Foreign tourists will start to return in fourth quarter boosting Thai economy, says Finance Minister

[webfact]

REUTERS FILE PHOTO for reference only

Thailand's finance minister became the latest high profile figure to say that the vaccine rollout in the country and the anticipated return of foreign tourists in the fourth quarter will help to rescue the Thai economy.

Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told the Thai media that vaccination was a key driver in kick-starting the economy after the pandemic. 

The upbeat minister pointed to increased public confidence resulting in an upturn in domestic travel and claimed that aircraft were fully booked for this year's Songkran celebration. 

Inter-provincial travel would also be up.

He anticipated that the economy would be further enhanced by the anticipated return of foreign tourists from October 1st.

He also said that the recently announced 1.9 trillion dollar US stimulus package would be good for Thai exports. 

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Nothing more to be said.

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

He also said that the recently announced 1.9 trillion dollar US stimulus package would be good for Thai exports. 

Please explain how....

[Thaiwrath]

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand's finance minister became the latest high profile figure to say...........

"high profile figure" could be substituted with one word..... "Clown", saying anything to try and please the people. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Thaiwrath

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

He also said that the recently announced 1.9 trillion dollar US stimulus package would be good for Thai exports. 

Yeah really? I wonder how much of that will be spent on guns at Walmart?

[ezzra]

All that it seems to happen lately that every tom dick and harry are venturing their 2 cents worth of predictions as to what should, would or might happen in the future of tourism... I have better chance figuring the next winning lottery numbers than their predictions.. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by ezzra

[samtam]

I made a rare visit to Silom Road, (Silom Village and environs) yesterday to find some fabric normally seen in abundance in shops and stalls. Unfortunately my quest was unsuccessful, but I was startled by how dead and dying the whole area is:

I expect this is a story repeated the length and breadth of the country. The shop owner I spoke to, (one of the few open), said many businesses had closed, which is not surprising, as they are substantially reliant on tourists.

The slowdown or shutdown is perhaps less obvious in glitzy malls, but these too are underpopulated with people and trade, although their owners have very deep pockets, so they will survive.

One can debate the desirability of tourist tat, (no pun intended), but the impact on this sector of the economy is severe, and another six months of this will bite much harder. 

[RichardColeman]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He anticipated that the economy would be further enhanced by the anticipated return of foreign tourists from October 1st.

With quarantine, they aint coming mate. 

BA was scheduled to start operating from October back to BKK, but who on earth would be booking a holiday without confirmation (definite confirmation) of Thai immigration policy that yo-yos daily

 

[ukrules]

It's not going to happen, nobody's coming and they won't be ready for them anyway.

Any cancellation of quarantines will result in imported infections unless they only allow the vaccinated in.

My target would be in 2022 after a mass vaccination rollout.

They already know this as it's so obvious but probably don't want to announce it as it would be unpopular, so instead we get never ending list of broken promises as they play for time.

 

[donnacha]

20 minutes ago, ukrules said:

Any cancellation of quarantines will result in imported infections unless they only allow the vaccinated in.

Access for the vaccinated only is exactly what Thailand and pretty much every other country are going to do for at least the rest of this decade.
 

20 minutes ago, ukrules said:

My target would be in 2022 after a mass vaccination rollout.

They won't wait until mass vaccination of the Thai population, only the most vulnerable. The lower levels of infection by this summer in countries with successful vaccination campaigns (Israel, the UAE, the UK, Chile, and the US), coupled with the far lower levels of transmissibility from the vaccinated, will be considered "good enough" to give vaccinated citizens of those countries no-quarantine access by this summer.

Vaccinated citizens of EU countries should regain access by summer 2022, as long as they don't have any major breakouts during the winter/spring.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by donnacha

[klauskunkel]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Foreign tourists will start to return in fourth quarter boosting Thai economy, says Finance Minister

O Clueless One, though honeyed words drip from your snout, they provide scant nourishment for body or spirit as they are hollow. 

Consider this: Foreign tourist will vacation at home to boost their own economy.

[donnacha]

2 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

Consider this: Foreign tourist will vacation at home to boost their own economy.

