Expats’ anger and dismay at dual pricing for rapid COVID test in Phuket

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, TigerandDog said:

having a pink ID card gets you Thai prices. Since I've had mine I've never had to pay foreigner rates anywhere.

Also, speaking Thai helps. I was only refused the Thai price once in 27 years. 

[Presnock]

Well I too love Thailand, thus I retired here.  I do not like the dual pricing either.  I realize many times just how cheap it is but again it's the principle of the action.  I am an American and in the US, anyone of any nationality can now get vaccinated without having to pay or just tested free of charge.  The US has even advertised free tourist vaccinations.  Here, even though I have hospitalization insurance, I have to check to see if they will even cover vaccines that are not approved by the US or the field hospitals for those infected as my foreign insurance company has agreements with certain hospitals only.  Will see what they have to say.  No visiting any place where they will charge me more than my family pays.

[digibum]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Thai Economy humming along ???? are you sure?

 

How does 10% unemployment help an economy hum along ?

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30389095

 

And tourism accounted for 20% of GDP.  I would say, 10% of people unemployed is doing pretty well given the circumstances. 

 

I'm not trying to be insensitive.  I'm simply saying that many countries that do not rely anywhere near as heavily on tourism have had more than 10% unemployment.  Thailand is doing relatively well in that regard. 

 

Quote

Published : June 05, 2020

 

Also note that this was from June 2020 when the entire country was literally coming out lock down.

 

Let's use more recent data from Jan 2021 (from the World Bank????

 

Quote

Thailand has performed relatively well compared to its peers in the region in terms of the scale, speed, and targeting of its fiscal response, which has centered on a 1 trillion baht package to fund cash transfers, the medical response, and economic and social rehabilitation. New large-scale cash transfer programs have been established to support vulnerable groups who would not otherwise have been covered by existing social assistance mechanisms.

 

Quote

Thailand’s economy is projected to rebound to 4.0 percent in 2021 and pick up further to 4.7 percent in 2022, underpinned by a recovery in domestic demand and supportive fiscal policy.

 

Quote

By the third quarter, some of these impacts had moderated. The labor force participation rate increased in the third quarter and employers added nearly 850,000 jobs resulting in year-on-year job growth of more than 1 percent. This continued in the first two months of the fourth quarter.

 

[sbf]

I have a house and live in Phuket for most of the year, however when there I work in Phang Nga and drive across Sarasin Bridge every day. To have to go through these checks every day will be intolerable. We have retreated to the sanity of Isaan for a few weeks until such time as the children's schools open again and we have to go back. 

[DJ54]

I think the 500 baht is not unreasonable and becomes a choice.... pay or not / go or not... 

[Neeranam]

 

 

2 minutes ago, sbf said:

I have a house and live in Phuket for most of the year, however when there I work in Phang Nga and drive across Sarasin Bridge every day. To have to go through these checks every day will be intolerable. We have retreated to the sanity of Isaan for a few weeks until such time as the children's schools open again and we have to go back. 

If you live in Phuket and work on the mainland, do you have to be tested every trip?

[Camillof]

18 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

PLease quote where I am missing the point

By order as they appear in your first post:

- When you claim that "Citizens get preferential treatment in EVERY country": it's not true, it depends in what fields, in many countries foreigners get preferential treatment in some public fields

- When you talk about a "ridiculous" fee: the amount of the fee is not the point

- When you bring up dual pricing applied by private commercial businesses: pricing policies at Royal Melbourne golf club and at Disney World have absolutely nothing to do here

- Also, by omission, when you forget about the public statement made last Monday that everybody would pay the same for this quick test

- Plus one more remark: you also wrote "Hey, you can always change your citizenship!" Oh really? What makes you so sure, have you already applied for Thai nationality yourself? Please let us know how to proceed, thanks.

[digibum]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

So true; due to Thai indirect communication style, they can pick up on body language, gestures, and smell. 

 

I've always felt that the people that are the most negative, often seem to be the same people who have negative things happen to them.  You can just look at the posts of many of the people here and the people that constantly post negative things about Thailand, always seem to have problems in Thailand.  Correlation is not always causation but sometimes it is. 

[Camillof]

10 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

having a pink ID card gets you Thai prices.

