Thailand sets goal to reopen for international tourists in 120 days

Tourists at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) - Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced in a nationally televised programme on June 16 that the country will reopen its borders to international tourists within 120 days after a year of restriction to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The PM said Thailand has secured agreements with six vaccine producers – Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca – for 105.5 million doses to be delivered this year. It would seek more supplies next year.

He added that the country plans to administer an average of 10 million shots of coronavirus vaccines each month from July onwards and aims to reopen the tourism-reliant country to fully vaccinated travelers, local and foreign, without a quarantine requirement.

Re-opening the country is important to start reducing the suffering of people who have lost their ability to earn an income, he said.     

The scheme will start with a pilot reopening from July 1 on Thailand’s most popular island, Phuket, which has been vaccinating most of its local population.

Thailand lost about 50 billion USD in tourism revenue last year – an 82 percent plunge./.

VNA