Thai hospitality magnate calls on govt to allow vaccinated foreigners entry into Thailand

[RotBenz8888]

8 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

 

i don't think so

but maybe you have informations i haven't

why do you think they are not anymore in a suppression goal ?

 

 

 

"Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand, the availability of the field hospital beds and the government’s disease control measures are all still in acceptable levels." 

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pm-assures-the-covid-19-outbreak-in-thailand-is-at-acceptable-level/

 

[French mate]

I wonder why he writte this letter in English.

Its well know that Prayut is terrible at english,  so why send him a letter in a language he cant undsertand when the autor could have writte it in Thai.

 

My (tempory) conclusion is the letter isnt really adressed to him, but destined to an international audiance with the goal to put some pressure on Prayut gouvernement.

[Mr Meeseeks]

Just now, French mate said:

I wonder why he writte this letter in English.

Its well know that Prayut is terrible at english,  so why send him a letter in a language he cant undsertand when the autor could have writte it in Thai.

 

My (tempory) conclusion is the letter isnt really adressed to him, but destined to an international audiance with the goal to put some pressure on Prayut gouvernement.

Bill doesn't speak Thai so I am going to assume he cannot read or write it either.

 

He could have got an employee to translate it for him though. 

[French mate]

4 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Bill doesn't speak Thai so I am going to assume he cannot read or write it either.

 

He could have got an employee to translate it for him though. 

He got the Thai nationality in 1991  and live in Thaïland since 1963,  after 57 year spend  in a  country they have just no way he cant speak and writte in Thai.

[Mr Meeseeks]

2 minutes ago, French mate said:

He got the Thai nationality in 1991  and live in Thaïland since 1963,  after 57 year spend  in a  country they have just no way he cant speak and writte in Thai.

If Heinecke’s bet on luxury sounds optimistic, given the state of the global economy, bear in mind that he has a record of making money amid crises that have ranged from economic crashes to natural disasters and political upheavals. Remarkably, he made his fortune in Thailand. Many Chinese brought to Thailand by their nation’s diaspora have prospered, but some Westerners have found the Thai business climate too sticky – especially those, such as Heinecke, that speak little of the language.

https://hashtaglegend.com/travel/william-heinecke-thailand-st-regis-bangkok-hotel-anantara-four-seasons-ritz-carlton/

[kingofthemountain]

25 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

 

 

 

"Prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand, the availability of the field hospital beds and the government’s disease control measures are all still in acceptable levels." 

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pm-assures-the-covid-19-outbreak-in-thailand-is-at-acceptable-level/

 

 

he is saying the managment of the outbreak is ok

he is not saying it's ok to have an outbreak

so as i said they are still on a suppression objective with 0 cases

even if few outbreaks could happen sometimes

[internationalism]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

That's odd, I know him and he spoke highly of you , how's the whale going he said , still chasing hookers up and down beach Rd ????? 

 

Seriously that's his job to push for profits. What you expect him do? And besides it makes good sense 

but "All his opinions are based on improving his profit irrespective" is bad business model, as he disregards his business partners, workers, local community and even natural environment (as it's the case with so many upscale hotels, who got the government, mafia protection).

This guy is well connected with the ruling establishment, a $1.4 billionaire, so in the 10 the richest thai. He profited from this connection, taking an advantage of the other hotel chains. Time to cough up. I wish you all the worst. Sadly, he is going down with all thai tourism industry  

Edited February 1, 2021 by internationalism

[French mate]

14 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

If Heinecke’s bet on luxury sounds optimistic, given the state of the global economy, bear in mind that he has a record of making money amid crises that have ranged from economic crashes to natural disasters and political upheavals. Remarkably, he made his fortune in Thailand. Many Chinese brought to Thailand by their nation’s diaspora have prospered, but some Westerners have found the Thai business climate too sticky – especially those, such as Heinecke, that speak little of the language.

https://hashtaglegend.com/travel/william-heinecke-thailand-st-regis-bangkok-hotel-anantara-four-seasons-ritz-carlton/

 

Im probably too naive and think you first need speak Thai for get the Nationalty...

 

 

[Disparate Dan]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

He was born in America and is a naturalized Thai citizen, working as business man, so the description is completely accurate

in fact as far as I know he is no longer a US citizen, He has as much right to speak Thai through his [deleted] as the Thai "government".

[internationalism]

21 minutes ago, French mate said:

 

Im probably too naive and think you first need speak Thai for get the Nationalty...

 

 

thousands of affluent "new money" chinese coming to thailand to buy nationality don't speak a word in thai, it just a matter of an appropriate size grey envelope. I suspect $50-100k to the ministry is sufficient enough.