Not always and not automatically unfortunately.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

I can see both sides of this argument...and no one is forced to come to Phuket.

And I won't be... I also canceled my trip to Phuket just prior to Songkran when they announced they would welcome people from Red Zones.

Now they can forget me for the rest of this year or even longer.

[TigerandDog]

2 minutes ago, Camillof said:

Not always and not automatically unfortunately.

I guess if you have one you've been the unlucky one. I did have someone refuse give me Thai price once when I produced the pink ID card. My ThaI partner asked to speak to the manager, showed HIM my ID card, the employee was chastised on the spot, and I received the Thai price.

[lavender19]

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Who wants to go to the area which generates the greatest amount of Tourism in Thailand ????

 

erm.....  did you think about your question ?

 

 

 

 

The Chinese. And the Russians. Enough said

[lks7689]

13 minutes ago, Presnock said:

Well I too love Thailand, thus I retired here.  I do not like the dual pricing either.  I realize many times just how cheap it is but again it's the principle of the action.  I am an American and in the US, anyone of any nationality can now get vaccinated without having to pay or just tested free of charge.  The US has even advertised free tourist vaccinations.  Here, even though I have hospitalization insurance, I have to check to see if they will even cover vaccines that are not approved by the US or the field hospitals for those infected as my foreign insurance company has agreements with certain hospitals only.  Will see what they have to say.  No visiting any place where they will charge me more than my family pays.

You do realize the US(and maybe UK) is the only country hoarding enough vaccine to do that right?  Third world countries are afforded none of that luxury. And while we are at this topic of dual pricing, why are you people even talking about fairness in Thailand?  using your first world standard eyes to look at how things are done in Thailand is a guaranteed failure. 

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed. 

[David T Pike]

That's fair! They don't cost that much and your average Thai live off of 3-4 hundred dollars a month so quit your bitching! You don't get Universal health care here either! It's a benefit for the Thai citizens! Give up your citizenship and become Thai and you'll get it free along with heath care! Does your country offer them free to tourists/ex-pats?

[EVENKEEL]

2 hours ago, hkt83100 said:

I moved from Phuket to Isaan almost three years ago after living on the island for more than 20 years, and I made worse decisions in my life.

I moved from Isaan to Rayong 4 yrs ago, loving it.

[KarenBravo]

23 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

And I won't be... I also canceled my trip to Phuket just prior to Songkran when they announced they would welcome people from Red Zones.

Now they can forget me for the rest of this year or even longer.

 

I'm sure they already have.........

[Neeranam]

27 minutes ago, Camillof said:

- Plus one more remark: you also wrote "Hey, you can always change your citizenship!" Oh really? What makes you so sure, have you already applied for Thai nationality yourself? Please let us know how to proceed, thanks.

I have been through the Thai naturalization process successfully. Go to the Special Branch police to find out how to do it. 

[bluesea]

This topic has made its way to Melbourne Australia where it was the subject on Talkback radio 3AW and how many Listeners are disapointed in the 2 tier pricing & the $500 Million Dollars Australia gave the Thai Govenment & other South East Asian countries to pay for Vaccines and test for People residing in Thailand & South East Asia.

https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-release/australian-support-covid-19-vaccine-access-pacific-and-southeast-asia

 

 

[Caldera]

Anger? In all honesty, I don't like dual pricing in any shape or form, but considering the overall cost of a trip to Phuket, those 500 baht wouldn't even register. Much ado about nothing. 

[digibum]

49 minutes ago, Percy P said:

Correct, but it a venue is free to go in then more people will go in.. 

 

Will they?  The people going to the most expensive island in the country are going to balk at 500 baht? 

 

Almost guaranteed that 99% of the people complaining the loudest have no intention of going to Phuket regardless.  Look at the comments here.  Many of the people blasting the 500 baht admit they haven't been to Phuket in years and didn't have any plans to come anyway because of taxi mafias, high prices, unfriendly Thais (their words, not mine), etc. 

 

It's like the people that tell you that dual pricing at national parks will keep people away.  Whelp, the parks are usually pretty crowded so it didn't seem to keep people away.  Dual pricing is going to keep people from the Grand Palace.  Nope, packed as ever. 

