Safety guarantee added to lure tourists back to ‘Amazing Thailand

[SMEinBangkok]

I think the 'Amazing' part of the moniker has to extend to the thinking process involved here.  Their figures and estimates are ludicrous of course, for so many reasons, but for us plebes in the cheap seats, the thing to pay attention to is the echo chamber logic they're using.  Our noble patricians really DO believe that in a month or so everything will just switch on and be OK.  Because for them, nothing's really changed.  They still have money, still go to their jobs/offices, still socialize with friends, travel if they want, live in multiple large properties throughout Thailand with servants, etc.

 

The other way I'd ascribe 'Amazing' to is the nature of the cruelty they've shown the Thai people.  There's simply no other way to describe the overbearing and patronizing attitudes they've taken with their own society and population.

[Boedog]

Amazing Thailand, yes amazed people still go, maybe in this down time the government could use this time to clean the place up, rubbish in there so called tourist attractions parks temples they should be ashamed, stop the double standard of charging one for Thais and one for Falangs make people want to come back and think about helping your country and not your greedy little selves

[dlclark97]

Guaranteeing the health safety by establishing cleanliness standards is one thing and sorely needed.  But tourist safety must include not being the victims of theft, mugging and overpricing for foreigners.  Tourism will be down for a long time and Thailand will have to prove itself tourist friendly if it is ever going to come back..  

[hioctane]

This is the dumbest idea ever. As a tourist, I am more worried about letting in tourists from countries with all kinds of crazy ideas about safety and containment. I worry about them infecting locals and myself! Figure out a way to promise me that everyone coming in is covid-19 free and I will be happy. 14 day quarantine on arrival is a nonstarter. Covid-19 certificates are dumb too because you can get infected on your way. Maybe give everyone a quick test on arrival. If you get tests in bulk, I would be happy to pay 1000-2000 baht on areival for a test.

[ChipButty]

Did anybody mention the taxi's yet? Phuket especially 

[wealthychef]

16 hours ago, Mavideol said:

TAT at its best.... would like to see how it will be implemented and controlled/inspected

 

555

 

 

Implementation:  whoever pays the money gets certified. 

Controls/inspections:  None, we must save face

 

[Gary Maneval]

16 hours ago, ukrules said:

Tourists are how the virus spreads. Good luck with that.

I guess that is why the Thai Boxing Stadiums spread all the Virus.  Were all the people there tourists?????

[Bangkok Barry]

16 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

There are currently armed vigilante mobs in Phuket posting photos on Facebook of themselves targeting foreigners with the slogan 'stay at home <deleted> tourist or get out of my country'. How can safety be guaranteed with people like that around?

Can you supply a link. I can't find anything like this.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Can you supply a link. I can't find anything like this.

There was a posted TV article a few weeks back which showed a facebook page of Thais with the comments he is stating

[Aussiepeter]

To the TAT - "good luck with that one". I don't envisage anyone wanting to travel anyplace for at least a year or even longer and the worlds' major airlines are surely of the same opinion. Major airlines have begun mothballing or 'storing' their fleets with many of them putting their aircraft to sleep in the desert at Alice Springs airport in Oz, or other similar places well away from the heat and in particular the moisture of SE Asia that can rot an aeroplane in months. No one had ever seen an A380 or a 747 jumbo arrive at 'the Alice' before but a load of them from Singapore landed in the desert to go into long-term storage earlier this week and it even made the ABC news. The cost is said to be a minimum of $25K USD to keep one mothballed per month, as they have to be started up every two weeks and moved around too so the tires don't go square. I can only see airfares going one way when this is over and only the big names surviving. Didn't see any TG planes arriving to be stored here tho' - guess they'll just park anywhere 'Thai style'. Maybe the end of TG ? 

[outsider]

16 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Here's a tip to start off with .. 

Stop using the bloody lure word .. 

 

 

Hahaha... then again, perhaps not the wrong word to use? Come to think of it, it is what they do! It's like fishing to them.

 

Lure people to come, introduce them to some scams and two-tiered pricing, show them some thickly-veneered 'attractions' complete with fabricated Thainess, harass them with a bit of a shakedown and empty them of their money. Once the are cleaned and gutted and have gone through the wringer a few times, they're spat out. The lucky ones will get a wai and 'thank you please come again' on their way out.

