Thai Economy Faces Turbulence From China Ban on Group Tours

[BritManToo]

Hows that going to reduce the TaT arrival numbers?

I'm betting thy'll still go up, as usual.

[Pedrogaz]

With the benefit of hindsight, I can't help feeling that perhaps Thailand and TAT's relentless pursuing of the Chinese tourist was perhaps a misguided strategy. Most of these viral infections originate in China where people live together with their livestock in their homes. It is only a matter of time before one like the Spanish flu rears its ugly head again. 

Having said that how many 'epidemics' have actually impacted us here? SARS was big news doubtless with similar projections of the end of the world as we know it. Some prudence is called for and this is a good move by China. 

[yokat]

And what do they think will happen when tourists realize that Thailand has as much cases as Hong Kong ? They'll lose almost every tourist for a few months with this strategy, 2020 will be a difficult year.

[newnative]

4 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

At least the Chinese government are taking concrete steps even if a little late in the day which cannot be said for others.......

    Which is a pretty good tipoff that the situation in China is far more serious than we are being led to believe.  

[trainman34014]

4 hours ago, rtco said:

Duuurrrgggghhhhh ...there isn't a Monday 26th!!! Today is the 27th

Shhhhhhh; you know Thai's are not tought to add very well !

[ivor bigun]

sold out of face masks in Chemists all over Pattaya ,

[Cake Monster]

6 hours ago, smedly said:

screening is no good if people infected and spreading are not showing symptoms

 

this needs a different approach otherwise it will spread across the world (and into Thailand unabated)

 

 

Urgent rethink needed

It is absolutely no good to screen these Tourists from China, there are rumour,s that the Tourists are bypassing the screening by using other Airports and even Other Countries via indirect flights.

 I cannot validate these rumours.

Just saying

[Solinvictus]

What's next? Legalized prostitution? Weed?

There needs to be some real changes to how tourists are attracted to here.

 

Another day in paradise...where the sun shines bright and other men not so...????

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I always wondered why no diseases ever originate in India?

No bat curry.

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, ivor bigun said:

sold out of face masks in Chemists all over Pattaya ,

I ordered from 3M in Lazada on 22nd. It's still "processing" and the item is out of stock now. Luckily I have old stock. Not that a N95 mask helps that much.

[Burma Bill]

Quote:-

"China has ordered travel agents in the country to suspend sales of all international tours"

TAT must be pulling it's hair out at the moment!! 

Plenty of food at the "help yourself buffets"!

Edited January 27, 2020 by Burma Bill
additional information

[dcnx]

Good. Let them beg for all the other countries to return that they have crapped on over the years. Thais live on their knees anyway so it shouldn’t be too hard.

 

Instead of ripping off and chasing away those who come, treat them like humans and keep them safe, and they will return.

 

You reap what you sow. 

[SteveK]

So about 80 people have died in 27 days, worldwide?

 

Meanwhile, 256 people died on Thai roads, in the first five days of the year alone!

[ivor bigun]

35 minutes ago, SteveK said:

So about 80 people have died in 27 days, worldwide?

 

Meanwhile, 256 people died on Thai roads, in the first five days of the year alone!

and? this is just the start .

[SteveK]

17 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

and? this is just the start .

My point is that many more people are dying on Thai roads than are dying from coronavirus, and the world is getting hysterical about it, yet the Thai road deaths are just dealt with complacently. I have no doubt the figures will blow up as the incubation periods come to an end, but would be surprised if the death toll of the pandemic is greater than the death toll from Thai roads during the same period. One will get thousands of news articles worldwide, one will get zero.

Edited January 27, 2020 by SteveK

[DrTuner]

Yeah why worry, millions of people die every year. For some oddball reason not many want to join that natural occurrence though.

[malibukid]

11 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Have you noticed that most of these viruses that plague the world originate in China or Hong Kong?  Maybe all that debris from 25 million Chinese defecating in the streets and sidewalks everyday create a toxic environment...ripe for disease creation.

CM is starting to smell bad

[SteveK]

China is a perfect breeding ground for these things, for many reasons:

 

- Outrageous numbers of people living shoulder to shoulder in cities which make London look like a village.

- Very poor hygiene. Spitting in the streets, on buses and trains and in shopping malls.

