cape

All this pollution, ill-health and huge expense, especially to high-season tourism, and year in year out, with no change. All for a handful of corn and rice farmers. It is a disgrace. It needs ASEAN. It needs a lot of money. The waste should be carefully harvested and brought from the fields to purpose-built power stations.

I recd an acknowledgement of my application. I fly next week. I put a lot of effort and money into this. Thailand is my home but covid has kept me out for 20 months. It is a laborious and expensive procedure for us "tourists" and it must be the same for the embassy. I wouldn't imagine many authentic tourists would bother.

That is a major S E Asia problem. The health of the people. The smoky season overlaps with high season. This should have been on the Cop26 agenda.

Please add a little water to whatever you are drinking! "New normal" means the changes in how we live due to the virus, that look like becoming permanent. For example, most people in public enclosed spaces will continue to wear a mask. Another example: we replumbed the Internet so people could work from home (WFH) and where that's been an improvement (less journey time, less costly office space, for an improved productivity), it's likely to stay (some jokingly call it "living at work"). For the travel and tourism business, looks like passengers will expect temperarure-checking, infection testing, more safety and hygiene on flights, no meals.... Not all changes will stick because success of vaccine programs will mean we can return to the old normal, how things used to be. E.g. planes won't be flying half empty anymore. And there are other motors for change going on at the same time - climate-change, Wokism - that mix in with changes in our behaviour introduced by covid - eg people will holiday nearer home, more interference from governments in citizens' freedoms, higher taxes to pay for the fight against the virus. Change is constant, but covid, climate change and the woke are fast changing how we do things...and these changes look like being here to stay. These new ways of daily living are called "The New Normal". The TAT is trying to understand these changes so as to adapt Thai tourism. One big big change is to recognise that visitor numbers are likely to be permanently down. If tourism's contribution to GDP is to return to the old normal, each tourist must spend more. Hence a move from mass tourism to millionaire tourism. Will plans for millionaire tourism work out? Or are they, as you suggest, "delusional"? That's a good question!

Enter the same info twice

Approval should wait up to seven working days. You need to apply now.

No mention of covid

Truth is visitors visit for family or business reasons. Very few authentic tourists. Once restrictions are lifted, tourism will restart. That will be when the population is vaccinated. So, high season 2022? Back to new normal ? 2024 ?

Yes, although becomes illegible. My bet is they will approve the Pass and check at Immigration. My other bet is they won't check at Immigration, just cursory. The policy is 100+ pages. They want the doc.s printed out to check. No-one can print and carry a policy doc. All will become clear from the feedback here from early adventurers.

There is now email confirming receipt of your application and assuring you that you will receive a decision within 7 working days. Seven working days. Doc s needed : -A Certificate of Vaccination -A COVID-19 Medical Certificate with an RT-PCR, negative -A confirmed payment for a 1-night stay at SHA+, AQ, OQ, or AHQ accommodation, and 1 RT-PCR test. -An insurance policy with coverage no less than US$50,000. -e-visa if you have applied for one (eg 60 day tourist, work, health, student ...)

The Thailand Pass is working very well, technically. Analysis, design and coding performed by a Thai software house. Bravo! It does demand a lot of info, but most people are powerless and have no choice but to share all the personal private identity details of their lives with big brother govts across the world. One point - the health insurance : the whole form works by asking questions, you answer and rhen it demands proof of your answer in the shape of a single image scan. Yet health insurance has typically three documents of relevance - *one is your Schedule (1 to 4 pages, with your ID and the policy ID); *another is the policy itself (maybe 100 pages and a general doc that does not mention you); *third, an extract showing covid cover (a page or two, again no mention of you). My question would be : a screen shot of which health insurance doc is wanted? Because you only get to upload one image.

I lent a large sum of money to a former good friend. I have paid local solicitors to recover the money but they have been ineffectual. Is my embassy able to recommend someone - possibly an interpretor who can act as a paralegal? Do you have any forward-looking advice?

Can anyone help?

Hi "After uploading the health insurance certificate" What is this? I have an annual multi-trip with a European insurance company. The policy explicitly covers for 10m dollars There's a small excess. I have a four-page schedule but it doesn't mention covid. I have the policy but its 126 pages! What do I upload?

Not outsourced. They bought a package from a German supplier, Thai people did the analysis, then back to the German software house who are modding it

There are some

So can enter Thailand at bkk, stay airside and transfer to cnx, do pcr and sha in chiang mai?

So, question. Can I arrive in BKK, stay airside, transfer to CHIANG MAI and get tested and "quarantine" there?

What a different poll would reveal is that residents of Thailand are extremely concerned that the people are not fully vaccinated. Yet another poll would show that the high high levels of unemployment in the tourist industry are causing great anxiety among the people. Foreigners crossing the border explain the incidence of covid in the country today, but we are talking about illegal entries from Burma, not fully vaccinated tourists. Tourists who are fully vaccinated and arrive with clear LTF tests represent no risk whatsoever and promise to spend billions in bars, restaurants and hotels. This will delight all concerned.

Hopefully we have the resources to deal with a mass threat to the health of the nation.

There is a choice for ASEAN : cooperate to end this shameful practise, protect the health of the nation and safeguard the economy (infinitely richer tourist industry contributes 25% of GDP and employment for three million) ; or continue to subsidise a handful of large scale corn-growers. What's it to be?

There has certainly been enough time and resources to get everything ready for the end of the pandemic and the re-opening of the economy. Most countries have gone through periods of confusion but the way forward is crystal clear. It does not, incidentally, include double PCR tests around the moment of entry, nor is there a place for tourists being confined to govt hotels. Hopefully clarity, simplicity and common sense will prevail, the country's credibility and reputation will be restored, and the tourists will flood in for a tumultuous high-season.

Point being, inflation is massive and worldwide ... higher still next year 2022, then falling back 2023, to "normal" 2024+. But who knows, these economists eh.

Great analysis chum

Id imagine the only people going to Thailand these days are going to collect their belongings and move out permanently. That place is finished. I gather the idea is to move the girls into the factories building parts for electric vehicles.