Thailand has over 20,000 foreign visitors in October after gradual reopening; govt orders another 30 million Covid-19 vaccine

People take pictures inside a decorated tunnel linking a train station to a department store amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in Bangkok on Tuesday (Nov 23, 2021). - Reuters

BANGKOK, Nov 23 (Reuters): Thailand welcomed 20,272 foreign tourists in October, up from 1,201 foreign arrivals in the same period a year earlier, tourism ministry data showed on Tuesday, due to a pilot tourism programme on the islands of Phuket and Samui.

The scheme was launched ahead of the South-East Asian country's wider quarantine-free reopening on Nov 1, aimed at restarting its important tourism sector that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.