CCSA offers incentives like visa extension to make up for 14 days lost in quarantine

[smew]

5 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

Not confusing at all.

 

There has always been VOA and Visa Exempt, they are two different things. They have now reinstated Visa Exempt, VOA is still not an option.

 

so to enter Thailand: do I need a visa or not?

[Russel]

Another issue that I notice not being mentioned at all in this topic is regarding the covid test issued 72 hours before departure. Let's assume that it result positive you will lose your bookings and your money.

I think this stops many people from taking the trip, the challenge is huge.

[Salerno]

3 minutes ago, smew said:

so to enter Thailand: do I need a visa or not?

 

I don't know where you're from so no idea e.g. if you're from the US then no, you can enter visa exempt but if you're from India then yes because VOA is not available (also depends on how long you intend staying).

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, Russel said:

Let's assume that it result positive you will lose your bookings and your money.

 

Which is why you do your due diligence and check cancellation policies (most airlines seem to still have free/minimal cost changes, ASQ hotels have varying policies).

[jerolamo]

Why don't they provide a way for people not rich to rich a quarantine at low cost ?

I'm married in Thailand and still locked out, far from my family because they are thinking that all farang are rich.

Why don't they care about Thailand/farang families ?

 

[Salerno]

46 minutes ago, jerolamo said:

Why don't they provide a way for people not rich to rich a quarantine at low cost ?

 

How cheap do you want it?

 

[pattayadgw]

This is not going to work and everyone know it except CCSA.  Give the tourists an incentive like they only pay for 1 week out of 2 for their Quarantine... the Government picks up the other weeks cost. 

[Dexxter]

On 12/17/2020 at 10:10 PM, batata said:

who is stupid enough to book a 30 day vacation but has the right to enjoy only 15 days out of it  and having to spend the other 15 days in a supervised "jail" and paying for it

 Then when you return to Australia you have to pay exorbitantly for another 14 day quarantine. All academic of course because Australian borders are still firmly shut to outbound tourists. Australians are not going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

[dcnx]

Unless you have family or a partner here, there isn’t a single thing in Thailand that’s worth going into a 2 week quarantine for that you can’t get elsewhere with no hassle.

[Don Chance]

1 Million Americans have had their first shot of vaccine this week. When will Thailand open their doors to vaccinated tourists without quarantine?

Out of 30,000 vaccinated people only 13 caught covid and their were active in the community. I think Thailand can allow vaccinated travelers to enter without quarantine and test every few days. Otherwise wait until the entire countries in vaccinated, which will be a long way away.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.....TIT( need I say more?).... I’m not holding my breath

[kiwikeith]

On 12/18/2020 at 12:15 AM, batata said:

 

is this a contradiction or what, either is a 30 day or a 30 +15 day visa.... as always anything from them is very confusing

Can someone clarify the quarantine charges. 

1 Do you have to pay for meals on top of the hotel charge 

2 Do you have to pay for C19 tests on top of the hotel charges 

3 Do you have to pay for meals as well, on the top of quarantine charges. 

4 Do you have to pay for laundry. 

In new Zealand there is only one fee for the lot. 

[Salerno]

1. No, three meals per day included - but most hotels that I've looked at seem to have the option to order extra meals/meals not on the covid menu at your cost if required (some have offers such as 20% off).
2. No.
3. See 1 (basically same question).
4. Yes - but some have 2 items per day free included (again, I've seen some hotels offering 20% off laundry).

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Salerno

[drenddy]

I ask again. 

Is there any journalist, attending these press briefings, brave enough to ask these deluded officials, do they really believe someone will visit Thailand as long as quarantine is still in place? 

[drenddy]

8 hours ago, Russel said:

Another issue that I notice not being mentioned at all in this topic is regarding the covid test issued 72 hours before departure. Let's assume that it result positive you will lose your bookings and your money.

I think this stops many people from taking the trip, the challenge is huge.

 

Many ASQ hotels have free amending policies and free cancelling, should you test positive.

Airlines are flexibile as well regarding flight changes.