 

To be fair, and snide and sarcastic remarks aside, Thailand isn't 100-percent sh|te, but it is no longer the gold standard in hospitality and charm. It has a long way to go, and then some, to be even near the shadow of its former self.

 

 

[Max69xl]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

Tourists are how the virus spreads. Good luck with that.

Really? I would say that homecoming thai workers and migrant workers spread the virus the most. 

[Max69xl]

Try to lure tourists back when having alcohol bans. Even tourists read the news and watch TV. 

[ThailandRyan]

This is more in line with what TAT has envisioned:

 

[Muzzique]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“We have informed operators that to receive the logo, their businesses must meet or exceed the Public Health Ministry’s standard,” she explained.

Or slip some money the right way.

[Stew41]

Far out....where to start?

 

The concept of being able to actually 'guarantee' a safe tourism experience is deeply flawed due to 3 major issues - cultural, the heavy impact of corruption in the tourist sector and the demands of the tourists themselves.

 

Some observations / experiences had over the past 5 years in the context of a tour boat operator in Phuket (operating at the premium end of the market) so of course I don't assume all the issues are relevant across the country.

 

1) As everyone is well aware the typical profile of tourist has changed dramatically for Phuket. A combination of price sensitive customers (Eastern Europe, India) and ultra low budget package tours (Chinese) has forced the tour price down dramatically. After paying agent commissions many operators have very little to commit to safety systems, boat maintenance, staff training. In my dealing with many customers from these regions I have given up being surprised at how often people will trade knowingly safety for price.

 

2) 90% of Phuket boat crews are males from Southern Thailand. As a generalisation (don't bother pulling the 'racism card' on me) the crews don't like to be told how to drive a boat and operate safely. They sure as sh(&(*t won't like hearing it from a farang even if he is the boss. It has taken me years to get the right people into the business who understand how important safety and reputation are. Notwithstanding a steady stream of fatalities over the past 4 years the general standard of boat operating safety across the industry is well below par with zero sustained effort from authorities to improve.

 

3) Many regulation costs associated with safety still remain horribly corrupt. These include boat safety inspections due when annual registrations are renewed (just send picture of boat, cash payment, no receipt), registration fees themselves (cash payment, no receipt, no paperwork) and the mandatory purchase of poor quality life jackets from National Park officers (bank transfers to personal accounts, no receipts).

 

4) Weak law enforcement (just the roads I guess). One of the operators involved in the recent accident (2 Russian kids died) has killed multiple times over the past 5 years. Why are the allowed to continue to operate (I think we know why).

 

None of this will be a surprise to anyone in a position of power yet the ability to sit back, acknowledge mistakes and put in place real planning and systems will always take a back seat to pride and short-term financial 'incentives'.

[shackleton]

Well it will be Amazing Thailand if they get any tourists from Europe The USA ect this year

Who in their right  mind will be thinking of travelling this year

most will be putting off their holidays until this virus has ended

And here I emphasize Tourists as I know others have different reasons to come here

 

[cardinalblue]

Thailand has a lot of nice cultural attractionS but one cannot put safety and thailand in the same sentence...

 

market things that you are; don’t  pretend what you are not...

[outsider]

16 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Well put .. Last week there was a thread about some of the conditions that may be imposed on foreigner's like a 14 day quarantine on arrival and Covid insurance .. People ain't gonna fly half way around the world to endure that as when they do start flying in numbers again ..

 

Thailand and in particular TAT, still think tourists are straining against their leashes and border turnstiles, waiting to flood the country in the millions. They think a 'safety guarantee' is going to open that floodgate. Safety guarantee from them, if past experiences, recounts and reports are anything to go by, is like them telling you to cross a busy highway, with the 'guarantee' coming in the form of a blindfold and ear plugs, so you don't see and hear what's coming.

 

[saminoz]

15 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Boat crashes, mini-van crashes, car crashes, motorbike crashes; Thailand and safety should never be used in the same sentence.

..i think you forgot to add economic crashes too!

[aspenbkk]

17 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Thailand has evolved from one of the most wonderful tourist destinations on earth to a place to avoid...

 

Complete attitude adjustment is needed.  I don't see that happening!

Well Said very true. 

[DPKANKAN]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Safety guarantee added to lure tourists back to ‘Amazing Thailand

The only guarantee you will get is the guarantee that sweet f. a. will change!!!????????????????????????????????