Within the last few days his fortune has increased by $25mln, so he certainly is doing very well

Edited February 1, 2021 by internationalism

[d2b2]

Mr. Heinecke was born with silver foot in his mouth. He is willing to compromise the safety of others for his own profit. 

[Rancid]

Most countries are saying that there are doubts these vaccines actually offer immunity, as such it would seem that a vaccine passport is all but useless. Of course having had covid you have natural immunity, despite some media trying to lie otherwise, this group is 100% safe, so why is it we never hear about an antibody test to give people an immunity passport? Could it possibly be there is no profit in it?

[tigerfeet]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai hospitality magnate calls on govt to allow vaccinated foreigners entry into Thailand

 

William Heinecke. Reuters file photo

 

A leading figure in the Thai hospitality industry has called on the government to speed up its roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

William Heinecke, the head of Minor Group, one of Thailand’s largest hotel chains has issued an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha specifying a series of recommendations that he says are needed to kick start the country economy and Thailand’s decimated tourism industry.

 

In his letter, the American-born Thai businessman puts forward four recommendations which include allowing hotel staff to be among the first to receive the vaccine, expediting the rollout  of the vaccine, quarantine free travel for vaccinated travellers, and so called ‘vaccine passports’ to allow international travellers to enter Thailand without restrictions.

 

Mr Heinecke says the Thai government should make sure hotel staff and those working in the hospitality industry should be included in the first phase of the vaccine rollout. “Such people continue to operate on the front lines, interacting with international and domestic travelers, risking contraction and further transmission,” Mr Heinecke says.

 

“Prioritizing them along with healthcare workers and other high-risk groups for the vaccine would provide a necessary layer of protection for the country”.

 

Mr Heinecke says that Thailand should “consider more vaccine options as a matter of urgency” and adds “our current timeline is still not fast enough in procuring sufficient shots and inoculating the whole population”.

 

He goes on to call for those vaccinated against the virus to be exempted from the current mandatory 14 day quarantine and says that so-called ‘vaccine passports’ should be used as a way to enable foreigners to visit the country without restrictions.

 

He cites the Seychelles as an example, which he says is already allowing vaccinated foreigners to enter the country.

 

He suggests that Phuket could be used as a pilot model to test the return of  international travellers who have been vaccinated. If successfully implemented, the model should then be rolled out to other key destinations such Koh Samui and Pattaya.

 

You can read Mr Heinecke’s letter in full below:

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-01

 

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Unfortunately 75% of tourism staff are not registered and bar girls vaccinated first come on that's just opening the door for every one to be a bar employee .gez us a job mate

[Patong2021]

Ok, what does he know  that we do not know?

- Does he really expect responsible foreigners of the hi so quality he suggests will choose to go to a country where the vast majority of people will not be vaccinated for 1 year or more+?

- How does he know which vaccines available will not  promote asymptomatic  spread of infection?

 

I see that many people already say he is acting for his own personal interest of his  business. That's ok because  I understand he has big investments he is  losing money with. It is not however ok, that a country be put at risk just because he wants to make money.  Maybe he can think of good of country before his own profit?

[Patong2021]

5 minutes ago, Rancid said:

Most countries are saying that there are doubts these vaccines actually offer immunity, as such it would seem that a vaccine passport is all but useless. Of course having had covid you have natural immunity, despite some media trying to lie otherwise, this group is 100% safe, so why is it we never hear about an antibody test to give people an immunity passport? Could it possibly be there is no profit in it?

 And you know for sure that this  special natural immunity works for the new variants?

It will protect against Brazil, South Africa and UK mutations?

There is a reason we must take a different flu vaccine each year - It is because the infection changes. If we were immune after a covid infection, we would never get sick from a covid cold virus again, but we know we can get cold even if recovered.

Where did you discover all these new things about the virus nobody else knows of?

[RR2020]

No way.

 

Mandatory 14 day quarantine needed to be kept in place until 2022 at the earliest.

 

Covid variants will explode this year..........vaccination is not a guarantee you cannot carry and spread the virus.

 

Typical.............businessman in trouble wants profit over caring about peoples lives....................

 

Disgraceful.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, tracker1 said:

I am sure Uncle Tuu will take his advise as a farang / Thai quite seriously ha!

 

I doesn't matter what race or ethnicity or nationality he is, the premise for global control of the pandemic is to vaccinate the elderly and most at-risk as a priority. Just because your income and lifestyle is dependent on a huge chunk of younger foreigners coming here for a 'well-earned' vacation, ie. they are NOT essential travelers, doesn't mean your younger hospitality staff needs to jump any queue. There's hundreds of thousands of merchant sailors that have been stuck on ships for months already, ships that deliver the commodities that the the human race depends on, be it a new Toyota or a box of Dole bananas. Why are these seamen still not classed as essential workers? Why don't they get a vaccination and a "get out of Covid jail free" card? They don't want to come to Thailand and lay about hotel pool-side sipping overpriced cocktails with umbrellas in them. They just want to go home.

