Tourists coming to Thailand - they must have enough funds to support themselves, says business leader

[terryofcrete]

Empty kettles make the most noise . Talk talk talk .. everyone afraid to press the start button for fear of making a mistake. 
As my dear old Dad used to say ..I hope I’m there to help you on your way down.. but that would be wrong this time because the way to help them on their way down is NOT to be there , not to travel there, not to spend money there , not to feed endless greed and scams. 
Never go where you’re not appreciated is a lesson I am learning fast from the current situation . 

[Swedenlars]

7 hours ago, jeffandgop said:

So they're going to force tourists to deposit 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and stipulate it must remain untouched and nothing withdrawn during their stay in Thailand?   

Not only that. They will keep it as a guarantee until your next visit to Thailand.????

[dieter1]

is there  hope?

is there a vaccine in the pipeline to cure stupidety ?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289616300198

http://www.iapsych.com/iqmr/fe/LinkedDocuments/Sundet2004.pdf

[bkk6060]

55 minutes ago, fraggleRock said:

I had insurance, and the dumbas* insurance company refused to pay... 157k Bhat lost..... so insurance is pointless with crooked Thai insurance co. I left  for this issue, they are just a big scammer as the jet ski guys... and its a requirement now... scam after scam .. Thailand LOS ‘ Land of Scammers’

Maybe you have lousy insurance?  Refused to pay why?  Was your claim preexisting?

Every claim I have made has been paid the same day, within an hour by Aetna.

[Blumpie]

It's far too much money and far too much risk for a holiday.

14 day quarantine (minimum) upon entry

14 day quarantine (minimum) upon return

5 stay hotel accommodation plus meals for 14 days (minimum)

COVID insurance

Normal insurance

Flight tickets (that frequently get cancelled on a moments notice)

COVID test 72 hours before departure, negative

If you get COVID you have to pay for the time you will be in quarantine until symptoms abate.  

You haven't gone anywhere, you haven't done anything, you haven't seen anything.

No, I'm not interested in that garbage.  

[DaveCW]

5 hours ago, Oldie said:

Great approach. If one doesn't pay the bill no problem because others pay their bill. The same can be applied to restaurants, hotels and whatever? 

As Bizarre as it sounds yes...... I would have though most responsible businesses would have factored in some sort of bad debt in their business plan - and set processes and policies in place to mitigate expected losses. But being careful not to send customers away by adding crazy overinflated prices/premiums in that mitigation. To suggest that business don't get their fair share of defaulters or bad debt is a strange concept - Just saying 

[GAZZPA]

34 minutes ago, DaveCW said:

I'd go further and suggest the biggest burden to Thailand is the extreme levels of corruption from all sectors of Thai officialdom. 

absolutely, it is xenophobia and thoughtless words from a dimwit.

 

[NoComment]

"We didn't ask you to come to Thailand, whatever happens is your concern"

I was once told by RTP after reporting being pickpocketed.

In one way 100% correct on the other hand........

[Scouse123]

I know I have been a terrible burden.

Bought a hotel, sold it paid all the required Tax. I declared my income on savings.

I bought five new cars in last twenty years.

I built four houses for my other half and family.

I am fully insured for health.

Yeah, A Right burden I have been.

 

Oh I forgot my proveable charity work!

 

<deleted> me!

Edited September 14, 2020 by Scouse123

[Marco100]

7 hours ago, Airalee said:

I’d be curious to know exactly how much the hospital bills have been for the Thais that have been hospitalized here for coronavirus, and if it even comes close to the US$100,000 coverage that they require foreigners to carry.

 

The ฿400,000-800,000 insurance requirement to extend my “retirement visa” now basically jumps to a ฿5,000,000 policy requirement (The ฿3,000,000 pacific prime policy won’t be sufficient according to my insurance agent) if I, as a retiree, ever want to leave and then reenter Thailand for any reason.

The quest is if Retiree can reeneter ? Or will be allowed to reenter in the future ?

