Phuket night time businesses say Sandbox has been a huge failure

[webfact]

Picture: Sanook

 

People who run restaurants, pubs and bars in Phuket's night life areas say that for them the much vaunted Sandbox has been an utter failure.

 

While the Thai PM and the Tourism Authorities have been proclaiming tens of thousands of tourists spending billions of baht, they haven't seen any benefit at all.

 

The only people to have got money are the owners of big hotels. It hasn't filtered down to ordinary people at all.

 

Now they are faced with the third "high season" in a row losing money.

 

One manager told Sanook that when the Sandbox was announced their hopes were high. 

 

They followed all the regulations, got ready and had their staff double and triple vaxxed. 

 

Then they couldn't open. 

 

Picture: Sanook

 

A restaurateur in the night life area said that with the alcohol ban it was pointless opening at all. 

 

"No booze, no point" they said as no one wanted to go out and not be able to drink.

 

They had 100,000 in rent to find and staff salaries to pay - the designation of the Sandbox meant their staff had not even been eligible for state benefits leaving the onus on them to take care of their personnel. 

 

Others spoke of the three - four billion baht generated in the three months just going into the pockets of the big hotels. 

 

Tourists had stayed inside them as they catered to most of their needs. 

 

They had hardly left the big hotels at all.

 

Even small hotels had received zero benefit from the Sandbox. 

 

Others the media spoke to said that the ridiculous hoops that foreign tourists had had to jump through and the onerous expenses they face put off the majority of real tourists who were not people just looking for a way back to resume a life in Thailand. 

 

They said that only if things are made easier for tourists - like in places opening up in Europe - will they come in any decent numbers. 

 

With 10 pm closing, no customers and little hope despite the lifting of the alcohol ban on October 1st, they said that this would be the third high season failure in a row.

 

The Sanook report was a stark contrast to the big noises from the government and the TAT, notes ASEAN NOW. 

 

For the majority on the ground at least in the night time sector that was so big on the holiday island, it has been a complete failure. 

 

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[MasterBaker]

nooooo. it's great success

[cheapcanuck]

I'll wait till a majority of the hoops get dropped before I start booking my Thailand trip.

I'm a average Joe tourist, so if I feel this way, I know others are thinking the same way.

Edited October 4, 2021 by cheapcanuck

[kelboy]

I've just come out of the sandbox and yes it was a waste of time,nothing open and nothing to do. Everyone I spoke to where not tourist and I was in my room by 1730 every night with a sangsom and coke,it would have been earlier but had to wait for 7 11 to sell booze at 1700,what a joke.No one is coming with these rules. 

[Wuvu2]

Wow - nobody could have seen this coming!

[cyril sneer]

this is what happens when you effectively ban socialising

[LivinLOS]

5 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

this is what happens when you effectively ban socialising

If they didnt ban it.. do you think they would have obeyed social distancing ??

Record deaths in September on Phuket 3x the April to August totals in a single month. Not exactly a poster child for success in viral control are they ?? 

[DrMJA]

Who would have guessed the Phuket SCAM-box not being successful. Shocking!

[brommers]

It is deliberate junta policy to squeeze out what is sees as the undesirable elements of !ife generally & especially nightlife, particularly bars and entertainment venues. This country is in the grip of highly conservative thinkers who see bad influences on Thai society from modern lifestyle & thinking, and the pandemic has given them a chance to drive these small operators into bankruptcy. It is common for dictators to align themselves with a few easy to control businesses and this is what is happening. Soon Thailand will be freed from the poisonous thoughts of democracy brought in by Dirty Farangs and ordinary Thai people will be back into subservient positions, just as they were a century ago.

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

utter failure

Unless you're one of the popular ASQ hotels your out of luck.

 

You end up eating there most likely.

 

After there breakfast buffet its hard to eat anything until dinner.

Huge buffets.

Excellent though.

[Chiang Mai Will]

1 hour ago, MasterBaker said:

nooooo. it's great success

It's been a bit of a success for the big hotels -- and probably that's all that matters as the owners of the big hotels are the ones that count!

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Others spoke of the three - four billion baht generated in the three months just going into the pockets of the big hotels. 

Which was what was known from the very start, quarantine hotels with tourists locked in for 14 days.

Lining the pockets of the hotels selected for the re-opening.

 

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, cheapcanuck said:

I'll wait till a majority of the hoops get dropped before I start booking my Thailand trip.

I'm a average Joe tourist, so if I feel this way, I know others are thinking the same way.

Thailand has lost the plot, better to find a new and better destination.

[newnative]

     Of course it was a huge failure.  There should have been no quarantine, no curfew, no hoops, and everything open.  Even with that the numbers would have still been small but it would have been a good test for opening up the rest of the country.  

[Jimbo53]

1 hour ago, cheapcanuck said:

I'll wait till a majority of the hoops get dropped before I start booking my Thailand trip.

I'm a average Joe tourist, so if I feel this way, I know others are thinking the same way.

100%...????

