Thailand Seeks Safe Way of Reopening Borders to Boost Economy

By Randy Thanthong-Knight and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

 

Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

 

-- Foreign visitors make up two-thirds of nation’s tourism income

-- Tourists may need to wear GPS wristbands, face quarantine

 

Thailand is cautiously looking at plans to reopen its borders as it struggles to survive an extended period without international visitors, who account for about two-thirds of the country’s tourism income.

 

“The virus won’t go away soon and we have to think about the economy. But we can’t just reopen the borders. We have to be careful,” Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob said in an interview. “Thailand has a limited budget so we have to make sure we can control the disease well.”

 

Thailand may allow some foreign visitors into the country as early as October. Tourists from countries with limited infections will probably be required to wear wristbands with GPS tracking systems and will need to be quarantined in a hotel for the first 14 days, Saksiam said. The plan is likely to be tested in Phuket province, he said.

 

Full story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-23/thailand-seeks-safe-way-of-reopening-borders-to-boost-economy

 

-- © Copyright Bloomberg 2020-08-24

 

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-- Tourists may need to wear GPS wristbands, face quarantine

 

no and no. try again.

At your cost obviously plus 100,000bt for a special rubber band I suppose ???? 

23 minutes ago, webfact said:

Tourists from countries with limited infections will probably be required to wear wristbands with GPS tracking systems and will need to be quarantined in a hotel for the first 14 days

OK, maybe I'm missing the point here, but what is the difference between someone coming from a high infection country and isolating and someone coming from a limited infections country and doing the same ? 

 

Either way , no tourist in their right mind is going to spend 14 days in thai quarantine , take 2 weeks on a beach and then isolate for 14 days in return.

 

These officials truly must be the most idiotic and unrealistic people of the face of the entire planet

Edited August 23, 20205 yr by RichardColeman

Tourists from countries with limited infections will probably be required to wear wristbands with GPS tracking systems and will need to be quarantined in a hotel for the first 14 days, 

 

Thai tour companies report robust sales as people are rushing to line up for some of this extraordinary holiday action!  ????

 

 

14 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

OK, maybe I'm missing the point here, but what is the difference between someone coming from a high infection country and isolating and someone coming from a limited infections country and doing the same ? 

 

Either way , no tourist in their right mind is going to spend 14 days in thai quarantine , take 2 weeks on a beach and then isolate for 14 days in return.

 

These officials truly must be the most idiotic and unrealistic people of the face of the entire planet

 

Precisely.

 

Until the two week qurantine is removed from the equation there is no way I am going back and that's coming from someone who's wife and family are in Thailand.

 

What sane person books a 2 week vacation in Thailand when they have to stay in a hotel under quarantine.

Why the hell don't these fools get it ?

 

Personally I don't think they have any intention of relaxing the borders, it's just hyperbole for the masses.

 

Edited August 23, 20205 yr by Chelseafan

54 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

-- Tourists may need to wear GPS wristbands, face quarantine

 

no and no. try again.

Why not just micro-chip them? Probably cheaper and less noticeable. 

the safest way will be to make all incoming  tourists is to wear condoms... other than that i can't see any other way than thailand can either pick and choose it's tourists or just wait like the rest of the world for things to become safer...

Edited August 23, 20205 yr by ezzra

41 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

 

Precisely.

 

Until the two week qurantine is removed from the equation there is no way I am going back and that's coming from someone who's wife and family are in Thailand.

 

What sane person books a 2 week vacation in Thailand when they have to stay in a hotel under quarantine.

Why the hell don't these fools get it ?

 

Personally I don't think they have any intention of relaxing the borders, it's just hyperbole for the masses.

 

I think there are quite a few "tourists" that would come given the chance to if borders were opened to allow it. Many tourist come for longer than 2 weeks. I certainly would. The cost of the ASQ hotels are not all in the same 100k range and if more tourist could come then more hotels would participate in the program to generate income. 

Well, it's good they realized the virus is here to stay for long time, maybe forever. As soon as other governments in the world realize the same, maybe life can go back to how it was before

Quarantine and or gps tracking and I am out for first time in 20 years. Will still pay my annual rent, but the rest I would spend over the 5 1/2 months in Thailand will be spent elsewhere.

Come to the open prison jewel that is Thailand...

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

OK, maybe I'm missing the point here, but what is the difference between someone coming from a high infection country and isolating and someone coming from a limited infections country and doing the same ? 

 

Either way , no tourist in their right mind is going to spend 14 days in thai quarantine , take 2 weeks on a beach and then isolate for 14 days in return.

