It’s official: Thai govt approves plans to re-open to foreign tourists

[kingofthemountain]

5 hours ago, taxin said:

They have a vaccine program in place and have already started to vaccinate Phuket residents, by July 70% will be vaccinated, so yes, just about everyone they come in contact with will be vaccinated, including other tourists.

 

As for the rest of the country the other areas will not be opening up until October.

The problem isn't to vaccinate the residents in Phuket

as soon as people know the tourist will be back in the island

everyone everywhere in Thailand hoping to make some money on it 

are going to flood in the island, it will be a real tsunami of bargirls, freelance

masseuses, burmese workers (Legal or not) mototaxis, guides and so on

it could be hundred of thousands of people, maybe more than 1 million

none of them being vaccinated

how the authorities will be able to manage it ?

[CG1 Blue]

11 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Most countries do not have a great number of their populations vaccinated, so I do not see why

 Thailand is in such a hurry to get foreign travelers back. Getting desperate, perhaps, but then so is

all other countries who have lots of tourism.  I think that it will be lucky for a small percent of the normal

travelers to want to take chances and travel half way around the world for a trip.  Right now in Canada

there are lock downs happening again because of the varients of the virus and a lot of younger people

are now getting sick and having to go to the hospitals.  Stay tuned, this virus is far from over.

Maybe 2023 will be the year of some recovery.

Geezer

The virus will probably be with us forever. I think there has to come a point where we start to enjoy our lives again, and accept some risk. 

The scientists have done a great job so far developing all the different vaccines, and they'll continue to work on combatting the variants. 

 

Thailand is in a hurry because millions of their citizens (including their poorest) need a strong tourism industry in order to survive. Can't blame them really. 

[CG1 Blue]

30 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

it will be a real tsunami of bargirls, freelance

masseuses

Sounds awful. Now, where's my passport...

[roo860]

On 4/1/2021 at 1:00 AM, Peter parker said:

Had my first jab yesterday here in Australia, all good until 10 hours later. Really sore arm, no sleep.. grrr hopefully it will come good

You didn't buy enough tinnies.

[taxin]

32 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

The problem isn't to vaccinate the residents in Phuket

as soon as people know the tourist will be back in the island

everyone everywhere in Thailand hoping to make some money on it 

are going to flood in the island, it will be a real tsunami of bargirls, freelance

masseuses, burmese workers (Legal or not) mototaxis, guides and so on

it could be hundred of thousands of people, maybe more than 1 million

none of them being vaccinated

how the authorities will be able to manage it ?

Won’t happen, you are not even close.
 

The amount of tourists that will be visiting Phuket in July will be very minimal, so minimal it will not even be enough to give jobs to the existing work force currently in Phuket now.

[irishman25]

On 3/30/2021 at 9:21 PM, Kaopad999 said:

vaccinated, or not? 
 

yes BUT will you be able to get on a PLANE. they can say no if not vaccinated

[kingofthemountain]

2 hours ago, taxin said:

Won’t happen, you are not even close.
 

The amount of tourists that will be visiting Phuket in July will be very minimal, so minimal it will not even be enough to give jobs to the existing work force currently in Phuket now.

I agree with you, i doubt the Phuket ''sandbox'' will even come to fruition

however there are actualy in Thailand so many people desperate to earn  some money that even if few foreign tourists arrive on the island, the tsunami of the Thais coming from Issan or from the other less fortunate areas (Pattaya, Hua hin, Samui) will be here in few days with the crazy hope to have a part of the cake, even if it's a very small one

 

All these people they don't have any plan B at the moment, they are just waiting in the boredom of their poor villages, or in the devastated red light districts of Pattaya\Hua hin\Samui\Bangkok praying all day long for the return of the goose and the golden eggs

[AnnieSeek]

20 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

I agree with you, i doubt the Phuket ''sandbox'' will even come to fruition

however there are actualy in Thailand so many people desperate to earn 

some money that even if few foreign tourists arrive on the island, the tsunami of

the Thai coming from Issan or the other less fortunate areas (Pattaya, Hua hin)

will be here with the hope to have a part of the cake, even if it's a very small one

 

All these people they don't have any plan B at the moment, they are just waiting in

the boredom of their poor villages, praying all day long for the return of the goose

and the golden eggs

 

Mainland Bangkok is still VERY busy. Not everyone in Thailand is involved in tourism. 

