Phuket Sandbox is failing foreign tourists: tourism official

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Don't you think all the worlds embassies in Thailand know the real story?

Phuket was a con from the very start, from how many vaccinations had been given out, how healthy were the Thais coming into Phuket.

As far as not being able to have a beer or wine or what was closed was always going to be a sticking point, as was the being subjected to multiple tests after arrival, and on traveling to other destinations.

They shot themselves in the foot when local infection rates started to escalate due to their insistence everything was safe to open on time.

Nothing new. Thailand has an obsession with making simple things difficult. I'm not sure why, and it isn't just the government. Here's a personal example:

 

I wanted to re-order some cashew nuts from a place we got some before. My wife couldn't find their Facebook page so I asked her to get their name from a cousin who had originally suggested them to us.

She didn't get their name. Instead, the cousin said she would order and pay and we'd pay her when we next saw her.

She forgot to order.

When we followed up a few days later she then made the order.

So something that should have taken a couple of days had taken a week, we still had no nuts and we still didn't have the name of the company.

And that is how Thailand works.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Lots of people want a beach holiday and Thailand hits the spot. 

So does Bournemouth.

[connda]

2 hours ago, Abik said:

subject to a double vaccine received at most five months earlier.  

Vaccines are only recognized as effective for five months <laughs>.
Yeah, they are determine to kill the geese laying golden eggs. 
But hey!  The Indians will be coming in droves!  Lol.  ????

This will be humorous come Feb 2022.  Excuses and endless finger-pointing as well as new-and-improved, doomed-for-failure-from-the-start schemes by the dozens. 
I said it a few months back.  Come Songkran 2022 it won't look any different in Thailand than it did a year previous.  Possibly worse. And nothing here to attract sane tourists.

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, Scrotobike said:

Infighting in the sand box - samd everywhere

 

Of course the numbers will fall as all the pent up demand for getting into Thailand without 2s week hotelprison has been satisfied (Thais returning, visitors returning "home" to Thailand) and a few tourists. So now just the few tourists, lowered by the red listing in the UK.

 

The diversion of vaccines from the sick and elderly has resulted in no benefit to tourism but did create unnecessary deaths.

Stupid.

3000 baht ,3000 baht 3000 baht, every swab 3000 baht. When will Thailand wake up, the longer they leave the dictator in power, the worse it gets, now the UK has red listed smiles land, it’s going to cost 4000 pounds for quarantine to return from a broken sand box that was mainly used by expats to get back. Who now will even contemplate going there.

And by the way,in New Zealand anyone in the country is being vaccinated free, just show passport.

overstayers as well no questions asked, that’s Free vaccination.for anyone in the country, RNZ news today.

 

Not like the money grabbing fiasco, Thailand is turning into.

[Bangkok Barry]

55 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Does he have a link or audio verification?

I think it is him talking not tourists.  I know several people in Phuket they eat and drink in restaurants and even bars with booze served in coffee cups.  If people cannot think outside the box and figure out how things work here, that is their problem.

Perhaps foreigners are not used to the Thai way of drinking wine out of coffee cups while hoping Plod doesn't come up behind them to check what they're drinking. They do not indulge in out-of-the-box thinking, nor do they need to if they holiday elsewhere. Anywhere else, probably.

 

Perhaps foreigners are used to going out on their holiday for a relaxed meal with a bottle on the table without having to worry about the consequences. The fact that they can't is Thailand's problem, because those tourists, those guests, will go home and spread the word about how Thailand is more restrictive with alcohol than some Muslim countries.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Bangkok Barry

[paulikens]

people who come to phuket were <deleted> off that bars weren't open.     imagine what people coming to pattaya will be like.   so PM we know you got some sort of beef with alcohol but you best open the nightlife up for october or ya gonna have a trickle of tourists coming.  you might not like alcohol but tourists do when their on holiday.  wake up and smell the coffee.(or beer!)  

[RafPinto]

Be prepared for the next wave.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/16002988/covid-variant-mutated-uk-south-africa/

[konaboy]

to newnative;

excellent advice. I can handle Phuket from Bangkok for a holiday. I am fully vaccinated and would accept a test or two and even wear a mask!

