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Covid crisis: Brakes put on Phuket-Samui 7+7 plan and calls for end to "island hopping"


webfact

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4 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile the TAT were still clinging to the hope that experience gleaned so far in dealing with the pandemic situation could mean a resumption of mass tourism in Thailand for the high season come January. 

Clutching at straws would have been more accurate ????

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4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

One has to think of all the vaccines diverted to the populations of these remote islands instead of being given to high-risk people in the virus epicentre of Bangkok.

 

Mismanagement on a massive scale and with loss of human life as the ultimate consequence. 

Exactly, and perversely it's one of the reasons some folk are not particularly keen for it to be the success that the government, with all the fanfare, want it to be.

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So far still "considerations", nothing firm yet. It's depending of what happens during the next few days with the so-called "Black Bamboo cluster" on Samui, apparently caused by domestic travelling from Bangkok.

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4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

One has to think of all the vaccines diverted to the populations of these remote islands instead of being given to high-risk people in the virus epicentre of Bangkok.

 

Mismanagement on a massive scale and with loss of human life as the ultimate consequence. 

In real numbers it would not have saved Bangkok, and those recorded as fully vaccinated are with two jabs of Sinovac...

 

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7 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile the TAT were still clinging to the hope that experience gleaned so far in dealing with the pandemic situation could mean a resumption of mass tourism in Thailand for the high season come January.

What was it the Everly brothers sang?

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7 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

One has to think of all the vaccines diverted to the populations of these remote islands instead of being given to high-risk people in the virus epicentre of Bangkok.

Not really correct...around 6-71M vaccines given to date and there are only a few hundred thousands of people in Phuket/Samui at the moment. Also, at risk people in Bangkok and Pattaya are getting vaccinated...my 75+ friend received his first A-Z jab in Bangkok yesterday. 

Edited by Pattaya Spotter
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8 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I for one do not see this as a surprise, and neither do I think the Phuket lockdown was a surprise either.  Their are those that will still see the Sandbox as being sustainable, I however do not.  How much money is the tourism/returning expats bringing in versus what was spent already to get the Sandbox up and running.  Sure there are a few that have benefited, but the many who have not outweigh the few.  Their are also a few expats who seem to believe this has been a success and will continue, time to wait and see.  Hard to see anyone except Thai nationals and returning expats hitting the sandbox instead of staying in a room for 14 days at an ASQ.

Nothing wrong with the sandbox concept accept the way it was organised . For a start all the workers should have been double AZ jabbed and quarantined prior to the start of their working . The bridge connection being the weakest link should have been reinforced security wise and all goods entering should have been disinfected . New arrivals should/could be held in their rooms for the first 4 days and then pcr tested as that would mean a total of 7 days without infection , including their pre flight test . 

As it is now it seems to be a gamble for those considering the Phuket sandbox as it could be halted if a national lockdown is enforced .    A loss of flight , hotel , covid insurance and pcr tests amount to a tidy sum .Maybe the Thai government should guarantee all costs covered if the sandbox is cancelled and that would give some confidence to potential visitors .

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1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Who's rich?  The hotel receptionists, cleaners, cooks, waitresses, gardeners, drivers, the food sellers, the fruit sellers, beach chair vendors and all the other people that are supported by the tourism industry who have had virtually no income for a year?   Moronic and insensitive comment.

the hotel owners , refer to the context , please ...

Edited by nobodysfriend
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2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

It's 100% correct. 

 

The populations of Phuket and Samui were priority for vaccinations so they could implement the sandbox scheme.

Meanwhile vaccinations in rural Thailand .............................................

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11 hours ago, webfact said:

As far as the plan to allow seven days in Phuket and then seven in Samui the governor wants that stopped now

I’m amazed anyone thought it was a good idea, pandemic wise in the first place. 
 

Trying to divide up and share that captive tourist wealth between two profit wise, well that I do see…

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3 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Who's rich?  The hotel receptionists, cleaners, cooks, waitresses, gardeners, drivers, the food sellers, the fruit sellers, beach chair vendors and all the other people that are supported by the tourism industry who have had virtually no income for a year?   Moronic and insensitive comment.

In Patong pre Covid most of the staff if not all working in hotels, restaurants and on the beach were Birmese. Are they all replaced now by Thai ? I doubt it. Not to say they have no right to earn a living but it doesn't affect the Thai population on the island.

Besides the number of arrivals in July, 10,000 +, is peanuts compared to the workforce needed.

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2 hours ago, Albert Zweistein said:

In Patong pre Covid most of the staff if not all working in hotels, restaurants and on the beach were Birmese. Are they all replaced now by Thai ? I doubt it. Not to say they have no right to earn a living but it doesn't affect the Thai population on the island.

Besides the number of arrivals in July, 10,000 +, is peanuts compared to the workforce needed.

Yes it is peanuts compared to where we used to be but it is a start and it might be giving a tiny bit of relief to some.  And let's not forget it is early days in the experiment - the hope is if it goes well then they can increase visitor numbers.  And yes, lots and lots of Thais stand to benefit from it if it works.

Not really sure what your point is to be honest.

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5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

the hotel owners , refer to the context , please ...

So all hotel owners are rich?  Really?  A few, yes, the majority certainly not - and absolutely not after a year with practically zero occupancy.

You said the sandbox was to help the "poor rich Thais", indicating only rich people will benefit and that it is not merited (and quite a "sneering" comment really).

My point was that letting tourists back in benefits grass roots Thais and that is the whole point of it.  But you completely ignored that, well done.

 

 

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1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Yes it is peanuts compared to where we used to be but it is a start and it might be giving a tiny bit of relief to some.  And let's not forget it is early days in the experiment - the hope is if it goes well then they can increase visitor numbers.  And yes, lots and lots of Thais stand to benefit from it if it works.

Today, they're just dusting Phuket off and getting it ready for the high season.

 

I was surprised how many families take the same holiday every year.  I used to run into the same Eastern European families every year at my favorite resort in Jomtien.  But they time their trips for high season, not the rainy season.  They don't care if the bars are open, nor the brothels.  All they want is a beach, a swimming pool, some places to eat, and to buy snacks and booze for the room.  And those are the family tourists the "Post Sexpat" Thailand is trying to attract.

 

I don't see the Sandbox shutting down before high season.  The vaccinated, tested tourists are their one bright spot.  It'll be in fits and starts as they dial in the requirements for local workers to arrive and move around.  And they need to be mindful of the impact of social media should they cheez off their target demographic with changes to the terms and conditions after arrival. 

 

We'll have to wait for high season the see if it's successful.  But at least they're doing something in the direction of restarting the tourism economy, and showing that the tourists aren't the problem.

 

Edited by impulse
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4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Yes it is peanuts compared to where we used to be but it is a start and it might be giving a tiny bit of relief to some.  And let's not forget it is early days in the experiment - the hope is if it goes well then they can increase visitor numbers.  And yes, lots and lots of Thais stand to benefit from it if it works.

Not really sure what your point is to be honest.

My point is that if most of the staff as I mentioned is Birmese it doesn''t benefit the Thai population.

Got my point now ?

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