[JusticeGB]

My daughter who lives in London normally comes to Thailand every year but is having a terrible year in the UK this year. She will skip her trip this year. She doesn't trust that Thailand will be ready to accept guests by Christmas apart from having to regain lost business. 

[KhunKenAP]

Can we send some drug dogs to TAT to see what they are using?

 

[BritManToo]

16 minutes ago, outsider said:

Thailand and in particular TAT, still think tourists are straining against their leashes and border turnstiles, waiting to flood the country in the millions.

I can't wait to leave for a holiday in Cambodia or Vietnam.

[sawadee1947]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The “Amazing Thailand Safety and Health

Well, the health system indeed is one of the best and if you can afford as a foreigner you will get excellent quality. 

However "amazing " is that Thailand's death rate concerning accidents on roads are the most terrible in the world. 

It's more likely to be killed on a road or by a maniac with a gun or machete than to die by corona. ????

[P100]

Unrealistic to expect masses of tourists this year.

1. People have no money. They lost their jobs or are in short work living on small money.

2. They cannot make flight bookings, nobody knows when airlines will resume flights, so advance booking is not an option..

3. Even if Thailand opens up its borders, tourists will need permission to leave their own countries, and even if not, they need to be sure they don't have to go thru multi week quarantine upon returning from holidays, imagine you have 2 weeks holidays and have to return to work in time. Will you risk a quaranine?

4. Tourists don't feel safe to trust Thai authorities no matter what they claim or do. No credibility with or without TAT measures and programs.

5. Tourism gets suffocated by visa and insurance requirements and bad immigration officers.

6. Even if airlines will resume flights, do you expect cheap tickets after many of them, if not all, are 5 minutes before bancrupcy? They will double the ticket fares...

7. Other countries recommend this year not to travel far, holidays in your home country will be the first thing.

8. In bad times safety is most needed, not just in covid19 questions but in general. Thailand is not that safe any more. Millions have lost tourist money and struggle to survive. Many of them commit robberies and tourists will be their favourite target! Anoutin's hate speeches against foreigners are not forgotten and are not over, he will keep on doing it as long as he remains in his designed-to-be-lifetime office. You feel safe in a country where so many are hating you and blaming you for corona, you remember the warning of Anoutin to keep clear from farangs because they are dirty and don't shower and bring the corona virus... They are still many Thais believeng this and hating foreigners now even more than before!

 

Good luck TAT! Get back the Corona-Chinese, they will be shipped in first, when Thailand gets sold out. And farangs will keep away because of those Corona-Chinese.

Edited April 29, 2020 by P100

[johng]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

OK, that hadn't occurred to me.

So can the OP provide a link or some other proof that this is happening?

It was reported here on Thaivisa  about a facebook group with large following  advocating  using catapults to shoot any "dirty farung" seen without a facemask.

[spidermike007]

“We have informed operators that to receive the logo, their businesses must meet or exceed the Public Health Ministry’s standard,” she explained.

 

Well, I am sure this will instill alot of confidence in tourists. Nothing like a logo to bring back the millions. The fact of the matter is, that Covid and the economic shutdown, is devastating the lives of those most likely to return to Thailand. The lower and middle income folks from China and India. It will be a long time until they are in a position to travel again. And Thailand will really bear the brunt of that, having spent the last 6 years chasing away more affluent tourists, in a dozen different ways. Millions of jobs will be lost. The golden years for Thailand are in the rear view. Thailand is no longer an economic tiger. It is now a weak and vulnerable little kitten, begging for tourists, investment, and attention. 

 

The TAT forecasts a drop of more than 60 percent in tourist numbers this year compared to 2019, with 16 million foreign visitors and 60 million domestic trips.

 

I predict closer to 12 million total, for the year, (including around 8 to 9 million, year to date) and 20 million domestic trips. Alot of Thais have also been hurt by this shutdown. The kind of hurt that will be felt for quite some time. Rosy tourist projections have no place in a post Covid world. We might see two to four million tourist arrivals, for the remainder of this year. With restrictions likely to remain in place, requiring health insurance and "Covid free" health letters, and economic devastation in much of the world, after this thing ends, many are going to either stay home, or the few who do travel, are likely to go elsewhere. 

Edited April 29, 2020 by spidermike007

[Surelynot]

First people to be granted these?

 

Coach companies, minibuses companies, jet ski operators, speed boat operators.