18 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

In all seriousness , at what point do you just say to hell with it and open up to all to save society and jobs ? Thailand is being destroyed more through lockdowns than deaths

It's being destroyed by the governments ineptitude.

wasn't there just a thread about the % of hotels to close in 3 months a week or two ago?

1 minute ago, poskat said:

wasn't there just a thread about the % of hotels to close in 3 months a week or two ago?

There's been a few

18 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

In all seriousness , at what point do you just say to hell with it and open up to all to save society and jobs ? Thailand is being destroyed more through lockdowns than deaths

 

At the point the politicians pockets are hurting.

If they were smart, they would have used all this time wisely. Assuming the government is as rich as it has claimed, they should have been subsidizing HEAVY investment into updating and upgrading tourism industry infrastructure - hotels, etc. 

 

Instead, they have relied on their amulets, thinking the tourists would be back right away.

 

Now they have wasted the time and money.

18 hours ago, Thomas J said:

It takes decades to build up a tourism industry and the businesses that prosper from it.  It takes only months to severely cripple it for decades.  Even if there was a cure tomorrow, many businesses will lack the financial ability to re-open.  They tried to stay afloat for as long as possible.  So was the "cure" worse than the disease?  I guess that depends on your perspective.  If you were a person who theoretically was prevented from contracting a severe case of Covid - Yes.  If you were an employee who lost their job or business owner whose business went bankrupt - No. 
 

 

Well said I agree They might be saved from the covid but the business are really suffering Many will not re-open 

With luck new owners will buy these hotels for pennies on the Baht, and reopen them after completely gutting and renovating the place.  A good cleaning followed by new furniture, beds, carpets or wood floors, etc. would go a long way.

15 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

If they were smart, they would have used all this time wisely. Assuming the government is as rich as it has claimed, they should have been subsidizing HEAVY investment into updating and upgrading tourism industry infrastructure - hotels, etc. 

 

Instead, they have relied on their amulets, thinking the tourists would be back right away.

 

Now they have wasted the time and money.

That would have required planning and forethought.  Not exactly the forte of Thailand. 

2 minutes ago, Showtime said:

With luck new owners will buy these hotels for pennies on the Baht, and reopen them after completely gutting and renovating the place.  A good cleaning followed by new furniture, beds, carpets or wood floors, etc. would go a long way.

 

I can see it now. Tens or hundreds of hotels around Thailand under Chinese management billowing cigarette smoke from every crack and crevice and with discarded chicken bones strewn about the properties. Nice

2 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

 

I can see it now. Tens or hundreds of hotels around Thailand under Chinese management billowing cigarette smoke from every crack and crevice and with discarded chicken bones strewn about the properties. Nice

Sad but true and exactly what I was thinking when I wrote it.  You forgot 20 people per room with Karoke blaring all night and many men drunk after a sip of beer.

19 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

I hope this doesn't affect the Thai baht

 

I sure as hell hope it does... us greenback is back over the 30bht mark and the Canadian loonie is finally up over the 25 bht mark...  burn baby burn...

 

Been losing money long enough on the bht...

2 hours ago, MasterBaker said:

there is no way tourist numbers will ever be the same as before. not just in thailand

 

Lol do people actually believe this?

One consistent aspect of the forum is the  inconsistency of opinion. I have been reading for many years and prior to Covid the consistent complaint was;

- Too many hotels, too many beds;

-Thailand had over developed

-Air BnB was killing the hotel sector

- Hotel industry had chronic shortage of  workers

 

Now, a story suggests that some hotels may close. Ok.  What is so wrong with that if the problems I list are real? Would Thailand not be better to be rid of some of these places that hover at 2* rating on a good day?  Fewer rooms mean that the hotel industry would have better occupancy rate and make a better profit. Antigua, Turks and Caicos and Barbados do very well with the strategy. Phuket was filled with too many low quality places and if some shut down it won't be a bad outcome.  I don't think the better quality hotels will be lost. There are a lot of hotels who were built  20, 30, 40, years ago and who have not really been kept up. I can think of several in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Patong.

To our Mainland Chinese friends:

 

Quickly now! Stampede to the all-you-can-shovel-onto-your-plate-and-subsequently-leave-behind-uneaten shrimp buffets while you still can! Time's running out!

20 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

I hope this doesn't affect the Thai baht

Does anything ??

16 hours ago, clivebaxter said:

Some countries with more sense of protecting their own have stopped the Chinese buying property eg New Zealand. Unfortunately they stopped all foreigners doing it. When I sold my house in Hamilton I was not able to buy another due to the ban brought about by the Chinese trying to buy everything up.

 Anyone from another country could still buy a house, you just had another hoop to jump through. Australians and Singaporeans still can. You just need to set up a company in Singapore and use that to buy a house. All quite legal, its how "the Chinese" i.e (any foreigner who wants to) keeps buying houses in NZ. 

Perhaps this will teach the industry and the population in general here that you cannot spit upward without risking it falling back onto your own face.

 

Value your customers no matter how you despise them because without them your sandy beaches, waterfalls and pubs are just another places where you can just sobbing about your misery. 

3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

They're doing a pretty good job of jabbing staff in Phuket and Samui.  Many.  And have started in Pattaya also.  Front line workers and those in the hospitality biz are first up.  Along with the elderly....

They are vaccinated using Sinovac

with an efficiency of only 50% in the best cases against the ''classic'' covid 19

and no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains

so it's better than nothing, but i don't call it a good job

21 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

I hope this doesn't affect the Thai baht

I hope it does...

