Channel 7 report: No tourists and desperate times for vendors/ hotels in Pattaya

[Mike Teavee]

On 7/11/2020 at 2:24 PM, owl sees all said:

What about testing the air-travelers at departure. The results could be sent across and the unlucky ones detained on arrival, while the C-10-free ones go on their way.

Given the way CV19 spreads you would have to quarantine the whole plane on arrival, would you take your chances on every one of the other 300+ people on the plane (maybe 500+ if you had to change planes) not having the virus if it meant you'd have to spend all of your 2 week holiday in isolation? 

 

Only way to do it is a reliable test on departure, this one is looking good... https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/israel-invents-one-minute-coronavirus-breath-test/ If they can get it down to 10 seconds  

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startups-breathalyzer-detector-for-covid-19-begins-early-tests/ it would have negligible impact on people's journeys (Unless you tested positive in which case I'd rather be at home than stuck in a quarantine hotel). 

[AndrewMciver]

On 7/11/2020 at 11:23 PM, hotchilli said:

If they continue into 2021 with the ridiculous criteria for entry, ie 14 days quarantine, health insurance, Covid test, fit for fly etc etc etc they can forget next year too, people will just stay domestic, plenty of lovely Euro or American destinations with a good climate.
Families are not going to put the price of insurance per head and a pile of documentation on top of an already costly holiday.

 

A quarantine with an early release if you test negative is one option to explore.

 

Are you seriously suggesting they just open and expose themselves to letting the virus reek havoc?

 

In saying this, the economy in Thailand is going to take a battering. Images of empty malls, nightlife areas, empty national parks, and the major islands becoming ghost towns etc are shocking. 

[hotchilli]

4 minutes ago, AndrewMciver said:

In saying this, the economy in Thailand is going to take a battering. Images of empty malls, nightlife areas, empty national parks, and the major islands becoming ghost towns etc are shocking. 

Agreed, Thais have to come to the conclusion that the money making days from masses of foreign tourists are over for at least a year. Many will have to explore other options of employment and cannot sit around waiting to live off the domestic tourism scraps.

[AndrewMciver]

42 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Agreed, Thais have to come to the conclusion that the money making days from masses of foreign tourists are over for at least a year. Many will have to explore other options of employment and cannot sit around waiting to live off the domestic tourism scraps.

What are the alternatives? Thailand isn't exactly excelling in manufacturing if services/tourism has gone. Back to the farms?

[hotchilli]

1 minute ago, AndrewMciver said:

What are the alternatives? Thailand isn't exactly excelling in manufacturing if services/tourism has gone. Back to the farms?

This is where the proverbial is going to hit the fan sooner than later.

For a few decades tourism has been the mass employer, for those directly employed or in the supply chain, education has not been a priority but this is where they could find a niche. 

You didn't need a degree to sell beer or other services, just head to a resort and make money, it was easy.
Now with the cash cow gone the alternatives are few and far between,the majority of those now unemployed don't have the education or skill set to go into office work or manufacturing [which is having it's own problems] even they are shedding jobs due to the economy and high baht.

Back to the farms is a non-starter, some will return home but most are just to lazy to get off their backs to do a real days work and the profits are not really there for the majority.

Initially the government hoped like hell this would all be over and back to normal by July... pipe-dream.

They underestimated the affect this was going to have here & globally.

3 months of 5,000 baht help if you were lucky enough to get it is over, the tourists are not back, domestic tourism is at a crawl and Thais will not be spending billions. 
With no alternative employment the government will be supporting millions out of work with less taxes coming in, The PM will shortly be sending another begging letter to the billionaire elite to dig deep again.

 

 

[Trillian]

21 minutes ago, AndrewMciver said:

What are the alternatives? Thailand isn't exactly excelling in manufacturing if services/tourism has gone. Back to the farms?

Where Does Thai GDP Come From: 

Agriculture 174,009 (THB Mill.)

