Thailand's transport minister Saksayam Chidchob spoke to Daily News after attending a meeting regarding the preparedness of airports and particularly Phuket for the much heralded re-opening of Thailand. 

 

This is set to kick off in the southern Thai island on July 1st now just nine days away.

 

Saksayam said that in July to the end of October Phuket airport will be running at about 28% of capacity with up to 134 flights per day mostly from Asia, Africa and Europe. 

 

From October to March this will increase to 89% capacity with 320 flights per day.

 

He anticipated that in July there will be 146,000 foreign visitors arriving by air. Most of these will be flying into Phuket.

 

But by December this will increase ten fold as foreign visitors are expected to be allowed to go to nine other main tourist destinations including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, the Surat Thani Islands, Krabi, Phangnga, Hua Hin/Cha-Am and Buriram. 

 

He expected 1,460,000 million passengers to arrive in the country in December on international flights. 

 

Thaivisa notes that the minister seems to be basing these assessments on anticipated passenger numbers based on the likely number of flights rather than specific evidence of bookings. 

 

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11 minutes ago, webfact said:

He anticipated that in July there will be 146,000 foreign visitors arriving by air.

 

That's ~ 4,700 per day. Seems like a lot. Are there enough schdeduled aircraft to support this figure?

 

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

He expected 1,460,000 million passengers to arrive in the country in December on international flights. 

 

Sure.

 

 

 

 

That escalated quickly.

 

Just 1 hour ago, it was 100,000 in July thru September in Phuket.

 

Now it's 146,000 in July alone.

 

Give it a few days.

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

He anticipated that in July there will be 146,000 foreign

While sane people anticipate 146 foreign visitors.. 

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

He expected 1,460,000 million passengers to arrive in the country in December on international flights.

Expect all you want Saksayam, it aint gonna happen.

Why do these silly sods keep coming up with fantastic numbers, when they and everybody else knows its just B.S.?

Different deparments, different figures.

 

Quite simply, none of them have a <deleted> clue!

6 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

While sane people anticipate 146 foreign visitors.. 

And of those 146 Foreign Passengers, 140 of them will be Expats returning to their Wives and Families Etc.

If true the sad part about this is Phuket with only 30 % fully vaccinated will not be open. Should start telling Foreign visitors now to cancel or risk your life coming here

Must have used TAT's calculator.  The Transport one must be broken.

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

Saksayam Chidchob

He's learnt from T.A.T.

 

7 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Expect all you want Saksayam, it aint gonna happen.

Why do these silly sods keep coming up with fantastic numbers, when they and everybody else knows its just B.S.?

 

The "fantastic numbers" are to give short to medium term hope to struggling businesses (and their staff who hope to return to work) - - just like the PM's 120 day pledge - because without such hope there may well be a total financial collapse ... and The Czar wouldn't want that. So the can is always kicked just a little further down the road.

"He anticipated that in July there will be 146,000 foreign visitors arriving" 

I anticipated winning the lottery, but hey ho, here I am....

Empty vessels make the most noise.

 

Was it this member of the Chidchob mafia clan that contracted COVID in the hi-so brothel in Thong Lor or was it another one?

4 minutes ago, law ling said:

 

The "fantastic numbers" are to give short to medium term hope to struggling businesses (and their staff who hope to return to work) - - just like the PM's 120 day pledge - because without such hope there may well be a total financial collapse ... and The Czar wouldn't want that. So the can is always kicked just a little further down the road.

“Short and medium term hope”, or false hope?

 

if it is false hope, it will be disappointing for those businesses that actually plan based on these numbers.

 

if I were a business owner, I’d want to structure my business plan based on real current data and realistic future data expectations. Planning based on la la land figures is a recipe for business disaster.

12 minutes ago, club said:

If true the sad part about this is Phuket with only 30 % fully vaccinated will not be open. Should start telling Foreign visitors now to cancel or risk your life coming here

Very simple they will customize meaning of terms. Vaccinated will mean ONE shot.

Population of Phuket will become anyone registered in Blue book. Or resident for previous consecutive 10 years.

The usual smoke screens. 

 The Mad Hatters tea/crack party at it again with yet another daily release.....

 

 If thai visa had a bulls@@t detector along the lines of the deleting profanities software we might get one ministerial release published every six months.

Two Hope's, none & the other ones dead. ????

44 minutes ago, webfact said:

Asia, Africa and Europe. 

Africa !! Doubt it old pal... They are probably worse vaccinted than here

"... by December this will increase ten fold..."

And, immediately be followed by fair and free elections. 

