Picture: Thai Rath

 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand chief Yutthasak Suphasorn revealed his latest assessments about foreign tourism targets and predictions to Thai Rath yesterday.

 

It was revealed that the first arrivals as part of the much vaunted Phuket Sandbox tourism reopening scheme in the southern province would include people from the USA.

 

However, it was hardly opening the floodgates - just 20 had booked to come on July 9th. 

 

And also CNN were coming. 

 

Yutthasak also said that the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) have still got to ratify the details that will allow double dose vaccinated tourists to enter Thailand. 

 

He said that he had been in discussions with his counterparts at the Thai tourism ministry and they were expecting 3-4 million foreign tourists this year. 

 

Thaivisa did the math - that would mean for the top end assessment 18,691 would need to arrive every day on average.

 

The National Economic and Social Development Council have said that they are banking on 500,000 foreign tourists before the end of the year. 

 

That would be a more modest 2,336 per day. 

 

Meanwhile Siriphan Chiawsamut, a TAT marketer, said that authorities in Krabi were working on an alternative reopening plan called 1+2+4 Q.

 

Under this scheme Koh Phi Phi, Railay beach and Koh Hong would be opened in July with foreign tourists having to quarantine in their rooms for one day.

 

On days 2 and 3 they could use the hotel grounds, then on days 4-7 they could move further afield subject to restrictions. 

 

They hope to expand this to Koh Lanta and Ao Nang on the mainland in August if it meets with official approval. 

 

Also Thai Rath reported the TAT chief Yuttasak as saying that he expects 129,000 foreign tourists to visit Phuket from July to September. 

 

They would mainly come from the USA and Europe, he said.

 

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I suspect the 20 from USA are not tourists at all but expats who have been vaccinated and have been waiting for an easy way to return to their homes in Thailand - no real surprise is it

What about local people, can they travel freely 

The place will be throbbing, not for me, I hate crowds.

37 minutes ago, Thailand said:

The place will be throbbing, not for me, I hate crowds.

Not sure anything will be throbbing on Phuket come July 1st ....

There will probably be no tourists at all until everything has been opened for at least a month. Who would risk going there if everything could be closed?

 

Even then this government way of doing things, changing rules without even a days warning, will make tourists think twice before booking a trip.

 

1 hour ago, smedly said:

I suspect the 20 from USA are not tourists at all but expats who have been vaccinated and have been waiting for an easy way to return to their homes in Thailand - no real surprise is it

Could also be the American CNN crew with families, invited for free by TAT, to report on how successful Phuket's  sandbox launch was doing......

Never very attractive before covid, now it's mostly closed up with metal shutters all over the place even less so

Wow !

Phuket seems to be bottom of the heap for Tourists.

You would think with all the C##p then Americans have been through with this awful Covid, they would be busting to get away to the Sun for a few weeks.

Maybe they are getting away, just not to Phuket. 

Maybe they will spend 500.000 Baht per person.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Also Thai Rath reported the TAT chief Yuttasak as saying that he expects 129,000 foreign tourists to visit Phuket from July to September. 

129,000 ? Probably not that many booked seats on flights arriving. Will he resign if that number is less than 129 ? 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile Siriphan Chiawsamut, a TAT marketer

Has a plan so cunning....1+2=4  more like !

3 hours ago, webfact said:

1+2+4 Q

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

foreign tourists having to quarantine in their rooms for one day.

 

On days 2 and 3 they could use the hotel grounds, then on days 4-7 they could move further afield subject to restrictions. 

 

Still not getting it are they .. 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

They would mainly come from the USA and Europe, he said.

 

Hahaha .. yea whatever .. 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

On days 2 and 3 they could use the hotel grounds, then on days 4-7 they could move further afield subject to restrictions. 

Clear as mud, and absolutely no ambiguities anywhere ........................LOL 

I'm based in Shanghai, where there are no covid cases, had 2 doses of a WHO vaccin... If I go back to Shanghai I'll need to quarantine 2 weeks at a quarantine hotel and 1 week at home.

 

If I go back to Europe I don't need to quarantine.

If I go to Thailand which has 5k contaminations per day (and how many more untested) I surelly don't see any logic in being quarantined 14 days at arrival...

 

I would surelly consider the July 1st Phuket Scheme to skip this 14 days quarantine, just like I considered all the previous so called openings from the past year... but none ever happened as originaly described... everything which has been announced by the thai gov never ends ups being applied. Living in another asian country I know as a foreigner you're usually the last concern... but the thai gov should stop making promess if they're never going to keep any of them. If they were still a somewhat 0 covid country I'd understand the logic but since thats gone for the past 6+ months its really a weird mix of contradictory announcements.

 

So like many people I'm not going to plan anything, I'll just check how it goes starting july 1st, if the opening is actually a reality, if I can find plane tickets and if my vaccine which is validated by WHO is also recognised by the thai gov for this opening... and if past 1 week, people are really allowed in other parts of thailand...

Then and only then I'll consider Thailand as an option... therefore not surprised only 20 travelers are accounted for in july.

 

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

Wow !

Phuket seems to be bottom of the heap for Tourists.

You would think with all the C##p then Americans have been through with this awful Covid, they would be busting to get away to the Sun for a few weeks.

