LANTA ISLAND, 27 January 2021: From face mask to snorkelling
mask, Thailandâs Koh Lanta is a destination that is ready to welcome guests
safely as we head for a post-Covid-19 era and those vaccines kick-in.
We are still experiencing severe disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the pain of social distancing to varying degrees depending on our lifestyle and family connections, but we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccine programmes are rolling out and travel to our favourite destinations will resume soon. For now, we wait and see or muse over the making of a travel wish-list. But there is a growing sense of hope that the vaccine rollout and more robust testing pre-flight will signal that 2021 will be a turning point; the big comeback for international travel.
7 Deer cross a car park at the Khao Yai National Park office on June 25, when the park began testing its QUEQ mobile application designed for securing advance booking to visit the park. Arnun Chonmahatrakool
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ordered all national parks across the country to close in March to prevent the novel coronavirus disease from spreading further during the country s first wave of infections.
For a few months, the environment was left untouched, with minimal artificial disturbances. As a consequence, nature began to recover in many places. Improvements in marine habitats which followed the lockdown proved the best way to let the environment recover is to leave it alone, so it can rehabilitate itself.