[cape]

No surprise to readers of these columns. What will help advance are a few compromises:

1. Get the population vaccinated.

2. Only admit fully vaccinated, keep requirement for a LFT (not PCR).

3. Drop the quarantine.

4. Drop the insurance.

5. Restore and reopen the tourist infrastructure.

6. Accept that farang are needed, stop blaming them!: the epidemic is because the govt failed to patrol the borders with Burma (Bangladesh, India) - an impossible task, granted; and failed to keep night clubs and gambling dens closed and failed to shut down internal flights. 

 

Once this is agreed, progress can begin.

[connda]

4 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Perhaps foreigners are not used to the Thai way of drinking wine out of coffee cups while hoping Plod doesn't come up behind them to check what they're drinking. They do not indulge in out-of-the-box thinking, nor do they need to if they holiday elsewhere. Anywhere else, probably.

 

Perhaps foreigners are used to going out on their holiday for a relaxed meal with a bottle on the table without having to worry about the consequences. The fact that they can't in Thailand's problem, because those tourists, those guests, will go home and spread the word about how Thailand is more restrictive with alcohol than some Muslim countries.

It was just today that I read that tourist feel like they were "conned" into coming here.  Yeah well, sorry - did you do your homework before coming?  The regulatory nightmare to enter the country should have been the red-flag to convinced any sane person that New Normal Thailand isn't Old Normal Thailand.
Which reminds me of the farang lass who told an interviewer a few weeks back that she was bored out of her mind because there was literally nothing to do.  Another who failed to do their homework before spending good money for nothing.  You can imagine the glowing reports these folks will tell their friends and family when they return to their own slice of hell.

[cape]

9 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

3000 baht ,3000 baht 3000 baht, every swab 3000 baht. When will Thailand wake up, the longer they leave the dictator in power, the worse it gets, now the UK has red listed smiles land, it’s going to cost 4000 pounds for .

Until the population is vaccinated, the country is effectively closed to tourism.

Longer stay, diplomats, workers, yes. But tens of millions of tourists? No.

Priority is to get the people vaccinated. That will allow restrictions to be listed.  Thailand will be back on amber lists.

The unemployment and resentment is very high. Put the people to work building a tourist infrastructure to outshine neighbouring competition.

Too much passivity amongst these people  Nothing will turn up on its own. 

[Scrotobike]

15 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

3000 baht ,3000 baht 3000 baht, every swab 3000 baht. When will Thailand wake up, the longer they leave the dictator in power, the worse it gets, now the UK has red listed smiles land, it’s going to cost 4000 pounds for quarantine to return from a broken sand box that was mainly used by expats to get back. Who now will even contemplate going there.

And by the way,in New Zealand anyone in the country is being vaccinated free, just show passport.

overstayers as well no questions asked, that’s Free vaccination.for anyone in the country, RNZ news today.

 

Not like the money grabbing fiasco, Thailand is turning into.

Same in the UK - just go to the local chemist (Boots for example) - and no sinocrap, now mostly Pfizer and Moderna (in Halifax anyway)

[GeilGeilertzen]

This is what happens when corrupt and money hungry officials plan stuff. 
Totally blindfolded by greed and without the ability to understand much more. 
 

 

[sbf]

3 hours ago, Andy65 said:

Phuket is open for domestic tourists. Just need to fulfill the requirements and find a way to get here.

Almost no domestic flights, certainly none from Bangkok to Phuket, leaving Sarasin as the main potential entry point for Domestic tourists. At the checkpoint for the last few weeks you have needed proof of Phuket residency to be allowed in. Thais with ID's from other provinces are not generally allowed in. The entry vaccination requirements means most Thai's are not eligible to enter given that most of the population are not yet vaccinated. 

[chinasimon]

2 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

News items like bloomberg listing Thailand as one of the worst places in the world to be at this stage of the pandemic.. UK red list.. USA, China, OZ etc all not coming.. 

Phuket sandbox merely allowed a system of bypassing ASQ for most part.. Which is why theres barely a handful who have gone to Samui Plus as it all come down to the easiest / cheapest route back in. 

2 years time ?? The tourist industry and the banks that are financing all these hotels, taxis, etc etc are not going to last 2 years.. Sure in 2 years some semblance of numbers will come back but the current players will be bankrupted without this years high season. Cest la vie.. They played the debt growth game expecting better years every year. Its a long time since 97 and it took well over a decade to clear out that malinvestment, this ones far worse. 

