Opening Thailand to foreign tourists: Thai PM strikes cautious tone

[Guderian]

Given the restrictions they are mooting for "long-stay" tourists in Phuket, I doubt that many people will be knocking on the doors and screaming to be let in. In fact, if they are desperate enough to come here and accept all the ASQ expense and inconvenience, then the government should be taking a close look at their personal affairs as there's probably something dodgy about them, given the plethora of cheaper and easier places to spend a few weeks.

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, DLock said:

Not for much longer...

 

Enjoy it while you are able...

This will likely be the case for months to come. Up, down, close, open. Some countries in EU have a dynamic travel restriction/quarantine based on daily cases. It does make planning for a trip hard.

[newcomer71]

In any case, the crook's finances won't be affected. Why should he even care?

[CLW]

I would bet his days as PM are numbered anyway so why bother with the nonsense that he's sprouting

[Megasin1]

4 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

Beer is cheeper almost every place than here, but im sure you can't get mean 40 bth in Greece! Even long time when i was last in Greece. And i don't know any people who want go Greece! I know many who want come Thailand.

I used to visit Thailand 4 to 5 times a year and have a daughter there but I'm going to Greece :), she is coming too, Thailand is falling behind the times...

[2008bangkok]

4 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

Beer is cheeper almost every place than here, but im sure you can't get mean 40 bth in Greece! Even long time when i was last in Greece. And i don't know any people who want go Greece! I know many who want come Thailand.

You cannot get beer for 40 baht in Thailand either, bars are around 100 baht a beer average in Bangkok and 70 elsewhere, unless you mean in 7/11 and Tesco in which case UK is even cheaper than Thailand for supermarket beer.

[RubbaJohnny]

5 hours ago, mr mr said:

dive dive dive dive 

With floods, sea level rise and covid I'm feel a U boat hub approaching.

 

Or as French Philosopher Rene Handcarts penned

 

I sink therefore siam

[Saint Nick]

All the people who say that no one wants to come to Thailand: in our company we have daily requests, from October onwards!

Yes...it is not the quantity of pre- Covid, but the potential to get at least some decent number of people interested is absolutely there!

But...with this constant yes no mayby no no absolutely not maybe yes- course, this is going nowhere!

As well with the absolutely mindnumbingly stupid 14 days of quaranteen, 100.000 $ coverage insurance and 72 hour- Covid - test!

I wish, some people would just sit down together and come up with a plan!

ANY PLAN!

...but then I wake up and remember, where I am! 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Saint Nick

[SchuetzRob]

4 hours ago, GigsGigs said:

What about the girls though? Any evolved pay-for-play scenery in say, Athens or anywhere else in Greece?

Frankly I do not think that this government is really interested to maintain this business line for farangs.... Maybe time to look out for other hobbies?????

[RichardColeman]

18 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

This will likely be the case for months to come. Up, down, close, open. Some countries in EU have a dynamic travel restriction/quarantine based on daily cases. It does make planning for a trip hard.

The UK now has about 5-20 deaths a day, and based on 99.3% of all cases being pre existing health conditions, it seems that this virus is about a deadly as seasonal flu to most people.

[Pedrogaz]

Keep the borders closed as they are until the end of the year. Then review the situation in other countries to see if COVID has every few infections. If so, open the borders.....if it as is now with massive numbers of new infections every day, we cannot, and should not open the borders as inconvenient as quarantine is.

People made a big sacrifice in wave 1 and this sacrifice should not be thrown away for foreign tourists. Why would you let an American, British, French or Spanish person come to Thailand when they are not controlling their own virus???????

 

Please bring back the curfew so I can get some sleep at night. It is so noisy with these damned motorbikes with altered exhausts designed to make a Honda 50 sound like a Boeing 747.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Pedrogaz

[mark131v]

9 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Keep the borders closed as they are until the end of the year. Then review the situation in other countries to see if COVID has every few infections. If so, open the borders.....if it as is now with massive numbers of new infections every day, we cannot, and should not open the borders as inconvenient as quarantine is.

People made a big sacrifice in wave 1 and this sacrifice should not be thrown away for foreign tourists. Why would you let an American, British, French or Spanish person come to Thailand when they are not controlling their own virus???????

 

Please bring back the curfew so I can get some sleep at night. It is so noisy with these damned motorbikes with altered exhausts designed to make a Honda 50 sound like a Boeing 747.

Self, self, self, self...

 

Bet you fit right in

[Katipo]

29 minutes ago, CGW said:

Indeed, that's why we have an "agenda" "they" want to maintain that lifestyle, chaps like the PM are in the position to facilitate the agenda and will be duly rewarded  

They've always had this agenda, it's nothing new. What is new is Covid, and how now this agenda is at least partly responsible for the potential economic and social collapse we are now beginning to face (and believe me, this is just the beginning). It is no wonder students are out on the streets. The only question that remains, who else will follow? That will decide the path Thailand takes moving forward.