Not gonna happen. Not with these guys in charge. They seem to be deliberately doing everything in their power to sabotage both the domestic and the international tourism industry.

 

This is beyond brain dead. In Ko Phangan, where I recently visited, there has not been a single case in over 7 weeks. Yet, the bars remain closed, and you cannot enjoy a beer or glass of wine with dinner. Does this make any sense, on any level? Has the science even proved that serving alcohol at a restaurant increases the risk? Absolutely not, is the correct answer. 

 

Just more sabotage, of business, lives, well being, tourism, both domestic and international, and enjoyment. Prayuth. The fake puritan, anti science, and anti fun PM. Anutin. The empty suit health minister. Abbott and Costello. Except those guys were actually funny. 

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when all those wild predictions of tourist arrivals will end up like eggs on those big numbers spruiking who seems to out do each other everyday with bigger numbers...

These people are ignoring the extreme restrictions and regulations that they are placing in front of potential tourists:
invasive testing,
invasive monitoring,
expensive accommodations,
highly restricted freedom of movement,
subject to the whims of changing government edicts,
and if tested positive on a PCR test then the expense and time involved in being forcefully incarcerated in a hospital even if showing no symptoms.

They are indulging in finest hopium that can be had.

I'll save this link and come back to it the first week in January and see how prediction meets reality which should be a good indicator of the future of Thai tourism. 

There are now vaccines available against Covid-19. But urgently needed ones against stupidity - NOT !

What a pity. The military government should be served first....  and at once.

The Phuket sandbox is a rebranded ASQ Quarantine. A few foreign tourists might truly yearn to be locked down in Phuket with tracking bracelets and tar balls then return home but most (of the small total) are likely expats who see it as an easier way to get back into the country. Many more like myself won't return until all Covid related restrictions are lifted.  I will be surprised if the number from the sandbox is greater than a few hundred for July, but I could see Farangs being blamed either way. 1) Farangs refused to come to Thailand. 2) If there is a new covid outbreak the Farangs will be blamed.

 

If vaccines from all possible sources had been the focus from day 1 Phuket could probably be much more than a sandbox right now. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Saksayam said that in July to the end of October Phuket airport will be running at about 28% of capacity with up to 134 flights per day mostly from Asia, Africa and Europe. 

 

From October to March this will increase to 89% capacity with 320 flights per day.

 

He anticipated that in July there will be 146,000 foreign visitors arriving by air. Most of these will be flying into Phuket.

I presume someone important really needs to do some math here, apart from several other news articles states 129,000 tourist arrivals for Phuket during a sandbox-period of three month.

 

So, is the 146,000 in a month on 134 flights a day, which equals 36 passengers in average per airplane = unlikely.

 

Am I missing something...????

the fact that they keep talking about expected numbers of tourists rather than actual bookings of flights/hotels means that as of right now, few people are actually coming.

 

they keep talking about all the people that they expect to arrive to fool businesses into reopening so that the that the few who do come dont go home with stories about their holiday in a ghost town.

just the usual Propaganda pumped out " expected " ie not true. The knives that are not that sharp will eventually start believing it because there not taught to have a different opinion or Question there Peers, because most are not educated enough in Thailand. So if the Goverment keeps hammering at the door a nail will take hold. And if anyone questions them on social media or basic questions they don't like to answer you will be Threatened with giving false information to the Thai Authorities. Threaten and Scare them is the way in there eyes. The PM and his close aids know Expats and Falangs don't fall for this So there BUP is blame them its there fault eventually that to is pumped out till its believed. On Phuket what verdicts were published on the HI so gang that were caught out clubbing ? or any other's ignoring there own rule's. strange no articles have come out with what punishments were handed out. Or as I believe the Tea Money was paid so under the carpet it go's.

43 minutes ago, poskat said:

the fact that they keep talking about expected numbers of tourists rather than actual bookings of flights/hotels means that as of right now, few people are actually coming.

 

they keep talking about all the people that they expect to arrive to fool businesses into reopening so that the that the few who do come dont go home with stories about their holiday in a ghost town.

Instead of talking about bookings, they need to be talking about a very large supply of vaccines. Not the cheap ones either or else their will be no foreign visitors any time soon 

Even vaccinated would question the sanity of a tourist who would risk visiting a country where the vast majority of people have not been tested for Covid and have been discouraged from doing so and where the vaccination role out is minimal and vaccine numbers quoted based on the first jab only!

 

Holiday of a lifetime in Thailand with a free gift of Covid 19 for you and your family!