The grand re-opening? Just 20 American tourists to arrive in Phuket on July 9

[sydneyjed]

Stage Managed?The bill footed by TAT?.Hand picked  and most likely American Embassy connections or Elite Card Holders?I'm betting there will be more Thai TV and press there than actual tourists!!

[rumak]

6 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.

 

3 hours ago :   Chief has just revised the number  to 128,995  in the belief it will sell more people on the idea

Edited June 2, 2021 by rumak

[KhunMorris]

Thailand - July 2021 summarised:

 

Pros:

 

Nice food

 

Cons:

 

Rainny season

No alcohol 

No entertainment 

Uncertainty 

Bureaucracy 

Mask wearing on beach's

Pools shut 

Cannot meet in groups 

No nightlife

Hotel facilities shut

Middle of a raging pandemic 

Lack of money girls 

Not wanted by general population 

 

Sincerely 

 

MORRIS

Edited June 2, 2021 by KhunMorris

[mlmcleod]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

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.

????????????  I guess these numbers are to be expected from all of the relatives working together at TAT.  I think 30-40 thousand is about tops for this year.

[mr_lob]

that's fine, they only need to spend 1,894,753 a piece per day and the TAT will hit their target ????

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

 

 

Still not getting it are they .. 

 

 

Hahaha .. yea whatever .. 

 

I heard that the top holiday destination for Brits this year was Cornwall!

[sammieuk1]

1+2+4+FO????

[Mike Galley]

I think it is time to make the author of Thaivisa and all readers here understand that these models, even the Phuket sandbox model, have not been approved by the Thai Government or signed by the king. Neither the Thai embassy nor consulates in Germany got any instructions so far that present rules will change from beginning of july. Surely everybody can go ahead with booking right now but if you start asking for COE only present rules are valid with 14 days quarantine without any exception.

So, I recommend everybody : before you believe in any news , please countercheck with embassy or consulate concerned to avoid any disappointment.

 

[Freigeist365]

1 hour ago, fleccer said:

Another planet compared to the land of smile, a smile that no longer exists for some time now. 

Correct - it's a myth that only exists printed on travel guides and newspaper snippets or in that hilarious song they love to use for these rather questionable Cabaret Show openings: "Welcome to Thailaeeeeennn, well cum to de laeennn of samaaaiiii!" ????

[geisha]

So what visa and obligations are there for the Phuket sandbox, and, does it have to be a direct flight to Phuket ?
thanks. ( fully vaccinated and have the special insurance) .

[sambum]

9 minutes ago, mlmcleod said:

????????????  I guess these numbers are to be expected from all of the relatives working together at TAT.  I think 30-40 thousand is about tops for this year.

Just the usual guesstimate multiplied by a hundred - standard practice for TAT

[Freigeist365]

2 minutes ago, Mike Galley said:

before you believe in any news , please countercheck with embassy or consulate concerned to avoid any disappointment.

I guess that you will be up then for a quadruple surprise if you - let's hypothetically say - check 4 different Thai or home country embassies or consulates since you'll certainly get 4 different answers.

[renaissanc]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

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

The Thai way is generally to deny responsibility and sue anyone who says it's their fault.

[dogfish180]

Are these "vaccinated tourists" still required to apply for the COE from their local Thai Embassy, plus all of the paperwork that goes with it? If so I can't see a single "Tourist" bothering!

[GinBoy2]

Well, I think we all know this is the usual TAT nonsense, I've even stopped rolling my eyes when I read this stuff it's just too predictable.

 

Now the vaccine rollout is going very well in the US, 55% fully vaccinated in my State, I think it hovers around 50% for the whole country, with the UK being the standout in Europe but the EU slowly catching up.

 

But does that translate to folks wanting to sit on a plane for 20 hours to go somewhere where a percentage of things are closed? I doubt it somehow.

 

Domestic air travel in the US is rebounding strongly, as I think it is within Europe, which you could consider a market similar to the US.

 

I work for an airline, so I travel free. Yesterday morning I had a day trip to see my daughter in Denver, the Airbus was full, I got the last standby seat.

 

But i also looked at international loadings, and first of all, the actual available flights are a fraction of pre covid, and the load factors when I looked at our internal numbers for Delta and United, flights to London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai where still in the 20% range.

 

So I'm assuming those 20 Americans must be part of that 20% load factor to Asia!

 

Domestic tourism will do well this year as people emerge from this nightmare, but I'm convinced it's going to be close to home at least for 2021.

 

Plus who goes to Thailand at this time of year, even in normal times!

Edited June 2, 2021 by GinBoy2

[Cake Monster]

2 hours 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.

 

And right there folks is one of the , if not the main reason Tourists will not return anytime soon to Thailand.

Imagine the scenario where you have booked everything for you Holiday, and Thailand then locks down due to some variant or another. You then have a mare getting your Money back, which is sewn up in this Vacation, so you cannot book another Holiday.

