Quarantine-free travel to Thailand for vaccinated Brits gets wide support

Online survey with 3,000 votes was 62:38 in favour of plan for easy access to the island of Phuket

Blue view: a beach in Phuket, Thailand (Simon Calder)

After Thailand said it will open up to vaccinated travellers on 1 July, a Twitter poll conducted for The Independent reveals a majority in favour of the concept – even among younger travellers.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says it is targeting older British holidaymakers with a plan to allow travel to the island of Phuket from 1 July, without the need to quarantine, for travellers who have completed a course of vaccinations.

After spending a week on the island, visitors will be free to explore the rest of Thailand – which has kept coronavirus largely under control for the past year.

The online survey attracted 3,000 self-selecting responses in just two hours, and resulted in a 62:38 vote in favour.

But while 50-plus respondents supported the plan by a majority of two-to-one, younger travellers were less strongly in favour of the “no jab, no entry” policy. Of the under-50s, 753 approved of the idea, while 606 were against.

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One respondent said: “It doesn't seem very fair for the younger generation to have protected the vulnerable until they were vaccinated and now they have to stay at home whilst the vulnerable can travel.

“I'm actually vaccinated myself but think the younger generation should be able to travel with negative test.”

Another praised the “opportunity for those of us who don’t normally holiday with our grown-up children to go to our holiday homes we worked for all our lives.

“Not as many years left for us to enjoy retirement, having been imprisoned for a year already. “

It is not yet clear what proof will be required for vaccinated travellers.

Meanwhile Thailand has offered travellers from Israel – which has the most advanced vaccination programme of major countries – the chance to visit from 1 April with the usual 10-day quarantine cut to a week.

Tourists must have had both jabs and waited at least two weeks before departure.