Karma80

I am sorry you have had a poor vacation experience and should probably serve fair warning to anyone else thinking about coming to Thailand right now for a short term visit. I guess it depends on motivation and purpose. It is better than being stuck in the middle of winter as covid sweeps Moscow for a couple of months? Yup. Is Thailand getting back to normal and ready for tourists for a two week vacation? Nowhere near.

Won by default and setting up the future of "approved" travel destinations. Because it would not be acceptable to mention the other top international vacation spots pre-pandemic. Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

Thailand delayed doing anything at all believing it would profit from a much proclaimed "hub of vaccination production in SE Asia", until the couldn't deliver. By their own doing found themselves with no alternative other than Sinovac as the public demanded action after the famous "what will be, will be" holiday weekend. Of course China would have told officials not to be critical of Sinovac, but Thailand was a willing participant to save face. Then multiple sources tell the papers of the poor Thai government bullied by a superpower, so it wasn't really our fault. A very Thai story.

I'm so glad an upstanding citizen (competitor bar owner) did their civic duty (grassed) to the police (who already have this weeks protection money). I am sure they will take meaningful action (none).

More to the point, how many fake positives will there be so you can "pay a premium fee" to be retested negative. TIT.

Australia and several other counties are happy to recognise Sinovac for travel without approval for emergency use in their own country. After all, there are Chinese students that will need to come spend $$$ in universities.. And, the inconvenient reality that many citizens overseas have had Sinovac because there was no alternative. I don't think any country yet has the legal stomach to insist that a person undergoes a second round of vaccination with no science to back it up.

Amazing Thailand. You don't disappoint with the ever more ridiculous. If you come here as a tourist you probably do need an ambulance, but the destination should be the mental hospital.

I don't look forward to any scenario which has the Chinese tourists return en mass. But, I do suspect that's not going to be a reality for long, long time. Thailand's efforts to attract tourists have no impact on the underlying factors of the pandemic response fundamentals in China of zero covid. That precludes travel without draconian quarantine and restrictions. They can't do that forever, some might say. But, it suits the PRC government during a period of engineered political, social and monetary policy shift. The airlines are flying domestically, money is being spent within the country and not exported. What's not to like for China? That's not a short term project. And that will leave poor Thailand with the scraps of tourism from the motivated travellers elsewhere looking to escape their own country as covid waves wash over them again. The smart thing, and a first for Asia, would be to have a remote worker visa and let people here stay medium term and suck foreign money into the economy. But, this government isn't smart and lacks the tools to see past a return to history that cannot come again.

You may call them that. The TAT call them "tourist arrivals" ????

Who could have possibly known? Everyone + science. But, where you can you get an additional mRNA vaccine in Thailand? Nowhere.

This shouldn't be news to anyone and you could insert any countries name into that article heading. Global mass tourism will take years to recover, if it returns to pre-pandemic levels at all.

Corporate. Word. Salad.

The stats from the international arrivals in the sandbox testing positive already prove it's a waste of time. What's the point in a country that covid is endemic with official numbers on cases surpassing 2 million today, which makes it way more really. I mean you wouldn't want to be spending that money elsewhere, like, uh I dunno, vaccines.

A prison where people have done nothing more than to test positive for asymptomatic covid and are perfectly well?. They clearly deserve to have poor food for letting down the community....

Meanwhile, can't even be bothered to clear the paperwork for western countries wanting to donate quality vaccines. Didn't they announce last month they were not going back to Sinovac? Yet here we are....Groundhog Day. Please give us Chinese money and tourists.

Consider it a public service. It's the Nokia of payment platforms and should be a footnote in history.

I'm sure he could try harder to quarantine and hospitalise tourists at their own expense if he put his mind to it.

Only those of us who live here or long term motivated travellers. Short term tourists would be idiots to come here with the current system. The Thailand Pass is just the start of the nonsense. Once you get past the stupidity of that system, enjoy the Russian roulette of getting tested, or better still just being near someone who tests positive. Airlines are not stupid. You only return slots when you know there's no point in keeping them. If you think the paperwork is bad now, so you can have the "privilege of coming to Thailand" and spending your money, can you imagine the nightmare of getting the slots back. The expected arrival numbers are just lottery numbers with about as much chance of hitting them.

You have to be an idiot to choose Thailand and come here as a short term tourist right now. No insurance will cover you for some of eventualities you could face that are imposed on you by the Thai authorities that many other destinations do not. Go somewhere else without the stress of wondering if you'll be banged up at your expense because someone else near you tests positive. It's a disgrace and disservice to the people of Thailand that the TAT continually "targets" and "lures" people (their words, not mine) with this system and attitude in play.

They call those people "sensible". The sad part is that I personally doubt most people understand the true ramifications if they, or a member of their party do test positive. Welcome to your 2 week holiday from hell. The criminal part is the TAT advertising and targeting anyone with a pulse to come to Amazing Thailand. Just don't worry about the small print.

I know someone who got hit by the private hospital for testing positive. 120,000 THB, no symptoms. The change will be for the quarantine hotel for the family. Please enjoy your holiday in Thailand...

The trap is sprung! You have to make it out alive too. Remember that test before you fly? Better hope you didn't get covid while you were playing in the covid capital of SE Asia. Seriously though. Even with a robust insurance policy (very very few) that will genuinely pay for ALL your expenses in the event of an asymptotic test with no medically necessary treatment, nobody is covered for a quarantine hotel for being a close contact.

Do the ankle bracelets come in a Ferrari branded edition?

If logic ever played a part in it, Thailand would have long ago implemented a remote worker visa and enjoyed just pulling in foreign money to be dumped into the local economy. But here we are. TIT.

Trough is empty. No money for tea. Please send more.