[alex8912]

6 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

Private hospitals yes (but even there, bills can mount up and exceed what was originally verified, and be impossible  to recoup - especially if the patient dies. I personally know someone living here who fled the country to avoid arrest for an unpaid bill at a large private hospital - his insurance had paid some but not all and he couldn't come up with the more than 1 million unpaid balance.

 

Government hospitals have no choice but to admit in an emergency  even without any sort of payment guarantee. The govt hosp in Phuket in particular has lost a lot of money over the years on unpaid bills for expats. This is what led to the (very badly designed) mandatory insurance provision for O-A visas.

 

But with the mandatory insurance requirement this should not be a problem as long as the insurance is valid for the whole duration of stay.

 

There has been talk for years of setting up some sort of simple, government run insurance scheme for tourists  and it was starting to look like it might actually come to pass but then COVID crisis intervened.

 

Other than hospital bills, shiort stay tourists are not usually a problem in terms of burden but issues occur regularly with resident expats growing old, being unable to care for themselves anymore/pay their rent etc. Usually end in deportation but often with outstanding bills left behind and having to hit up relatives back home to pay for the return flight.

 

But if they start giving tourist visas that can extend to 270 days, they will start getting people who are not real tourists but rather seeking to live here and from experience not all of them will have planned realistically for costs, and some will plan on working illegally.

 

It's not an unrealistic concern.

 

Now whether measures put in place for such visas will be appropriate and practical, is a whole other question and my bet would be no.

I feel you do like hype Sheryl!   Even you know just one case of someone running on a large bill. Yes it has happened some other times but I think it is less than most think. Everybody remembers that one guy, you know ??  For all the millions and millions of baht that Thailand has missed out on tourism it just doesn’t compare to some people who can’t pay a bill.  Too much hype. Remember you predicted a second wave for now in New York. You said September and you were looking for other places to relocate your elderly friends or relatives?  Hopefully they stayed in NYC like my relatives and are doing just fine. 

[Geoff N]

7 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

 

Unfortunately yes, many cases of foreigners becoming a burden in Thailand, especially (but not only) as regards hospital bills

 

No, the details have not been released and probably not yet even worked out.

 

If history is any guide they will be very convoluted, poorly explained, subject to varying interpretations and very hard to implement.  A similar scheme to allow medical tourism to resume that was supposed to be in effect in July is still largely dysfunctional.

 

 

Surely, all they need to do is enforce up-front payment of hospital bills. In a US hospital, as I recall, the first question is always 'who will pay?' 

[Marco100]

7 hours ago, petermik said:

In my experience they will not admit anyone into hospital here unless they get proof of eventual payment beforehand.....

also in my experience 

[connda]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

And that tourists who get the much vaunted Special Tourist Visa (for stays of up to 270 days) must follow all the rules and quarantine for 14 days. 

These people really must think that they and the rest of their country's population fart perfume and poop flower blossoms. 

I want to hear their tune when it suddenly becomes grossly apparent to even the most deluded Thai who lives in their xenophobia-induced, fantasy-land that tourism will never be even close to "normal" again, and the only way forward to recovery in what will soon be a totally shattered tourist industry will be to provide incentives to foreigners to come to Thailand instead of erecting additional road blocks and barricades to entry.

You would think this would be self-evident to a rational person, but there you are - rational people are in short supply.

Build it and they will come?  "We have the new Phuket Model!!!"
No they won't come.  Not when it costs them 100K THB to be incarcerated for 2 or 3 weeks before they're even able to begin to roam freely - if they're allowed to roam freely.  In the meanwhile, "leaders" will continue to devise ways to hinder the recover because - foreigners are all dirty Covid carriers and need to be treated like the filthy scum they are - all with a Thai smile, of course!  GPS bracelets anyone?

And, of course, rich foreigners will save the day - so goes the commonly accepted narrative held by those who have never bothered to seriously study economics. 

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by connda

[Peterphuket]

The covid-19 goes to their heads.

Unbelievable what a maroons.

