Phuket Sandbox: Nearly 10,000 tourists so far - US/Brits top list spending 70,000 baht each

[joecoolfrog]

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

I would say my hotel was more than half "real tourists." The rest looking for ASQ alternativeEscaping Middle East summer , Israel, families of Americans working there. Thai people working in Doha, Saw full-on Orthodox Jews on the beach.

 

Then there was the bald tattooed "troll" in a tourist print vest with a different Thai woman every morning at breakfast... Thought that was not permitted. Then he started to show up with the whole harem. I think he had his Thai wife and a few sisters and cousins.  The women were genuinely respectable looking quite a contrast.

 

The sandbox is a great success. 10,000 tourists and just a handful of positive tests. PCR can be very sensitive even exposing people who were exposed to the virus months ago asymtomatic and defintely not infectious.

Ok lets do the maths ; By your observation 60% are actual tourists , 6,000 x 3 months = 18,000.

The TAT target for those 3 months was 300,000 !

Hardly a success I would say.

[impulse]

14 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

Ok lets do the maths ; By your observation 60% are actual tourists , 6,000 x 3 months = 18,000.

The TAT target for those 3 months was 300,000 !

Hardly a success I would say.

They're just dusting it off and getting it all ready for high season.  We won't know if it's a success until then.

 

It may crash and burn between now and then.  But it won't be from Covid brought in by foreigners if it does.

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by impulse

[Captain Monday]

17 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

Ok lets do the maths ; By your observation 60% are actual tourists , 6,000 x 3 months = 18,000. The TAT target for those 3 months was 300,000 ! Hardly a success I would say.

A success to stem bleeding of selected hotels and allow for an alternative to 15 nights in a box. The TAT numbers are pure fiction. Forget any kind of high season.

Edited July 26, 2021 by Captain Monday

[joecoolfrog]

5 minutes ago, impulse said:

They're just dusting it off and getting it all ready for high season.  We won't know if it's a success until then.

 

It may crash and burn between now and then.  But it won't be from Covid brought in by foreigners if it does.

 

I very much hope that eventually tourism to Thailand does get going again properly , im itching to go back myself.

This will be achieved though by extensive vaccination country wide , not by absurd projections and propoganda from TAT.

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

A success to stem bleeding of selected hotels and allow for an alternative to 15 nights in a box. The TAT numbers are pure fiction. Forget any kind of high season.

I imagine the vast majority of ‘Sandboxers’ are those returning to Thailand who would otherwise return via ASQ.

 

I wonder how much that has ‘hurt’ the hotels in Bangkok which would otherwise have received ASQ guests.

 

I certainly hope the Sandox is still running next month so that I don’t have to quarantine (I’ve spend 13% of the past 12 months in quarantine in one country or another)

 

 

[joecoolfrog]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I imagine the vast majority of ‘Sandboxers’ are those returning to Thailand who would otherwise return via ASQ.

 

I wonder how much that has ‘hurt’ the hotels in Bangkok which would otherwise have received ASQ guests.

 

I certainly hope the Sandox is still running next month so that I don’t have to quarantine (I’ve spend 13% of the past 12 months in quarantine in one country or another)

 

 

As a tourist I wouldn't consider the sandbox in the least desirable.

However it certainly beats ASQ by a country mile.

[WingFat]

70,000 baht spent over about 11 days. The majority of loosely-defined tourists are Americans spending about $2,100 over this 11 day period. That's less than USD 200/day for everything. Not exactly a windfall for the locals, but better than what they were making before...ZERO. Hope this is the start of a new, better trend.

[Captain Monday]

34 minutes ago, WingFat said:

70,000 baht spent over about 11 days. The majority of loosely-defined tourists are Americans spending about $2,100 over this 11 day period. That's less than USD 200/day for everything. Not exactly a windfall for the locals, but better than what they were making before...ZERO. Hope this is the start of a new, better trend.

$200  a day? 555! Not including Hotel and a few GRAB taxis I spend little.  Eat once a day usually. My gourmet unlimited breakfast buffet was free. I bought a can opener, drinks at Seven, a few meals out at 3 or 4 restaurants, a kebab the one night a night market appeared, and some room service. Others spend much more the point is tourism is open, they are not bringing any appreciable disease numbers and those identified are isolated and treated if necessary. There is no turning back. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Captain Monday

[Rhacsyn]

1 hour ago, joecoolfrog said:

You are obviously a resident of Phuket and a business owner .

Could you please give a detailed report of your hugely increased revenue since the beginning of July.

Asking for a friend whose business revenue on the island this month has been zero.

Sorry to hear about your "friends" business and yes, for sure, sadly some businesses remain closed or have zero turn over for whatever reason. This was also the case before the sandbox started.

 

As for hugely increased sales in July, I don't believe for one moment that any local business owner was naive enough to expect that. However, I do know that some establishments, especially around Laguna, Rawai and Nanai road in Patong have seen additional small increases this month, although it is also fair to say that they were open and operating before July. The new 9pm closing is hurting now though.