 

That's covid-related however. I don't think currently strongly affected countries will take a permanent reputation risk because of that or the political situation. Most tourists just don't care as long as the product/price is right. Besides, there aren't that many real alternatives in SEA - Bali is overcrowded even compared to Thailand. 

 

And as for tourism businesses failing, that's a problem for the business owners and banks, lots of people will lose a lot of money. But those hotels and restaurants will still be standing, just under new ownership. A big write-down on the initial investment also helps with operating costs, and could make Thailand a bit more affordable again too. Prices only knew one direction in the last 20 years, but it's a distinct possibility after 2022 I'd say. Global mass tourism will take a while to fully recover, but I would bet that it'll eventually happen. 

[sambum]

6 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

If they want to travel at Covid times it is naive to expect a normal holiday. On top of it they might have problems to travel back to their home countries because of changing regulations or even cancelled flights (we had all this already last year). And if they test positive for Covid in the foreign country it might get an unforgettable holiday experience... 

Read a while ago that the top holiday destination for Brits this year was Cornwall!!!

[thailandheron]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Imagine if the y had the truth about Phuket who would have come? some probably would but only those who care about the beaches and the views, but anyone who thought that bars restaurants and other places of fun would be open got very disappointed, and i know, i just been there...

I dont know what parts of the island you visited but a friend has been there for months and he eats in western food restuarants once or twice everyday , with beer. Some he has to walk past because they are almost full and has to find a quieter one. So he is not the only person enjoying himself. Girlie bars open are easy to find too.

[sambum]

33 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

3000 baht ,3000 baht 3000 baht, every swab 3000 baht. When will Thailand wake up, the longer they leave the dictator in power, the worse it gets, now the UK has red listed smiles land, it’s going to cost 4000 pounds for quarantine to return from a broken sand box that was mainly used by expats to get back. Who now will even contemplate going there.

And by the way,in New Zealand anyone in the country is being vaccinated free, just show passport.

overstayers as well no questions asked, that’s Free vaccination.for anyone in the country, RNZ news today.

 

Not like the money grabbing fiasco, Thailand is turning into.

"Not like the money grabbing fiasco, Thailand is turning into."

 

I never had any doubt that Thailand's duly elected democratic government, and business leaders would have it any other way!

[KarenBravo]

55 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Books can get lost. Most people would lose a limb before losing their cell phone.

Are you saying that phones don't get lost or stolen? No one will steal my WHO Vac book.

Funny that. I've had my book for twenty years. It stays in my wallet.

I put more value on my wallet than any kind of phone........plus the book weighs next to nothing, which is more than can be said of a phone.

If my small book drops from my hand, I can pick it up. What happens if your drop your phone and it breaks on the flight here? You're stuffed.

 

Anyway, that's my final word on this rather sill tangent.

Edited August 30, 2021 by KarenBravo

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

Has anybody seen mr Eibot on here lately ?? He lives on phuket and is saying that the litterbox is working for weeks already and i had a discusion with him that lasted about two weeks about this point ???????? 

Same with StevenL he is absent from this thread as well....hmmm

[Pinot]

3 hours ago, Abik said:

This is really stupid conduct.  Tourists should receive a green pass for free movement in Phuket and the surrounding islands, subject to a double vaccine received at most five months earlier.  

Tourists will not fly such a long way just to visit Phuket without the surrounding islands, and certainly not to pass a series of endless expensive checks.

Anyone needs a green pass I can get them...500 baht 

 

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Probably a lot lees than the 70% were vaccinated as promised, and then only one shot of the useless Sinovac against the DElta strain.

Maybe we see the Phuket strategy happening nationally, at the moment 30% have had one shot, mostly Sinovac, and talks are becoming push to re-open.

Sinovac will keep you off a ventilator. Take any vaccine offered to stay alive. Far from useless. I hate when I read this kind of thing. 

[Bkk Brian]

5 minutes ago, thailandheron said:

I dont know what parts of the island you visited but a friend has been there for months and he eats in western food restuarants once or twice everyday , with beer. Some he has to walk past because they are almost full and has to find a quieter one. So he is not the only person enjoying himself. Girlie bars open are easy to find too.

Gloating about a friend who has been to Phuket and breaks the rules by drinking beer in restaurants daily and visiting girlie bars that should be closed is not something to be proud about. 

