plus certified Hotel.
First of all, the Hotels in Koh Samui island that had these 2 licenses were very limited, and the Quarantine packages introduced by those hotels were very and extremely expensive. That was the first obstacle for the success of this model.
Another Obstacle for the success of this Model was the flight and how to reach the island. The government has clarified that in order to join this Model, Tourists were required to arrive Koh Samui Directly from overseas without transiting anywhere in Thailand. Or, In case of transiting in Bangkok to arrive koh Samui, The flight had to be within a Sealed route, which means that it had to be one ticket and the guest cannot leave the transit area. (Same thing was applied for the phuket sandbox Model as well).
Guests were able to split their stay between Koh Samui and another island in Surat Thani Province such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. They had to stay during the first 7 Nights in Koh Samui in an ALQ (Alternative Local Quarantine Property), and then Stay for the second 7 Nights in one of the other two islands in a SHA PLUS Certified property.