 

If you crack down on people on back-to-back tourist visas it's going to kill the tourism market.  Nope, record years after the crackdowns. 

 

If you don't accept embassy letters, retirees will flee in a mass exodus.  Nope, very few people left (mostly people who were scamming the system and didn't have the money they claimed they did). 

 

Thailand is like crack.  People will do anything for it and then complain that their drug dealer isn't customer service friendly.  LOL. 

 

There are literally dudes back in farangland watching bargirls on a video cam in Pattaya and tipping them money online because they can't travel to Thailand right now.  How many of those people would 500 baht keep away?   

[MasterBaker]

stop giving your thai GF/wife any cash, see what happens

Edited April 23, 2021 by MasterBaker

[Whale]

4 hours ago, digibum said:

Thailand would do itself a world of good if it figured out a way to permit foreign tax payers to identify themselves.  If there was an ID card or even an app that you could use on your phone rather than carrying around your passport that allowed tax paying foreigners to get into national parks and see the Grand Palace at the Thai rate, a large majority of the pissing and moaning about it being a racist policy would be negated and people would have to find a new reason to hate Thailand

 

Thats one of the reasons things will never change, even the foreigners seem to have their own "class system". I take it you don't mind others paying as you think you have an excuse to be exempted? 

I don't pay tax (anymore). But what makes me me different from you? Oh yes, you are not a tourist? Let's rip them off, no problem?

[joloit]

Unfortunately, no-one has learned, that foreigners are a vital part of the GDP of Thailand. Instead of stopping this nonsense of double pricing, they keep on adding on top of things. The government should set an example to their countrymen and stop this. The average taxi driver thinks: “If my government does this, why can’t I?” Please stop the greediness!!  

[EricTh]

Who said 500 baht is not a lot of money.

 

If it is 5 or 50 baht, then I don't mind paying.

Edited April 23, 2021 by EricTh

[sbf]

43 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

 

 

If you live in Phuket and work on the mainland, do you have to be tested every trip?

According to my colleague yes. During the second wave back in January / February they changed what they needed at the check point almost every day. Pink ID card not good enough some days they wanted passport etc etc. It often took an hour for me to get processed and on my way. Thai's with Morchana App and chip ID card waved through or processed much more quickly. Often no social distancing at the check point processing, often hand cleaner run out, multiple user of pens for signing sheets of paper and on and on.  Some days because of the school run times I have to go through the checkpoint 2 times in each direction. Uugh no thanks, I'll sit it out here, save myself 500/1000 baht a day and all the hassle.

[digibum]

1 minute ago, Whale said:

 

Thats one of the reasons things will never change, even the foreigners seem to have their own "class system". I take it you don't mind others paying as you think you have an excuse to be exempted? 

I don't pay tax (anymore). But what makes me me different from you? Oh yes, you are not a tourist? Let's rip them off, no problem?

 

Actually, I don't pay taxes in Thailand so it wouldn't even benefit me.  I just think it's fair for the people that work and pay taxes in Thailand. 

 

Not sure that worked out the way you thought it would. 

 

I'm not a fan of dual pricing.  However, I do recognize that these places belong to the Thai people and, as such, Thai people should have access to them and not be priced out of seeing their national parks or their national treasures (i.e. Grand Palace) simply because some farangs think it's unfair to them. 

 

Basing it off of people who pay tax (or would be if they earned enough) seems like a fair compromise since their tax dollars partially go to fund these things. 

 

Also, I'm a little more used to the concept than maybe some Europeans.  In the US, there is often a locals discount at tourist attractions.  This is intended to help these facilities during the off season.  For instance, Disneyland and Disneyworld have locals discounts.  Vegas casinos often offer discounts to locals.  As a veteran, I can travel to any national park for free.  Active duty and first responders often are offered discounts. 

[Pinot]

Lots of animosity for Phuket! After 10 years, I can't imagine a better place in the world to live. 

 

Please, I'm begging you, stay away. Tsk  

[Camillof]

45 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Go to the Special Branch police to find out how to do it.

Sure, I'll go running! So then I can change my Avatar into the Thai flag, too.

[ardsong]

be happy to pay only baht 500 for being safe as a foreigner in Thailand, when a Thai (asian) person goes to the States, they are attacked and beaten; love Thailand more than the States.