Thailand’s Tourism Council reports ZERO bookings following coronavirus outbreak

[StGeorge]

QUOTE: 

"while also exploring new markets to compensate for the absence of Chinese tourists."

 

Well if they hurry, they may be able to convince the millions trying to get into Europe, from the Mid East and Africa. ????????????

[Ramen087]

On 2/6/2020 at 2:59 PM, SoilSpoil said:

I've read this probably a hundred times here,  but could you tell me where Chinese visitors are treated better, or different, than other nationalities?

I doubt you can.

The proof of this is the fact that some businesses have completely shut down in the wake of the restriction on group tours from China entering Thailand.  Also, other businesses are suffering to a great degree, having to be urged by officials in Pattaya to quickly adapt, or suffer the consequences, aka fail to survive.  There’s a reason no other travelers are filling the void left by the absence of those large tour groups. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Ramen087

[yogi100]

2 hours ago, spermwhale said:

 

From immigration? Tell me where in the world immigration is chatty and happy to see you? That's your complaint? "They are not the welcoming committee."

You can certainly say that again.

 

However first impressions are very important where tourism is concerned and accordingly while we may not want nor expect a chat a 'welcome to Thailand' or a quick smile would not go amiss.

 

Bear in mind we are discussing a country that likes to be referred to as the 'Land of Smiles' rather than a nation where we might expect to be greeted with a degree of hostility like North Korea or Cuba.

 

Incidentally I've been to Cuba and we were treated with more cordiality from their immigration people there than I've ever experienced from their Thai opposite numbers.

 

If the 'S' in the LOS stood for 'Scowls' it would be understandable but instead it's ironically meant to stand for 'Smiles'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by yogi100

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, spermwhale said:

 

From immigration? Tell me where in the world immigration is chatty and happy to see you? That's your complaint? They are not the welcoming committee. 

The Philippines, and Malaysia,

The female immigration officers are so smiley and chatty, I've almost got to the point of giving them my phone number for a meetup after work. One lady at KUL even went so far as suggest it was a pity I was just passing through the airport (90 days waiver) and should spend some more time in the country. At Manila the lady immigration officer asked if I liked the Philippines (yes) and should think about spending more time there and less time in Thailand.

 

I could have definitely got a date with the Filipino.

Edited February 7, 2020 by BritManToo

[StayinThailand2much]

On 2/6/2020 at 10:02 AM, darksidedog said:

I disagree. Problems have been mounting for some time, with many staying away from Thailand for a number of reasons, mostly of a home grown nature. Strength of the Baht, greed, fraud, danger etc. And as most of the eggs had been put into one basket, the super storm for tourism has now arrived.

True. Just came back from Hanoi. The tourist places are brimming with Western (unwanted in Thailand) and Asian tourists. Despite the Corona virus... Reason, perhaps, the extremely friendly locals, as opposed to the racist a×+holes and scammers here.

Edited February 7, 2020 by StayinThailand2much

[P100]

23 hours ago, Rocket Hawks said:

Thailand has never treated Westerners poorly. That is just so ridiculous. Frankly, I’m treated like royalty here. I realize that everyone’s situation is different but I’ve never once been treated poorly while living in Thailand.

 

Tourism is exploding where I live in Phuket. I’ve never seen so many tourists. That said, we have only have white people and mostly families in this part of Phuket. I’ve never once seen a Chinese or Indian person here. 90% beautiful Russian women that look like super models ( and many actually are ).

 

If tourism is so terrible, why is it impossible to get a reservation for Valentines Day at any of the top restaurants in Bangkok and Phuket? Even the Waldorf Astoria has a 400 person waitlist. Yeah, business is so slow!

in what parallel universe are you living? go to Pattaya and you will rethink your words...

[P100]

44 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The Philippines, and Malaysia,

The female immigration officers are so smiley and chatty, I've almost got to the point of giving them my phone number for a meetup after work. One lady at KUL even went so far as suggest it was a pity I was just passing through the airport (90 days waiver) and should spend some more time in the country. At Manila the lady immigration officer asked if I liked the Philippines (yes) and should think about spending more time there and less time in Thailand.

 

I could have definitely got a date with the Filipino.

true. and now compare that to Thai immigration....

[P100]

5 hours ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

Simply put, if the official figures were classified secret tencent WOULD NOT have those numbers... they would be tightly controlled in SCIFs and by secure limited access.   They would not allow access outside top officials within the government.  No private company, no matter how friendly would have access...

 

Not to mention if the mortality rate were that high, there is no way that now the virus has escaped China that there would be a higher mortality rate in the non-Chinese numbers.  The containment has been lost for sufficient time for the numbers outside to reflect more the numbers inside China.

