Minister reaches out to Phuket locals after panic over foreign tourist plan

By The Nation

 

 

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, has admitted that he had miscommunicated a plan to open Phuket province to international tourists, which had triggered concerns in local people.

 

Pipat said on Sunday (September 6) that the ministry was willing to listen to suggestions and complaints of tourism entrepreneurs in the Patong beach area.

 

Representatives of local entrepreneurs were invited to discuss plans to bring tourists back to Phuket with screening measures similar to that used for Thai returnees.

 

In addition, they have to possess a Covid-19 free certificate issued at least 72 hours before seeking a visa and they have to be quarantined for 14 days.

 

But the government does not intend to force the locals to accept the plan. The province was chosen since it was famous for tourism and where tourists would choose to stay for at least a month, he added.

 

Pipat said that most entrepreneurs could accept the government’s plan. They requested a postponement of debt payment for 1-2 years along with the city development and extending the closing time of entertainment venues to 4am, subsidising a city plan improvement and free Wi-Fi.

 

Meanwhile, those who opposed the idea said that the ministry should focus on Thai tourists, which would not create any risk of a Covid-19 outbreak in the province.

 

They asked the government to organise a referendum before implementing any measure. They also sought support for local entrepreneurs by subsidising the locals Bt10,000 a month, delaying debt payments for 1-3 years and rehabilitating tourism by offering soft loans for 5-7 years.

 

They also want improvements to Patong Hospital and upgrading of the public health system in the province to prepare for a second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as developments in the province in education, city planning and Wi-Fi.

 

“The concern might have been caused by miscommunication and the ministry’s visit to Phuket will help clarify on the plan,” Pipat said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30394122

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-07

 

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15 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, has admitted that he had miscommunicated a plan to open Phuket province to international tourists, which had triggered concerns in local people

'miscommunicated' is that the latest management speak phrase to come to Thailand?

Or is a way of trying to avoid saying he lied? Perhaps he could say 'speaking without due care and attention' as another face-saving-phrase.

"Focus on Thai tourists".  Stingy, always complaining about things and not enough of them and most definitively will not stand for dual pricing. Next...

28 minutes ago, webfact said:

The concern might have been caused by miscommunication

Ha, ha, ha, miscommunication, so thats what they say, rather than, we dont give a s++t about what locals think or want.????????

I think the locals just told Mr Pipat and his TAT where to go

 

or

 

Think again before using Phuket as an experiment

 

As for Pattaya, recently there are "NEW' tourists wondering around the city from S'Korea, how did they get in ?. very easy to spot with their selfie sticks, they stand out like big red nose, who facilitated their arival ?

 

some think I am incorrect, I can assure them I am not

4 minutes ago, AbeNormal said:

I think the locals just told Mr Pipat and his TAT where to go

 

or

 

Think again before using Phuket as an experiment

 

As for Pattaya, recently there are "NEW' tourists wondering around the city from S'Korea, how did they get in ?. very easy to spot with their selfie sticks, they stand out like big red nose, who facilitated their arival ?

 

some think I am incorrect, I can assure them I am not

'very easy to spot with their selfie sticks, they stand out like big red nose'

I know exactly what you mean:

Entertainment open until 4. There was a discussion already and not everyone was happy. His approach to get more quality tourists...

A tourist town that doesn't want tourists if they are dirty foreigners! What a difference between 1980 when I first came to Thailand and today.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

ministry should focus on Thai tourists, which would not create any risk of a Covid-19 outbreak in the province.

Like the Thai DJ in Bangkok who has not travelled outside of Thailand and has Covid 19? 900 people now being tested.

The survey needs to extend beyond the local nursing home...,of course they don’t want foreign tourists but arrow up on extending Go Go hours to 4am...

 

you are incorrect - South Koreans don’t have red noses....

The plan is not to open anytime soon .... and less likely as cases increase in Europe. We have to find our own solutions.

thailand should follow UFC's initiative and create a TOURIST ISLAND ... only for tourists, no-one in or out

The only panic with the locals on Phuket will be if no tourists arrive!! 

Covid or not! 

Well the people who were unhappy must be the 0.01% who have no connection to tourism for their income on Phuket. Keep this up and Phuket will be a one horse town before long. The upmarket extension of Central festival wont be sustainable without outside tourism.