[bkk6060]

 Double post.

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by bkk6060

[bkk6060]

10 minutes ago, connda said:

These people really must think that they and the rest of their country's population fart perfume and poop flower blossoms. 

I want to hear their tune when it suddenly becomes grossly apparent to even the most deluded Thai who lives in their xenophobia-induced, fantasy-land that tourism will never be even close to "normal" again, and the only way forward to recovery in what will soon be a totally shattered tourist industry will be to provide incentives to foreigners to come to Thailand instead of erecting additional road blocks and barricades to entry.

You would think this would be self-evident to a rational person, but there you are - rational people are in short supply.

Build it and they will come?  "We have the new Phuket Model!!!"
No they won't come.  Not when it costs them 100K THB to be incarcerated for 2 or 3 weeks before they're even able to begin to roam freely - if they're allowed to roam freely.  In the meanwhile, "leaders" will continue to devise ways to hinder the recover because - foreigners are all dirty Covid carriers and need to be treated like the filthy scum they are - all with a Thai smile, of course!  GPS bracelets anyone?

And, of course, rich foreigners will save the day - so goes the commonly accepted narrative held by those who have never bothered to seriously study economics. 

 

 

 

Geez, what hate you seem to have.  Very sad..

[DaveCW]

3 hours ago, alianware said:

The regulation becomes insane. How can you charge a patient to $100.000 since there is no cure to covig19  ? What does the money use to pay ? Oxygen, imune booster , vitamin , or malaria pills ?? ????

I think this is part of the problem - Why do insurance companies accept this obvious rip off in prices. I'm surprised there is not more of a "negotiation" between Insurance companies and medial providers.

[Harry Fingerling]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Suphan Mongkhonsuthee

Occupation, quoting the bleeding obvious. 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Both he and Chatthathan Kinchor na Ayudhya, a senior TAT marketer, stressed the need to choose participating countries carefully based on their coronavirus handling record.

So no one then.????????

[Peterphuket]

7 hours ago, Poet said:

I take your word for it but, honestly, I have no idea how that is actually happening. Anytime I have gone to a hospital, paying has not been optional. Same goes for restaurants, 7-Eleven, my hairdresser, massage shops. How hard can it be to prevent sick people from doing a legger? I've never heard anyone talk about doing it.

Could the extent of this problem genuinely outweigh the money made from tourism, retirees, remittances to girlfriends etc?

It seems to me that can't possibly be true. Perhaps you have some chancers, but that shortfall is surely just a rounding error when set against spending by Westerners in general. That is the big picture they should be focusing on, and not screwing up their main gig with complicated and ever-changing requirements.

 

i wonder, wouldn't it be a better idea, to provide us with free insurance, after all we bring in a lot of money.

[bkk6060]

27 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I know I have been a terrible burden.

Bought a hotel, sold it paid all the required Tax. I declared my income on savings.

I bought five new cars in last twenty years.

I built four houses for my other half and family.

I am fully insured for health.

Yeah, A Right burden I have been.

 

Oh I forgot my proveable charity work!

 

<deleted> me!

And all your choice. What do you want or expect?

Free choices you made yet you seem to want something in return?

If a person expects something in return, then reconsider or don't make the choice.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by bkk6060

[Oldie]

24 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I know I have been a terrible burden.

Bought a hotel, sold it paid all the required Tax. I declared my income on savings.

I bought five new cars in last twenty years.

I built four houses for my other half and family.

I am fully insured for health.

Yeah, A Right burden I have been.

 

Oh I forgot my proveable charity work!

 

<deleted> me!

All this sounds nice. But as soon as your money is gone and others need to support you then you will be a burden - pretty much everywhere in the world. 

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, owenm said:

Bring on a compulsory tourist insurance, that was mentioned as a government suggestion pre-covid, to be paid on arrival at the airport. While we still have a threat of someone arriving who is Covid positive, have a Covid supplement added to the premium.. 