 

Therefore Occam's razor applies, bad data was posted online (1 assumption), or real number was accidentally posted AND the number outside of China is either incorrect in many countries or it is a statistical abnormality (more than 1 assumption).

The real numbers are secret. Also, corona was going on much earlier than admitted claiming many victims the government kept secret.  The only started to communicate when there was no way to hide it longer. And they communicate still much less deaths than actually happened. Entire parts of Wuhan died out.

You remember doctor Li, who alarmed the public beginning of December and got therefore arrested and had to sign that he was spreading false information online.

Now that guy died of Corona and will be a hero for many.

You are generally safe to assume that Chinese state controlled media always lies to the people, wechat is part of it, Tencent is close to the government and fully cooperates with them, also in censoring messages and denouncing critical users to the government.

 

BTW, Thai people were held in China who have witnessed the situation in Wuhan. For health reasons they were not allowed to return home. After US and Japan took their citizens home, Tailand was initially not allowed to get back their citizens. Finally just recently they were released by China. But they had to surrender all their cell phones. Why? To check for virus they say. They will delete all videos taken in Wuhan...

This is very Chinese...to hide their dirty secrets at whatever cost. Same is goi g on in Xinjiang Province where Chinese plan to reeducate the entire Muslim population within 10 years. They imprison about 10% per year which is more than a million people. They hold them and brainwash them. Children were forcibly taken away from their parents and are forced to grow up in compounds where they get communist education and learn to love XiJinPing. Around 10% of these detainees disappear forever, around 90% percent get eventually , after years, released after they have learned to love the communist party.

What is going on in Xinjiang can be compared with Nazi Germany. 

A regime that can do such things on that large scale for years, that regime can also keep secret the real death toll of Corona. Just multiply all state given numbers by 1000...

So what wechat claims, are big numbers but given the true scale they are probably still nice to see figures and state propaganda.

Edited February 7, 2020 by P100

[SteveK]

16 minutes ago, P100 said:

Tencent is close to the government and fully cooperates with them, also in censoring messages and denouncing critical users to the government.

All businesses and companies in mainland China are obligated to comply fully with any requests or demands from the government, otherwise they get shutdown. Hence the complete lack of trust regarding Huawei.

[P100]

34 minutes ago, SteveK said:

All businesses and companies in mainland China are obligated to comply fully with any requests or demands from the government, otherwise they get shutdown. Hence the complete lack of trust regarding Huawei.

True. Especially media and communication. They censoring everything, included television (BBC, CNN, and others, turning black when they report about Xinjiang or Hongkong unrests or any other critical issue) They are so scared of their own people and scared of any truth to come out. be it Corona or any other dirty things they are committing.

Edited February 7, 2020 by P100

[davidstipek]

On 2/6/2020 at 11:08 AM, sanuk711 said:

I don't think that is correct SteveK.....if your returning to your place of residence --(The one you stated you will reside at when you got your 1 yea visa) then you do not fill a TM30 in. But the Visa Mod will know for sure

I have live in same location for 15 years. Every single time we spent24 hrs away from here and it was documented... I was required to file a new TM - 30 upon arrival home! Or pay a fine! the last time was upon the renewal of my retirement Visa. Before I could get paperwork accepted I needed to do a TM-30. The receipt for this notification was stapled in the back of my passport. I was told this would eliminate future issues, this comment I did not understand but it has remained there since 2561

[Yadon Toploy]

9 hours ago, spermwhale said:

 

From immigration? Tell me where in the world immigration is chatty and happy to see you? That's your complaint? They are not the welcoming committee. 

In the last 12 months, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil and UK.

 

Not Thailand or Malaysia. Surly and grumpy as usual.

[Melbun]

9 hours ago, spermwhale said:

 

From immigration? Tell me where in the world immigration is chatty and happy to see you? That's your complaint? They are not the welcoming committee. 

Exactly, this job attracts power hungry people that like to assert authority. It's in their nature. And after they have stamped 5000 passport books who could  blame them not wanting to be there, or smiling or doing cartwheels and handstands for visitors.

[Selatan]

7 hours ago, P100 said:

This is very Chinese...to hide their dirty secrets at whatever cost. Same is goi g on in Xinjiang Province where Chinese plan to reeducate the entire Muslim population within 10 years. They imprison about 10% per year which is more than a million people. They hold them and brainwash them. Children were forcibly taken away from their parents and are forced to grow up in compounds where they get communist education and learn to love XiJinPing. Around 10% of these detainees disappear forever, around 90% percent get eventually , after years, released after they have learned to love the communist party.

What is going on in Xinjiang can be compared with Nazi Germany. 