Construction 70,556

Manufacturing 734,995

Mining 57,890

Public Administration 132,440

Transport 186,840

Utilities 81,065

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/gdp

 

Since international tourism represents less than 12% of Thai GDP, the remaining 88% of GDP has to offer opportunities for income, if people really want to work normally rather than leech off the back of international tourism.

 

[Boomer6969]

20 hours ago, hotchilli said:

frontline of thousands of workers servicing tourists one way or another

????????????????

[owl sees all]

3 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Given the way CV19 spreads you would have to quarantine the whole plane on arrival, would you take your chances on every one of the other 300+ people on the plane (maybe 500+ if you had to change planes) not having the virus if it meant you'd have to spend all of your 2 week holiday in isolation? 

 

Only way to do it is a reliable test on departure, this one is looking good... https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/israel-invents-one-minute-coronavirus-breath-test/ If they can get it down to 10 seconds  

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startups-breathalyzer-detector-for-covid-19-begins-early-tests/ it would have negligible impact on people's journeys (Unless you tested positive in which case I'd rather be at home than stuck in a quarantine hotel). 

Bang on the money Mike.

 

I was thinking that passengers would have a check with a electronic gun, like they do at the entrance to Big C, and they could be detained at their destination if the reading was critical.

[Mike Teavee]

If they can train the dogs to detect CV19...  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-53254200 then having sniffer dogs at airports would make it even better as you wouldn't even know you were being "Tested" as you walked past... 

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

16 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Bang on the money Mike.

 

I was thinking that passengers would have a check with a electronic gun, like they do at the entrance to Big C, and they could be detained at their destination if the reading was critical.

Personally I would want to see people who tested possible being detained before getting on the plane so there's no risk of them spreading it during the flight, which is why I think these 1 minute, 10 second or even sniffer dog tests are essential if we're to get anywhere near back to being able to travel "Normally". 

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

Fear not. The world's billionaires are sitting on their packed suitcases, ready to make Thailand's tourism dreams a reality soon... (And even if they don't have the cash right now, there's always the Indians, Thailand can fall back on.)

[johng]

32 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

If they can train the dogs to detect CV19...

Wonder what PETA has to say about that ?

[Mike Teavee]

16 minutes ago, johng said:

Wonder what PETA has to say about that ?

Nothing, why would they as CV19 has not jumped species to dogs so it's no different than them sniffing for drugs, bombs, money etc... If it did make the jump then obviously the idea is a none starter, not only from the dogs health point of view but also from the potential for them to spread it to other people. 

 

I think this & the Israeli tests offer real hope that we can reasonably soon get close to some normality when it comes to travelling, without these or something similar we're screwed until somebody comes up with a vaccine & even then there are doubts around immunity lasting more than a couple of months... 

 

 

[johng]

28 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Nothing, why would they as CV19 has not jumped species to dogs

They had a bit to say recently about monkeys collecting coconuts..these poor mutts might sniff a Wuflu carrier and catch it/transmit it ..not to mention being blown up by a bomb ????

[AndrewMciver]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Bang on the money Mike.

 

I was thinking that passengers would have a check with a electronic gun, like they do at the entrance to Big C, and they could be detained at their destination if the reading was critical.

 

You can be asymptomatic (no symptoms) and still have the virus. The temperature check whilst useful in some regards, will not catch everyone with the virus.

 

You have 4 options :

 

1) TEST TEST TEST EVERY SINGLE ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY - BUILD HUGE LABORATORYS AT AIRPORTS

2) KEEP BORDERS CLOSED FOR NEXT 2 YEARS - DESTROY ECONOMY

 

or 

 

3) Quarantining, testing, islands - this will mean some virus will enter the country. Hopefully only in low numbers though. 

 

4) Just let everyone in and pray. Likelyhood you will end up like India - full of infection, and in turn will turn tourism off. 

[Gerefan]

5 hours ago, Trillian said:

Since international tourism represents less than 12% of Thai GDP,

 

Id say that international tourism in places like Pattaya and Phuket etc actually accounts for 99% of GDP in those areas.

 

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[ChaiyaTH]

4 hours ago, Gerefan said:

 

Id say that international tourism in places like Pattaya and Phuket etc actually accounts for 99% of GDP in those areas.

