Numbers low in Thailand's Phuket tourism revival bid - official

BANGKOK: Visitors to Thailand's resort island of Phuket in July were at just 1% of pre-pandemic levels, an official told Reuters, as a bid to revive tourism to the Southeast Asian country gets off to a slow start amid its biggest COVID-19 outbreak yet.

The island re-opened last month under the "Phuket Sandbox" programme to fully-vaccinated tourists who could skip Thailand's mandatory two week quarantine provided they remained on Phuket, where tourism accounts for 90% of the local economy. . Nearly 15,000 people visited the island from overseas in July, Phuket Tourist Association president Bhummikitti Ruktaengam told Reuters, equivalent to just over 450 foreign arrivals a day.