PHUKET: In Thailand, it's the all-important tourism sector that has jumped to the head of the COVID-19 vaccination line, with the country's most popular resort island embarking on a mass inoculation programme two months ahead of the rest of the country.
"If we can build immunity for 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the population on the island, we can receive foreign tourists who have been vaccinated without the need for quarantine," Phuket's Vice Governor Piyapong Choowong told Reuters. Just 6.7 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2020, spending about US$11 billion. That compares with nearly 40 million in 2019, when they spent US$61 billion.The government wants to see at least 100,000 tourists come to Phuket in the third quarter. It also hopes that as vaccinations worldwide progress it will see a spike in demand in the fourth quarter and that nationwide some 6.5 million visitors will have spent 350 billion baht by the end of the year."It's a challenge.
Visitors from Europe, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are expected to return first, Yuthasak said.Strict 14-day quarantine requirements for overseas visitors have helped Thailand limit COVID-19 infections to about 29,100 cases and 95 deaths but have proven to be too great a hurdle for most tourists.
Positive news but assume quarantine will still apply on return to Singapore etc...