- Most of the older generation are uneducated and just don't know what bacteria or viruses are.

- Disgusting markets where rotting flesh and blood are just chucked on the floor and if you're lucky, washed into an ineffective drain. No disinfectants ever.

- Because of traditional Chinese medicine, often exotic animals are plucked from their remote habitats and traded and nobody washes their hands.

- No enforcement of any kind of hygiene principles. Money comes first. Why wash your hands when you could be serving the next customer?

 

They just don't know anything about microbes and hygiene, and almost certainly think that it won't happen to them. If you've ever been to a wet market in China, you'll know what I am talking about. They are filthy and disgusting and vendors will quite happily sell you some gone-off meat if they think you don't know any different. I've bought meat in a Chinese market only to get home and cut it open to find it grey inside - apparently they spray something on the outside to make it look fresh when it is anything but. Frankly it's amazing that these things don't happen more often.

Edited January 27, 2020 by SteveK

[kingofthemountain]

15 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

If there's something TAT is spending time on now, it's how to twist this crisis into something positive...for the arrival numbers.

They are also busy trying to find the fortune teller they hired a few months ago

the guy seems to have disappeared, of course he hadn't seen anything bad coming 

what a crook !!

Edited January 27, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[Enzian]

I was diagnosed yesterday with a "moderate" case of common flu that's going around Bangkok-doctor specifically said it is not coronavirus. As a result of this diagnosis I cancelled my flight scheduled for today from BKK to Calcutta aka Kolkata. Doctor thought that besides my weakness there was a chance I would pick up something in addition in India. And my thought was that if I showed up at Immigration in Kolkata with flu-like symptoms I could well end up in quarantine, not a pleasant prospect in India or anywhere.

[toofarnorth]

On 1/27/2020 at 6:38 AM, edwinchester said:

Good question. My daughter and her family back in the UK are having doubts about coming here in a purple of weeks.

Mine too . ' Should we wait before booking '   yesterday I got this .   How long a purple week is though I cannot say.

[Youlike]

On 1/27/2020 at 6:28 AM, davehowden said:

Plus, how many people from countries not affected with the virus will want to holiday in an "at risk' country like Thailand ?

That's right, and not only for now but for a whole year me thinks....

[DrTuner]

26 minutes ago, Enzian said:

I was diagnosed yesterday with a "moderate" case of common flu that's going around Bangkok-doctor specifically said it is not coronavirus. 

Did you happen to get the strain of that flu virus in the diagnosis? Just wondering if the flu shots would have been effective against it.

[Enzian]

8 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Did you happen to get the strain of that flu virus in the diagnosis? Just wondering if the flu shots would have been effective against it.

I was not told the strain because the doctor did not do any actual test beyond visual, throat, etc. As my son put it, the doctor was just making an educated guess; I have something non-fatal that doesn't warrant hospitalization and it looks like all the hundreds of other flu cases she sees weekly.

[DrTuner]

3 minutes ago, Enzian said:

I was not told the strain because the doctor did not do any actual test beyond visual, throat, etc. As my son put it, the doctor was just making an educated guess; I have something non-fatal that doesn't warrant hospitalization and it looks like all the hundreds of other flu cases she sees weekly.

Right, could be any of the viruses floating around, including the new one. Tells you a bit about the "diagnosis methods" and the reliability of Thai reports. Anyway, get well soon.

[SteveK]

Haha, how can a doctor tell if it's a coronavirus or not just by looking? Laughable. You need to use PCR or an electron microscope to be able to distinguish the type of virus, I suspect he did neither.

[Enzian]

1 hour ago, SteveK said:

Haha, how can a doctor tell if it's a coronavirus or not just by looking? Laughable. You need to use PCR or an electron microscope to be able to distinguish the type of virus, I suspect he did neither.

Thanks for the comment, seriously. Makes me recall that she asked what countries I had been to recently, and I replied Germany two months ago. I think that's how she eliminated coronavirus from the diagnosis. But maybe the coronavirus symptoms are much stronger than what I am showing.

[edwinchester]

10 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

Mine too . ' Should we wait before booking '   yesterday I got this .   How long a purple week is though I cannot say.

Purple is couple in that strange language known as 'Spellchecker'.