Everyone I know is already desperate for a foreign vacation. By this summer they will only be more eager to escape.

[DJBenz]

2 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Everyone I know is already desperate for a foreign vacation. By this summer they will only be more eager to escape.

Count me as one of those people. I'll be fully vaccinated by 7th June, as will my wife and adult son. I have flights booked to BKK in July, however I'll be changing them to 2022 or cancelling altogether if there's any form of quarantine in Thailand.

I'm desperate for a foreign vacation, but not desperate enough to spend part of it in quarantine. I'll just go somewhere without restrictions.

[klauskunkel]

11 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Everyone I know is already desperate for a foreign vacation. By this summer they will only be more eager to escape.

I stand corrected. 

[Pattaya Spotter]

Two more quarters to enjoy the bliss of an empty Thailand.

[donnacha]

1 minute ago, DJBenz said:

I'll be fully vaccinated by 7th June, as will my wife and adult son.

Congratulations.
 

1 minute ago, DJBenz said:

I'll be changing them to 2022 or cancelling altogether if there's any form of quarantine in Thailand

I am certain Thailand will change the quarantine the policy, for vaccinated visitors from those specific countries, during the summer, mainly because most potential bookers for the third and fourth quarters will need that re-assurance reasonably far in advance. I'm not sure exactly when in the summer, but your July date should be fine. I suspect they will be in a position to do it as early as May, but June might be more likely as it allows them to say "from the second half of the year".

Make sure to get any necessary embassy stuff done in good time, I have a hunch they will be somewhat overwhelmed once the change is announced and everything may take longer than usual.

I suspect you and your family are going to enjoy an unusually fresh and energetic vibe in Thailand as it opens up once again.
 

[Cake Monster]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told the Thai media that vaccination was a key driver in kick-starting the economy after the pandemic. 

So why is the Vaccination which is a key driver not happening

Thailand is way behind the curve on this, and IMHO, it will be nearer to February 2022 before 50% of the Thai population are vaccinated. This will make Thailand a " No Go Zone " for not just Tourists, but for Foreign Governments to allow Citizens to travel to the Kingdom

[DJBenz]

2 minutes ago, donnacha said:

I am certain Thailand will change the quarantine the policy, for vaccinated visitors from those specific countries, during the summer, mainly because most potential bookers for the third and fourth quarters will need that re-assurance reasonably far in advance. I'm not sure exactly when in the summer, but your July date should be fine. I suspect they will be in a position to do it as early as May, but June might be more likely as it allows them to say "from the second half of the year".

I wish I could share your enthusiasm, at the moment I'm very much approaching it with an "it will be what it will be" mindset. I'm certainly not getting my hopes up from Thai news on re-opening.  :)

Quote

Make sure to get any necessary embassy stuff done in good time, I have a hunch they will be somewhat overwhelmed once the change is announced and everything may take longer than usual.

That's a good point, I'll make sure to do that if/when I know the trip will go ahead. Thank you!

Quote

I suspect you and your family are going to enjoy an unusually fresh and energetic vibe in Thailand as it opens up once again.

I would love to see Thailand relatively tourist free, so I certainly hope so. My main concern is that, although the adults in the family will be fully inoculated, I have two under-18 kids who can't be and there may still be restrictions in place for non-vaccinated visitors.

[jvs]

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Yeah really? I wonder how much of that will be spent on guns at Walmart?

Only around fifty % the rest will be for ammo,because you never know right?

 

[newnative]

You better get the vaccination program in gear then.  You need no quarantine to attract tourists in significant numbers.  

[Megasin1]

46 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

Thailand is way behind the curve on this, and IMHO, it will be nearer to February 2022 before 50% of the Thai population are vaccinated. This will make Thailand a " No Go Zone " for not just Tourists, but for Foreign Governments to allow Citizens to travel to the Kingdom

This will be the crux of the matter. Thailand really needs to sort their act out. They seem to think that only what they think or do will matter but in reality there will be many outside considerations and decisions that will affect their tourist business.

