Multi-ministry drive to open up Thailand to foreign tourism by October 1st, tourism minister

[bobbymack]

TAT are deluded. Very few tourists will bother to go through the bureacratic hurdles required such as a covid 19 test result 72 hours before departure, quarantine in Thailand for 14 days and covid specific insurance. Unless this is all scrapped then there will be very few that will come even if the airports are opened for the general tourist. 

[CANSIAM]

12 hours ago, BernieOnTour said:

 

Yep, essentially, 1st October means: the Chinese “Golden Week”

Thailand was a very popular destination for the people from Wuhan, open up them flood gates for them again.....

[pookondee]

So we are to believe that in a country of around 70million,

there are only 4million working in the Tourist industry????

 

Oh come Onnn? 555

 

And what of the Thais who are losing income (even indirectly) from the foreigners who are now locked out ??

 

I have no idea, but id think the combined figures would have to be a lot more than 5.7%

??

 

 

[pookondee]

On 8/19/2020 at 1:36 PM, bluesofa said:

I would have thought 'What this will actually mean remains to be made up' would be more accurate, given the government's usual lack of clear policy.

Not to worry.

By the time anyone makes any sense of what remains to be made up,

there will be a plethora of completely new BS made up, that we wont be able to make any sense of.

[Scott]

Post containing misinformation has been reported and removed.  

 

[EricTh]

18 hours ago, AndresSP said:

Hi everyone, first post here.
I

For the whole year ranking for 2019, these are the top 10

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand

 

1. China  *

2. Malaysia *

3. India

4. South Korea 

5. Laos *

6. Japan

7. Russia

8. USA

9. Singapore 

10. Vietnam *

 

Those with low internal cases for the past 30 days are those with *

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Edited August 20, 2020 by EricTh

[Mark Nothing]

This October 1 "announcement" is simply a distraction to provide hope to those failing to embrace the changes happening.

 

A prison sentence is required for travel to Thailand.  4 and 5 star hotels have been converted to  prisons, providing you with the unique privelege of paying for your own incarceration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lastminutebozo]

What was the travel bubble plan? The one with islands only opening up?

Edited August 20, 2020 by lastminutebozo

[sandyf]

9 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Thailand was a very popular destination for the people from Wuhan, open up them flood gates for them again.....

Not a problem, use everyone in Thailand to test the herd immunity theory.

Maybe better to keep the border shut and test some other ideas first.

[JemJem]

No need to be a rocket scientist to predict that the 2 week quarantine period requirement will put off MANY tourists from travelling to Thailand. 

 

There will be some whom this won't put off, especially long term tourists. But, some of those will be put off by the $100 K insurance requirement. That includes me. 

 

Now, there is a chance that these requirements will be abolished as of October 1. But MANY Thais wouldn't be happy about this at all, so I am afraid they will likely stay in place. 

 

Then, there might be extra, strict requirements for those applying for single or multiple tourist visas. 

 

There is so much uncertainty as of now. 

 

So, I am afraid things are looking bleak for tourists hoping to go there by the end of this year and also for the Thai tourism industry, which of course includes MANY Thais. 

 

I now sadly give it only 10-20 percent chance that I will be able to make it there this winter. 

 

As for next year..... Who knows. 

Edited August 21, 2020 by JemJem

[onebir]

3 minutes ago, JemJem said:

1> No need to be a rocket scientist to predict that the 2 week quarantine period requirement will put off MANY tourists from travelling to Thailand. 

 

2> But, some of those will be put off by the $100 K insurance requirement.

1> I can't understand why it's still two weeks (& not just in Thailand!). Aren't the various new tests now able to pick up infections earlier than this (ie antigen in the blood, even if it's not shedding in upper respiratory mucosa)? &/ cheap enough to allow people not to be quarantined, but instead testing every (other?) day & isolated if/when they became infectious?

 

2> How much does this insurance actually cost? (Given the relatively low symptomatic infection/hospitalization rate in most people, & Thai healthcare costs it really shouldn't be much...)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 hours ago, onebir said:

1> I can't understand why it's still two weeks (& not just in Thailand!). Aren't the various new tests now able to pick up infections earlier than this (ie antigen in the blood, even if it's not shedding in upper respiratory mucosa)? &/ cheap enough to allow people not to be quarantined, but instead testing every (other?) day & isolated if/when they became infectious.

 

AFAIK, people with CV can be infectious/contagious before they both..

a --  begin to show any noticeable symptoms, and/or

b -- before their infection is recorded in any of the available tests.

 

Also, the gold standard RT-PCR test for CV has issues with false negatives and false positives, meaning its results can't currently be taken as absolutes.

 

The current antibody tests tend to only show results later in the infection cycle, after the level of infectiousness has declined... Making them a good tool for after the fact diagnosis, but not for early detection.

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[unblocktheplanet]

Sorry, I live here. We don't want open borders until we know a whole lot more about what we're facing.

[Jumbo1968]

Just now, unblocktheplanet said:

Sorry, I live here. We don't want open borders until we know a whole lot more about what we're facing.

