Phuket sandbox model will finish up in a tremendous failure as long as embassies and consulates will not start to publish and promote it on their websites. In fact they did not get permission yet to go ahead. 

Thai logic with nuts.

TAT probably needs to readjust their expected number of tourists once again...????

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

I fear it could be the later, also Thai's have cancelled their trips we should have had some family here at the moment, they cancelled and next month July quite a few friends wanted to come do some trips have BBQ few drinks, thats all cancelled

I don't understand what these simpletons expect while making ludicrous rules.  Some people travel in families.  Others travel with friends.  Some travel alone with the intentions of meeting up with friends.  ???? (The way I read it this will get you arrested and paraded in front of Thai media. My friends from the US who used to come here annually traveled just like this - alone and meet up with buddies on arrival)

Scenario:
So you meet up with your unrelated friends at the pool when you arrive and then are arrested, jailed, fined, and threatened with deportation.  Worse, you dare to buy a six-pack of Leo or Chang to enjoy by the pool with your unrelated friends?  Or you are with your family and are nicked anyway with you, your family, and the kids dragged to the police station to prove that you're related?  Oh, and with 2 full cans of Leo and 4 empties which you are made to point at for the cameras wielded by Thai media.
I don't see how this manages to work given the propensity of authorities to make a media spectacle of "foreigners breaking rules." 

Are they that stupid to actually "go there" with the Machiavellian enforcement?  As another post aptly noted, it will be interesting to see what transpires in the first 2 or 3 weeks of this dog-and-pony show.  It they start arresting the few tourist that come and place them on display in the typical Thai media circus fashion - when that gets "back home" to their countries of origin all bets for tourism after July will be off.

My question - can the authoritarian rules-freaks contain themselves or will they immediately toss a spanner into the works as soon as a handful of tourists arrive and attempt to relax and simply "have fun."  Time will tell. 

47 minutes ago, Donaldo said:

I don't know who came up with the term "sandbox" ?  Does it mean we are to be treated like little children confined to our small and protected safe space ? It's a ridiculous word for a ridiculous initiative which will do nothing to enhance the tourist figures willing to come to Thailand, but will certainly expose the Thai authorities for what they are. I leave the word I wanted to use to the imagination.

 

In the world of coding we use that term as a place where you can write risky, experimental code without affecting the rest of the application so if the worst happens, it is confined to that area.    That was what I naively thought it meant in this context.   I think your suggestion is that it is a place where people are treated like children is far more accurate.   

1 hour ago, retsdon said:

People going back into the UK need to quarantine too now. And unlike last year when it was a bit of a joke, this year there are follow up calls, checks, etc, and fines for not complying.  So that's 2 weeks to a month of restrictions surrounding the holiday at either end. And then there are the mandatory covid tests for both flights and on entry. More cost, and people jamming rods into your sinuses.

 

 I can tell you as someone currently doing a 15 day quarantine stretch -I wouldn't go through this expensive <deleted> again even if you reversed the cost and paid it to me, never mind having to pay for the ordeal myself. Just not worth the hassle.

 

IMHO the insane or ignorant are the ones NOT  cancelling their holidays.

I spoke yesterday to a woman who arrived in February as she was on furlough in uk from her air hostess job , she was returning last night to the uk . She had to fill out passenger locator form for uk , negative PCR test before flying and was due to do 10 days home quarantine. But ! She said she paid £180 for a test upon return and with that she only needs do 5 days home quarantine ???????? 

So covid can not only tell the difference between oj and beer , tell the time to get you should you be out after set times , but also can tell if you have coughed up £180 so not bother you after 5 days ! ????

As for ASQ I didn’t mind it at all , time flew by and I had a great sleep every night ????????

8 hours ago, nattaya09 said:

That's ok. Hardly anyone is interested in pubs, bars and other entertainment venues when on holiday.

Give me Temples and then more Temples....

HELLO 

NO ONE IS COMING, eventually the powers to be will realise or maybe not

Well Phuket was already on its knees.

That latest stroke of genius has just shafted it right up the 'arris.

In Phuket, my 39 year old wife got her second shot today. I see no path to vaccination before October. I'm 71. 

 

Who comes to Phuket this time of year? Very few visitors historically before November. 

 

All this ridiculous sandbox bull. Phuket is completely unprepared for an influx of tourists. It will take months to ramp up. 

 

Don't come here. It's dangerous and they don't know what they're doing from one day to the next.

 

Don't even get me started on the morons at TAT.

 

This is THE worst excuse for a Governor, Phuket has ever had and believe me, that's noteworthy.  

No worries, keep the bars, pubs and soapies closed as the real tourists come for everything anyhow ???? 

 

 

So unemployment will still be bad. Businesses will still face difficulties and closure.  

 

Would I fly to Phuket to just sit on the beach? Hell no! No beer,  fun  - nothing. Just like playing in a Sandbox. 

 

Genius Mr Mayor. 

2 hours ago, retsdon said:

People going back into the UK need to quarantine too now. And unlike last year when it was a bit of a joke, this year there are follow up calls, checks, etc, and fines for not complying.  So that's 2 weeks to a month of restrictions surrounding the holiday at either end. And then there are the mandatory covid tests for both flights and on entry. More cost, and people jamming rods into your sinuses.