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

So why is the Vaccination which is a key driver not happening

Thailand is way behind the curve on this, and IMHO, it will be nearer to February 2022 before 50% of the Thai population are vaccinated. This will make Thailand a " No Go Zone " for not just Tourists, but for Foreign Governments to allow Citizens to travel to the Kingdom

 

This, I doubt. If the tourist is vaccinated then there's no reason to apply any restrictions on them either by their own home governments of the Thai government.

Vaccination is all we have and there is no next step beyond that so it must be relied on as there's no other alternative apart from nature taking its course, the vaccine is an attempt to alter this course and I'm pretty sure it will shorten the pandemic by at least a year or two.

The only danger a foreign tourist would face in an unvaccinated country is a local outbreak and subsequent 'lockdown' during their holiday which would be an inconvenience. The outbreak shouldn't worry them but the inevitable lockdowns / restrictions on movement are what will annoy them.

 

As we've seen - COVID likes the colder weather so it comes in winter which is the high season here in Thailand.

 

If they've not vaccinated the population by December then I see no reason why there won't be another outbreak at the end of the year and I'm basing that entirely on the weather patterns.

 

[adammike]

1 hour ago, donnacha said:

Congratulations.
 

I am certain Thailand will change the quarantine the policy, for vaccinated visitors from those specific countries, during the summer, mainly because most potential bookers for the third and fourth quarters will need that re-assurance reasonably far in advance. I'm not sure exactly when in the summer, but your July date should be fine. I suspect they will be in a position to do it as early as May, but June might be more likely as it allows them to say "from the second half of the year".

Make sure to get any necessary embassy stuff done in good time, I have a hunch they will be somewhat overwhelmed once the change is announced and everything may take longer than usual.

I suspect you and your family are going to enjoy an unusually fresh and energetic vibe in Thailand as it opens up once again.
 

I would love to be back in Thailand next January,but my biggest concern is the flying.I might wait till December 22,I want to see how many of the planes that have been parked up all over the world for what will be up to 18 months deal with being back in service.Really it's about how many fall out of the sky.I bet I'm not alone in thinking about what state the planes and the Pilots are in after such a long down time.

[cracker1]

No mention of when International airlines will be allowed back to Thailand and any upturn in arrivals will be fully dependant on them ? Also no explanation why he thinks all these tourists will want to come here later in the year.

[adammike]

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

So why is the Vaccination which is a key driver not happening

Thailand is way behind the curve on this, and IMHO, it will be nearer to February 2022 before 50% of the Thai population are vaccinated. This will make Thailand a " No Go Zone " for not just Tourists, but for Foreign Governments to allow Citizens to travel to the Kingdom

Some body said "nobody's safe untill we are all safe" that means not only do the population of Thailand have to be vaccinated,also the population of every country that visit Thailand have to be vaccinated.2022 might be optimistic.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

He anticipated that the economy would be further enhanced by the anticipated return of foreign tourists from October 1st.

Anticipated return... the famous -loop-hole...

Of course Thailands resorts have a renowned reputation for "opening up" to foreigners, but best wait and see if the world wants to come.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

O Clueless One, though honeyed words drip from your snout, they provide scant nourishment for body or spirit as they are hollow. 

Consider this: Foreign tourist will vacation at home to boost their own economy.

Or they've been hit in the pocket so hard they are going to save funds to put back in the bank and forego a holiday this year.
Thailand thinks once the west has been inoculated everyone is going abroad on holiday?

[Jimbo2014]

this seems to be falling into the same trap as stopping the Burning of agriculture across the country.... always a few quarters away. 

[Markus Rider]

a stimulus package 4 times the GDP is in fact not small...but maybe they have choosen the wrong currency...USD instead of THB....... just a little mistake for a finance minister.....

[Blumpie]

The amount so far that Thailand has been vaccinated has been nothing short of laughable.  What, 36 thousand?  It's ridiculous.  

No, nobody is going there.  You have to be dropped on your head to go to a place to sit in a hotel for 2 weeks, 7 days, whatever it is.  I can't keep up with the constant changing, minutia, nonsense.