Thailand must open to foreign tourism and accept some risk: PM

[Pattaya Spotter]

5 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

"Thailand must open to foreign tourism and accept some risk: PM"

 

That's fine coming from someone who jumped the queue and has been vaccinated.

I wonder what the other 50+ million people think?

Pretty sure just about every world leader "jumped the queue" in whatever country they govern. 

[vandeventer]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

You mean he did not look into the magic mirror or ask his fortune teller before he decided Thailand was a mess.  A mess made because of his inaction in obtaining vaccines firstly instead of waiting for them to be produced in-house.  Amazing Thailand, where Risks must be taken yet they were never taken before......

Risks, I got my vaccine so the risks will be taken by everyone else? Suckers.

[wensiensheng]

35 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Think the guy is in for an enormous shock in the next few months when nobody comes and there are no coffers flowing in.

 

Next step will be slow reducing of tourist hoop demands out of desperation. Thailand has no great tax collecting system, and with no tax coming in, the money borrowed  is reliant on tourism to pay it back.

 

The hole in his bucket though is Thailand is going to start going on red lists with 50 dead a day

That is precisely my concern.

 

a few vaccinated tourists now is neither here nor there in terms of risk. But when so few comes, the bar goes lower and lower in terms of safety until eventually it’s no holds barred and no bars closed ????.

[2 is 1]

4 hours ago, ICELANDMAN said:

 

 Brilliant idea PM now you can follow the example of Sweden which closed nothing and had the same death toll as other countries, but as it seems you are two years late and your country is already financially destroyed.

 

 

After Sweden play they A game for 1 year they close everything ! And Sweden have 10 times more dead than surrounding countrys! Like Finland have little under 100000 case , Sweden have 1 million case . Finland has died 967 people in covid, Sweden 14608 people! Sweden population 10.2 million, Finland 5.5 million.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Pretty sure just about every world leader "jumped the queue" in whatever country they govern. 

Too many were slow off the mark in earlier times too.

[bikerlou47]

Do you risk takers want us to be another India?

[tandor]

...i see...so we're not going to bother waiting for some sort of 'herd immunity'...just take out chances...i see.

[Moonlover]

6 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

 

That's fine coming from someone who jumped the queue and has been vaccinated.

 

I wonder what the other 50+ million people think?

Had he hung back and waited, you no doubt would have said he was being cowardly and waiting to see if there were any adverse reactions!

 

Most world leaders have been right up there at the front having their vaccinations, which is where they should be, at the vanguard.

 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

so finally, after 15 months of collective govt. inaction / insanity, some reality intrudes.... too late really

the massive economic & social damage done..........

collective human psychosis (insanity) again evidenced with covid. should have had closed borders developed vax but otherwise “let it rip”, accepting the infinitisimal death rate of the very old & unfit.......instead the fat cat elites condemned all of us to THIS for their own selfish political reasons

(votes, power, wealth).

 

So Covid joins the long list of human mental diseases; “ leaders”, emporers, religion, war, Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Tojo, Catholicsm, Communism, Islamism, etc. 

So much for the Western Enlightment starting 500 years ago but incomplete and failing to penetrate the dark evil corners of the world and human mind.

 

time to SEPARATE civilized rational people from uncivilized irrational savage loons.......

 

[Millcx]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

You mean he did not look into the magic mirror or ask his fortune teller before he decided Thailand was a mess.  A mess made because of his inaction in obtaining vaccines firstly instead of waiting for them to be produced in-house.  Amazing Thailand, where Risks must be taken yet they were never taken before......

5555555555 … Love the laughs

[sambum]

5 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

Well, the risk aspect I can at least understand.  It’s a gamble that vaccines will arrive in time to stop an India type situation developing, or at least something a lot worse than Thailand has now. Personally I think it’s a big risk, but it’s one he is prepared to take on behalf of the country. 

 

what I don’t understand is the reward side of the equation. There seems to be a suggestion that tourism will be the savior of the country if only the country opens. But to fulfill that prophecy, it will require large numbers of tourists to come and spend, and spend big. Given the uncertainties that exist outside Thailand, plus those inside, I really can’t see how tourism could possibly be a big enough contributor to literally save the Thai economy.

