At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin instructed the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to draft a plan to offer travel insurance coverage for all foreigners arriving in Thailand, Bangkok Post reported.
The ministry said it would seek about 50 million baht (US$1.43 million) from the Central Fund to buy insurance coverage for tourists visiting Thailand over the upcoming New Year period, Thai PBS reported.
The prime minister's order came following two incidents involving foreign tourists recently in Thailand.
A Taiwanese tourist who was denied emergency treatment at a private hospital in the Pattanakarn area died on his way to the second hospital, about 10 km away.
The second case involved an Irish tourist who had been treated in the intensive care unit of a private hospital for dengue fever, but the hospital's bill reached about 100,000 baht a day, forcing the patient's family in Ireland to raise funds to get him back home for treatment.
Thailand has received over 24 million foreign tourists this year and is on track to meet its target of 28 million.