Yes ok for you but think how many people are unemployed and businesses face ruin, Thailand has got to learn how to live and manage Covid to revive the economy, closing the borders until a vaccination is found is not an option as that’s months possibly years away. I am not saying open the floodgates but there must be other options than the current restrictions in place. 

[Destiny1990]

The problem is they prefer short staying tourists but that doesn’t work with 2 weeks quarantine in Thailand and another 2 weeks quarantine on return in the home country for a 3 weeks holiday ????????... So all these crapy plans don’t make any sense. Focus on long term staying visitors lure them with a hassle less 1 year visa. For a guaranteed long stay in Thailand a  2 weeks quarantine is doable.

[DrTuner]

39 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Sorry, I live here. We don't want open borders until we know a whole lot more about what we're facing.

There's a lot more information now than there was in January. And it's looking a lot brighter than the initial end of the world in Wuhan seemed to be. The biohazard now seems small compared to the economical threat.

[AndrewMciver]

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Sorry, I live here. We don't want open borders until we know a whole lot more about what we're facing.

 

 

Too late, the Wuhan poseee, Americans, Indians and British are coming. Might be a few Brazilians too. 

 

 

 

[Jumbo1968]

41 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

There's a lot more information now than there was in January. And it's looking a lot brighter than the initial end of the world in Wuhan seemed to be. The biohazard now seems small compared to the economical threat.

Thailand needs to balance between Covid and Tourism and come with up with other solutions rather than expensive flights where foreigners have in the past have had to pay for Business Class Seats, 14 days in a hotel. As a previously poster stated over 300000 baht maybe ok if you live here but not for Tourists. Do what they are doing in other countries local lockdowns if there is a lockdown, they locked Pattaya down of recent.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

Latest news ... from BP ... that come September, tourists from Brunei and New Zealand will be subject to coronavirus tests in lieu of a 14-day quarantine.  No mention though on who bares the cost of the test. But in New Zealand you do have a 14 day quarantine on return, cost Paid by the traveller. This is not bilateral with New Zealand at present.  

[DrTuner]

12 minutes ago, Advocatus Diaboli said:

Latest news ... from BP ... that come September, tourists from Brunei and New Zealand will be subject to coronavirus tests in lieu of a 14-day quarantine.  No mention though on who bares the cost of the test. But in New Zealand you do have a 14 day quarantine on return, cost Paid by the traveller. This is not bilateral with New Zealand at present.  

And now there's an outbreak in Auckland. Expect utter mayhem again as the requirements may change hourly. Thailand has proven to be extremely flimsy with constantly changing rules. It's a risk nobody wants to take, to find out mid-air they are suddenly facing a two week "holiday" at some holding facility.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

5 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

And now there's an outbreak in Auckland. Expect utter mayhem again as the requirements may change hourly. Thailand has proven to be extremely flimsy with constantly changing rules. It's a risk nobody wants to take, to find out mid-air they are suddenly facing a two week "holiday" at some holding facility.

Or even worse ... once your there, it’s the getting back that counts. We all know how good the airlines are at delivering on this at present. Maybe if you feel like a holiday ... an old advert from New Zealand in the 80’s .... don’t leave town to you’ve seen the country, which a few countries are trying to get their citizens to do, for local cash injection.

[aussiexpat]

Saw the plan to funnel everyone through Phuket on thai examiner. So now it would be 3 weeks before I could go to where I atually want to be in Thailand.

 

"Long stay tourists can visit Phuket from October 1st but must stay in alternative quarantine at a participating hotel for 14 days. After that period, they can travel within the island. A week later and following the third Covid 19 test, they are free to travel anywhere within the kingdom."

 

It's like a 2 week prison sentence, followed by a week in a halfway house ????

Edited August 21, 2020 by aussiexpat

[nev]

3 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

Saw the plan to funnel everyone through Phuket on thai examiner. So now it would be 3 weeks before I could go to where I atually want to be in Thailand.

 

"Long stay tourists can visit Phuket from October 1st but must stay in alternative quarantine at a participating hotel for 14 days. After that period, they can travel within the island. A week later and following the third Covid 19 test, they are free to travel anywhere within the kingdom."

 

It's like a 2 week prison sentence, followed by a week in a halfway house ????

Well said, I am allowed back in now but the costs involved and hoops to jump through is putting me off, I might have to bite the bullet and stay in the cheapest quarantine place to cut costs.

[brucec64]

On 8/20/2020 at 1:16 AM, jerolamo said:

You forget to mention the primary problem actually in this plan:

4-5 star hotel imposition to quarantine is only possible for very rich people. We are talking about to be locked 14 days for 100 000 THB and up !

 

Looks like a blackmail used by a dramatic situation.

 

And, i am NOT a toursit, i'm very tired they tell tourist to describe all the foreigners, need to learn something now.

Not sure how 100k for a 14 day puts you in the class of very rich people. Thats about 7k a day. Not cheap for thailand, but it not a lot compared to what a stay in a nice American or European hotel would cost.