"To prepare for a second wave"....when was the first wave? It wasn't even a ripple! Phuket and Thailand in general is committing an economic suicide by refusing to accept that the virus is here to stay and to learn to live with it. The morons are following the idiotic Victoria model instead of pragmatic European one, which has proven to work. Most European countries have several hundreds cases a day....so what? Economy open, borders open, tourism open, people living normally. Thailand one case = total panic! Why?

Imagine being in quarantine and being able to see the nightlife and bars and beaches and girls outside, but being unable to partake in it. They say that Alcatraz was deliberately designed as a form of mental torture, the inmates could see San Francisco clearly but it may as well have been on the moon. Sounds much like quarantine in Patong Beach or Pattaya, lol.

It seems the people surveyed want a lot of money And support but no tourists.

don’t think the math is going to work out in their favor.

10 minutes ago, surfinglife said:

"To prepare for a second wave"....when was the first wave? It wasn't even a ripple! Phuket and Thailand in general is committing an economic suicide by refusing to accept that the virus is here to stay and to learn to live with it. The morons are following the idiotic Victoria model instead of pragmatic European one, which has proven to work. Most European countries have several hundreds cases a day....so what? Economy open, borders open, tourism open, people living normally. Thailand one case = total panic! Why?

Did you read what is happening on Mallorca for instance? You should... Very many restrictions in place - again. 

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

They requested a postponement of debt payment for 1-2 years along with the city development and extending the closing time of entertainment venues to 4am, subsidising a city plan improvement and free Wi-Fi.

You could not make this up ... anything else on the wish list ... well in fact there is.

 

The title of this post “Minister reaches out to Phuket locals after panic over foreign tourist plan”. It’s difficult to believe that people that depend on tourism completely are in a panic that tourists might come back.  There are lots of these kinds of headlines lately, they are not credible any longer.  The narrative around Covid is being closely and ham handed lay being managed.

phuket was chosen because it is very easy to lock up in case of infection. Blocking bridges and so on, we have already experienced. As a resident of Phuket I am against such experiments. Support the population in a more effective way

Panic ?? The only panic is the clowns in charge thinking of which nonsense they can float next to make it sound like they have a clue what’s going on !

Your average Thai on the street probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid about what the government is saying apart from they might like a job if tourist places opened up again , instead of trying to figure out how they are going to eat as they have no job or money  !

Maybe a three months quarantine with the requirement to wear a full hazmat suit 24 hours a day after release until departure to the tourist’s home country would make all the locals feel secure? Why don’t they just dissolve the TAT completely, bulldoze the airports, and build a frigging wall along all the land borders Trump-style?

All this dithering about is getting tiresome. They should make a plan, think through the details, and not talk about it until they’re ready to officially announce and execute.

2 hours ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

thailand should follow UFC's initiative and create a TOURIST ISLAND ... only for tourists, no-one in or out

No thanks... nice and quiet without them...

1 hour ago, 5633572526 said:

It seems the people surveyed want a lot of money And support but no tourists.

don’t think the math is going to work out in their favor.

1+1=11 ?

5 hours ago, AbeNormal said:

I think the locals just told Mr Pipat and his TAT where to go

 

or

 

Think again before using Phuket as an experiment

 

As for Pattaya, recently there are "NEW' tourists wondering around the city from S'Korea, how did they get in ?. very easy to spot with their selfie sticks, they stand out like big red nose, who facilitated their arival ?

 

some think I am incorrect, I can assure them I am not

ARE they pilots or army ??

any phuket local who works in tourism that doesnt want foreigners back obviously has too much money.

19 minutes ago, Dice Man said:

ARE they pilots or army ??

tourists

 

I've counted at least 80 wandering around

5 hours ago, AbeNormal said:

I think the locals just told Mr Pipat and his TAT where to go

 

or

 

Think again before using Phuket as an experiment

 

As for Pattaya, recently there are "NEW' tourists wondering around the city from S'Korea, how did they get in ?. very easy to spot with their selfie sticks, they stand out like big red nose, who facilitated their arival ?

 

some think I am incorrect, I can assure them I am not

Corrupt officials 

4 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

A tourist town that doesn't want tourists if they are dirty foreigners! What a difference between 1980 when I first came to Thailand and today.

The will be finished in a year with riots 

Cool free wifi ????????????