All go for the Phuket Sandbox - 13,000 rooms booked, foreign airlines set for Samui later, TAT

[Espanol]

40 minutes ago, pagallim said:

 

Not a case of having to remain on Phuket for 14 days, though for those who wish to leave earlier, it must be an international departure from Phuket.   I guess there are some, for whatever reason, who may choose to stay for 7 or 10 days only as an example.   For travel to other provinces, then yes, a minimum 14 day stay on Phuket is required.

 

Most travellers to Phuket are expats or Thais returning home, who will stay mandatory 14 days before continuing travel home in Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai or wherever they live.

 

Real tourists, if any, will stay 1 week in Phuket before returning home.

 

So, average is 12, because most people will stay 2 weeks.

[Pottinger]

Let's take the TAT's creative statistics a step further: if we add in assorted bed bugs, fleas, rats, geckos, monitor lizards, snakes and parasites, even allowing that some might bring their own mattresses, by the end of the year Phuket tourism will have returned to rude health.

[Espanol]

29 minutes ago, garzhe said:

Most of the booking sites are offering free cancelation and payment on arrival. Most Phuket listings on booking.com, Agoda and I assume most of the other booking sites offer free cancelation anything from 5 days to 48 hours prior to arrival. Little point in stating how many rooms have been booked as very few will be guaranteed with payment in advance and unable to cancel. Will be interesting to see just how many arrive.

 

But, in today's daily change in Sandbox normative, now they force you to fully pay in advance hotel rooms and PCRs before you can apply for COE.

[Moonfire]

From other chatrooms there is much talk of Thais taking advantage of this program to return home to Bangkok without being locked in a hotel room in the city. If this really is true, then there will be fewer tourist dollars to go round. Moo ping and sticky rice, not the America breakfast LOL!   

[misterphil]

Which hotels are doing the $1 a night? Im on my way if I can find one. The cheapest I can find is 3K BHT a night. 

[Espanol]

12 minutes ago, misterphil said:

Which hotels are doing the $1 a night? Im on my way if I can find one. The cheapest I can find is 3K BHT a night. 

 

I booked in Agoda SHA+ Palmyra hotel in Patong beach in September for only 650 bahts per night with free cancellation including breakfast.

 

3 * hotel not far from the beach with swimming pool and fitness.

 

 

https://www.agoda.com/es-es/palmyra-patong-resort/hotel/phuket-th.html

 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Espanol

[eastendanto]

5 hours ago, Pottinger said:

"1,101 bookings and 13,000 rooms booked"

 

Thailand - Hub of Flexible Statistics

wow I'd love to have the choice of staying in just under 13 rooms a day, could have a different one for each of the 12 days that I've booked????

[PETERTHEEATER]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Fully vaccinated or with one jab.  If they think one jab will do, well then why make the arriving tourists have two, and PCR test so many times with having to show a pre-paid receipt for those tests prior to a COE being given....Test all of those people in Phuket the same number of times and call it even....

You have been told before that sensible reasoning is unacceptable. Report to the back of the queue......????

[tigerfeet]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Fully vaccinated or with one jab.  If they think one jab will do, well then why make the arriving tourists have two, and PCR test so many times with having to show a pre-paid receipt for those tests prior to a COE being given....Test all of those people in Phuket the same number of times and call it even....

 

[tigerfeet]

Just now, tigerfeet said:

 

Must all be in Phuket

[spidermike007]

I was very skeptical when I read this. And then:

 

As far as Phuket goes there had been 217 hotel bookings for the first day and 1,101 bookings for the first 15 days. 

 

This represented 13,116 rooms as each person will be staying an average of 12 days. 

 

I am not a mathematician, but that looks like 1,101 bookings, or perhaps 2,000 tourists to me. 

 

More exaggeration. More hyperbole. More sandbox  nonsense. 

[Nanaplaza666]

5 hours ago, MadMac said:

 

Great maths ????

Times $1 a room . That is a real goldmine and if those customers are dining in at the hotel will be real moneymaker for the people of Phuket that suffered the most . 

[sambum]

"Siripakorn claimed also that Singapore Airlines and Qatar will fly into Koh Samui when they start their "sealed route" addition to the Sandbox plan on July 15th. "

 

Has anybody cleared this with Bangkok Airways? They who own the airport, and up to now have held the monopoly on flights into Koh Samui.

 

"Some 400-500 passengers are expected to be onboard."

 

What happened to the 300 that were expected just a few days ago? Oh, sorry, I've just seen who made the statement, "Marketing executive at the TAT Siripakorn Cheosamut"

 

I wasn't going to read any further, but I'd already started and the post ends quite typically for anything that involves TAT:-

 

"This represented 13,116 rooms as each person will be staying an average of 12 days.  Thaivisa notes that in the plan tourists are required to spend 14 days on Phuket before moving on."

 

Eeeh, you just have to laugh, don't ya?

 

 

[Nanaplaza666]

6 minutes ago, tigerfeet said:

 

1.912 people died on a population of 17milj i don't think that's a lot . Wonder how many died in traffic and if they will make the same big problem of this in the media worldwide and will close the roads for a month . People are already struggeling for more then a year and loosing their businesses and lifelyhoods and they don't care keep on closing everything . 

[pagallim]

1 minute ago, sambum said:

"Siripakorn claimed also that Singapore Airlines and Qatar will fly into Koh Samui when they start their "sealed route" addition to the Sandbox plan on July 15th. "

 

Has anybody cleared this with Bangkok Airways? They who own the airport, and up to now have held the monopoly on flights into Koh Samui.

 

"Some 400-500 passengers are expected to be onboard."