[phetchy]

"CCSA spokesperson Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin said that since December 1, the authorities have been conducting three Covid-19 tests on people under quarantine, instead of two. The previous set up was to test individuals between the third and fifth day and then again between the 11th and 13th day. Under the new system, visitors will be tested on the first day, then between the ninth and 10th day and then again on the 13th or 14th day".

 

Or not at all if you've just skipped over the river.

[TigerandDog]

A complete waste of time including Australia. Aussies are not allowed to leave the country unless they have written permission form the Aussie govt, and they aren't giving it to tourists yet.

[RR2020]

Look.

 

The EU average of "annual paid holiday" is 25 days.

 

You lose 2 days flying to Thailand.

You lose 2 days flying back to EU.

 

You spend 14 days in quarantine.

 

Total time lost 18 days.

 

You may therefore have 1 week holiday.  And thats it. Finished.  No more.

 

 

Or you choose a country with no quarantine requirement and spend 1 week there.  Then later in the year 2 weeks somewhere else.  And then a final week break somewhere else end of the year.

 

 

Now............who will choose to lose all their annual holiday entitlement for 1 week in Thailand ?

 

 

 

 

[smew]

13 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

Not confusing at all.

 

There has always been VOA and Visa Exempt, they are two different things. They have now reinstated Visa Exempt, VOA is still not an option.

Perhaps I do not understand the difference, but ...VISA exempt means no need to apply for real visa at embassy, but you get VOA at airport  upon arrival:

you mean no visa required .. just go in... if you are from Canada?

seems absurd ...

   

 

[MJ Patts]

On 12/17/2020 at 5:39 PM, bermondburi said:

They just don't get it. You can give all the extra time in the world but no tourist in their right mind is going to pay through the nose to spend 15 nights of their holiday in jail. 

 

I'm in quarantine right now. It's shxx. I'm only doing it because I've got 9 weeks off work and I've not seen my family since January. I'm still pixxxd off at losing those 15 nights. 

 

I came on a 777 with Emirates. There were maybe 30 people on the whole plane. 

 

You can dress it up any way you like but quarantine = no tourists. 

Same Same mate... I'm on a rotation of 11 / 4 at the minute so it works out for me as well. Although not great having to spend 15 days in ALQ. Although whispers are saying it's possible for the 14 days QT to reduce to 10.. Again, this is hearsay but makes it a bit more bearable. I too have not seen my family in over a year. Cheers

[Longreach]

Surely there are no cruise ships cruising between countries at the moment?? Out and back to same port ok.

[Stargeezr]

Canada is getting more locked down as the numbers are not going down. The Yukon is closed

except for essential travel. Travel between most provinces is strongly advised against.

   Maybe Thailand is not as bad as some posters are trying to paint it.  I am still mask wearing

and still cautious as there are cases showing up in some business in the city such as shopping

malls and big food outlets. It is a scary world and as I am a senior, I do not want to catch this

virus. I had a relative die recently. He went to work at a place with lots of people around, caught

the virus and brought it home to his family, who all got sick from the virus. Unfortunately he had just

recovered from pneumonia recently and died from the virus. He was only in his 50s.

   This is not just the ordinary flu or some other disease that we have all caught and survived.

     Just saying....  Maybe 2021 or 2022 I will return to Thailand, and if I have to quarantine

okay, as long as I do not get sick, that may be the new normal in the future for 5 or 10 years.

Geezer

[desert dueller]

On 12/19/2020 at 3:54 AM, Don Chance said:

1 Million Americans have had their first shot of vaccine this week. When will Thailand open their doors to vaccinated tourists without quarantine?

Out of 30,000 vaccinated people only 13 caught covid and their were active in the community. I think Thailand can allow vaccinated travelers to enter without quarantine and test every few days. Otherwise wait until the entire countries in vaccinated, which will be a long way away.

No. Vaccinated travellers remain contagious - at least there is no evidence / data to prove otherwise. So very problematic to let them in with or withourt quarantine until a reasonable majority section of the local population is vaccinated.

[sandyf]

On 12/18/2020 at 5:49 PM, bermondburi said:

In my country of residence quarantine is 3 days. There is no mass outbreak. Numbers are very low and have been for months. They have learned to live with the pandemic and are managing the situation. 

What part of "western countries" did you find difficult, or do you think they do not have a problem.