 

The premiums quoted pre-covid were going to be rediculously cheap, I think from memory about 200-300 baht per visitor trip, to recoup the unpaid hospital bills from either skint travellers without the ability to pay for medical care, or those who elected to do a runner without paying. 

 

Multiply this small premium x up to 40 million passengers (pre-2020) and it was going to be a profitable money spinner for previously unpaid medical treatment. 8-12 trillion baht in a year. A 500 baht insurance policy, on arrival, even with 20 million passenger arrivals over a year would still generate 10 trillion baht in a year. This is guaranteed positively geared income for Thai health providers, and also more convenient and cost effective than a seperate insurance policy that includes up to US 100k Covid coverage.. 

500 baht wouldn’t be enough.  Your figures are off.  500x20,000,000 is 10 billion...not trillion.

[sitti]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Almost all Thai industries are being flushed down the toilet at the moment.

Everything is too expensive for foreign countries to buy.

 

What Thai industry do you think is a success? 

Apart from 'massage', Thai's just aren't much good at/for anything.

All countries', not just Thai industries are affected. Thai exports are getting expensive because baht keep getting stronger. And baht is strong because faranglands keep printing money making their money near worthless, especially british pound IS the one going down the toilet and along with their mess with brexit. In contrast, Thailand doesn't print money, they issue government bond. They set limit making sure their debt won't go above 50% of GDP.

 

If all you can think of is 'massage', obviously you don't know much about it. Look it up. https://aseanup.com/business-thailand/ you'll see how less important the tourism and foreign tourists are for Thailand as a whole nation, and they can survive without tourism thus in no hurry to get them back. Apart from places like Phuket where their heavy reliance solely on tourism. 

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

You are very lucky to have had such a low bill. Unusual.

 

Even in govt hospitals bills can reach a million baht if ICU care, specialized surgery etc required.

Lucky?  The bill was what it was.  I had to sit in the office and go over things line by line with them (and pay) before they would let me leave.  Hardly unusual which is why I question the numbers thrown around by the Thai government.

 

If, as you say that bills in government hospitals can reach a million baht if ICU care (how many days?) and “specialized” surgery (could you elaborate on what kind of specialized surgery?) Is required...then I posit that a $100,000 policy (3 million baht) for Covid is still nothing but a scam requiring people to be over-insured for something that in all likelihood won’t happen.   What kind of clown world actuaries come up with these numbers?

[Bkktodd]

Still nothing about CURRENT and VALID  retirement visa NON O holders stuck in native countries waiting to return to their Thai condos, loved ones, and vehicles.  Only the 800.000b in thai banks is welcomed 

[Airalee]

40 minutes ago, Marco100 said:

The quest is if Retiree can reeneter ? Or will be allowed to reenter in the future ?

 

I’m certainly not paying the extra money for the re-entry permit when I extend my visa.

[Miami007]

8 hours ago, twocatsmac said:

The “go fund me” crowd without adequate insurance have received extensive coverage in the Thai press. 

Whether or not they were a burden, who knows but it’s imprinted in their skulls that we’re milking them.

"We are milking them"... seriously

Let's add up all payments for treating foreign tourists and compare to payments from western guys to the various Thai girlfriends. My gut tells me it won't be even close

[SunsetT]

Talk about stating the f e k k i n obvious!!! Snowbirds dont come unless they can pay for their stay! And why is he worrying about having to cover possible Covid costs when everyone coming must have the insurance to cover it?

 

Lord give me strength!!!

[black tabby]

8 hours ago, jeffandgop said:

So they're going to force tourists to deposit 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and stipulate it must remain untouched and nothing withdrawn during their stay in Thailand?   

Hello, that way, there will certainly be no tourists who would be a burden to Thailand.

More likely, there will be no tourists to the kingdom.

No other countries will require such a tall order to  short-term visitors.

Thailand will be ruled out from the place-to-visit-lists.

As the result, no tourists.  So that there will be not tourists who end up becoming dead weight here.

Therefore the objective of their aim will well be met.

Sounds surreal, but perfect idea. LOL.