Costs of forced repeated tests threaten Canadian Sandbox holiday

[TonyFromItaly]

If Thailand continues like this, it will lose most of its tourists and many other nations will replace it soon, very soon.
And those tourists won't come back once they'll try something else.

Thailand thinks it is at the center of the world, but it is not....

[terryofcrete]

8 hours ago, smedly said:

it is very obvious someone is trying to rip them off - no surprise there 

My gut feeling is that you are correct but  I would be concerned if this is not exposed and investigated . "We're told" ... by whom ? ...need to know this first. If it's the hotel, a travel agent , an airline , You challenge it . 
Has anyone dug deeper on this one  ?

[IamNoone88]

4 hours ago, stevenl said:

Why do you pay 7000 baht to enter Phuket? Tests are about 400 baht, no hospital visit required as well.

airlines only accept the more thorough tests when checking in and the cheaper tests are "sold out"....... at many hospitals

[IamNoone88]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

get vaccinated and stop complaining

I am x 2. You still testing as well. You should travel more within the Kingdom by plane.

[IamNoone88]

28 minutes ago, Midwit said:

Very nicely done. You were able to take what is happening to these people and made yourself a victim. It’s all about me, me, me. 

Yep and the millions of other business people who need to travel domestically. No sympathy for vacation makers when domestic is just as bad. Me me me. 

[Bobydog]

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Welcome to gougers island... should've chosen your paradise holiday a bit more carefully.

That small print and all those hidden but not so little extras that Thailand is notorious for.

Best Advice, STAY at HOME! checking pre flight compliances will not save you where Thailand is concerned.

[robsamui]

In times of crisis, the fractures, cracks and faults of any system of management or government appear quickly. For many decades a favourable exchange rate and relatively easy paperwork made Thailand an attractive holiday destination - you came, you tolerated the tourist rip-offs, you toured around, you left brown and happy.

 

The directives for the Phuket Sandbox are implemented by Phuket's governor, but based on instructions direct from the government. Unfortunately the government keeps changing its mind about the rules nationally, simply because the Covid pandemic is in control. 

 

Thus - on the one hand the central government creates 'Red Zones' and 'Orange Zones' which change almost weekly, for the protection of the local population of Thailand. But at the same time it's trying to create 'tourist zones' to lure some tourist income back again. And it seems that there's nobody in the government who has the intelligence or imagination to merge the two concepts together.

 

Tourists are coming here in good faith, believing what they are being told, but discovering they have landed in the midst of a muddled confusion. They can't travel due to the costs of continual testing as they move between zones. Virtually every other nation is testing people free of charge. But not here. Boundaries, travel and testing rules are being changed on the fly - as the government - with no plan - simply reacts with a knee-jerk from one day to the next.

 

Arguably this is the predictable result of a government which was not elected due to any kind of individual merit or expertise but simply by being family, friends and associates of powerful and influential people.

 

I don't believe that any Thai government in modern times has ever had to cope with a crisis of this magnitude and duration before . . . and additionally one which has dragged the effectiveness of every government - not just Thailand - out into the scrutiny of the international public.

 

The tragedy - which Thailand is now broadcasting to the world - is that it is desperate for tourists but can't be honest with itself and admit that it just can't cope with them right now. 

 

And - worse - it can't be honest with the potential tourists it's trying to attract - and that's a deadly double deceit for Thailand as a nation.

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by robsamui

[Toby1947]

Amazing Thailand, come and visit our wonderful Scumbox.

[ifmu]

surprise surprise surprise    nobody listens   they come here in a pandemic 

idiots at best 

[Espanol]

7 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

For anyone that’s had one, is that correct?

It's not painful, just bothering. 

They make you tickles inside your nose.

I recommend you telling them that your nose bleeds easy, so will do it specially slowly and carefully. ????

[unblocktheplanet]

Yes, tourists need quarantine & three tests but...it's pretty stupid to travel in the heat of a pandemic.

[CMBob]

On 9/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, smedly said:

and did you have to do it all again at your next destination ???????????

 

Sorry for the delay, was busy and computer was down for a while.

No, I didn't.  Flew from Phuket to Bkk and Bkk to back home here in CM.  Upon presentation of my "parole" paperwork (paperwork provided to show that you've completed the 14-day stay in Phuket and had the three negative tests), I was waived through without any issue or further requirements.

[CMBob]

On 9/21/2021 at 9:15 AM, smedly said:

did you read the article - they have already done everything you posted but are now being asked to do it again at their next destination

Yes I read it but am wondering if you read my response.  Either they encountered an unusual situation or somebody is attempting to rip them off....or they misunderstood what they were told).  

[CMBob]

With respect to the Phuket "sandbox", I'm surprised at the posts mentioning various costs for the three PCR tests (first one is at the airport in Phuket upon arrival and the next two are during your 14-day stay).  I obtained the Certificate of Entry in the US and, in the process of doing that, I was required to pay 8,000 baht for the three tests (in fact, you can't get your final COE without uploading proof that you've paid for those tests).  How I paid for them was via an url on the US Thai embassy website (I was unaware of any other choice) and payment was made to an outfit .  Perhaps the costs vary for other countries but, for those coming from the US, it's 8,000 baht and is paid through some outfit named "Phuket City Development Co, Ltd."  

[smedly]

13 minutes ago, CMBob said:

or somebody is attempting to rip them off....

I think that was the general point of the article, it would be no big shock if true, the whole sandbox project was riddled with rip off red tape designed to gouge money .......................... nothing else, getting a double/treble hit and taking advantage from two elderly foreigners is no surprise to me at all

[smedly]

5 minutes ago, CMBob said:

"Phuket City Development Co, Ltd."

hmmmmm 

[Rinrada]

On 9/21/2021 at 2:02 PM, Bobydog said:

Best Advice, STAY at HOME! checking pre flight compliances will not save you where Thailand is concerned.

Could be right..Never been to Cyprus...just got this in (wont name company) but one must wonder...?

Paphos, Cyprus: 5-10 Night 4* Hotel Stay With Flights

By XXXXXX Travel

At a Choice of 4* & Other Hotels with London or Regional Flights from £89 Per Person, Based on Two Sharing...Total cost less than 2 x nose jabs in Pu-ket....a "beach by any other name is still a beach"....