Phuket Sandbox: First flights confirmed, 100,000 foreign tourists set to visit

[webfact]

File photo//Credit: Fæ / Wiki Commons

 

Thailand's tourism minister will tell the Thai cabinet today that it is all systems go for the reopening of the country with the much vaunted Phuket Sandbox. 

 

And the head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand has backed this up with concrete details of flight arrivals on July 1st. 

 

Though Thaivisa notes that numbers on the five airlines were not mentioned. 

 

Pipat Ratchakitprakan said referring to officials in Phuket: "They are ready up-country - it's all systems go for the PM's 120 day plan!

 

"Then on July 15th it will be expanded to the three islands in Surat Thani, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao," said the upbeat minister. 

 

And talks are also well down the line in including other provinces where 70% of people will have been vaccinated. 

 

The mood of optimism was echoed by TAT chief Yutthasak Suphasorn who put some meat on the bones of the tourism minister's words. 

 

Five airlines will be running direct flights on July 1st to Phuket:

 

The first to get the red carpet treatment will be a Qatar flight from Doha due to touch down at 1.30 pm.

 

Next on the welcoming tarmac of the southern Thai island will be El Al from Tel Aviv arriving just 15 minutes later at 1.45 pm.

 

A direct flight from Singapore Airlines will follow at 5.10 pm, the Fly Dubai from Dubai at 8.10 pm.

 

Day one will be completed by Ethihad whose flight from Abu Dhabi touches down at 10.20 pm.

 

Yutthasak mention no flights next day but he said that on the third of July THAI was bringing in Europeans. 

 

He said that 100,000 tourists would be visiting Phuket in July to September.

 

And, claimed the TAT chief, they will be spending a total of 8.9 billion baht.

 

He said that Pipat has been encouraging him to contact many countries where the Covid-19 infection is low in order to inspire them to make Thailand their holiday destination later this year. 

 

This is known to include the UK - the Thais hope the UK will give them an amber rating helping their nationals visit Thailand without restrictions on their return, notes Thaivisa. 

 

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[fangless]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that 100,000 tourists would be visiting Phuket in July to September.

 

That's just over 10,000 a day.

Somebody needs new batteries for their calculator!

And also a cloth to clean their crystal balls!

Edited June 22, 2021 by fangless

[ezzra]

And here we go again, to which i will say: in your dreams guys, by putting out these news items every day, it doesn't meant i will come true... and i'm to buy a big hat, which i intend to eat if indeed 10,000 tourist will come everyday, Big Hat...

[ChipButty]

I read somewhere there is only 100 passengers on them flights 5 flights bringing 10k a day, maybe Im missing something

[Susco]

1 minute ago, ChipButty said:

5 flights bringing 10k a day, maybe Im missing something

 

They probably bring them in like those Indian trains, with many passengers sitting on the roof?

[ftpjtm]

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that 100,000 tourists would be visiting Phuket in July to September.

 

That's just over 10,000 a day.

With genius of this caliber in charge, what could possibly go wrong?

 

Have they settled on mandatory proximity shock collars vs GPS tracking bracelets for all arrivals yet?

[JCP108]

So, 10,000 people will arrive per day and be required to take 3 PCR tests which each have a 1/200 false positive rate. That's 1/67 due to having to take 3 tests. So, statistically, of those travelers, 150 will get a false positive during their 14-day sandbox adventure. Can the local hospitals handle 150 admissions every day for 2-week mandatory hospital stays? That would be about 4,500 per month. 

[mancub]

21 minutes ago, fangless said:

Somebody needs new batteries for their calculator!

And also a cloth to clean their crystal balls!

Or they'll be arriving on only 3 days each month !

[colinneil]

27 minutes ago, webfact said:

He said that 100,000 tourists would be visiting Phuket in July to September.

Absolute b###cks, who ever dreamed them figures up needs to stay off the Lao Kao.????????

[thonglorjimmy]

I notice that the mandatory insurance offerred via the link in the article only covers travellers up to, and including, 69 years of age.

[ChipButty]

10 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Absolute b###cks, who ever dreamed them figures up needs to stay off the Lao Kao.????????

Or get on it

[ChipButty]

16 minutes ago, JCP108 said:

So, 10,000 people will arrive per day and be required to take 3 PCR tests which each have a 1/200 false positive rate. That's 1/67 due to having to take 3 tests. So, statistically, of those travelers, 150 will get a false positive during their 14-day sandbox adventure. Can the local hospitals handle 150 admissions every day for 2-week mandatory hospital stays? That would be about 4,500 per month. 