[bermondburi]

28 minutes ago, sandyf said:

What part of "western countries" did you find difficult, or do you think they do not have a problem.

Relax buddy. You'll get over this. ????

[XBroker]

6 months later they will tell you that you can keep your condo if you take this vaccine... uh.. that we came up with in 6 months.. really safe.. but you can't sue us if it isn't..

[vinny41]

On 12/18/2020 at 1:30 PM, spidermike007 said:

Total nonsense. Any program requiring quarantine will attract at most, 50,000 tourists per year. The $100 billion (yes, about 3.3 trillion baht!) Thailand takes in from tourism annually reverberates out in countless ways. Countless business employing many. To say it is insignificant, is a blatant misunderstanding of Thai economics. Thousands of hotels, restaurants, countless airlines and many tour companies, also benefit. Sorry to inform you, Prayuth. But when you run a nation built upon a foundation that only protects the elite, the super wealthy, those that are well connected, those in power, and a spectacularly corrupt army, and then you reach out to nations that observe the rules of law and order for help, you get ignored, scorned, and ridiculed. Nobody is listening to you these days, much less Interpol. You are NOT a serious man. 90% of Thailand knows this, and most of the world does too. 6 years has proven that time and time again.

This hapless administration needs to develop some courage and initiative. They can't hide from the world forever. Extreme timidity from supposedly tough men is an amusing thing to witness. However, the pain they are inflicting on millions is not. Millions will remain out of work, possibly for years to come. And they are assuming when they finally do open up, the tourists will come flooding in. The old TCU (Thailand is the center of the universe) mentality. Not so. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to get them back. 20 million at most, during our lifetimes. If they are fortunate. That means thousands of hotels will go under. It will have a minor effect on some very wealthy people. But, who will carry the burden of most of this? The common man.

The authorities should be begging the tourists that are here to stay. And others to come. Free, unlimited visas, 10,000 baht hotel vouchers, and free meals. An immigration officer will come to your hotel to renew your visa, to show our appreciation, of your continued support. Half price air tickets for domestic travel. Princely treatment. Thank you so much for helping to rescue our economy and our people. Are these nitwits even capable of learning and evolving? It would appear not. A truly regressive administration.

What can one say? Desperation is setting in. Heads are going to roll. Just returned from Samui. Utter devastation. 90% of the businesses on the beach road were closed, and hundreds of hotels are closed and for sale, at half price. Trillions of baht are going to be lost here. Annually. Tourism will NEVER recover. Not in our lifetimes. Too much timidity. Too much cowardice. Too little juice and creativity. Such small minds.

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple. A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now.

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.
 

These are the countries most reliant on your tourism dollars

Thailand comes in at 21st with  9.82% GDP ( this is international tourism figure with is seperate from domestic tourism)

Source is World Bank

https://qz.com/1724042/the-countries-most-reliant-on-tourism-for-gdp/

 

This article talks about European  Holidaymakers to blame for Covid 2nd wave and subsequent lockdowns all over Europe

European holidaymakers to blame for COVID second wave, says health expert

https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/28/european-holidaymakers-to-blame-for-covid-second-wave-says-health-expert

 

 

There are question marks over how accurate and reliable these rapid tests are

1) They aren't meant to be given to everyone only for symptomatic people

How accurate are rapid COVID-19 tests?

https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/health-care/how-accurate-are-rapid-covid-19-tests.html

 

Why Trump’s Rapid-Testing Plan Worries Scientists

Experts were already divided on the right way to deploy new coronavirus tests. Then the White House barged ahead.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/10/do-rapid-antigen-tests-have-accuracy-problem/616681/

[sandyf]

23 hours ago, bermondburi said:

Relax buddy. You'll get over this. ????

I don't need to get over anything.

Why the air of superiority -  "In my country of residence quarantine is 3 days. "

[bermondburi]

30 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I don't need to get over anything.

Why the air of superiority -  "In my country of residence quarantine is 3 days. "

Just stating a fact. Sorry if you feel inferior pal. ????

[DouglasTsui]

Bet the latest Covid-19 cases have put a damper on everyone's spirit. Back to the drawing boards generals!!!!