12 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

They are vaccinated using Sinovac

with an efficiency of only 50% in the best cases against the ''classic'' covid 19

and no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains

so it's better than nothing, but i don't call it a good job

Sinovac isn't the best jab, but it's better than nothing.  And 100% will keep you out of the ICU with a tube jammed down your throat.  We're in bad shape if those new strains take hold here.  Terrible. 

 

But yes, overall, Thailand has done a terrible job with the vaccine rollout....or should I say attempt at a vaccine rollout! LOL

54 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

They are vaccinated using Sinovac

with an efficiency of only 50% in the best cases against the ''classic'' covid 19

and no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains

so it's better than nothing, but i don't call it a good job

First of all, there are several studies that show Sinovac has an efficacy greater than 50 percent. In fact only one study put it at slightly above 50 percent. The rest put it higher. Do you understand that efficacy and effectiveness are technical terms when used by epidemiologist? And that they only refer to infections? That in fact Coronovac has been repeatedly show to be extremely powerful in preventing symptoms serious enough to require hospitalization and death. And you're just making it up when you say that it has "no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains." Are you aware that it's a crime in Thailand to post falsehoods like this?

1 minute ago, placeholder said:

First of all, there are several studies that show Sinovac has an efficacy greater than 50 percent. In fact only one study put it at slightly above 50 percent. The rest put it higher. Do you understand that efficacy and effectiveness are technical terms when used by epidemiologist? And that they only refer to infections? That in fact Coronovac has been repeatedly show to be extremely powerful in preventing symptoms serious enough to require hospitalization and death. And you're just making it up when you say that it has "no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains." Are you aware that it's a crime in Thailand to post falsehoods like this?

 

Good post.

 

The Sinovac 50% efficacy figure is misleading a lot of people. 

 

Sinovac has 50.4 % efficacy against Covid-19 (i.e. 50% of people do not contract Covid-19 at all)

Sinovac has 78 % efficacy against mild Covid-19 cases

Sinovac has 100 % efficacy against moderate to serious Covid-19 cases

 

 

 

 

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Good post.

 

The Sinovac 50% efficacy figure is misleading a lot of people. 

 

Sinovac has 50.4 % efficacy against Covid-19 (i.e. 50% of people do not contract Covid-19 at all)

Sinovac has 78 % efficacy against mild Covid-19 cases

Sinovac has 100 % efficacy against moderate to serious Covid-19 cases

 

 

 

 

And the 50.4% was from one study. Others show it to be higher.

23 hours ago, webfact said:

half of all hotels could close in under three months.

 Would make ideal homes for squatters!!!

 

22 minutes ago, placeholder said:

And you're just making it up when you say that it has "no efficiency at all against the new india and south africa strains." Are you aware that it's a crime in Thailand to post falsehoods like this?

Are you trying to threatening me?

I don't like your tone at all

Maybe you have something better to put on the table in this debate

like for example some evidence that Sinovac is working againts the new strains?

 

20 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Sinovac has 50.4 % efficacy against Covid-19

thank you for confirming what i said

20 minutes ago, placeholder said:

And the 50.4% was from one study. Others show it to be higher.

Are you working for Sinovac by any chance?

 

by the way the vaccine is now approved in China, Europe and by the WHO

or still not?

 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222712.shtml

 

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

Are you trying to threatening me?

I don't like your tone at all

Maybe you have something better to put on the table in this debate

like for example some evidence that Sinovac is working againts the new strains?

 

You're the one who claimed it wasn't. It's up to you to provide evidence to back up your claim.

But in fact we do have an ongoing study that so far shows that the Coronavac is very effective against the dangerous variants floating around in Brazil. 98% of adults were vacciniated:

A Small Brazilian Town Is Beating Covid-19 Through a Unique Experiment

This town of 45,000 people in southeastern Brazil has been at the center of a unique experiment for the past three months: vaccinate nearly every adult against Covid-19 and see what happens.

In recent weeks, after most of the adults here got their second dose, Covid-19 cases and deaths plunged and life has started to return to normal as the pandemic continues to rage across Brazil.

All of Serrana’s adults were offered CoronaVac between February and April as part of the experiment, known as Project S.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/brazilian-towns-mass-vaccination-creates-oasis-of-well-being-11620392401

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

Are you working for Sinovac by any chance?

 

by the way the vaccine is now approved in China, Europe and by the WHO

or still not?

 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222712.shtml

 

Have you look at the various completed epidemiological studies by any chance?

22 hours ago, Thomas J said:

It takes decades to build up a tourism industry and the businesses that prosper from it.  It takes only months to severely cripple it for decades.  Even if there was a cure tomorrow, many businesses will lack the financial ability to re-open.  They tried to stay afloat for as long as possible.  So was the "cure" worse than the disease?  I guess that depends on your perspective.  If you were a person who theoretically was prevented from contracting a severe case of Covid - Yes.  If you were an employee who lost their job or business owner whose business went bankrupt - No. 

My personal opinion, is that everyone will catch COVID, same as everyone catches flu and colds.

Closing the country will just change the timeframes of when it becomes commonplace.

The UK, USA and Europe had it last year, and those likely to die of it have already departed.

Thailand, Cambodia, Laos are in the process of getting it.

Australia and NZ have it still to come.

 

Will the vaccines change anything? ............. maybe, but maybe the variants will out-change the vaccines.