Thailand will resume travel bubble discussions with countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, and Malaysia once the Covid-19 outbreak is under control. If the daily Covid-19 count drops significantly by the end of the month, travel bubbles could begin as early as October.

Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, recently stated that the country's Covid-19 immunisation plan should be accelerated and the daily Covid-19 count should be reduced.

“We have to speed up inoculations, particularly in Bangkok, to achieve herd immunity by the fourth quarter. The number of daily infections should be below 200 by the end of this month to restore international tourism confidence.”

Thailand has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections, with over 50,000 confirmed infections since April 1, accounting for the vast majority of the total case count since the pandemic began last year. Covid-19-related deaths increased from just under 100 at the end of March to more than 450.

Thailand, according to Phiphat, needs to get the situation under control before resuming discussions with other countries about potential travel bubbles, because no country will want to make a deal while the infection rate is high.