 

I also feel that it’s not so much a question of upside if the tourism thing works and no downside if it doesn’t, because Thai’s will be no worse off anyway. Loosening restrictions to facilitate tourists may lead to more covid case and that threatens not just the tourist industry but also Thailand’s manufacturing industry. Closed factories don’t produce goods.

 

all in all, to me it looks like quite a lot of risk for not a lot of reward. But, if there is tacit acceptance from the authorities that they can’t control the virus anyway, then I suppose a few vaccinated tourists aren’t going to make much difference. It’s not the tourist themselves that are the biggest Covid risk, more the changed behavior patterns from Thai’s who see tourists indulging in unsafe Covid behavior and follow suit.

 

it’s going to be interesting to see it play out in real time in front of our eyes.

 

 

"But to fulfill that prophecy, it will require large numbers of tourists to come and spend, and spend big"

 

They seem to have forgotten the fact that lots of countries have Covid problems - not just Thailand. To think that the floodgates will open if tourists are allowed back in is a pipedream, and I have this mental image of Immigration Officers sitting behind their desks at Swampy in an empty airport saying "Come on then - we're ready for ya!"

[Jai Dee]

An off-topic post about Australian politics has been removed.

[bougnat]

we have to foot the bill for military equipment bought in 2019, so we sacrifice the health of the population. But that will not be enough boy !

[Almer]

The mess came from allowing Songran travel with a pathetic proviso of no water throwing, then the Delta has been allowed in, mix all that up with a porous border and hi-so people calling the shots and you have the PERFECT STORM, good luck everybody its going to get bumpy and at 72 with underlying i may as well give in now

[barney42bb]

"In order to do this he admitted that some risks must be taken."

 

For those of you that thought gambling was illegal in Thailand"

 

As with any other Government especially a Socialist one... It's perfectly fine with other people's money.

 

 

Ohhh Boy.... It's getting desperate now Thailand. Ex_Pats expenditure falling well short of paying The Bills.

It's time to "Lose Face" fall on your Sum-Tam, and admit you need us pesky Tourists.

[Almer]

31 minutes ago, bikerlou47 said:

Do you risk takers want us to be another India?

We already are

[Almer]

36 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

Risks, I got my vaccine so the risks will be taken by everyone else? Suckers.

Well until I'm vac i'm a risk to everyone, absolutely everyone.

[thequietman]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

he ruled out the possibility of a referendum. 

 

Just like that!  Done & dusted -over - finished.

 

The Thai's voted for the previous constitution via a referendum, no matter what any of you have to say.

 

You get the Gov that you deserve and my God, the Thai people deserve this!  ????

 

It is Never going to change - China Mark 2.  

[Fairynuff]

Mr PM.... try getting some vaccines into the country and you might stand a chance

[spidermike007]

One would be tempted to label this as incompetency, or a leader being in over his head. And there is an element of that.

 

But, if you really break it down, it appears more as sabotage. Why, is anyone's guess. But you almost have to be deliberate, to have failed as miserably as Prayuth, Phiphat, and Anutin have. 

 

Now he finally admits the economy and industry that constitutes $110,000,000,000 dollars or 3,400,000,000,000 baht annually, is in trouble? Only a man of his wealth, his indifference to the suffering of his people, and his dim mind, could accomplish something like what we have witnessed.

 

His 180 is fairly astonishing. To the most timid man in the world, to a man of action, overnight? 

 

Now, one has to wonder who finally spoke to him, and gave him the ultimatum? 

 

The really sad part for the Thai economy, is that tourism is pretty much done here. Cooked. Ruined. Charbroiled. Sure, they will succeed in getting back as many as 100,000 tourists for the remainder of the year. And maybe as many as a million or two in 2023 and 2024. And maybe even 5 million by 2025. But, it will never return to its former levels. Ever. Not in our lifetimes.

