Despite brave holdouts, virus gutting island tourism

By THE NATION

 

 

The 2019-nCoV coronavirus, now deemed an international public health emergency by the World Health Organisation, has resulted in dozens of high-season flights to Thai southern beach resorts cancelled.

 

 

Reporters surveying the scene on Phuket’s Pa Tong Beach this week were able to count a few, mainly from Europe and Russia, South Korea and Japan, sunbathing, swimming and tossing around frisbees.

 

 

There are also Chinese tourists still to be found on Phuket as well, many booking cruises around the Andaman Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381369

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-01

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Do those tourists have to swim around the speedboats? Why don't they ban them from the beach?

Looking at these pictures (OP), if the virus doesn't get them, there's a good chance skin cancer will.

  

10 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Reporters surveying the scene on Phuket’s Pa Tong Beach this week were able to count a few, mainly from Europe and Russia, South Korea and Japan, sunbathing, swimming and tossing around frisbees.

 Well at the very least, the photos give the deception that there are plenty of tourists!

31 minutes ago, Youlike said:

Do those tourists have to swim around the speedboats? Why don't they ban them from the beach?

 

The sea in Phuket is always dangerous, even when the flag is green;
only excellent swimmers can venture a little offshore and provided that they do so in a group

35 minutes ago, Youlike said:

Do those tourists have to swim around the speedboats? Why don't they ban them from the beach?

As always.. Money.. 

Ah, those beach pictures makes me homesick for Loei.  Our house overlooks Banana Beach.

 

 

And Swamp Lagoon.

57 minutes ago, neeray said:

Looking at these pictures (OP), if the virus doesn't get them, there's a good chance skin cancer will.

Or a crash with the Tuk Tuk on their way home.

Ok and now can a TVF member ho and take real photos from the current situation?

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

Ok and now can a TVF member ho and take real photos from the current situation?

Agreed. Those pictures seem to be "file" footage. There are more people on the beach than the OP seems to describe.

6 minutes ago, neeray said:

Agreed. Those pictures seem to be "file" footage. There are more people on the beach than the OP seems to describe.

Hmmm, counting tourists per m2 on the beach from those pictures indicates a GBP/TB rate of 54.93 at that point in time.

The TAT should ban these photos for ruining the image of Thailand.  555

5 hours ago, Youlike said:

Do those tourists have to swim around the speedboats? Why don't they ban them from the beach?

ban them from beaches and then what do you expect them to do? run around trees!

4 minutes ago, action said:

The TAT should ban these photos for ruining the image of Thailand.  555

are these not normal beach scene the world over?

5 hours ago, PatOngo said:

  Well at the very least, the photos give the deception that there are plenty of tourists!

Stock photos taken years ago.

I'd be more interested in comparing tourist arrival numbers to hotel/resort occupancy rates. Afterall there the 2 barometers of what's happening tourist wise. 

Hardly any Chinese venture onto the beach during the day anyway; the usually wait until after 5pm when the sun is going down. So a beach devoid of Chinese tourists is hardly an indicator of their numbers.

 

However improved traffic due to fewer buses and minibuses has been noticeable in Phuket over the past few days!

Sure the next official report will show only a minor increase to 47 mill. tourist per year. 

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

Ah, the sight of cellulite 

It’s still very busy around Chalong temple in the afternoon. And Nai Harn beach has been busy ish, but not as busy as I would normally expect it to be. Traffic is definitely lighter, Noticeably fewer coaches and mini buses. Central is still busy ish today and they are reading temperatures of everybody using the link between old and new. Unbelievably, they are writing down every temperature they read. Quite why I have no idea. At the end of the day they will have a list of meaningless numbers.

Looks like any typical high-season day on Phuket. 

6 hours ago, PatOngo said:

  

 Well at the very least, the photos give the deception that there are plenty of tourists!

Pity they cant prove the photos by having time and date shown on them. They could be years old

15 minutes ago, Elfin said:

Ah, the sight of cellulite 

she actually looks like she has a double bum cheek. (think double chin)

1 minute ago, lensta said:

she actually looks like she has a double bum cheek. (think double chin)

Mmmmmm, bacon.

Some of those pictures boarder on voyeurism. I get the sneaky suspicion that the photographer was trying to hide the true purpose of his photo taking (and it didn't have anything to do with the number of people on the beach).

And yeah, if those images are meant to portray a reduced number of people on the beach, they've failed.

 

Because if that is what it looks like with the reduced numbers of people, I'd hate to see how overcrowded it is normally !

6 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

 

The sea in Phuket is always dangerous, even when the flag is green;
only excellent swimmers can venture a little offshore and provided that they do so in a group

Wildly inaccurate statement. Might be true during wet season but not at this time of year.

4 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

seems busy with pink people

4 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

Now I hungry for some cottage cheese. ????

2 hours ago, sahibji said:

are these not normal beach scene the world over?

 

These are abnormal beach scenes the world over as seen through the eyes of a pygophile.

 

~o:37;

Edited February 1, 20206 yr by orang37
memory recovered after alien abduction