Fewer tourists entered Thailand in the last six months than would normally enter in a single day pre COVID-19

[snoop1130]

Fewer tourists entered Thailand in the last six months than would normally enter in a single day pre COVID-19

 

Image: Reuters file photo

 

Stats on the number of foreigners who have entered Thailand since July last year reveal the devastating impact the pandemic is having on the country’s tourism industry and economy as a whole. 

 

According to data released earlier this week by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Permanent Secretary, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, just 78,328 foreigners with Certificates of Entry (COE) have entered Thailand between 9 July 2020 and 6 February  2021.

 

Of those, 1,157 were Elite Card holders & 2,457 were Special Tourist Visa holders.

 

The stats are in stark contrast to the number of foreign arrivals Thailand would have typically welcomed pre-COVID-19.

 

In 2019, almost 40 million foreigners visited Thailand, which was more than in any other  year.

 

On average, that equates to around 110,000 foreigners entering the country every single day.

 

Despite Thailand launching its Special Tourist Visa scheme and allowing foreigners to enter the country on 60 day tourist visas and visa exempt entries, it hasn’t been enough to tempt foreigners to visit the country in any significant numbers.

 

The vast majority of the foreigners with Certificates of Entry who have entered the country since July are likely those who work in Thailand, are married to a Thai national, a parent to a Thai child or foreign retirees. 

 

The news comes as leading figures in the tourism industry have called on the Thai  government to cancel the requirement for mandatory 14 day quarantine for foreigners who have already been vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

However, the proposal for the so-called ‘vaccine passports’ appeared to have been shelved, at least for now.

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-09

 

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[YetAnother]

4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

just 78,328 foreigners with Certificates of Entry (COE) have entered Thailand between 9 July 2020 and 6 February  2021.

watch TAT add a zero or two

[ThailandRyan]

So basically around 11,190 per month, or 373 per day, so basically 1 plane a day.  Airport is ripping with activity isn't it.  However, there are a few that have come back, returned whence they came, then returned again.  So in reality how many true people.  If I went and came 4 times they would count me as 4 foreign arrivals, even though I am the same person, going to the same house I have. True I did leave and arrive, but then it is different for a true tourist who comes just once during the year.  Kind of skews the stats in my view.

Edited February 9, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[Catkiwi]

31 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

So basically around 11,190 per month, or 373 per day, so basically 1 plane a day.  Airport is ripping with activity isn't it.  However, there are a few that have come back, returned whence they came, then returned again.  So in reality how many true people.  If I went and came 4 times they would count me as 4 foreign arrivals, even though I am the same person, going to the same house I have. True I did leave and arrive, but then it is different for a true tourist who comes just once during the year.  Kind of skews the stats in my view.

I would be happy if I came 4 times Ryan!! That having been said, not likely that anyone would have "went and came" 4 times, especially considering that the 14 day isolation has been in place for, how many months now...? 

[RotBenz8888]

44 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

However, the proposal for the so-called ‘vaccine passports’ appeared to have been shelved, at least for now.

Just wait until the golden "high season" is approaching.... 

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

the devastating impact the pandemic is having on the county’s tourism industry and economy as a whole.

To be accurate here, this is not true. It is not Covid.

It is the government's response, closing of borders or 14 day 'pay yourself into a 5* hotel' is the reason that there are so few tourists/foreigners.

Many foreigners have family, jobs, retirement homes here. They could and would quarantine at home. The government has killed the goose.

Friends of mine have quarantined themselves at home where they live.

They calculated that it would cost them 7,000 GBP (280,000 THB?) to get here and then stay in their home as they would self quarantine again. (They have been coming here for more than 20 years. Four months every year.)

I am not saying that the government is right or wrong. Just saying that what is printed is NOT the reason.

This government has said for a long time now that it wants 'quality tourists'. Well this is the result.

Just over 11,000 - per month.