 

There were a dozen issues that could have been addressed during Covid, that existed long before it. Now? A bit late to the party. The world is forgetting about Thailand, just as Thailand starts to realize they need the world 20X more than the world needs Thailand. A sad spectacle indeed. 

[xtrnuno41]

Risk for who?

I read every day in Thailand covid numbers rise, every day about 3000 new cases and about 30 people dying.

If Thailand wait for a minute there will be lots of AZ and Johnson vaccines left over, as Europe stops with it.  

 

[BestB]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

In the light of decisions to re-open the country to the Phuket Sandbox scheme on July 1st - and subsequent opening of three islands in Surat Thani - the PM accepted that the economy in Thailand was in a mess. 

 I guess he decided not to contradict all other banks, including BOT and decided to speak the truth for a moment.

 

But do not get all excited yet, its only a Wednesday, by Friday, Economy has rebound and doing great.

[ChipButty]

Open up the bars I'll risk it a bit more

[Rainville]

1 hour ago, ehs818 said:

In my experience, people (tourists) do not plan to visit active pandemic hot spots or war zones. You choose your definition for what is which and where. But if seems to me that if you want to attract vaccinated tourists, you should first use the lock down time that you have created to actually vaccinate the people who are in those areas where tourists will go so that no one passes along the virus. We are burning precious time here and also usually the left hand knows nothing about what the right hand is doing.

 

Vaccinated tourists don't care about covid hotspots. 

 

I'm ready to book my tickets as soon as quarantine is lifted, and so are many of my friends. 

 

[Rainville]

1 hour ago, head bender said:

• They still don't understand no one is going to come until they open up locally. Westerners are not going anywhere until the economy ie bars and other fun things to do are up and running.

 

Very true. 

Not coming to Thailand until I'm sure the bars/clubs are up and running at full capacity.

 

Until then: Croatia/Spain will do. 

[Caldera]

In reality, it is the fully vaccinated foreign visitors who have the biggest risks under these plans:

 

In case of an outbreak, the sandbox might get scrapped at short notice.

 

If a visitor or a family member tests positive, mandatory hospitalization.

 

If the situation in Thailand worsens and the home country reclassifies Thailand,  mandatory quarantine upon return.

 

[Goldpanner]

4 hours ago, WineOh said:

5 of my family members have already had it back in the UK.

None of which ended up in ICU and all of which said it was just like the flu with a bit of shortness of breath.

My brother lost his sense of taste for 3 months and now it is back.

That's about the worst that happened.

 

 

Easy Peasy. I've had it TWICE ! First time it put me in Hospital for only 2 days and the second time at Home. It isn't nice but I had full bore Flu once back on the 70's and that nearly killed me and was far scarier than this Covid. I'm 71 a bit overweight and not incredibly fit. But the problem with Covid is it hits people different ways, so whilst it was a nasty inconvenience for me, a friend of mine who was in his late 60's and very physically fit died from it. I've now had the two Vaccines (AZ) so feel relatively safe

[BernieOnTour]

6 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

 

Says the fully vaccinated Government !

 

 

Due to your inability to organise a vaccination programme !

 

Well ...

 

by getting a jab with a vaccine,

only admitted for emergency use and still uncompleted Phase 3 studies,

I would conclude:

 

Yes, he took a risk !

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, BernieOnTour said:

 

Well ...

 

by getting a jab with a vaccine,

only admitted for emergency use and still uncompleted Phase 3 studies,

I would conclude:

 

Yes, he took a risk !

He had the AZ vaccine not sinovac

[bluedoc]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

In the light of decisions to re-open the country to the Phuket Sandbox scheme on July 1st - and subsequent opening of three islands in Surat Thani - the PM accepted that the economy in Thailand was in a mess. 

 

It was therefore necessary to re-open the country before it was completely ruined.

 

In order to do this he admitted that some risks must be taken.

 

He based his comments on the state of the economy on his Digital Economy and Science ministry analysis

What a joke, let’s put visitors to Thailand at risk because we as the unelected rulers are really useless at running the country. Admitted above by the prime minister. They want the uk to change the listing from amber to green. Why do they want us dirty farrangs to come to their country and bail them out. What a sh!t show.