madmitch

It was a dreadful error of judgement by the insurers to issue these policies. The OIC are not blameless either as they allowed the policies to be issued. All new coverages in Thailand must be approved by the OIC and usually this is quite a long process; somehow this got rushed through. It wouldn't surprise me if the big banks used their influence as most of these policies, I believe, were sold through the banks and not direct, and this involves hefty commissions. I don't know how much but it's not unknown for the banks to make more than the insurers. This adds another level of difficulty in declaring existing policies invalid and returning premiums. It's a difficult one; on the one hand it is correct that the policies were purchased in good faith, claims should be honoured but this would likely cause bankruptcy for the insurers who would subsequently be in no position to pay further claims. Alternatively they void the policies, with approval from the OIC, and refund the premiums to those that haven't claimed, however they would surely have to honour existing claims. This could still prove financially unviable. I don't know when they stopped selling; I'd guess around the time of the third, most virulent wave. There are still several months of cover to go and the omicron variant looming things will only get worse. This needs sorting.....and soon.

That's around 12 boatloads. Hopefully they keep the boat mooring at one side of the bay and allow the visitors to swim and use the rest of the beach. It was like that when I first went there. My next visit was the opposite, with boats taking up around 75% of the beach and tourists congregated into a small swimming zone with dirty water. Fortunately the Chinese tour groups will still be absent but even these numbers will probably scare the wildlife away again.

Good luck with that. Nowhere else seems to have controlled the spread of omicron yet. But of course nowhere else has a Health Minister of Anutin's calibre!

I was once interviewed for one of these TAT surveys. I did state that I wasn't a tourist and had lived in Thailand for a long time but this didn't deter them and I just went along, despite most questions being of no relevance to me.

If omicron spreads like it has in Europe and then Thailand must surely rethink it's hospitalisation policy. I hope it doesn't but it wouldn't be feasible to send tens of thousands to hospital every day.

Well that give everyone in Thailand something to look forward to!!!

I'll stick to what the more reliable sources are currently stating, which is that those that already hold the Thailand Pass will be admitted under the same terms, possibly subject to another test.

Most helmet shops!

Maybe some of the larger SHA+ hotels have a 30% occupancy rate but there are hundreds of small hotels and guesthouses out there without a single customer or even a booking!

Maybe he'll get a 20 point deduction from the 100 points, which he'll be able to get back by sleeping through a video.

How about finding the online suppliers of these fake vaccine certificates and prosecuting them?

I'm amazed this has produced five pages of comments ....so far, considering the same BS has been spouted several times during the pandemic. I'm sure the job spec for the head of TAT must read something like: Ability to create figures out of nowhere Skilled at regurgitating ideas that have failed many times previously The ability to create catchy slogans that may or may not have a semblance of proper English Able to create excuses whenever targets are not met Happy to travel worldwide at the taxpayers' expense The desire for a job for life; you will never get sacked regardless of competency No tourism experience necessary

Only 20% of international flight slots were taken up last month. 10% increase makes 22%!

I suppose a tourism city of the future is better than what Pattaya is right now: a tourism city of the past!

So where are they actually living then?

I'm pretty sure that no insurance would cover this.

You mean you'd actually consider getting on a plane it you tested positive? Further words fail me!

I have no idea where that info comes from. Most hotels have free cancellation options and flights offer vouchers and refunds, dependant upon the airline. I don't know about pcr tests and insurance will depend upon the terms and conditions.

So what's the explanation for the two cancellations we had yesterday, both of whom had their Thailand passes and had booked their first couple of nights in an SHA+ hotel prior their stay with us at rock-bottom prices? With only four bookings for December, that's the occupancy halved!

Too much wine last night, Xylo?

I've been back in the UK for nearly four months. There are elements of life that are better here, there are aspects that are better in Thailand. Despite inflation, Thailand is in general a lot cheaper that England, though there's not a lot of difference in the price of a weekly shop and if you do want "farang" luxuries such as wine and cheese, the UK bill is cheaper. Of course, if you cook Thai food the ingredients are much more expensive. But most other things are more expensive in the UK: petrol, eating out, anything that involves service, maintenance, utilities etc. On top of that there's council tax and, if you don't own a property, rent. But it's not all about the cost of living: pubs, good beer, live sport, music, comedy and theatre are important to me and the public transport near me is excellent, plus I have family and my best friends around. My daughter gets free, good quality education. Conversely, the weather, the beaches, the jungle, the relaxed atmosphere are all being missed right now. Had I not made the grave error of selling my London house many years ago, the chances are I'd stay in England but as things stand, I'll probably end up living a much better lifestyle on my income in Thailand than I could here in England. I'll know more this time next year.

I remember reading a similar article a while ago and the "prize" was the in full amount payable, split between all those who snitched. This article doesn't state how the amount is payable so I'd guess it's the same. 100 snitches, 100 baht each.

So, which Thai bank will allow a foreigner to open an account to get this visa? It's hard enough opening one when you're actually in Thailand!

That loophole changed in 2015 when even wholesale purchases during these hours were stopped.

He prob Many of whom will be coming in 2022. But of course Mr TAT hasn't worked that out yet!