 

I don't know much about the hotel business I guess room occupancy in certain areas has increased in July.

[crazykopite]

Total BS one of my friends is doing the sandbox he is not a tourist he is an expat but decided to do the sandbox rather than being locked up in BKK like a prisoner he tells me there are a lot more expats who have chosen this route to get back home 

[Espanol]

6 hours ago, Millcx said:

WHY???

 

Because testing + transport from Airport  cost 9000 baht and you can get 2 weeks hotel for less.

 

Or you ask why is he flying to Phuket? ????

 

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Espanol

[tomacht8]

In general, Phuket is now in competition with the Bangkok ASQ Hotels. Phuket is probably cheaper for the 2 compulsory weeks and with the possibility of leaving the hotel room and lying on the beach is also much more attractive. What is the current booking situation at Bangkok ASQ Hotels like? There is sure to be a cannibalizing effect.

[Captain Monday]

6 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

In general, Phuket is now in competition with the Bangkok ASQ Hotels. Phuket is probably cheaper for the 2 compulsory weeks and with the possibility of leaving the hotel room and lying on the beach is also much more attractive. What is the current booking situation at Bangkok ASQ Hotels like? There is sure to be a cannibalizing effect.

It is probably cheaper but there were some very cheap ASQ in BKK the food and rooms looked like <deleted> not for me. Having nothing to do, nothing open but a few restaurants and no friends in HKT in my case ASQ time passed faster.  I can sleep 12 hours a day but I would never voluntarily do that again having the freedom to walk, exercise and have a few beers. 

[Albert Zweistein]

15 hours ago, jaideedave said:

You can try Kish Island off the coast of Iran Persian Gulf. Its quite nice looking. BTW males and females cannot sit together on the beach..along with many other rules to enhance your visit. No alcohol but I managed to get a bottle of scotch from a driver. He was extremely nervous about the whole idea ...   wonder why?

 

He was probably faking so he could rip you off.

[Letseng]

16 hours ago, greenmonkey said:

This gets more ridiculous by the day... really..... Brits are coming from the UK even though Thailand currently on amber list (soon to be red)!!?? And quote "that many of the tourists would be making repeat visits with their families." Why do they persist with this BS rhetoric. And talk about opening islands to allow island hopping.... all this BS whilst in the backgorund covid is raging.

 

This govt is causing untold damage to Thailand's reputation. Not only do they deceive Thai's with this rubbish but they are purposely deceiving the rest of the world by trying to entice tourists by tricking them into believing Thailand is safe. When the rest of the world catches on - there will be no-one coming for quite some time.

Nobody is forced to come. Ppl  make this decision voluntarily.

 

[superal]

What bothers me with the sandbox in Phuket is , I can put up with the 2 weeks quarantine but there after can I travel to my preferred destination which is upper Thailand ?  Seems like all transport modes have been cancelled which is renagueing on the sandbox deal .  Anyone have a crystal ball that can tell if on the 1st of August there will be inter-provincial flying/travel allowed cos some air companies are accepting flight bookings starting the 1st of August . If not , what is the point of allowing flights from Phuket to Bangkok ?

[ChC1]

4 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

In general, Phuket is now in competition with the Bangkok ASQ Hotels. Phuket is probably cheaper for the 2 compulsory weeks and with the possibility of leaving the hotel room and lying on the beach is also much more attractive. What is the current booking situation at Bangkok ASQ Hotels like? There is sure to be a cannibalizing effect.

Just to add a data point. Before Sandbox, Courtyard hotel in Bangkok was ASQ hotel. Recently I saw it is back online to accept bookings on its website from anyone who wants to stay. Since this hotel has only one building, I assume it is no longer a dedicated ASQ hotel?

[Chelseafan]

June 18th.

According to Mr. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports, "Phuket will embrace approximately 130,000 foreign tourists in the third quarter." ????

 

Now I'm no expert but I would think the arrivals will start slowing down as those lunatics deperate to see their loved ones are already there...

 

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

Here is an interesting article on how over reliant Thailand is on tourism and its effects with Covid as a multiplier now dropping the Thai Baht lower.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/26/asian-currencies-thailand-covid-lack-of-tourism-hit-thai-baht.html

 

So what now since Thailand has had only 34k visitors according to the article up until May of 2021. The 10k Sandbox visitors surely can not be helping either. So under 100k for the year is my best quess at this rate.

What to do oh what to do. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[ChipButty]

3 hours ago, superal said:

What bothers me with the sandbox in Phuket is , I can put up with the 2 weeks quarantine but there after can I travel to my preferred destination which is upper Thailand ?  Seems like all transport modes have been cancelled which is renagueing on the sandbox deal .  Anyone have a crystal ball that can tell if on the 1st of August there will be inter-provincial flying/travel allowed cos some air companies are accepting flight bookings starting the 1st of August . If not , what is the point of allowing flights from Phuket to Bangkok ?