[crazykopite]

5 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

1 € = 37,16 bth now! ???? GO,GO,GO,GO...... LOL

 

TransferWise paying 41 + baht to the £

[sidjameson]

20 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

, we cannot, and should not open the borders as inconvenient as quarantine is.

 

Funniest thing I've read in a while. .....You really think it's "we" and not "they"????

[vandeventer]

You can't have you cake and eat it too,Think of the Thai people what they want.

Pick your countries with the least amount of the virus,and who are the biggest

spenders,than make them fell human when they come.

 

[Dialemco]

Good luck. Being at the top is not easy or good for your health as a long way to fall. Thailand at the very top of the tree being so  economically reliable for tourist income probably  over 25% of GDP so the inevitable high unemployment with no financial help for many is going to have a very big impact on so many Thais that something has to be done big increase in Government borrowing to help alleviate the enormous losses and then a brave plan to reopen the country as safely as possible but there will inevitably be

an increase in Covid cases.

 

 

[LEKPHUKET]

Prayut is a lost case,he is killing the economy and the welfare Thais build in the last 20 years.

There are enough options to open in a safe way and stopping hijacking people 

[rtco]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

economic health

What economic health?

[Travelanimal]

What kind of PM he is every now and then changing statements . Just open Phuket and see how it goes . Since you have covid under control it's best chance to open tourism . He will waste the opportunity if he doesn't decide to open and those dependent will continue to suffer

[steven100]

Khun Prayut Chan O Cha is doing an excellent job in managing the virus and minimization of transmission.

[paulikens]

47 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Keep the borders closed as they are until the end of the year. Then review the situation in other countries to see if COVID has every few infections. If so, open the borders.....if it as is now with massive numbers of new infections every day, we cannot, and should not open the borders as inconvenient as quarantine is.

People made a big sacrifice in wave 1 and this sacrifice should not be thrown away for foreign tourists. Why would you let an American, British, French or Spanish person come to Thailand when they are not controlling their own virus???????

 

Please bring back the curfew so I can get some sleep at night. It is so noisy with these damned motorbikes with altered exhausts designed to make a Honda 50 sound like a Boeing 747.

@Pedrogaz what a selfish person you are. and whats this "we cannot" going by your name you aren't thai. why do foreigners who live in thailand think its their country. ask any thai i think they'll put you straight who's country it is.

[Percy P]

6 hours ago, Sharp said:

Hardly Gung-ho!! 

Interested to find out the PMs personal economic hit!? 

Forget it just carry on as if everything is ok

[Ketyo]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The health authorities were coping with the situation at the moment and naturally he wanted that to continue. 

Yes, the health authorities are coping at the moment because there has been no community transmission for 3 months and more people die on the roads each day than have died from COVID in total. 

 

I saw that Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were having virtual meetings online to see how they can improve trade at the border and strengthen supply chains and boost their economies. Thailand is not included. I hope that does not indicate the upwards trajectory for these countries compared with Thailand now that they all have more enlightened governments than Thailand.

 

I do hope that army dude in charge is not going to tank the economy. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Ketyo

[Trujillo]

There's not a single quote in the entire original story. Did the PM use sign language? 

[Chongalulu]

6 hours ago, baansgr said:

£200 for a week in Greece, no quarantine, do what you want and the food and beer is actually cheaper than here now....No ones interested in coming here anymore

Harry Maguire wouldn’t necessarily agree with you €60 k restaurant bill ???? 

[Percy P]

6 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Just waiting for the Baht to head in the same direction....

Long wait. Thai foreign reserve in good shape. 

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

incl. hotel? where in greece?

Crete, Zante to name a few...brother went a few weeks ago, already booked to go back again in a few weeks..internet booking flying from Bristol direct

[Chongalulu]

4 hours ago, Virt said:

It's really simple. Stay closed and maintain the low covid 19 numbers. 

Open up and learn to deal with rising numbers, just like a lot of the world is learning the hard way. 

 

Thailand is not going to magically stay uninfected when opening up. 

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear,simple...and wrong. HL Mencken

[tribalfusion001]

5 hours ago, GigsGigs said:

What about the girls though? Any evolved pay-for-play scenery in say, Athens or anywhere else in Greece?

I'm here now, beer is about the same as in the UK, the food is about the same price too. Great for sightseeing, which I'm doing. I'm in Athens and there is no girls available unless you want some dodgy African streetmeat or possibly tracfficked girls in brothels.

 

The weather is great, hot and sunny, plenty of eyecandy to look at, but alas it's just looking ????

Edited August 26, 2020 by tribalfusion001