[Dialemco]

So far as I am aware Thailand is the only South East Asia country to try and open for Tourism. At least Phuket Sandbox allows some freedom unlike the Samui plus which doomed to failure. Restrictions should be gradually reduced and freedom to travel between Phuket and Samui would help to boost Tourism which will be in no way near past numbers whilst Covid persists 

[Dont confuse me]

Blah blah blah ???? 

This is what really counts, this is what's being spread around.

 

"He said that he had received complaints from tourists that not only could they not move around as promised but it was ridiculous that they could not get a beer or a glass of wine. 

 

Foreigners had said that they were misled into thinking that Phuket was really open when in reality it was not"

Do they honestly believe that those lied to and mislead are going to recommend to friends let alone return!

 

Well done!

[Caldera]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

He spoke of visitors being unable to travel to places like Krabi and Koh Phi Phi because of onerous swab tests on return to Phuket. 

 

Consequently they were not making onward bookings.

 

He said that he had received complaints from tourists that not only could they not move around as promised but it was ridiculous that they could not get a beer or a glass of wine

Finally an honest assessment. It's hardly attractive for a real tourist.

[Kalasin Jo]

7 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

If they want to travel at Covid times it is naive to expect a normal holiday. On top of it they might have problems to travel back to their home countries because of changing regulations or even cancelled flights (we had all this already last year). And if they test positive for Covid in the foreign country it might get an unforgettable holiday experience... 

Inside the Schengen zone you can have a more or less normal holiday moving if you wish from one Schengen member country to another with no hassle, no quarantine. In France, where I still am, you do now need a vaccine pass to use bars, restaurants, cinemas and malls. Most here are now vaccinated and the French holiday season is being reported as almost normal by those in the tourist industry.

The infection rates are still high but the vaccine pass requirement is forcing people to get vaccinated or have at least an antigen test every 2/3 days to enjoy everything. Of course there is no longer a vaccine shortage here. Hospitalisations and deaths are low for the infection rates. The infection stats are pretty accurate too as if not vaccinated you have to get tested to do anything.

 

 I want to return to Thailand, but not under current terms and conditions and expense.

[LivinLOS]

40 minutes ago, chinasimon said:

And as for tourism businesses failing, that's a problem for the business owners and banks, lots of people will lose a lot of money. But those hotels and restaurants will still be standing, just under new ownership. A big write-down on the initial investment also helps with operating costs, and could make Thailand a bit more affordable again too. Prices only knew one direction in the last 20 years, but it's a distinct possibility after 2022 I'd say. Global mass tourism will take a while to fully recover, but I would bet that it'll eventually happen.

But its generally the business owners clinging on trying not to get wiped out who are the proponents of 'hey lets just open up and accept the risk' how very noble of them.. Its very obvious on FB reading post threads who has a tourist facing business.. I agree, a full flush out, debt write off, and restart is required.. And given I dont see mass tourism next year either I feel like we will get it it.. 

[Eibot]

It's not so much that the Sandbox is failing, quite the opposite as I have mentioned many times on this forum.

 

What is failing is a constructive plan for the inevitable rise of Covid-19 cases on the Island. At the moment, the measures are still based on a non-vaccinated population, hence they panic that the cases go up. We need to base the measures on a vaccinated population (which Phuket mostly is), and focus on having only vaccinated people on the island, slowly opening everything up, and focus on symptomatic cases/hospitalization.  

 

They apply a pre-vaccinated approach on a vaccinated island. We're past this stage. You either accept the inevitable infections or don't and just lock everyone up. Can't have it both ways. 

[JRG23]

Lies from the Thais? Surely not. I refuse to believe it. 

[LivinLOS]

21 minutes ago, Eibot said:

It's not so much that the Sandbox is failing, quite the opposite as I have mentioned many times on this forum.

 

What is failing is a constructive plan for the inevitable rise of Covid-19 cases on the Island. At the moment, the measures are still based on a non-vaccinated population, hence they panic that the cases go up. We need to base the measures on a vaccinated population (which Phuket mostly is), and focus on having only vaccinated people on the island, slowly opening everything up, and focus on symptomatic cases/hospitalization.  

 

They apply a pre-vaccinated approach on a vaccinated island. We're past this stage. You either accept the inevitable infections or don't and just lock everyone up. Can't have it both ways. 

4 people died last week.. how much focus does that need ??