Even worse is getting here to do your 7 days Quarantine or whatever, and the Government then flip flops on another issue completely ruining your Holiday.

After the last year or so of much heartache and uncertainty, people now need some structure and normality in their lives, and Thailand just is not giving them that.

[JOE BAMA]

Well, I was really hoping the Phuket Sandbox scheme would somehow materialize.  I have to visit the US June and July. I have to work here in Bangkok July 29th, so as of now, I have to book a quarantine hotel for 2 weeks, at a cost of 30,000 baht +, and spend 2 miserable weeks in that hotel room alone.  If the Phuket Sandbox scheme happens, would I be able to not leave Suvarnabhumi, catch a plane to Phuket after I arrive from the US, spend 7 days in Phuket, roaming around at will, and then return to Bangkok? If so, I would not have to cut my time in the US as short, and I would not have to spend so much money paying for something I don't want, namely 2 weeks alone in a hotel room in Bangkok.  Any thoughts on that?

[BadSpottedDog]

4 hours 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. 

Americans are less likely to come to Thailand even under normal circumstances, as the minimum 27 hour trip is brutal. Add that with jet lag, and you've lost 3 days both ways. Not to mention that most Americans can't take off more than 2 weeks at a time for holiday.
They will most likely go to Mexico or South America, with less restrictions, more open businesses, and beautiful beaches.

[RR2020]

What the whole tourism industry is not telling everyone around the world is that places are deserted, like ghost towns, places are shut down............hotels have laid off staff, service is bad, food is as cheap as possible.......... they are running most business in survival mode.........so the food and drink and service you will get will be bad.

 

Tourists in 2021 and 2022 are going to get poor quality food, poor quality service, overpriced on everything.............and in ghost towns with no atmosphere.

 

Thats why most people in 2021 are booking holidays at home.......in their own country and not going to waste money travelling half way around the world to have 2 weeks in a ghost town.

 

China is going to keep quarantine into 2022.........so there will be no Chinese coming as they will have to do quarantine on return to China. They want Chinese spending money in China.......not travelling outside.

 

The only way to get things swinging again is a full opening to everyone........until then.........Thailand and many places will remain deserted.

 

Vaccinate all you want..........you will not be getting lots of tourists, thats for sure until you open to everyone.  

[Nanaplaza666]

7 hours 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

Maybe 2 expats and 18 employees of CNN . 

[Gee Ku]

Nonsensical TAT expectations.

[ricardofel]

3 hours ago, matveo said:

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.

 

As you can see the planes are loaded with tourists! Austrian Airlines 777 with 10 passengers in economy! Get ready Phuket!!!!!

[cjinchiangrai]

They have not approved the program and published the rules yet. Are they offering COE's without an ASQ reservation? I would not book a trip yet either. 

 

What is the health ministry saying? How is the 70% vaccination rate to reopen looking? Did anyone save some shots for the Bangla girls? Patong will be deserted without them.

[connda]

They probably will be promptly arrested for one dumb-***ed rule or another.

"You farang! What you do?  It's illegal.  We take you to jail.  Kick you out of Thailand.  Bad farang!!!"
What did I do?  I'm on vacation.
"You break law.  You have fun.  Jail then deport."

Thai authoritarians want their cake and eat it too although I doubt they have a clue as to what that means.  Fun can not take place even though people go on vacation just to have fun. 
And irresistible force meeting an immovable object. 
2026 maybe it's back to sorta normal. Maybe.

Edited June 2, 2021 by connda

[cjinchiangrai]

1 hour ago, fleccer said:

And what about the quarantine period? If they don't remove this requirement for all, both vaccinated and not vaccinated, no tourist will came not now not ever.

A friend of mine has sent me a video clip about his vacation in Moscow , no restrictions at all, every shops and business are open, no masks at all. Another planet compared to the land of smile, a smile that no longer exists for some time now. 

For unvaccinated, forget it. Don't want shots? Stay home! There have been internationally required vaccinations for years and this will be another. 

 

[connda]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

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

 

And also CNN were coming. 

That's probably a reporter, camera-man and 17 staff and one 76 year old looking for a special massage and a bar-girl only to find out both bars and massage shops are closed until forever.  The CNN report will be doing a report about the moral decadence of ageing farang men in Thailand and will feature the lone Phuket sexpat.

[Gandtee]

5 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

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......

All twenty of them.

[connda]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

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. 

I wonder how long it will take these fools to get a clue that no one is coming with the restrictions in place.
"Why farang laugh?"  ????

[Sydebolle]

I am surprised, that not more than 20 come; after all those goodies like USD 1/roomnight, all those privileges and the gracious permit to set foot on the promised land by the chosen people of smiles ..........

Nothing learnt; nothing understood! 

[connda]

5 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

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.

Well they are.  Cacun, La Paz, Cozumel - Mexican beaches you can go to with no quarantine hassle and regulatory nonsense, and where you can drink a beer with friends without getting arrested.