[AnnieSeek]

3 hours ago, CG1 Blue said:

The virus will probably be with us forever. I think there has to come a point where we start to enjoy our lives again, and accept some risk. 

 

That point is when Thailand's vulnerable and majority of the population is vaccinated. Not some bizarre early short cut. 

 

8 hours ago, taxin said:

They have a vaccine program in place and have already started to vaccinate Phuket residents, by July 70% will be vaccinated, so yes, just about everyone they come in contact with will be vaccinated, including other tourists.

 

As for the rest of the country the other areas will not be opening up until October.

 

If they aren't going to seal the islands, what is to stop someone coming into contact with someone whose had a vaccine but still carrying the virus - they then catch the virus and take it back to Bangkok with them, into a population that will not have been vaccinated. 

 

These new mutations are horrific - look at the recent numbers coming from India.

 

It's like you see the finishing line, you've almost made it without the horrific health consequences but then just as you see the finishing the line you mess it all up for some needless consequences. 

 

With the end in sight, i am bemused why they are taking a risky short cut just as they see the finishing line. 

[AnnieSeek]

Has anyone actually made any comment on how they plan to crack down on forging documents to say you've had the vaccine? This wouldn't be that difficult i'd assume if all you need is a letter. 

 

It's just so dangerous and flippant. 

[kingofthemountain]

1 minute ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

Mainland Bangkok is still VERY busy. Not everyone in Thailand is involved in tourism. 

i agree with you, Thailand is a country with a population of 70 milions 

and most of the jobs opportunities are in the capital, Bangkok

 

However few millions of Thais were employed in the tourism industry

most of them without any qualification or specific skills, still they were

able to earn decent amount of money due to the flow and numbers or foreigners

 

All these people have lost their job and they are actualy the problem 

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, AnnieSeek said:

Has anyone actually made any comment on forging documents to say you've had the vaccine? This wouldn't be that difficult i'd assume if all you need is a letter. 

You canot make a comment on how forging documents saying you have had the vaccine

it would be against the rules of the forum. But for sure it's already a problem

[AnnieSeek]

8 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

i agree with you, Thailand is a country with a population of 70 milions 

and most of the jobs opportunities are in the capital, Bangkok

 

However few millions of Thais were employed in the tourism industry

most of them without any qualification or specific skills, still they were

able to earn decent amount of money due to the flow and numbers or foreigners

 

All these people have lost their job and they are actualy the problem 

You are taking approach you can have it all in the middle of a pandemic. 

 

Countries like the USA, Brazil, UK, most of mainland Europe have seen horrific shut downs, businesses closed, shopping closed, closing down of schools, the fabric of the social scenes, residents told to stay at home.  THAILAND HAS NOT HAD TO DO THAT (bar a few months). In the UK people have not been able to leave their homes since Christmas other than a little bit of outdoor exercise. 

 

In Thailand the domestic economy is open - not shutdown like in Europe. You can ruin the domestic economy and end up back in a horrific lockdown, along with devastating consequences.

 

Thailand has done very well, but it's vaccine roll out isn't speeding along, it doesn't have a huge testing capacity. 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

so i did fill the COE request and sent it to the thai embassy three weeks ago.

no reply to this date.

i called the embassy and they ask WHAT IS THE APPLICATION NUMBER?

what the heck is application no,?

LOL  thailand allways something goes wrong !!

[kingofthemountain]

9 minutes ago, AnnieSeek said:

You are taking approach you can have it all in the middle of a pandemic. 

 

Countries like the USA, Brazil, UK, most of mainland Europe have seen horrific shut downs, businesses closed, shopping closed, closing down of schools, the fabric of the social scenes, residents told to stay at home.  THAILAND HAS NOT HAD TO DO THAT (bar a few months). In the UK people have not been able to leave their homes since Christmas other than a little bit of outdoor exercise. 

 

In Thailand the domestic economy is open - not shutdown like in Europe. You can ruin the domestic economy and end up back in a horrific lockdown, along with devastating consequences.