 

What happened to the 300 that were expected just a few days ago? Oh, sorry, I've just seen who made the statement, "Marketing executive at the TAT Siripakorn Cheosamut"

 

I wasn't going to read any further, but I'd already started and the post ends quite typically for anything that involves TAT:-

 

"This represented 13,116 rooms as each person will be staying an average of 12 days.  Thaivisa notes that in the plan tourists are required to spend 14 days on Phuket before moving on."

 

Eeeh, you just have to laugh, don't ya?

 

 

 

What I'm anticipating for this, is that both Qatar and Singapore airways will have a code share arrangement with Bangkok Airways, with transfers taking place probably in Phuket, but possibly also Bangkok.

[mfd101]

Phuket: the Thai hub of bad maths.

 

AND the worldwide hub of Delta spreading.

[connda]

5 hours ago, JCP108 said:

One thing I wonder about: if an asymptomatic person gets a false positive test result and ends up in the field hospital

... then they probably will end up sick for real.

[terryofcrete]

When you observe the capacity for lying evident in every aspect of the mutterings of of TAT , and unfortunately the general population, it doesn't take long to imagine what awaits the guinea pigs due to arrive. Will the resident government statisticians have decided how many positive tests should be declared over the first month creating income for those who benefit from such dishonesty ? Once there's a baht to be taken trust is a non runner for me in LOS.  

[vandeventer]

5 hours ago, MadMac said:

 

Great maths ????

Do I need a letter from my gf mother for her to stay in my room or is that ok now?

[TechnikaIII]

Phuket sucks.

I am not remotely interested. My home is in Nakhon Sawan province.

Tourism Authority: Wasn't it the tourism minister who wants to promote high class sex tours to attract and better quality foreigner? Or words to that effect?

(Off topic, but what sort of message does that send to the girls of Thailand? .. something like: "Don't waste time getting an education. Just shave your *******, head down town, and bring in the money. ????

[new2here]

So it’s actually ROOM NIGHTS spread out over 12 days (on average) that the 13,000 figure represents.  

 

Therefore very roughly speaking it’s about 1,000 people minimum they’re talking about using the Phuket model over the first 2 weeks or so.

 

Note that a room night does NOT factor in the number of people in that room - so a room with TWO people is still counted as ONE room night.

Edited June 29, 2021 by new2here

[CLW]

5 hours ago, MadMac said:

 

Nope, foreigners do not go to field hospitals but into hotel/hospital quarantine which will cost you an arm and a leg. False test is enough and your health insurance does not pay for this. Only for actual hospitalisation and treatment. Go figure. They have a gold mine there ????

Wrong, the insurance pays the cost for quarantine for positive Covid 19 test. Confirmed by one company, Luma / Tune Insurance. Others have identical policies.

[CLW]

4 hours ago, treetops said:

 

That's right, but it appears many policies do not cover asymptomatic treatment/incarceration.

Wrong, all Thai insurance companies approved by the Thai MFA and its embassies / consulates cover all costs after a positive covid 19 test.

[CLW]

4 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

Of the 200 or so Rooms booked on the first Day, you could almost bet the House that these will be Dignitaries on a Junket.

Then from the 1100 or so other Rooms, there will be Reps of TAT from around the Globe, invited to witness the opening, various people to which a payback of a free Holiday has been offered Etc.

That will leave Bert wearing his Wife Beater shirt, and supping a Leo.

The El-Al flight for example is confirmed by several Thai newspapers report only with representatives from the travel sector. NO tourists....

[CLW]

2 hours ago, treetops said:

 

A second test has not been an option for those testing positive in ASQ/ALQ.  What makes you think it will be here?

Because these are the official rules for the Sandbox

[ericdiam]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Fully vaccinated or with one jab.  If they think one jab will do, well then why make the arriving tourists have two, and PCR test so many times with having to show a pre-paid receipt for those tests prior to a COE being given....Test all of those people in Phuket the same number of times and call it even....

Over 80% only had 1 shot. So protection extremely low. 

And dates for second are far away! 

Wait 2-3 weeks and 3 wave will surely start there. 

Look at Australia how to control the virus of spreading. Few cases and they put over 50% of population in total lockdown.

So far they did this every when a outbreak started but was under complete control very fast. 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

With just three days to go Yutthasak said yesterday that an announcement was expected in the Government Gazette that will assist foreign embassies in issuing Certificates of Entry making it easier for foreigners to book

With just 3 days to go?

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, garzhe said:

Most of the booking sites are offering free cancelation and payment on arrival. Most Phuket listings on booking.com, Agoda and I assume most of the other booking sites offer free cancelation anything from 5 days to 48 hours prior to arrival. Little point in stating how many rooms have been booked as very few will be guaranteed with payment in advance and unable to cancel. Will be interesting to see just how many arrive.

You are right and they are pushing this Free cancellation nonsense, pay on arrival, no credit card needed, the cancellation rate on Booking.com is unreal and No Show is another problem with that site.

People can go onto BDC and book 3 or 4 properties and pay on arrival thats where you get a big percentage of no show's

[CLW]

2 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Wouldn't surprise me that all media will be told ER threatened if they publish the true figures on arrivals to Phuket. The stupid dirty falangs will believe everything we say.  All we will hear is what a success the roll out has been or it was more then we expected Said a TAT spokesman.  Goebbels would be proud to watch the Propaganda minister pumping it out on July the second.

Absolutely, TAT propaganda can fake the number but they can't fake the pictures of an empty arrivals hall, at least for the first 14 days....

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, garzhe said:

 

Double post

Edited June 29, 2021 by ChipButty