 

[internationalism]

This 40mln is an inflated figure, because all visa runs, as well as tourists travelling to neighbouring countries. Also malaysians coming every few weekends for shopping and gogo bars. 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

So basically around 11,190 per month, or 373 per day, so basically 1 plane a day.  Airport is ripping with activity isn't it.  However, there are a few that have come back, returned whence they came, then returned again.  So in reality how many true people.  If I went and came 4 times they would count me as 4 foreign arrivals, even though I am the same person, going to the same house I have. True I did leave and arrive, but then it is different for a true tourist who comes just once during the year.  Kind of skews the stats in my view.

What are you nitpicking about?  They are saying the number of arrivals has been extremely low for the last six/seven months - in total less than those who typically entered in a single day pre-Covid.    Of all the extremely low number of arrivals who are doing the mandatory 14 days quarantine on arrival and possibly 14 days when they went to wherever they were going when they left, how many do you think have done that four times in 6/7 months?  Probably none.  How many three times?  Probably none.  Twice?  Very very few.  I would say most people are only doing that once and only because they needed to be back in Thailand.

So how skewed are they really?  And when they are reporting it as a devastatingly low amount what difference would a skew of 10% make anyway?  It is still devastatingly low, which is the entire point of the article.

Weird you would want to claim they are exaggerating when they are claiming things are dead.

Edited February 9, 2021 by josephbloggs

[Natai Beach]

36 minutes ago, internationalism said:

This 40mln is an inflated figure, because all visa runs, as well as tourists travelling to neighbouring countries. Also malaysians coming every few weekends for shopping and gogo bars. 

They never claimed the close to 40 million number arrivals was all different people. They know that. It is obvious.
 

Of course they know some people come more than once. A lot of people love it in Thailand and come a few times a year. 
 

If they counted all bordering countries people the number would be a lot higher. Some from Laos, Cambodia, Burma  cross nearly everyday for work, don’t need passports, just to carry an ID card. They are not counted as tourist arrivals. 
 

I am very happy they are keeping people out unless they quarantine. There is a nasty highly contagious deadly virus pandemic going  on currently.
The less tourists the better. 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Natai Beach

[Blumpie]

I can't believe that airport is so dead.  Just look at the picture - you can arrive at 3am and it's packed there.  

How very sad.

[djayz]

I wonder why that could be? ????

[Soikhaonoiken]

Not surprise with those figures, with borders closed, and hoops to jump through to get a visa, plus the 14 days quarantine, tourists just won't come. 

[Ventenio]

nobody here, complain

too many people, complain

 

if had a meet-n-greet it would be 10 seconds before I hear, "the end of the world......"   

[MrMo]

A lot of those who have entered in the past few months do not qualify as "tourists".   They are farang who have lived in Thailand for a number of years but were trapped outside the country in early 2020.   It is only recently that they were permitted to return to their family here.   They add little to the tourist economy.

[CharlieH]

Troll comments and responses removed.

[mrfill]

And in other news, apparently bears poo in the woods

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to data released earlier this week by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Permanent Secretary, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, just 78,328 foreigners with Certificates of Entry (COE) have entered Thailand between 9 July 2020 and 6 February  2021.

I predict the same (or less) for the next 6 months.

I'm assuming the bulk of those desperate to get back to their families have already arrived.

[soi3eddie]

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

A lot of those who have entered in the past few months do not qualify as "tourists".   They are farang who have lived in Thailand for a number of years but were trapped outside the country in early 2020.   It is only recently that they were permitted to return to their family here.   They add little to the tourist economy.

 

No mention from what I could see about breakdown of numbers of visa holders such as; business, marriage, retirement etc. Why not? Maybe the government doesn't want to make the "tourist" figures look even worse? Very few typical tourists are going to travel here anytime soon whilst they still have quarantine and the government and TAT know it.

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by soi3eddie

[10baht]

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

A lot of those who have entered in the past few months do not qualify as "tourists".   They are farang who have lived in Thailand for a number of years but were trapped outside the country in early 2020.   It is only recently that they were permitted to return to their family here.   They add little to the tourist economy.

This is true, as I and my farang wife fit this description. What is really worse is only 2 plane landed ( 1/2 full or less ) when we came in late Nov. and if 10 full planes had landed we'd have been there for hours and hours the way the current process for screening arrivals works. They will never be able to handle mass amounts of people under the current system. I know a lot of you expats only want to live here and not travel outside Thailand. One of the reasons I retired here was to have easy access to other interesting countries. But if I cannot get back home (in Thailand ) with out meeting the COE requirements and I have a 15 day quarantine, then the appeal of living here drops way down.