A regime that can do such things on that large scale for years, that regime can also keep secret the real death toll of Corona. Just multiply all state given numbers by 1000...

So what wechat claims, are big numbers but given the true scale they are probably still nice to see figures and state propaganda.

This is the problem with the world nowadays. People would simply parrot whatever they have heard or read without checking and assuming the news were true. Luckily, there are people out there that would take the trouble to do a trace back and find out where the information of the million detainees in Xinjiang came from. Originally thought it was a UN report, but it turned out to be not true.

No, the UN did not report China has ‘massive internment camps’ for Uighur Muslims
 

Quote

A spokesperson from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed in a statement to The Grayzone that the allegation of Chinese “camps” was not made by the United Nations, but rather by a member of an independent committee that does not speak for the UN as a whole. That member happened to be the only American on the committee, and one with no background of scholarship or research on China.

Well, we all know how lies if repeated too often becomes "the truth"...

Just like how Western media reported how many thousands were massacred in Tiananmen in 1989 which turned out to be inaccurate. We have Wikileaks later to thank for - they revealed US embassy cables which confirmed no massacre happened at the square. A massacre did happen in Beijing in 1989, but it was not in Tiananmen but at Muxidi, 5km away. But it was not students that got massacred there, but soldiers in armoured vehicles that were attacked with petrol bombs. Some soldiers that survived were burnt to a crisp and hung for all to see. That was why when more soldiers were sent in clear the resistance at Muxidi, the students knew they have gone too far and left Tiananmen, ended their protests and ran away.

[atyclb]

been called the tinfoil hat wearing brigade when posting info that suggests the corona virus could be man made.

 

an interview with a harvard lawyer haviing lots of bioweapon experience and using critical analysis to reach the conclusion corona virus may be an engineered virus or bioweapon was deleted due to being from an unapproved source.

 

now that the washington times reports the same perhaps tinfoil hats are not involved???

 

Coronavirus may have originated in lab linked to China's biowarfare program . https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/26/coronavirus-link-china-biowarfare-program-possible/

[atyclb]

On 2/7/2020 at 4:14 AM, DannyCarlton said:

On 2/6/2020 at 11:39 PM, atyclb said:

 

 

he believes/ alleges .

 

the very first case in china had no contact with the wild animal market.

 

if the indian researchers are correct it could very well e an engineered virus.

 

may i suggest you my friend get some serious education in medical science prior to the ignorant non critical thinking kneejerk "tinfoil hat, conspiracy theory response"

It might have helped your case if the video hadn't originated from a site dedicated to conspiracy theories. Also his allegation that the first case had no contact with the animal market flies in the face of everything we know about the first case.

 

 

see post #350

[DannyCarlton]

2 hours ago, atyclb said:

been called the tinfoil hat wearing brigade when posting info that suggests the corona virus could be man made.

 

an interview with a harvard lawyer haviing lots of bioweapon experience and using critical analysis to reach the conclusion corona virus may be an engineered virus or bioweapon was deleted due to being from an unapproved source.

 

now that the washington times reports the same perhaps tinfoil hats are not involved???

 

Coronavirus may have originated in lab linked to China's biowarfare program . https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/26/coronavirus-link-china-biowarfare-program-possible/

Suggest that you read your own link. It was postulations by an ex Mossad agent trying to make a few Shekels from the Washington Times (not the most celebrated of American rags). What evidence did he have? Zero zilch nada. Please put your tinfoil hat on.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by DannyCarlton

[Yadon Toploy]

19 hours ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

Because you were and never have registed to be a permanent resident - therefore you cannot be one.  They would be happy to backdate 10 years a temporary resident card for 10 years though.  The problem is that you have chosen the path of applying for at most a 1 year temporary residence authorization annually all independent of one another.  Your choice now you have to live with it.  ????

You have to be a company manager or director to get PR these days.

 

The limit is 100 per year too, not sure if that is by nationality or an overall figure.

 

It's not easy and under this regime will be extremely difficult imho.

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts and replies have been removed.

[DrTuner]

11 hours ago, Yadon Toploy said:

In the last 12 months, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil and UK.

 

Not Thailand or Malaysia. Surly and grumpy as usual.

I really liked the IO in NZ. A maori girl I think, she gave tips for our road trip, couple of which we took and were really excellent little out of the beaten path spots. Made us feel instantly welcome. Polar opposite of here and I use the elite box, still grumpy.

