What is it like to travel to Koh Samui right now? Thailand in the new normal

Experiences

What is it like to travel to Koh Samui right now? Thailand in the new normal

The pandemic has taken its cost on tourism, just as one Bangkok-based writer observes, the Thai isle paradise is as beautiful as ever.

13 Oct 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 05 Jul 2022 12:47AM)

Information technology's a sparkling Saturday morning on Koh Samui and paradise is performing. From my box-seat perch near the anteroom at the Banyan Tree Samui resort, I absorb the killer panorama over the sparkling body of water to the mountains of neighbouring Koh Phangan.

In the foreground, my gaze homes in on the crystal-clear waters in the resort'southward coral-fringed individual bay – sandwiched between Chaweng and Lamai on the island'due south eastern flank – and the sumptuous pool villas draped around the jungle-clad hillside.

It's a seductive scene and 1 as synonymous with Thailand for Singaporeans as hair-raising tuk-tuk rides, friendly service, and visits to ornate golden spired temples.

Banyan Tree Samui'south Family Ocean Pool Villa. (Photograph: Banyan Tree Samui)

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Upon closer exam, I see that things are not quite equally they should be. The beach is deserted despite the perfect weather, while the resort lobby – ordinarily a hub of action on a high-season Saturday – is populated only by a smattering of guests.

"Same, same, but different," said Ryan Nerone, Banana Director of Marketing Communications at Banyan Tree Samui, ruefully mangling Thailand'due south most famous tourist catchphrase to summarise how the isle'southward travel business is faring during the global pandemic.

It will come as a surprise to nobody that tourism in Thailand has been badly rocked by the seismic events of 2020. Although widely praised for a decisive, coordinated response to the pandemic – one that has resulted in i of the region's lowest rates of infections – the nation is suffering for its success.

Ryan Nerone, assistant director of marketing communications at Banyan Tree Samui. (Photo: Banyan Tree Samui) "There's no betoken in sugar-coating the situation. Some of the businesses that y'all run across boarded upwards as you move around the island will never reopen." – Ryan Nerone With international commercial flights on concord since April, the torrent of tourists visiting the Land of Smiles annually has slowed to a distill.

About twoscore meg visitors flocked to Thailand in 2019, drawn past its spectacular landscapes and seascapes, rich history, and famous cuisine. But in 2022 the country volition struggle to attract even a quarter of that number, co-ordinate to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Indeed, even that prediction – which was made back in July – now looks optimistic as planned travel bubble schemes are aborted and fears of 2d and tertiary waves abound in key company markets such as Europe, North America, and Australasia.

With Thailand looking to its home front to inject life into its tourism economy, the last few months have been a bloodshot fourth dimension for Thailand-based travel addicts similar myself.

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I've utilised my trusty Samsonite suitcase extensively since a ban on inter-provincial travel was lifted at the end of May, taking advantage of discounted flights, incredible deals on luxury hotels, and blissfully uncrowded tourist spots.

I've piloted a Royal Enfield motorbike along the rollercoaster roads of northern Thailand and walked my 3-yr-old son for kilometres forth the wide, generous sands separating Anantara Hua Hin and Avani+ Hua Hin without some other soul in sight. Now, I am here on Samui alternating between the lounge-deck and individual infinity puddle at my 130sqm deluxe pool villa and the beach.

Undercutting the visceral travel highs of spectacular slaloming highways, precious family time, and decadent luxury at knock-down prices is the knowledge that many tourism-related businesses around Thailand are struggling. Hotels as well every bit massage shops, restaurants, bars, dive firms, cooking schools, and beloved street vendors all face an existential fight for survival.

Melia Koh Samui boasts two outdoor pools. (Photo: Melia Koh Samui) "Samui'due south entreatment has non vanished overnight. Indeed, in some means, the pause has fabricated the island better in that information technology has refreshed the environs and forced everyone to expect at sustainable long-term solutions for tourism." – Ryan Nerone To boost domestic tourism on Samui and other destinations effectually the country, the Thai government launched Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together): A stimulus package that offers subsidies on accommodation and other travel expenses. Airlines

Valuable as these efforts are, nevertheless, they can but go so far in filling the chasm left by the shortfall of international visitors.

