AndresSP

The US angle makes sense but i still believe that the speech was just an airing of grievances for plebs to chew on and a bit of posturing for the West coming from a place of weakness.

It will depend to a great extent on how the situation develops moving forward but i doubt it escalates beyond what it is now. Putin doesn't need an all out invasion beyond those "republics" and a bloody war with mass civil casualties. Such move will be a disaster domestically and won't sit well with the army either. He's a ruthless sob but not a madman. The West clearly doesn't want to rock the boat either judging by the lame non-individual sanctions announced so far. The biggest Russian banks that make things happen as far as international trade (Sber, VTB, Gasprombank, Alfa) are still not sanctioned, Nord Stream 2 is not critical for the EU for now but the chances are it'll be up and running before the Ukraine gas pipeline deal expires in 2024. So if current status quo remains the direct consequences for Thailand should not be that big of a deal. A temp hike in Oil/Gas prices and less Russian tourists due to RUB nuking.

Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, France.. damn, every country in Europe would like a word here. Not to mention South Korea, Colombia and Venezuela.

The first night is also a deal breaker for 95% of genuine tourists. Honestly, flying halfway across the world looking forward to a nice vacation only to end up with the whole family in a COVID jail instead? The possibility is real if not likely with omicron. There's absolutely no reason at all to put yourself and your family through such anxiety at this point.

Correct. Bona fide tourists are not coming in any meaningful numbers as long as it's a Test&Go and not Vaxx&Go. They gonna get there soon enough though but gradually to save face.

My God, let it be true everywhere. Mass formation psychosis is real.

It's mindboggling how shortsighted those stooges in power really are to allow a few hospitals to pull this nonsense on Thailand's bread and butter tourists for a quick buck. It'll be hurting not only regular folks but their own bottom line for a long time once the word is truly out in Europe & Russia.

Pfizer will be bigger than Apple in a few years the way it's going.

To be cautios of what exactly? Please explain how is a double vaxxed and double tested person from Europe or anywhere else is a danger to anyone

You are right in a sence that every industry needs a proper cleansing once in a while but surely not like that. If a hotelier's business model hadn't provided for operating in profit for 2 years with a) zero foreign guests b) no access to Thai corporate crowd c) no access to cheap (or any) credit lines like Marriotts of the world surely have, it doesn't necessarily mean such hotelier is mediocre and deserves to be wiped out. Those mom and pop businesses are part of Thailands' appeal to a huge segment of travellers who may choose to go elsewhere and the big boys will ultimately feel the pinch, make no mistake about it.

Interesting post but there is hardly an irony here. For 99.9% of genuine tourists/households looking for a 2-4 week winter getaway the current terms of entry and the rest of it is a big no-no and pretty much a hypothetical hence empty beaches and discounts. I mean i would not take my family there rn even if they paid me given the very real risk of being locked up after a (false) positive in who knows where for most of the trip. First i thought it was incompetence but with the latest developments i'm starting to get convinced the military is trying to starve out of business as many of you guys as possible before this whole charade is over.

Finally somebody of note with cojones to state the obvious loud and clear. More businesses within Thailand should speak up on the absurdity of this whole arrangement and hope it makes a difference

There is still a good chance this incident or one the next ones, as they are surely coming, is picked up by British/Aussie tabloids. Imagine the creative headlines it can generate.

Yep. No offence to Richard Barrow but this is a BBC worthy story solely on the merits of Thailand's shenanigans.

The most disturbing part about this story is the Thai authorities withholding info about the consequences or, some might say, straight up deceiving unsuspecting travelers. Disgusting