 

Thailand has done very well, but it's vaccine roll out isn't speeding along, it doesn't have a huge testing capacity. 

You have probably misunderstood my initial post

sorry if i wasn't clear enough.

 

The Thai economy is doing relatively ok regarding of the whole situation but

the tourism industry have been heavily damaged in the process

The problem is the millions of people now jobless, Thailand doesn't have the social net

for the unemployed, and it's a huge difference with most of the western countries

 

Now i am sorry but i don't see what is exactly your point

as i agree with most of what you are writing above

[AnnieSeek]

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

You have probably misunderstood my initial post

sorry if i wasn't clear enough.

 

The Thai economy is doing relatively ok regarding of the whole situation but

the tourism industry have been heavily damaged in the process

The problem is the millions of people now jobless, Thailand doesn't have the social net

for the unemployed, and it's a huge difference with most of the western countries

 

Now i am sorry but i don't see what is exactly your point

as i agree with most of what you are writing above

 

I fully agree with you that it's devastating. But you seem to be saying because a certain sector is devastated (tourism) that they should risk EVERYTHING for this smaller sector (albeit very large). My point is you can't have it both ways. You either let 80% of the economy continue, or risk it all for that 20% of tourism. You can't have both. Not a single country has done it - and those who have attempted to open have had catastrophic suffering. 

 

Another lockdown and a health crisis with new varients is the last thing Thailand needs, especially when they can see the closing line with vaccines. 

[CG1 Blue]

41 minutes ago, AnnieSeek said:

With the end in sight, i am bemused why they are taking a risky short cut just as they see the finishing line.

I understand what you're saying, but what exactly is 'the end'? The virus isn't going to disappear as much as we all wish it would. Look at what's happening in mainland Europe at the moment. 

A gradual opening up with precautions needs to happen at some point. 

[AnnieSeek]

10 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

I understand what you're saying, but what exactly is 'the end'? The virus isn't going to disappear as much as we all wish it would. Look at what's happening in mainland Europe at the moment. 

A gradual opening up with precautions needs to happen at some point. 

 

As i have said, the start point to opening should be when the majority of Thai's have been offered the virus. 

 

On one hand you are saying they should be careful because of what is happening in Europe, but you are also kind of arguing that they should open up anyways because it will be with us forever - totally negating there are always middle grounds, in this instance the majority of Thai's vaccinated. 

 

So far, and even by July, Thailand is unlikely to have vaccinated anywhere near enough of it's population. 

 

The islands whilst quiet are also getting domestic tourism - i was surprised by how much. You allow in quarantine free tourists and unvaccinated domestic tourists will stop going. You are just swapping numbers with extra risk. 

[bangkok19]

On 4/1/2021 at 12:19 PM, Bkk Brian said:

I'd say there's a 100% chance you're wrong............

I was reading yesterday that 40% of the Covid patients in I.C.U. in France are under 50 y.o.

If having the jab means I'll still get the virus but not as bad (so not ending up in I.C.U.) then bring it on baby!

[Petey11]

6 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

The problem isn't to vaccinate the residents in Phuket

as soon as people know the tourist will be back in the island

everyone everywhere in Thailand hoping to make some money on it 

are going to flood in the island, it will be a real tsunami of bargirls, freelance

masseuses, burmese workers (Legal or not) mototaxis, guides and so on

it could be hundred of thousands of people, maybe more than 1 million

none of them being vaccinated

how the authorities will be able to manage it ?

Has been my thought too. The only way I think they could do it safely is to seal the areas. Any local population wanting to leave the area have to follow same guidelines, testing if vaccinated or quarantine if not vaccinated. I'd like to see them try and ring fence a place like pattaya or Chiang Mai and then add to that the tea money syndrome and you could be looking at an entirely different situation with regards to infection in Thailand.

[taxin]

2 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

If they aren't going to seal the islands, what is to stop someone coming into contact with someone whose had a vaccine but still carrying the virus - they then catch the virus and take it back to Bangkok with them, into a population that will not have been vaccinated. 

 

You could have said the same when they had the major outbreak in Samut Sakhon, a neighbouring province only 30 kms from downtown Bangkok.
 

