The government of Thailand is considering to postpone its reopening of the capital Bangkok and other major tourist destinations to foreign visitors until November, citing that the vaccination rate in these regions are still behind the targets.

The planned reopening to fully-vaccinated foreign visitors sans quarantine of major tourist destinations including Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai in October could be extended to November 1, the Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan said. The minister added that the ministry would submit the adjustment to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, the country's COVID-19 task force, for approval on September 27.

"One of the important criteria that we have to meet before reopening is to have at least 70 percent of the population in those areas fully vaccinated, but this target has not been met," said Pipat. He said, "From the assessment of the current COVID-19 situation and the overall readiness in various fields, we would like to postpone the reopening timeline of these key cities further."  The reopening plan was part of Thailand's efforts to boost tourism, a key engine of economic growth before the pandemic, and strike a balance between ensuring lives and livelihood.

The Southeast Asian nation aims to inoculate about 70 percent of its nearly 70 million population by the end of the year. As of Wednesday, 22.6 percent of its people have been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA.

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