[mr_lob]

Many countries have said that they won't be vaccinating under 18s. It will be interesting to see how Thailand deal with that. 

Next up "Thailand - hub of over 18s holidays"

[happyinthailand]

Putting hotel workers above teachers.... Profit above education.... wealth before health....  mmmm I do not think the proposal is sensible or acceptable.

[jaiyen]

He wants to bring back tourists only so he can make money again. He doesn't make any mention of vaccinating airport staff who will be on the font line if tourists return. That's cos he doesn't care about them. But as there are no tourist planes flying anywhere then it's no going to happen.

[Deli]

Bootlicker

[Guderian]

Given that this guy's eggs are all in the tourism basket, he's hardly a reliable source of information on the subject of reopening. I think I'd rather leave the decision to the doctors and scientists who've done so well thus far in Thailand than to some Yanko-Thai Basil Fawlty.

[Dialemco]

Expediting and expanding vaccination programme is recommended if sufficient vaccines can be procured. It is however too early to considsr dropping quarantine until the viras is under control as it may mutate to make vaccines ineffective. Best at this stage to plan reopening for international tourism next year.

[anfh]

 No way, would be stupid. 

[Aarin]

5 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Thailand seem to have abandoned the zero case goal, so why not. 

He says allow vaccinated travellers in without quarantine... then next breathe he says use Phuket as a testing ground to see if it works... lol you couldn't make this BS up. So get the  vaccine but then you can only go to Phuket? Can see he has been in Thailand tooooooo long. 

[thetravelbee]

nonesense! 

 

1) even vaccinated you are still a carrier and a spreader,

2) vaccinated means 2 doses for those who got two dose vaccines. It'll be a while before potential international travellers reach that stage. The target of the vaccines, at least in europe and at the moment, are not the international tourists type as far as I understand

3) glacial pace worldwide re the vaccination campain, both because of insufficient doses for everyone and log issues>

 

sure let's start by lifting quarantine for those international travellers that have been vaccinated. GOOD PLAN INDEED! That will solve the problem of the hospitality industry...

 

as I said, sheer nonesense

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Word is that even after vaccinated you can just say acquire the virus which will then hitch hike (carry) in your nose or throat cavity. This means you will test positive, but have no ill effects, but have potential to be a possible spreader. So before any doors are opened, this could possibly be a Pandora's box.

So, at what point DO you open up. You cannot stay locked down forever. At some point you HAVE to take a risk. This virus will be with the world forever potentially (thank you china), mutating into new strains and then waiting a new vaccine. Like others I want to get back to my family.

 

I agree with this guy. If you can prove you have been vaccinated (with an approved vaccine - in my UK probably AZ whish Thailand would approve), then you should be able to travel. If not, the vaccines are worthless and you may as well lock countries down for the next 20 years !

I'd like to see my 4 year old before she reaches 20 !

Edited February 1, 2021 by RichardColeman

[Chicken George]

This won't happen till 90% of all Thais have had the vaccination. Or those that want it. 

[kingofthemountain]

14 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

So, at what point DO you open up. You cannot stay locked down forever. At some point you HAVE to take a risk. This virus will be with the world forever potentially (thank you china), mutating into new strains and then waiting a new vaccine. Like others I want to get back to my family.

 

I agree with this guy. If you can prove you have been vaccinated (with an approved vaccine - in my UK probably AV whish Thailand would approve), then you should be able to travel. If not, the vaccines are worthless and you may as well lock countries down for the next 20 years !

I'd like to see my 4 year old before she reaches 20 !

I am afraid you are mixing in your post a public health problem with a personal problem.

In a public health approach you don't take a risk for few individuals. With a bad decision

you put potentially thousands of people at risk, it's a big responsability.

 

Concerning your desire to see your family and particularly your 4 year old daughter

i wonder what stop you to do the process to enter in Thailand, after all the quarantine is only 2 weeks, not the end of the world, and your reward, to be reunited with your family, doesn't deserves this little sacrifice?

The quarantine has been put in place specifically to protect people like your family

and your daughter, actually in Thailand. Do you prefer they will be infected by an infected  tourist coming in Thailand without going trough the quarantine process? 

Edited February 1, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[Christie Paul]

If the vaccine passport takes off, they will begin shrieking about another strain which won't be covered by the vaccine and so another vaccine will be required to be kept uptodate. 

 

Soon after, another virus will pop up, it will be very dangerous and another vaccine will be required.

 

Gates has invested many billions in this project and for the WEF to suceed with it's "build back better", there cannot be a return to normal - that is out of the question.