 

These officials truly must be the most idiotic and unrealistic people of the face of the entire planet

Take a deep breathe - of course this is supremely stupid and non-viable.  But it is solely intended for domestic consumption - to show the decimated local industry they are trying to revive the corpse and to offer some hope for the near term 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourists may need to wear GPS wristbands, face quarantine

I modern upgrade of Auschwitz?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourists from countries with limited infections will probably be required to wear wristbands with GPS tracking systems and will need to be quarantined in a hotel for the first 14 days

hmmm...how will that work for a 1 week holiday ?

I think some people on here dont realize the pent up demand for travel. I have no doubt that as soon as it is formerly announced people will start booking. However the one kicker will be the GPS tracker. Even from more liberal leaning countries the idea of bei g tracked would not be welcomed.

4 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

I modern upgrade of Auschwitz?

Using that name for comparison is a poor idea. Do some reserch as to the meaning.

Interesting economics will eventually become more important than stopping tourists entering the country of course on a safe monitored basis but without quarantine but better hurry up if peak Christmas/New Year season lost few tourist will want to come before end of 2021 also international airlines have to know they can attract sufficient passengers to make their operations viable. Bear in mind that all bordering countries have been better in controlling covid than Thailand except Malaysia basis published statistics.

very simple answer 

 

make them all wear hazmat suits and charge them huge amounts of money for the pleasure   win win 

 

solved

The first objective of this scheme is to boost the economy. How many tourists would that entail? What calculations have been reached that suggest the plan has any chance of achieving said objective?

On again off again,no real sense. If you want to do good, give another amnesty for at least

6 months to all of us that don't have the virus than want to stay in Thailand and that may get

the virus if we go back to our home countries. What do you have to lose?

The Thai government has been trying to get tourist gps tracking implemented for years obviously without success. They are simply using this pandemic to try to get it in to make it the “new normal” a phrase I personally dislike intensely. Using those Expats/tourists desperate enough to get back in to make it the “new normal”. When the government and I use that term very loosely makes wristbands mandatory for the the entire Thai population first, I may then consider it. Until then sod off!

25 minutes ago, rct99q said:

I think some people on here dont realize the pent up demand for travel.

so you would travel half way round the world to be locked up in a room for 14 days and pay through the nose for the pleasure, for what exactly ? is that your idea of a holiday 

 

are you .................. serious ?????????

 

I could see that being a step up if your current permanent residence is in a cell block

Edited August 24, 20205 yr by AbeNormal

12 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

On again off again,no real sense. If you want to do good, give another amnesty for at least

6 months to all of us that don't have the virus than want to stay in Thailand and that may get

the virus if we go back to our home countries. What do you have to lose?

stop being so sensible

 

the penny might drop for those officials processing you through departure at the airport, why you go home ?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourists from countries with limited infections will probably be required to wear wristbands with GPS tracking systems and will need to be quarantined in a hotel for the first 14 days, Saksiam said. The plan is likely to be tested in Phuket province, he said.

Welcome to the "new" normal. ????

I AM AFFRIAD I  missed the GPS part---how can it help in preventing the virus spread?

UNLESS it  can track the virus in the farang body, how does it help to know where the farang

is in any given time?

 

anyway, i wish all will come back to normal ASAP...not only Thailand but the whole region...i have

a feeling that the virus is losing power, and within 3-4 months it will disapear completly, just

like it was with the SARS...

Ivermectin triple therapy, everyone take the drugs as prophylactics.

 

“Triple therapy specialist Professor Thomas Borody, famous for curing peptic ulcers using a triple antibiotic therapy saving millions of lives, today released the COVID-19 treatment protocol to Australian GPs, who can legally prescribe it to their COVID-19 positive patients. They can also prescribe it as a preventative medication. Borody says this could be the fastest and safest way to end the pandemic in Australia within 6-8 weeks.”

 

“There is mounting worldwide clinical literature pointing to a 100% cure rate using Ivermectin Triple Therapy,” said Professor Borody.

 

21 minutes ago, ChrisKC said:

The first objective of this scheme is to boost the economy. How many tourists would that entail? What calculations have been reached that suggest the plan has any chance of achieving said objective?

a 10k a night hotel room in quarantine is good economics - throw in a few tests at 10k each with the last one positive and who needs tourists 

3 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

-- Tourists may need to wear GPS wristbands, face quarantine

 

no and no. try again.

So you are a prisoner for the duration. Anybody signing up to this ? ????????????

14 minutes ago, James HKT said:

Staying in a 5 star beach front hotel, free to use all facilities in the hotel

do you understand what quarantine is