‘Paradise Covid retreats’ fail to attract tourists

Ghost town: A deserted road at a usually packed tourist area in Phuket. The tepid response to Thailand’s reopening illustrates the difficulties faced by tourist-reliant countries as they try to shore up economic growth while also protecting citizens from Covid-19. — Bloomberg

It’s hard to imagine a more luxurious place to spend two weeks of quarantine than the Anantara Phuket Suites and Villas in Thailand, where visitors are pampered in private residences that have their own pool and courtyard.

Yet more than three months after the resort and over a hundred like it reopened to extended-stay travellers in an attempt to revive Thailand’s battered economy, foreign arrivals have failed to meet even rock-bottom expectations.