If Bangkok escaped such a massive outbreak like they seen in Samut Sakhon, it’s highly unlikely one or two covid carrying tourists on an island 850 kms away will be much of a threat.

[stigar]

P.S.They say after 1st april u dont need fit to fly certificate.Well,the hotel and the airline still reqest that.So u need it despite what thai officials say.

[kingofthemountain]

9 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

But you seem to be saying because a certain sector is devastated (tourism) that they should risk EVERYTHING for this smaller sector (albeit very large).

That's not what i was saying at all

in fact i think exactly as you, that most of the Thais should

be vaccinated BEFORE to open to the foreign tourists

it's a little bit selfish but i live in Thailand so i am happy to

know so far we have been protected from the virus by the quarantine requirment

(Still the problem of the illegal entries from burma, and the recents events in this country don't help)

 

[placnx]

14 hours ago, CG1 Blue said:

I understand what you're saying, but what exactly is 'the end'? The virus isn't going to disappear as much as we all wish it would. Look at what's happening in mainland Europe at the moment. 

A gradual opening up with precautions needs to happen at some point. 

The end is when around 80% of the population has been vaccinated, for starters.

[placnx]

14 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

As i have said, the start point to opening should be when the majority of Thai's have been offered the virus. 

 

On one hand you are saying they should be careful because of what is happening in Europe, but you are also kind of arguing that they should open up anyways because it will be with us forever - totally negating there are always middle grounds, in this instance the majority of Thai's vaccinated. 

 

So far, and even by July, Thailand is unlikely to have vaccinated anywhere near enough of it's population. 

 

The islands whilst quiet are also getting domestic tourism - i was surprised by how much. You allow in quarantine free tourists and unvaccinated domestic tourists will stop going. You are just swapping numbers with extra risk. 

The problem for domestic tourists could come if a lot more people come to work in Phuket without having been vaccinated, or if there are not enough precautions for preventing domestic tourists from getting Covid from other domestic tourists.

[Bohemianfish]

On 3/31/2021 at 1:24 AM, from the home of CC said:

lets just say the situation is as fluid as the covid rate in the US, presently starting the 4th wave. With more states removing mask mandates and folks gathering with no regards to health combined with the virus's tendency of striking down younger people this is far from over. Don't count on Thailand relaxing anything with a country heading towards an out of control disease rate. With your CDC head pleading to purposely deaf folks, it doesn't bode well for the future..

Hope things change once most people in Thailand are vaccinated. Specifically, the government is satisfied with the herd immunity.

Mutations of the virus may be a real problem. I hear they are develop a new vaccine/update for new strains. It's a real problem. Europe is having problems as well as we know and people are careless.

[hioctane]

On 4/2/2021 at 3:54 PM, AnnieSeek said:

 

So far, and even by July, Thailand is unlikely to have vaccinated anywhere near enough of it's population. 

 

 

It is very doable. The population of Phuket is actually very small.. In 2019, it was about 400k. In 2020, it was about 79k (everyone went home). Phuket was estimating 50k vaccinations a week. It could very well be done in less than a month. It is a good starting point. I actually might consider staying a week and then going to Pattaya.

[brewsterbudgen]

14 hours ago, placnx said:

The end is when around 80% of the population has been vaccinated, for starters.

I'm not sure it will make much difference.  The vaccine is likely to only be effective for around 6 months (like flu vaccinations) and as new strains arrive it may be ineffective anyway.  

[Bkk Brian]

6 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I'm not sure it will make much difference.  The vaccine is likely to only be effective for around 6 months (like flu vaccinations) and as new strains arrive it may be ineffective anyway.  

We're getting to the stage where they can measure the effectiveness after 6 months and The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 91.3% effective up to 6 months after the second dose and 100% effective against severe disease.

 

So thats good news and points to it lasting at least a year, although sure a booster may be required for variants?

[redwood1]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I'm not sure it will make much difference.  The vaccine is likely to only be effective for around 6 months (like flu vaccinations) and as new strains arrive it may be ineffective anyway.  

 

Correct the vaccine does not stop anyone from getting or transmitting a virus.....It only reduces the symptoms of a virus....

And each new virus strain will require more vaccinations indefinitely same as the flu shot....