Edited February 8, 2020 by DrTuner

[Mavideol]

9 hours ago, Selatan said:

Luckily, there are people out there that would take the trouble to do a trace back and find out where the information of the million detainees in Xinjiang came from.

would suggest you to get additional information and check the report from BBC with videos, photos, interviews and so forth to support the evidence of such camps.... also check out (don't ask me to do it for you) China's government statement indicating that all (the famous non existent camps) school/camps have been closed and people returned to their normal day to day activities, that has to be confirmed I doubt China closed ALL of them but at least they publicly said so

[Mavideol]

8 hours ago, atyclb said:

been called the tinfoil hat wearing brigade when posting info that suggests the corona virus could be man made.

 

an interview with a harvard lawyer haviing lots of bioweapon experience and using critical analysis to reach the conclusion corona virus may be an engineered virus or bioweapon was deleted due to being from an unapproved source.

 

now that the washington times reports the same perhaps tinfoil hats are not involved???

 

Coronavirus may have originated in lab linked to China's biowarfare program . https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/26/coronavirus-link-china-biowarfare-program-possible/

anything it's possible and (in China) some of the Chinese bloggers (maybe government bashing) did came out of the same or similar conclusion saying the virus was created by some US scientists working in Whuan to fight China raising and be stronger then the US, thus, at least for me, it's not the first time I heard similar accusation, but it was the other way around

[atyclb]

6 hours ago, DannyCarlton said:

8 hours ago, atyclb said:

been called the tinfoil hat wearing brigade when posting info that suggests the corona virus could be man made.

 

an interview with a harvard lawyer haviing lots of bioweapon experience and using critical analysis to reach the conclusion corona virus may be an engineered virus or bioweapon was deleted due to being from an unapproved source.

 

now that the washington times reports the same perhaps tinfoil hats are not involved???

 

Coronavirus may have originated in lab linked to China's biowarfare program . https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/26/coronavirus-link-china-biowarfare-program-possible/

Suggest that you read your own link. It was postulations by an ex Mossad agent trying to make a few Shekels from the Washington Times (not the most celebrated of American rags). What evidence did he have? Zero zilch nada. Please put your tinfoil hat on.

 

 

 

 

though perfectly ok for the likes of cnn to hire former intelligence officers as contributors to share their personal opinions and postulations.

 

all he said was maybe not so crazy to think the virus may be engineered.

[JAG]

On 2/6/2020 at 10:47 AM, SteveK said:

Yes but he has to file a TM30 when he gets back home. For me that is a 200km round trip to the office, hence I never take trips anymore either.

I thought that there was provision to do it at a local police station?

[DannyCarlton]

14 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

though perfectly ok for the likes of cnn to hire former intelligence officers as contributors to share their personal opinions and postulations.

 

all he said was maybe not so crazy to think the virus may be engineered.

Not crazy at all. Probably got a nice little earner from the Washington Times from feeding them his BS.

[atyclb]

31 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

46 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

though perfectly ok for the likes of cnn to hire former intelligence officers as contributors to share their personal opinions and postulations.

 

all he said was maybe not so crazy to think the virus may be engineered.

Not crazy at all. Probably got a nice little earner from the Washington Times from feeding them his BS.

 

might it be remotely possible an ex mossad is in touch with current intelligence belief.  dont get all bent out of shape. they are just saying a "possibility"

[bkkcanuck8]

5 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

might it be remotely possible an ex mossad is in touch with current intelligence belief.  dont get all bent out of shape. they are just saying a "possibility"

pretty much everything that is not absolutely impossible is possible but and likely some of what we think is impossible is possible... but that by itself adds less than no value to any conversation.

[DannyCarlton]

9 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

might it be remotely possible an ex mossad is in touch with current intelligence belief.  dont get all bent out of shape. they are just saying a "possibility"

It's yet another conspiracy theory. Strange how almost all conspiracy theories originate in the US. What's your theory on who assasinated Kennedy, who faked the moon landings, who was responsible for 9/11 and what exactly is being stored in Area 51? Don't get all bent out of shape with your answer.

[atyclb]

4 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

17 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

might it be remotely possible an ex mossad is in touch with current intelligence belief.  dont get all bent out of shape. they are just saying a "possibility"

It's yet another conspiracy theory. Strange how almost all conspiracy theories originate in the US. What's your theory on who assasinated Kennedy, who faked the moon landings, who was responsible for 9/11 and what exactly is being stored in Area 51? Don't get all bent out of shape with your answer.

 

i think if i take time to respond to all the issues in your post it will just be deleted.  let me say this though, the natural laws of physics, math and chemistry do not lie.

[DannyCarlton]

2 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

i think if i take time to respond to all the issues in your post it will just be deleted.  let me say this though, the natural laws of physics, math and chemistry do not lie.

Correct, and by that rote, debunk just about every conspiracy theory ever postulated in the US.