Chiang Mai postpones Oct 1 reopening to foreign tourists after vaccine target not met

[webfact]

Picture: Tourism Authority of Thailand

 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand's deputy marketing director said that Chiang Mai's plan to open up to foreign tourists from September 1st would now likely be delayed by at least a month.

 

Thanes Petchsuwan told the Thai media that the "Charming Chiang Mai" project" wouldn't get underway until October 1st because less than 70% of the population in the northern Thai province had been vaccinated. 

 

A meeting to discuss the way forward with provincial governor Charoenrit Sangwansat and Covid-19 officials will take place next Tuesday.

 

Chiang Mai is not being opened up like Phuket and Samui and the other islands in the south where it is easier to control foreign tourists.

 

Foreign tourists in Chiang Mai will have even less freedom of movement. 

 

All bookings must be planned through tour agencies limited to nine packages of four days, three nights, he said, something that "is for the tourists' safety".

 

They are also to be limited to four districts namely Muang, Mae Taeng, Mae Rim and Doi Tao.

 

The TAT are targeting tourists from several Chinese provinces, as well as visitors from Japan, South Korea, the US, Turkey, Canada and Indonesia.

 

But the TAT are still concerned that the authorities in China have yet to give the green light to their nationals to travel abroad and will be raising this with the new consular official from China who has recently arrived in Chiang Mai.

 

For now the TAT are pinning their hopes on Japanese and South Korean golfers.

 

There are still hopes for the Chinese next year, however.

 

Chiang Mai used to target Thai domestic tourists as its main customer base but in recent years - pre-pandemic - this shifted to Chinese on charter flights.

 

The TAT hope that the Chinese will return in 2022 and that Chiang Mai will once again be filled with the sound of "Ni Hao". 

 

But the vaccination program needs to pick up pace first for that to happen. 

 

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[fangless]

A bit of common sense at last although I appreciate that it is bad news for the tourist industries of CM, if there are any left, but it is good news for the rest of us residents.

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by fangless

[EddieCM]

2 hours ago, fangless said:

A bit of common sense at last although I appreciate that it is bad news for the tourist industries of CM, if there are any left, but it is good news for the rest of us residents.

 

 

 

Yes very good news indeed unless, of course, your family are in China. ????

Edited August 19, 2021 by EddieCM

[fredob43]

I thought at first what bad news. Then I got to thinking. What the Buddha are they talking about there are NO Tourist to go there anyway. Yet another no story bit of news. 

[trainman34014]

Well i never; who would have believed they wouldn't hit their Vaccination targets ?    It was a non-starter from the minute the opening date was announced !

[Tarteso]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

because less than 70% of the population in the northern Thai province had been vaccinated. 

Rare way to give this news…Better know how many had been vaccinated…

5, 6…7% ? ????

Edited August 19, 2021 by Tarteso

[JimHuaHin]

Chiang Mai - Red Shirt Capital - thus .....

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thanes Petchsuwan told the Thai media that the "Charming Chiang Mai" project" wouldn't get underway until October 1st because less than 70% of the population in the northern Thai province had been vaccinated.

Less than 70% was a very nice way of putting it...

[thurien]

"Chiang Mai postpones reopening ... after vaccine target not met"

 

don't understand, not enough vaccine? even though this ever so resourceful gubberment just borrowed 150k doses of AZ from the very tiny Kingdom of Bhutan, not enough yet?

[cardinalblue]

It would help if they would communicate with expats who are waiting for their pfizer vax appointments in CM….

[brommers]

Chiang Mai is moribund and the authorities have not a single realistic idea of how to move forward. Vaccine supplies are still pitifully small and chaos reigns, with allocation of Moderna to friends & family happening while Sinovac and AZ are available in dribs & drabs to a few ordinary people. 80% of eateries are shuttered, hotels run at 5% occupancy if they are lucky, there is no nightlife & none in the foreseeable future, no tourism venues open and no chance of anyone being daft enough to pay good money to be shuttled around to places like school kids. It's like living in a mortuary.

[Stargeezr]

I am glad that at least some parts of Thailand will not open if their people have not gotten at least 70 percent

vaccinated with 2 shots of any kind of COVID vaccine.  I am waiting to see what the situation is on Dec 1st before I even

get started with my plans to travel to Thailand. Maybe by that time I will also see how the rest of the world is doing

with getting their populations vaccinated.  It seems that the latest wave of the delta variant of COVID is infecting a 

lot of the younger people, and I am wondering just what percent of them will be dead in a few months. Pandemics

do not end just because some people think that they do. Stay cautious and safe.

Geezer

[phills2k1]

23 hours ago, brommers said:

Chiang Mai is moribund and the authorities have not a single realistic idea of how to move forward. Vaccine supplies are still pitifully small and chaos reigns, with allocation of Moderna to friends & family happening while Sinovac and AZ are available in dribs & drabs to a few ordinary people. 80% of eateries are shuttered, hotels run at 5% occupancy if they are lucky, there is no nightlife & none in the foreseeable future, no tourism venues open and no chance of anyone being daft enough to pay good money to be shuttled around to places like school kids. It's like living in a mortuary.

Damn, I was heavily considering relocating to here when I'm back in country in October until it's safe to return to BKK, but this doesn't exactly paint the prettiest picture...

 

Is it really that bleak for restaurants?

[Dante99]

13 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

Is it really that bleak for restaurants?

no

[FolkGuitar]

On 8/20/2021 at 6:35 PM, phills2k1 said:

Damn, I was heavily considering relocating to here when I'm back in country in October until it's safe to return to BKK, but this doesn't exactly paint the prettiest picture...

 

Is it really that bleak for restaurants?

While there are a lot of restaurants closed, there are plenty still open. I eat lunch every day in Chiang Mai restaurants, and have no difficulty finding a good one, in any ethnicity I prefer for the day.

[captainjackS]

On 8/20/2021 at 6:35 PM, phills2k1 said:

Damn, I was heavily considering relocating to here when I'm back in country in October until it's safe to return to BKK, but this doesn't exactly paint the prettiest picture...

 

Is it really that bleak for restaurants?

From my perspective / opinion , I see that the low cost (no entertainment / decoration / social scene) restaurants are busy as usual feeding people who need to eat basic food every day.  The places that i see suffering or closed are the restaurants that have higher prices -- where the higher prices come from operating a restaurant that has service / music / entertainment / social scene / bar / ..