| Vacations to tropical islands in Southeast Asia like Bali and Langkawi became a distant memory during the pandemic. And with a resurgence in Covid-19 in much of the region this year, coupled with slow vaccine rollouts, a return to normal is on hold. But Thailand has other ideas. The tourism-reliant nation wants to allow quarantine-free travel to Phuket island, one of its prime holiday destinations famous for pristine beaches and vibrant nightlife. Starting July 1, for the first time in more than a year, visitors would be able to enter and immediately roam the island, provided they're inoculated against Covid-19 and aren't coming from countries deemed high risk. Known as the 'Phuket Sandbox' plan, it's an important test case, not just for Thailand, but for the rest of the region's holiday spots, says Banyan Tree Holdings founder and Executive Chairman Ho Kwon Ping. "Every government is beginning to feel around on how to open up, and the Phuket Sandbox is really a viable way now because even the travel bubbles that people talked about didn't take place," says Ho, who runs a leisure and property empire of 48 hotels and resorts in more than a dozen countries. In addition to the Indonesian island of Bali, he says the plan could be followed by China's Hainan and Phu Quoc in southern Vietnam, which are also islands.  Phuket island is one of Thailand's prime tourist destinations. Photographer: Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images For Thailand, the pressure is great to make it work. Foreign visitor numbers dried up last year, and a special visa program initiated ahead of the peak season over the Northern Hemisphere winter did little to boost numbers. In 2019, the year before the pandemic, the country welcomed more than 3 million international visitors a month on average and the tourism industry contributed about a fifth of gross domestic product. The Phuket plan is dependent on the vaccination rate among the island's residents hitting at least 70%. It currently stands at about 60%, far higher than the 5% nationwide, after a concerted push to get locals vaccinated. Final details of the plan were approved by Thailand's Covid-19 task force on Friday, with Cabinet approval likely this coming week. But sun-seekers may still want to wait before packing their flip flops and pareos. Even if the Phuket Sandbox goes ahead, travelers may have to quarantine when they return to their home countries. While cases in Phuket are minimal, they've jumped five-fold over the past two months in Thailand overall, and the government says it may reimpose restrictions if Phuket's reopening leads to increased local cases. But for people with few options for holidays, and for Thailand, the Phuket Sandbox may provide some badly needed relief. —Randy Thanthong-Knight | 
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