Imagine that how would they spin that one?

[Pravda]

Is this a typo? 

 

Is it meant to say 1000 per day?

[WineOh]

cobblers!

[Somtamnication]

Math is wrong, statistics are wrong, the circus is right! 

[jvs]

54 minutes ago, webfact said:

And talks are also well down the line in including other provinces where 70% of people will have been vaccinated. 

Really?When will that be?

[philba]

"This is known to include the UK - the Thais hope the UK will give them an amber rating helping their nationals visit Thailand without restrictions on their return, notes Thaivisa." 

 

Thailand already has an Amber rating and there ARE restrictions on return to the UK.

 

You must have a negative Covid  test within 72 hours of your return flight.

You must fill in a Passenger Locator form before departure.

You must self isolate for 10 days on arrival.

You must pre-purchase Day 2&8 PCR tests to take during isolation.

 

Apart from that, it's plain sailing.....

[ikke1959]

How big are these airplanes??? 10.000 a day in 5 flights...???? 2000 a flight??

[philba]

3 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

How big are these airplanes??? 10.000 a day in 5 flights...???? 2000 a flight??

An A380 can carry a maximum of 853 passengers, so a minimum of 12 flights required at almost full capacity.

 

I have my doubts.....

[trainman34014]

17 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

How big are these airplanes??? 10.000 a day in 5 flights...???? 2000 a flight??

Some will be arriving by Submarine; good for training runs !

[madmitch]

I wish they would stop using the word tourist to describe every arrival. I'm sure most arrivals, whatever the numbers, will be returning Thais, expats and long stayers. The number of real tourists with all the restrictions and pre-flight hassle will probably be minimal.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

much vaunted Phuket Sandbox

I think derided would be a better adjective.

[MRToMRT]

Bill Barnet will be smirking all over his self promoting face when he sees these numbers.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

He said that 100,000 tourists would be visiting Phuket in July to September.

 

That's just over 1,000 a day.

 

And, claimed the TAT chief, they will be spending a total of 8.9 billion baht.

Yee Haa, the cash cow is back.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Bluespunk

[Dr B]

I am sorry JCP108 but I think you have got your statistics wrong. The topic is called Conditional Probability, and it works such that, if there is a 1:200 risk that the test result is incorrect, when you do three tests there is only a 1:200x200x200 risk that all three are wrong. That is one in eight million, which is a pretty low risk.

[Chelseafan]

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

How big are these airplanes??? 10.000 a day in 5 flights...???? 2000 a flight??

 

Maybe the article has been changed but it says 1,000 a day. Over 5 flights that's 200 per flight which is a realistic figure but highly doubtful.

 

What they also haven't factored in is that most going back are probably just doing this to get back into Thailand to avoid quaranting so I would think that the first flights will be more booked out than those in August and September.

 

 

[bolt]

another good example of 

Marketing  

Televising

Advertising

Publicizing

Promoting

 

well done TAT

it will create discussion which will generate interest, which will generate travellers 

[schlog]

2 hours ago, JCP108 said:

So, 10,000 people will arrive per day and be required to take 3 PCR tests which each have a 1/200 false positive rate. That's 1/67 due to having to take 3 tests. So, statistically, of those travelers, 150 will get a false positive during their 14-day sandbox adventure. Can the local hospitals handle 150 admissions every day for 2-week mandatory hospital stays? That would be about 4,500 per month. 

Don't worry we put then in field hospitals with fans and feed them with mama noodles and charging per day 5000 baht lol. TIT.

[khunPer]

Seems like the headline of 10,000 daily tourists have been scaled down to 1,000, which better fits with the predicted 129,000 tourists in three months. However, is 1,000 tourists a day the seat capacity or actual bookings...????

Edited June 22, 2021 by khunPer

[ThailandRyan]

2 hours ago, philba said:

"This is known to include the UK - the Thais hope the UK will give them an amber rating helping their nationals visit Thailand without restrictions on their return, notes Thaivisa." 

 

Thailand already has an Amber rating and there ARE restrictions on return to the UK.

 

You must have a negative Covid  test within 72 hours of your return flight.

You must fill in a Passenger Locator form before departure.

You must self isolate for 10 days on arrival.

You must pre-purchase Day 2&8 PCR tests to take during isolation.

 

Apart from that, it's plain sailing.....

Plain sailing to spend 14 days on an island and being able to not drink in a bar or travel outside of the Island, then upon returning having to spend 10 days in isolation and paying for more PCR tests, just would not be my cup of tea if I was British.  By the time you exited self isolation that nice tan you gained will be gone and you will be milky white again....