 

 I can tell you as someone currently doing a 15 day quarantine stretch -I wouldn't go through this expensive <deleted> again even if you reversed the cost and paid it to me, never mind having to pay for the ordeal myself. Just not worth the hassle.

 

IMHO the insane or ignorant are the ones NOT  cancelling their holidays.

Possibly as many as 2,200 total, with Phuket and Samui combined, this summer. That leaves alot of room in the sandbox to play. 

1 hour ago, Jiggo said:

Give me Temples and then more Temples....

If you've seen one temple in Thailand you've seen them all

Sandbox, but nothing to play? ????‍♂️

 

These are the kind of sandboxes that no one dares to visit.

Isaan has very little covid yet bars are still closed putting many out of operation for good,i can see no reason for this,we are not Phuket,Pattaya,or a big tourist destination but we are being treated like same

"amazing sandbox"

 

13 hours ago, webfact said:

For the entertainment venues in Phuket, from a meeting of [Phuket] officials, they altogether agreed to keep the venues closed in the first period of July,

This period to be known as, "the period when no one bothered to come to Phuket ".

Chinese tourists will need to quarantine for 2 to 3 weeks upon return to China.  Not many will be going anywhere regardless of the Thai quarantine process.

4 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Clever move by our genius leaders.....I always expect bars and pubs to be open wherever I go, but not in sandboxes, so if Phuket is now officially a sandbox then I will not be expecting any alcohol to be served in restaurants or bars, so this closure ticks all the right boxes for me. I suspect the owners of 7/11 will be well pleased. Expect Phuket to be swamped with tourists in July 1st looking for directions to 7/11s.

If you can't see the nearest 7/11 then you probably need someone to lead you to the opticians first.  ????

2 hours ago, Pinot said:

In Phuket, my 39 year old wife got her second shot today. I see no path to vaccination before October. I'm 71. 

 

Who comes to Phuket this time of year? Very few visitors historically before November. 

 

All this ridiculous sandbox bull. Phuket is completely unprepared for an influx of tourists. It will take months to ramp up. 

 

Don't come here. It's dangerous and they don't know what they're doing from one day to the next.

 

Don't even get me started on the morons at TAT.

 

This is THE worst excuse for a Governor, Phuket has ever had and believe me, that's noteworthy.  

You're probably right although I was planning on visiting as a way back to my home in Isaan but that was when it was 7 days. The plan was for my wife to meet me but we're waiting to see what actually happens first as none of this seems have been officially decided. 

 

I will drink beer but I can manage without but I know that's not the case for everyone.

2 hours ago, ChipButty said:

If you've seen one temple in Thailand you've seen them all

Same with the shopping centres, you've been in one shopping center you've been in themall...

1 hour ago, kimamey said:

If you can't see the nearest 7/11 then you probably need someone to lead you to the opticians first.  ????

Not so, 4 have closed down where I live

12 hours ago, ChipButty said:

And the Temples 

and  caves!

No bars or entertainment venues open, rainy season, very few direct flights, and still can't get a COE with a Phuket sandbox hotel reservation.... Yeah, don't expect too many people

So cut your predictions on visitors by 90% & the income generated by 95%,

Sorted.

The airlines will be cutting their flights by 80% (as they had only 40% payloads before this bombshell.

Do they not realize that there are beaches in other countries that  24 hours a day are happy to serve you a drink (& no stupid alcohol free days)

12 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Beam me up Scotty, I've heard enough!

 

On another note, why should anybody expect going on holiday to have bars, restaurants, discos open, I mean it's just selfish!.....and make sure you mask up going to the beach or it's 20,000 baht fine!

 

Avoid the airport guys, it's going to be a busy one with all these tourists flocking in.

 

 

Restaurants will be opened.  Not sure about discos and don't really care about those personally.

52 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Not so, 4 have closed down where I live

Things must have got really bad whilst I've been away. It's high time I came back to sort  it out.

On 6/11/2021 at 7:25 AM, Classic Ray said:

Never thought I would see the day that Saudi Arabia became a more appealing holiday destination than Thailand. Well done General!

 

With the caveat that cold beer and Thai female companionship is only a causeway away in Bahrain.

In the other thread (now closed), I commented that a fully-vaccinated friend in the UK has caught it again so the much talked about vaccine passports aren't any sort of guarantee of anything in a Covid world. It was argued by a fellow member that:

 

Quote

... Nobody has claimed you cannot catch Covid-19 after vaccination. It just means you won't die from it. This is why there is still a masking mandate, even for fully vaccinated individuals.

 

The vaccine stops one getting severe symptoms or dying but doesn't stop you from catching and spreading it again. My friend was asymptomatic so they allowed him 10-days home quarantine with his girlfriend (also vaccinated).

 

So a vaccine passport will simply allow 'bullet-proof and invincible' vaccinated persons (ie. from the UK) to fly all over the place and endanger the lives of those who aren't vaccinated yet (ie. in Thailand). Unless I've missed some fine print somewhere, if you can catch it again, you can spread it again, no?

 

The only purpose I see for any sort of proof of being fully vaccinated is it waiving the need for US$100k worth of Covid-specific insurance since it appears that in most instances, a second infection tends to be a rather benign affair.