"At that place's no point in sugar-coating the state of affairs," said Nerone. "Some of the businesses that you lot see boarded up as you move around the island will never reopen. Even for us as a big-proper noun branded hotel with supportive owners, we are in a situation where we are just getting by and making the best of things.

Melia Koh Samui's Breeza beachfront restaurant. (Photograph: Melia Koh Samui)

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"Of course, there'south always a reason to exist optimistic. Samui's appeal has not vanished overnight. Indeed, in some ways, the interruption has made the island meliorate in that information technology has refreshed the environment and forced everyone to await at sustainable long-term solutions for tourism.

"Information technology's too giving usa more scope for staff development and to hone things like our CSR programs. Just I'd be lying if I said that domestic tourism alone tin sustain us in the long-term: We demand international travellers."

When they (as they surely volition) return, international guests will encounter a Samui much altered past the pandemic. Every bit Nerone says, the permanent closure of businesses is inevitable. Many in the industry believe that the days of mass tourism and dependence on big bout groups will also be a thing of the past.

Ernesto Osuna, general manager at Melia Koh Samui. (Photograph: Melia Koh Samui) "It'southward like it was in the 1970s. The sea is so clear and the beaches are and so make clean." – Ernesto Osuna But the island is also harking back to a aureate age – with deserted beaches, a lush unspoiled interior, and uncrowded resorts reminiscent of its days as the ultimate idyll.

"It's like it was in the 1970s. The sea is so articulate and the beaches are and then make clean," said Ernesto Osuna, General Managing director at Melia Koh Samui, a plush 159-room, 41-suite holding that opened for business on the island'south Choeng Monday beach before this year. "Samui has faced various challenges over the years, and now we have the pandemic. But the beauty of the isle is a constant."

Despite the call-backs, Samui has not gone completely retro. Indeed, wellness and hygiene protocols introduced to ensure peace of listen among travellers during the ongoing pandemic are very much of the moment.

Both Melia Koh Samui and Banyan Tree Samui have introduced stringent measures as a consequence of COVID-19. Passenger numbers on vehicles transporting guests to and from the airport are express and vehicles are disinfected later each trip. Guests tin also expect regular temperature checks, documentation for effective contact tracing, and deep cleaning of guest rooms.

Timely and important as these innovations are, they are hardly the stuff of beach bliss. Thankfully, the sheer dazzler of Samui takes precedence over handheld temperature guns or hand-sanitisation stations.

At Banyan Tree Samui, I paddle out into the azure waters with a snorkel and mask to observe emperor angelfish and a school of clownfish picking their way around the resort bay's coral reef. Over at Melia Koh Samui, meanwhile, long sunday-drenched days past the resort's giant puddle merge into rambunctious evenings where caipirinhas and mojitos provide suitably Latin lubrication for the resort's Spanish-tinged cuisine.

On my final afternoon on the island, I commandeer a scooter and hit a quiet trail that runs inland through the mountains from Lamai to Mae Nam on Samui's north coast. Every bit the shadows lengthen, I brand my manner upward, switch-bankroll through the lush jungle as I climb the steep gradient. Finally, the road mounts the summit. I kill the engine, savor the silence and lookout every bit the setting sunday sets to work painting the evening sky and the ocean far below.

Samui is unveiling another show and I count myself privileged to be here to meet it.

Despite the current challenges, Samui'due south natural beauty remains a constant. (Photograph: Banyan Tree Samui) "Samui has faced various challenges over the years… But the dazzler of the island is a constant." – Ernesto Osuna FLYING TO KOH SAMUI DURING THE PANDEMIC

With just 1 (reported) community manual of COVID-xix since late May, Thailand is in a position of strength when it comes to domestic travel.

Yet, nobody – airlines and passengers akin – is taking any chances when it comes to flying during the pandemic. Numerous measures are in place on Bangkok Air flights between Bangkok and Koh Samui.

Entry to airports is subject to a body temperature scan and the wearing of face masks is stipulated both in the airports and during flights. Upon bank check-in in Bangkok, passengers must make full out an online health declaration class that is required past Samui Municipality. Boarding and disembarkation, meanwhile, are strictly staggered in pocket-sized batches to ensure that there is minimal crowding on aircraft aisles.

For more information on flights betwixt Bangkok and Koh Samui, visit bangkokair.com

What is it like to travel to Koh Samui right now? Thailand in the new normal

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