[henry213]

What's the problem? they don't like us anyway.

[Dialemco]

No significant tourism until quarantine requirement dropped meanwhile Thailand needs to expedite its vaccination programme and aim for reopening for International Tourism hopefully sometime next year.  TAT has to realise that other countries vaccination programmes are well advanced so incentives will be needed to attract tourists making it easier to get visas and drop a lot of the red tape at least extend visa waiver permanently to 45/60 days 

[mrmicbkktxl]

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

A lot of those who have entered in the past few months do not qualify as "tourists".   They are farang who have lived in Thailand for a number of years but were trapped outside the country in early 2020.   It is only recently that they were permitted to return to their family here.   They add little to the tourist economy.

Interesting view,before the chinese lungplague I made about 8-10 trips inside Thailand per year  stay 2-4 nights in a 3-5 * hotel,went to shopping,went to eat,etc.Let's keep it low and say average spending per trip 15000bt,restaurant visits 30 per year with average spending of 2500bt,etc.only for trips+restaurant visits we(3) spent about 200.000+bt per year or 7000$.How much do you add into the local economy with your 2 weeks trip to Pattaya or Phuket?

[10baht]

10 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Just wait until the golden "high season" is approaching.... 

Even with a vaccine passport, families cannot come as the vaccine is not being given to the children.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to data released earlier this week by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Permanent Secretary, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, just 78,328 foreigners with Certificates of Entry (COE) have entered Thailand between 9 July 2020 and 6 February  2021.

I guess quarantine and buy a 10 million baht condo was a turn-off?

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So basically around 11,190 per month, or 373 per day, so basically 1 plane a day.  Airport is ripping with activity isn't it.  However, there are a few that have come back, returned whence they came, then returned again.  So in reality how many true people.  If I went and came 4 times they would count me as 4 foreign arrivals, even though I am the same person, going to the same house I have. True I did leave and arrive, but then it is different for a true tourist who comes just once during the year.  Kind of skews the stats in my view.

I wonder how many of those were business people.

[Mike Rodik]

Thailand, you made your bed, went with the panic, after you let in chinese as long as it was profitable, then panic blindly, followed the false death predictions based on false calculation that put the world in lockdown

 

after a year, you have less than 100 deaths from covid but millions of people out of a job

 

high humidity & strong UV sunlight all year long, having no fall, winter or spring,  is probably what saved you...

 

if you keep slave labor in bad conditions packed together, then yes, you will have some local infections

[HenryC]

A lot of those had families here like myself hardly call them tourists.

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I predict the same (or less) for the next 6 months.

I'm assuming the bulk of those desperate to get back to their families have already arrived.

Almost certainly less given the now increased difficulties associated with travelling from their home countries- increased infections ,further demise of aircraft operators flying ( Etihad,Emirates stopped flights to from uk) and travel restrictions from those home countries. I found a window around mid December but it would be much more difficult now.

[Sydebolle]

Well, maybe the big wigs of the land will realize, that wile they can take their own people for eternal rides on the world‘s biggest merry-go-round, this does not automatically imply, that the dirty farang will follow suit.

Quite simple, nobody in his right mind would spend a vacation by getting locked up the first two weeks in a hotel room with plastic container food at a rip-off price. The welcome team looks like wrapped-up in garbage bags. Irrespective of visa validity, this does simply not fly - given the fact, that there are perfect alternatives like Sri Lanka, Seychelles, the Carribean, Turkey etc. just to name a few.

Beaches, good food and booze served with a smile in English, all sorts of entertainment and recreation, sunshine and in many cases at even cheaper prices than the land of the holy glory. While the underlings, suffering terribly under the leadership‘s loose cannon policies of opening, closing, locking down, unlocking again, various coloured zones etc. 

[shackleton]

Well I suspect this is not news to most people here on Thai visa

Most will be waiting for positive news 

When will the normal tourist  be able to return plus when will Quarantine restrictions be lifted and  the Corivirus vaccine program be initiated