Maybe they are getting away, just not to Phuket. 

It's real hot summer time in usa and Europe next few months with close to no restrictions anymore. Why would they fly all the way here. To find 90% still closed. And rain season

Those predictions were based on 2020 August situation, obviously. Eternal optimists.. I reckon the captain of the Titanic should have been a Thai person, it would still be afloat ! 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

And also CNN were coming

No doubt attracted by the dollar-a-day hotel rooms.

Only 20? No way!!!!! There must be ways to "lure in"more of those pesky foreigners who have not travel on their mind but to simply steal Thai jobs and buy up all the land that's on sale with their billions that fell off trees with the hideous intention to stay here for the rest of their life to spend all that money here, yes, but be hated for not simply throwing it onto the airport tarmac and p#ss off back home again... Maybe another "Thailand, hub of..." idea? Or maybe some additional restrictions or "no-fun allowed" laws, maybe an extension of the never-ending alcohol bans, and pumping up the 14 day quarantine to 21 or even 30 days? THAT certainly will attract more of those smelly non-Thais who never shower. Perhaps introducing special holidays for amateur musicians, slogan: "Get arrested during your holiday for jamming at one of our local pubs, but you'll never know exactly where and when..." or "Help a local restaurant owner moving some tables out of the rain and get arrested for just that..." what fun!!!.. anything really that would spice up an otherwise dull holiday... Or get scammed and threatened by a local waterscooter beach bum, or get machete hunted through Bangkok by a crazed crack head taxi driver... Get trampled by elephants... Never come back boat trips near Phuket after storm warnings have been issued... I don't know... but there must be numerous ways to "lure" in more of those Farangs. Come on guys, brainstorm a little, let's go! 

10 minutes ago, ericdiam said:

It's real hot summer time in usa and Europe next few months with close to no restrictions anymore. Why would they fly all the way here. To find 90% still closed. And rain season

 

 

 

Everything business as normal in most all USA.  No masks, no restrictions.

 

Or, travel 24+ hours to a place with everything restricted, changing rules every day, oh, and don't forget that face diaper every moment you are in public.

 

I'm in!!

I doubt these 20 are booked through the "sandbox" scheme given that there is no process in place to do so. 

3 hours ago, pattjock said:

There will probably be no tourists at all until everything has been opened for at least a month. Who would risk going there if everything could be closed?

 

Even then this government way of doing things, changing rules without even a days warning, will make tourists think twice before booking a trip.

 

Agreed, Thailand has this nasty habit of changing the rules to suit. Friend of mine arrived from the UK to do 2 weeks quarantine in Jan 2021 only to be told that he could not leave the room to visit the "relaxation" area after his first negative Covid test because he was from the UK and they were concerned about the Kent variant.

 

The place is Thailand in NAME only. The country is CLOSED.

 

Bars are shut, facilities are shut and the whole place gives off a strange apocalypse vibe. You'd need to be utterly desperate to come here.

 

Foreigners simply aren't wanted and treated with utter contempt.

 

Save your hard earned cash for somewhere else. Remember Anutin's words and vote with your feet.

 

Sincerely 

 

MORRIS 

Ex Bar Owner.

24 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

I doubt these 20 are booked through the "sandbox" scheme given that there is no process in place to do so. 

I'd even go further and say that most officials in charge don't even know that at all that a "sandbox scheme" exists, let alone what it really means and/or entails... This country is slowly but steadily Mickymoused to death...

11 minutes ago, KhunMorris said:

The place is Thailand in NAME only. The country is CLOSED.

 

Bars are shut, facilities are shut and the whole place gives off a strange apocalypse vibe. You'd need to be utterly desperate to come here.

 

Foreigners simply aren't wanted and treated with utter contempt.

 

Save your hard earned cash for somewhere else. Remember Anutin's words and vote with your feet.

 

Sincerely 

 

MORRIS 

Ex Bar Owner.

Well put, Khun Morris! Couldn't have said it better! 

????????????????????????????????

 1+2+4 Q.

 

There must exist a "think-tank" of government officials somewhere to dream up 

pseudoscientific quarantine schemes. Perhaps meeting at petrol station Café Amazon .

55 minutes ago, matveo said:

I'm based in Shanghai, where there are no covid cases, had 2 doses of a WHO vaccin...

 

 

 

And what is WHO vaccine? They have make they own or you just dont want say Sinopharm?

 

That's because most Americans who wanted to come have already arrived. I see many Americans around.

33 minutes ago, AMFWolfie said:

Agreed, Thailand has this nasty habit of changing the rules to suit. Friend of mine arrived from the UK to do 2 weeks quarantine in Jan 2021 only to be told that he could not leave the room to visit the "relaxation" area after his first negative Covid test because he was from the UK and they were concerned about the Kent variant.

 

I am staying in quarantine now and I can't leave the room after 3 negative tests in one week. One test in Europe and two here. I am not from UK. My back is killing me from staying in the bed all day. Phuket model would be like lottery winning right now for me. But holiday like that, that you can forget about it. Not to mention the welcoming I got from the suvarnabhumi immigration. Didn't want to stamp me in on the grounds that I stay too long in Thailand before.