Thailand Seeks Travel Bubble Pact With China to Spur Tourism

By Natnicha Chuwiruch

 

Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

 

++ Two-way quarantine-free travel may start as early as January

++ Chinese holidaymakers spent $17 billion in Thailand last year

 

Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry

 

The agreement with Beijing will be subject to the success of a limited reopening of the Thai tourism industry to foreign travelers this month, according to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. China, which accounted for more than a quarter of Thailand’s tourist arrivals before the pandemic, will be the first low-risk country the Southeast Asian nation will sign up for quarantine-free travel, he said.

 

The current mandatory quarantine will be replaced by coronavirus testing and a mobile tracking application for the Chinese visitors if the return of foreign tourists does not lead to fresh Covid-19 outbreaks, Phiphat said. About 11 million Chinese holidaymakers visited Thailand in 2019, netting the country about $17 billion, official data show.

 

Thailand has struggled in its efforts to reopen its borders to tourists due to opposition from a section of the local industry and concern among the public that the government is ill-prepared to deal with a second wave of infections.

 

Full story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-15/thailand-chases-travel-bubble-pact-with-china-to-boost-tourism

 

-- © Copyright Bloomberg 2020-10-19

 

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Finally some logic. 

So when all other cockamamie ideas ran aground they finally came up with the bubble solution, let's see how this will fare...

 

isn't this like version 3 of the bubble?

can i fly to China and hang out for a month or two and then fly to BKK from the US. Getting really desperate and depressed being stuck here...

Good god thailand is like an infatuated teenager when it comes to China. 

 

They are literally at the core of every economic thought they have. 

 

 

"Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry"  

 

This maybe a risky move!  I have been following a Vlogger called serpentza on Youtube for a few years who lived in China for 13 years and has a lot of contacts there and he is saying the Wuhan China virus is still a huge problem in China.  The CCP are not telling the truth about it!

46 minutes ago, Grumpy John said:

"Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry"  

 

This maybe a risky move!  I have been following a Vlogger called serpentza on Youtube for a few years who lived in China for 13 years and has a lot of contacts there and he is saying the Wuhan China virus is still a huge problem in China.  The CCP are not telling the truth about it!

Yeh he’s a legit utuber with a Chinese wife and managed to get out after falling foul of the CCP . His friend Laowhy 86 also married to a Chinese national and who also escaped just in time is a wealth of unbiased information on what actually is going on there. I follow them both on Utube.

Yawn..... What TAT revenue prediction of this bubble? 

56 minutes ago, Grumpy John said:

"Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry"  

 

This maybe a risky move!  I have been following a Vlogger called serpentza on Youtube for a few years who lived in China for 13 years and has a lot of contacts there and he is saying the Wuhan China virus is still a huge problem in China.  The CCP are not telling the truth about it!

Would you expect anything different. Suppressing human rights and media coverage is an art they have perfected, much like the former USSR.

1 hour ago, FalangJaiDee said:

can i fly to China and hang out for a month or two and then fly to BKK from the US. Getting really desperate and depressed being stuck here...

 

Fly to China, get a vaccine for $60 then head to Thailand.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-vaccine-idUSKBN2710UQ

1 hour ago, FalangJaiDee said:

can i fly to China and hang out for a month or two and then fly to BKK from the US. Getting really desperate and depressed being stuck here...

Nope. Relations are at the worst with US and China. Even US citizens in China at the moment might be stuck for ma new tit for tat.

1 hour ago, FalangJaiDee said:

can i fly to China and hang out for a month or two and then fly to BKK from the US. Getting really desperate and depressed being stuck here...

Nope.  China is closed.

 

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php

1 hour ago, Grumpy John said:

"Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry"  

 

This maybe a risky move!  I have been following a Vlogger called serpentza on Youtube for a few years who lived in China for 13 years and has a lot of contacts there and he is saying the Wuhan China virus is still a huge problem in China.  The CCP are not telling the truth about it!

And I've got a friend who's lived there for over 20 years and says the virus is not a problem.  His wife is a nurse and says no patients at their local hospitals.

 

For sure there are under reported cases.  That's true in every country.  But the virus is not raging in China like it once was.  Europe and the US are the hot spots now.