You can fly Phuket to U-Tapoe and then on to various places in the north I think it's on Nok Air 

[Salerno]

3 hours ago, ChC1 said:

Just to add a data point. Before Sandbox, Courtyard hotel in Bangkok was ASQ hotel. Recently I saw it is back online to accept bookings on its website from anyone who wants to stay. Since this hotel has only one building, I assume it is no longer a dedicated ASQ hotel?

"Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok stops operating as ASQ starting from 1 July 2021"

https://thaiest.com/bookings/asq/courtyard-by-marriott-bangkok

[Fairynuff]

22 hours ago, shdmn said:

s it possible the doomers are talking our of their spincters?

My sphincter has an interesting theory about this.... would you like to hear it?

[brianthainess]

21 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

is today  a public holiday in thailand? and tomorrow too? and after tomorrow?

Yes and are they not no alcohol, days ? that'll cheer up all those tourists.

[brianthainess]

22 hours ago, grain said:

under the coconut trees with a bottle of Singha and a tom yum gung?

No Singha allowed unless you mean water, drinking alcohol transmits this virus, if drank with a meal, Prayut science.

[Henryford]

22 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

"Their average stay has been 11 nights and the average spend per trip is 70,000 baht. They have been spending about 5,500 baht each per day on accommodation, swabs, food and drink and transport." 

 

These numbers show how expensive Phuket must be. There are for sure cheaper holiday destinations.

That's 5000 a day for swabs and 500 a day for food (and no drink).

[ChipButty]

12 minutes ago, Henryford said:

That's 5000 a day for swabs and 500 a day for food (and no drink).

You can drink in Phuket, no problem

[Pracha Duang]

On 7/26/2021 at 9:26 AM, petermik said:

I,m saying BS to this.....

It’s not BS. We’ve been surprised to see a lot of Americans in Phuket already. Also, a massive number of Saudis and Turkish, at least in the Laguna area. These are tourists, not people that live here. You can just tell by how they act and dress. 
 

That said, most of Phuket is not profiting from these tourists. My wife and I continue to be the only people on most beaches and the only people in most restaurants. 

 

It would be very wise for Thailand to target American tourists moving forward. The vast majority of Americans are swimming in money thanks to covid. Almost everyone’s 401k has gone up 100% and most Americans also have Bitcoin. Not to mention tourism in the US is booming because everyone is traveling there to get the vaccines. The US is just raking in the money right now. Like it’s raining cash in the US.  My parents said they’ve never seen this many tourists in the US, EVER. Everything is packed, massive lines everywhere, everyone in the US getting stupid rich right now. Thailand should do everything to bring in some of this cha Ching change $$$

[Stargeezr]

My relative from Pattaya is here in Canada, and we seen some recent video

of walking street, which was worse than a ghost town look. It could be used

for a hollywood scene from  sci fi waste land movie. Some places in have

closed permanently, and will not be back in high season, if there is one

this Winter. The friend who took the videos talked with a few of these

recent travelers, and all were shocked by the state of Pattaya and were not

staying in Thailand and were getting out as they were worried that they may

be trapped if they stayed much longer. They had come to BKK for

quaranteen, and said that even parts of Bangkok looked pretty sad. So they

escaped the pollution to go to Pattaya and Jomtien beach, but were not

impressed. The travelers were headed back to the USA to enjoy Summer.

Geezer

[Ddbanksy]

On 7/26/2021 at 10:24 AM, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

is today  a public holiday in thailand? and tomorrow too? and after tomorrow?

"Big Buddha day" week the good wife tell's me

[digibum]

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been hearing people on the Facebook expat groups talking about how nice it is to see tourism coming back, how vibrant Patong finally was, etc.

 

Someone even mentioned that there were “a lot of people” on Kata beach.   

 

So, I had an appointment in Patong and drove up from Rawai.  
 

Kata:   A few more businesses open than I’ve seen recently.  Almost no foreigners to be found.  Literally, after driving down the hill into Kata, I saw maybe a dozen foreigners.  
 

Nobody was on Kata Beach.  Even less people than before the sandbox.  There used to be a lot of surfers.  Guess the surf wasn’t great that day so there weren’t even the surfers.  
 

I did see some Thai food carts doing ok business selling to Thai customers.  
 

Karon:   Same as Kata.  
 

Patong?   Hmmm, yes, more stuff open and more people … but barely.  
 

It’s sort of like someone in a coma shows signs of life by flicking their fingers but they’re still completely unresponsive.  
 

An improvement?  Sure, I guess.   
 

A recovery?   Uhm, not really.   
 

Also, you can tell these numbers are BS because the daily spend per tourist number is right around where it was pre-Covid.  
 

But this number includes Covid tests and other expenses mandated by the sandbox like staying at SHA+ hotels and the fact that they have a captive audience.  
 

So how in the heck is spending on par with pre-Covid when all the bars are closed?   
 

Are they really trying to imply that either pre-Covid people didn’t spend much money in the bars (or with other entertainment) OR are they saying this group are some island day tripping aficionados spending their whoring money on trips to Phi Phi island?   
 

Sorry, either the previous numbers are wrong or these numbers are inflated.