 

50% of real GDP, if talking what counts for most of population. 12% if talking about elites their GDP. That is why they don't care to lose us and treat us bad.

[jacko45k]

On 7/11/2020 at 2:24 PM, owl sees all said:

What about testing the air-travelers at departure. The results could be sent across and the unlucky ones detained on arrival, while the C-10-free ones go on their way.

Because the other 199 passengers may well have become infected during the flight perhaps?

[Jalasko]

Its harsh having a tourist ban and I feel for the ordinary vendors but loathe the military regime.

[dundee48]

On ‎7‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 10:26 AM, Traubert said:

Not very likely given their track record.

Never miss an opportunity do you?

[pattayadude]

On 7/10/2020 at 1:21 PM, webfact said:

Jet skis and boats were just sitting idle in the bay at Pattaya Beach.

my heart goes out to them scammers

[pattayadude]

On 7/10/2020 at 1:21 PM, webfact said:

10 baht bag of soy milk

10 baht for soy milk?/geez!

[Leaver]

On 7/12/2020 at 5:23 AM, hotchilli said:

If they continue into 2021 with the ridiculous criteria for entry, ie 14 days quarantine, health insurance, Covid test, fit for fly etc etc etc they can forget next year too, people will just stay domestic, plenty of lovely Euro or American destinations with a good climate.
Families are not going to put the price of insurance per head and a pile of documentation on top of an already costly holiday.

I agree.  I can start to see Thailand's tourism industry woes continuing well into 2021.

 

When you use the word "they" it's not just the Thai government.  Once again, it's the governments of the countries from which Thailand's tourists will come from that are also impeding international travel.  

[3NUMBAS]

many regulars are skint and jobless and wont be going anywhere soon even if there was flights

available at nice prices.some just cant get into the office any more so no wages.they eke out their savings till god knows when..jiggy jiggy tours are on the back burner for some time

[Mike Teavee]

15 hours ago, 3NUMBAS said:

many regulars are skint and jobless and wont be going anywhere soon even if there was flights

available at nice prices.some just cant get into the office any more so no wages.they eke out their savings till god knows when..jiggy jiggy tours are on the back burner for some time

A good reminder to all of us to keep a few months living expenses in the bank.
 

[phetchy]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

A good reminder to all of us to keep a few months living expenses in the bank.
 

For many years after the 1997/8 collapse of the Baht, I've adopted a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" approach.  Without the aid of a crystal ball or Mystic Meg, I've always kept my liquid assets 50/50 between Thailand and the UK.  As well as avoiding being totally wiped out if one or the other countries goes to the wall, it's even possible to make a few bucks by transferring cash to profit from the exchange rate.  As for gold, my wife has an uncanny sense of timing.  I know that in times of crisis, gold is always seen as a safe  bet.  Wifey bought a rather large amount in late March - it now looks like she's going to pay for the change of car.  It will be in her name, so she can buy it.

[3NUMBAS]

this is the new normal for many years to come with the worlds 25 billion unemployed going nowhere except food banks and night shelters and a looming civil war in america

[Leaver]

On 7/27/2020 at 1:11 PM, phetchy said:

For many years after the 1997/8 collapse of the Baht, I've adopted a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" approach.  Without the aid of a crystal ball or Mystic Meg, I've always kept my liquid assets 50/50 between Thailand and the UK.  As well as avoiding being totally wiped out if one or the other countries goes to the wall, it's even possible to make a few bucks by transferring cash to profit from the exchange rate.  As for gold, my wife has an uncanny sense of timing.  I know that in times of crisis, gold is always seen as a safe  bet.  Wifey bought a rather large amount in late March - it now looks like she's going to pay for the change of car.  It will be in her name, so she can buy it.

I don't see Thailand as a "basket" to put any eggs into.  I only transfer living expenses.  

 

In my home country, and other western countries, I spread my eggs around, but should my home country go belly up, you are probably looking at World War 3, in which case, all bets would be off, globally.  

[Rimmer]

Off topic posts removed