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30800-8/fulltext

Makes sense...virus levels are at undetectable levels in both countries. Well done Asia.

4 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Makes sense...virus levels are at undetectable levels in both countries. Well done Asia.

Of course, and yet the dirty foreigners from Myanmar have now reintroduced it into the province of Tak, oh no batman, looks like the Joker has been let out of the bag.  However, asymptomatic folks probably walk amongst us, why test if no symptoms right?. So the borders should be opened, right?  But, please let the Chinese come in untested and unquarantined first to see the damage they can possibly bring, unless it is all covered up again.

A post with false information has been reported and removed.  

 

1 hour ago, Grumpy John said:

"Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry"  

 

This maybe a risky move!  I have been following a Vlogger called serpentza on Youtube for a few years who lived in China for 13 years and has a lot of contacts there and he is saying the Wuhan China virus is still a huge problem in China.  The CCP are not telling the truth about it!

Yeah right if some random internet stranger says it's true them it must be.. And you got 5 likes for that, TV amaaaazing! 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand is in talks with China to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry

money talks and bs walks

TAT& Gov. KEEP TRYING Eventually the pandemic will pass and things will go back to normal. That will probably be before TAT& Gov. come up with a feasible sensible proposal.

2 hours ago, roxnadz said:

isn't this like version 3 of the bubble?

Hubble, bubble, the Chinese will be trouble!!!!????????????????????????????????

I am surprised Australia does not get a mention. New Zealand has just opened a one way travel bubble with Australia, and the government also seems to be loosening reasons for travel exemption - they are apparently entertaining applications from people who will leave the country longer than three months. These two countries would provide a very safe tourist source for Thailand.

TAT..............forever blowing bubbles!????

29 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Of course, and yet the dirty foreigners from Myanmar have now reintroduced it into the province of Tak, oh no batman, looks like the Joker has been let out of the bag.  However, asymptomatic folks probably walk amongst us, why test if no symptoms right?. So the borders should be opened, right?  But, please let the Chinese come in untested and unquarantined first to see the damage they can possibly bring, unless it is all covered up again.

The proposal is for a travel bubble with China...not Myanmar. 

12 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

money talks and bs walks

What does this cliché even mean in this context...China (and a few other countries) have demonstrably no/low Covid rates...why wouldn't Thailand reopen to tourism from them?

9 minutes ago, Spock said:

I am surprised Australia does not get a mention. New Zealand has just opened a one way travel bubble with Australia, and the government also seems to be loosening reasons for travel exemption - they are apparently entertaining applications from people who will leave the country longer than three months. These two countries would provide a very safe tourist source for Thailand.

Probably next in line...but very small markets compared to China so not a priority.

14 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

The proposal is for a travel bubble with China...not Myanmar. 

One again you missed the point.  Look outside of the rectangular box and at what is really occurring here.  It has nothing to do with just a travel bubble with one country, even if the only country is China.  Think about the fact that Myanmar borders both China and Thailand.  Just a view on my part.

 

Many more stories like this one if you would like to view them

https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/china-border-city-goes-into-wartime-mode-to-combat-covid-19/

52 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

And I've got a friend who's lived there for over 20 years and says the virus is not a problem.  His wife is a nurse and says no patients at their local hospitals.

 

For sure there are under reported cases.  That's true in every country.  But the virus is not raging in China like it once was.  Europe and the US are the hot spots now.

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30800-8/fulltext

That is 100% correct travel internal is ack to nrmal

The worry about such a bubble should be in China's court with people leaving Thailand and testing positive on arrival  in other countries. 

Same old story, don't test and you will record no infections. The only tests seem to be on those arriving from overseas in quarantine.

8 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

One again you missed the point.  Look outside of the rectangular box and at what is really occurring here.  It has nothing to do with just a travel bubble with one country, even if the only country is China.  Think about the fact that Myanmar borders both China and Thailand.  Just a view on my part.

 

Many more stories like this one if you would like to view them

https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/china-border-city-goes-into-wartime-mode-to-combat-covid-19/

I didn't miss anything...pointed out the obvious, which you missed. Yes, Myanmar borders China...again the proposal is to open tourism from China not Myanmar.