The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to investigate the food safety conditions at food service premises and the hand hygiene of food handlers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. The food safety conditions of 24 food service premises in the Pakpoon municipality of Nakhon Si Thammarat were assessed using a food sanitation inspection form and fecal indicator testing. The fecal indicators in this study were coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli). A total of 162 samples were randomly collected from food and utensils and analyzed for coliform contamination. Samples were also obtained from food handlers and analyzed for coliform and E. coli contamination. None of the premises achieved the requirements of the Thai food safety standard. The samples showed significant coliform contamination (p < 0.01). Notably, the ice and drinking water samples were 100% coliform positive. The highest number of viable cells of total coliform and E. coli on the hands of the food handlers were >200 CFU/hand and >50 CFU/hand, respectively. Food safety conditions and food handlers' hand hygiene should be improved to protect consumers from the risk of foodborne diseases.

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Thailand’s community-based tourism (CBT) faces a challenging adaptation in response to COVID-19 prevention. This study aimed to assess the readiness for effective implementation of the Safety and Health Administration (SHA) for COVID-19 prevention in the tourism community. A qualitative approach was adopted for this study. Three communities covering all types of CBT in Nakhon-Si-Thammarat province, southern Thailand were purposively chosen. Fifteen key informants were invited to participate in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted, and the data were analysed using the thematic analysis method. The readiness stage was assigned by consensual comprehensive scores. The overall readiness of CBT is pre-planning stage, a clear recognition of the SHA benefit, and there are sufficient resources for implementation. At this stage, there is no planning because the business owners feel that they have inadequate knowledge about the SHA protocol. Another main barrier is having limited accessibility for SHA information which mainly provides through with technology platform. The CBT owner needs to improve public health-based knowledge, technology and cooperation skills to operate SHA efficiently. However, in order to embed SHA to the CBT, tourism and public health organisation should provide suitable methods at the initiation stage by considering the community readiness and need.