[smew]

this was well known right from very beginning... 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

1OCT ; phuket only threevdays ago opened up bars, barbgirls, live music , alcohol….

first three months near useless for nightlife but good for DAY time ; beaches, temples, phuket old town, central mall, diving, sailing,golf 

[IamNoone88]

It's been an utter failure for many other domestic reliant business and not just the bars and restaurants. Fortress Phuket locked out the domestic Thai travellers and those seeking to do business in Phuket and locked in those domestic businesses and business owners that reside in Phuket and conduct business in other parts of Thailand - all for the sake of a few tourists. It was a very short sighted group of people that dreamed this up and this caused contagion across other non-tourist reliant businesses.

[Chongalulu]

42 minutes ago, brommers said:

It is deliberate junta policy to squeeze out what is sees as the undesirable elements of !ife generally & especially nightlife, particularly bars and entertainment venues. This country is in the grip of highly conservative thinkers who see bad influences on Thai society from modern lifestyle & thinking, and the pandemic has given them a chance to drive these small operators into bankruptcy. It is common for dictators to align themselves with a few easy to control businesses and this is what is happening. Soon Thailand will be freed from the poisonous thoughts of democracy brought in by Dirty Farangs and ordinary Thai people will be back into subservient positions, just as they were a century ago.

Well yes,except that the blowback from wrecking such a big ,vital industry and blighting millions of lives dependent on them for livelihoods and with no skills or education to consider alternatives could come back to bite them. At best it will require far more oppressive measures to contain under the glare of social media and the rest of the world. Of course,such is the poor level of understanding that will come as a complete surprise to them. 

[Nabby]

Who the hell wants to go to Thailand just to play volleyball on a beach -if that is even possible? Though the Thai government is run by Thais, they have no clue what makes their country appealing. And it's not the 4-5 star resorts and mediocre beaches (many of them, not all). 

[Rampant Rabbit]

I declare this  failure a  success, quoted a  govt  minister

[Nabby]

Truth is, pre-Covid international travel isn't coming back anytime soon, and that's more true of Asia than anywhere else. Asian countries will be begging and fiercely competing for any tourists whatsoever they can get. There will be no "selecting" "quality" tourists or any such nonsense. The brutal truth will be evident even to these imbeciles soon. 

[geisha]

Vaccination !!! That’s where they should have started the program as an example to the rest of Thailand ! No one should have entered the island non vaccinated  ,including Thais, delivery drivers  government etc . That was the way to restart the stupid Sandbox program . It could have worked. 
test before leaving home, test on day 2 or 3, basta ! I don’t agree with opening nightclubs as when that happened where  I live , a month later we had a wave of young COVID people filling up the ICU.

COE made easy is possible , online , download your docs, answer next day . That’s dreaming !

[KarenBravo]

26 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

1OCT ; phuket only threevdays ago opened up bars, barbgirls, live music , alcohol….

first three months near useless for nightlife but good for DAY time ; beaches, temples, phuket old town, central mall, diving, sailing,golf 

No they haven't. Only restaurants can sell alcohol. Bars are still closed.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Wrong KB: i was down Bangla at 6pm Friday 1 Oct and it was in full swing just without nightclubs.

same in Rawai that evening too…….

[crazykopite]

That’s why the adverts always start with the words 

“ Amazing Thailand “

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

so I post a factual upbeat report about the 1 Oct Phuket Restrictions Lifting which promptly  gets a Denial Post and a Sad Face emoji ! typical doom & gloomers here I suppose……

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, brommers said:

It is deliberate junta policy to squeeze out what is sees as the undesirable elements of !ife generally & especially nightlife, particularly bars and entertainment venues. This country is in the grip of highly conservative thinkers who see bad influences on Thai society from modern lifestyle & thinking, and the pandemic has given them a chance to drive these small operators into bankruptcy. It is common for dictators to align themselves with a few easy to control businesses and this is what is happening. Soon Thailand will be freed from the poisonous thoughts of democracy brought in by Dirty Farangs and ordinary Thai people will be back into subservient positions, just as they were a century ago.

I've been saying for a while now that the government has a very deliberate policy of destroying the tourist industry, and have been wondering why they would do that. You have suggested the answer - puritans in charge. Of course, if we could see what goes on behind their closed doors......

 

And, as they have re-written the constitution to ensure they cannot be removed from power, Thailand is well on the path to becoming an isolated third world country which few will be interested in visiting. It has begun and it will continue. It is indeed turning the clock back 100 years, but mentally it has never advanced from then. A few tall glass buildings have disguised the fact that the rulers have a medieval mentality, with a few in total control of the many.

 

My native UK was like that 3-400 years ago, but it largely evolved. I say largely as it is far from perfect, but at least most with a brain have an equal chance of advancing and their ambition is not smothered by nepotism and hierarchy,

[club]

ASEAN now gets their fake news and talking points from guess who? The Thai Government 

[koele2]

The sandbox is and always has been a scheme to keep money flowing to wealthy Thais first and let the other peons scramble for leftover scraps.  Make tourists stay in a limited selection of expensive hotels for a set number of days, geez I wonder how you get selected to be one of the few hotels authorized to house tourists?