2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

It is a ridiculous approach.  Even assuming you are correct that they will lift the restrictions December 1, do you really think that tourists will then at the last minute book flights, and hotels to arrive.  Tourists plan for weeks if not months to obtain their flights, car rentals, hotel, and plan out activities.  
<snip>

I covered that above in my reply to @Cherrytreeview.... It's fair to say that SOME Tourists "plan for weeks.....etc" but a great many do so on the spur of the moment especially we singles. Using the 'net it takes about 10 minutes to buy a flight and book a hotel, IF you know exactly what you want....well it did pre-covid, anyway.

I was there high season 2019 it wasn’t very busy at all then,It’s going to take a long time to come back if it ever does

1 hour ago, tomacht8 said:

The same goes for Samui, Phangan, Tao. And the nightlife doesn't just consist of girly bars. The whole group of independent young solo and couple travelers has disappeared. The whole music, dance and party scene is dead. This group wants to party and drink, beach life, rent motorbikes, book sports activities (gym, diving, etc.), book excursions, yoga, cooking classes etc. Mostly book cheap accommodation in small Thai owned family resorts, eat at cheap street stalls. Many of them travel for several months and visit several countries. With all the travel restrictions, no drinks, no party, no fun, this group already went or will go to other destinations.

I agree, apart from the cooking classes, unless they are cooking mushroom omelettes.

33 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Best tell em to get cracking then. Maybe be impatient.All my gf family 25 to 45 yrs have been vaxed alongwith numerous other friends returned to Phuket and Pattaya for work. 

Something to do with Thailand's vaccine roll out and its inequality, best tell Thailand to get cracking not them. Maybe you should take a look at the official statistics for Issan and see what they say, seems to conflict with your friends experiences

6 hours ago, Kadilo said:

That’s a fair point and possibly one reason why the entertainment opening has been delayed to allow the vaccinated numbers to increase. 

That's what you can expect when they use their brains....

But I have my doubts about that.

4 hours ago, Sweet Swede said:

What about NON IMM O expats returning after visit to origin country? Do they need this 50k USD insurance?  We are not tourists.

Surely as an expat you must have insurance right who would ever think of not having health insurance but then again there’s always go fund me

Posts making references to conspiracies have been reported and removed. 

 

44 minutes ago, androokery said:

Yes. Or was it a rhetorical question? Daddy wants to get some when mommy goes shopping. 

I do really know a guy who did that and gave his wife a 'little present'. Antibiotics cleared it up but it ended up in divorce back in UK. Cost him plenty.

7 hours ago, Cherrytreeview said:

Don't worry, you won't be getting any type of tourists.

You can rest easy that the 20% of the population depending on tourism can just get into more and more debt and default on house mortages, motorbike and car payments, whilst you grandstand daily on TVF.

Some people are more equal than others.

 

The jobs in Pattaya are hopeless sharte. People are better off on the land, in a factory even. 

 

International tourism doesn't owe Thailand anything. This is a problem entirely of Thailand's making.

 

It's purposeful.  Caste system.

 

Thais need to rein in their impulsive spending. Borrowing.

 

I don't feel sorry that women can't return to alcohol, sex and scams.

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Sorry, the fault is all on the people who run this country.  Lack of education, children working on the streets selling flowers, this has been the reality of Thailand for many years. Those kids grow up, and boys and girls end up in the sex industry as they have absolutely no qualification to do much else. Where’s the help ? Where in the world do you find a country who relies on sex to feed their families ? 

Ever been to Sao Paulo, Edinburgh, Los Angeles?

There is a small %age of Thais selling sex to feed their families. Thailand has a great welfare system, hence the lack of homeless/hungry people. 

6 hours ago, HeijoshinCool said:

.

France is doing the same....

 

But the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and pretty much everything else tourists go there for will remain closed.

 

Make your reservations now!

 

/s

As far as I know the Eiffel tower is OPEN and possible to visit.

Just get it over with and rename  yourself The Islamic Republic of Thailand. 

1 hour ago, Kadilo said:

I think many of the tourist areas are either there or not far off that target already. 
 

At 40% totally vaccinated across the country already they are on target to reach that by the end of the year at current rates when as I said earlier I believe it will be fully open, pending no serious spikes on the next few weeks. 
 

Are you suggesting that people should still be in lockdown and deprived of their livelihoods and freedom longer when over the past 7 days the death rate has been 7 deaths/million of population with both these and the infection rates falling?

 

Added to that the harm it is doing to the mental health of the population with 10 people/100,000 committing  suicide last year alone. A massive increase from previous years. 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-suicide-covid-19-mental-health-department-director-general-2247011

 

Im sure some of the foreigners who don’t rely on working and are comfortable living on a pension would love to prolong the agony of the rest until they feel safe to venture out but many Thais need to rebuilt their lives and get back to work and earning a living. 
 

Fortunately the government has drawn a line in the sand and decided it’s time to open up, albeit it cautiously. 
 

Its a tricky situation. There’s you wanting to wait and there are others    who have been singing the same tune as you up til now, now saying how unfair it is that they are opening up but not allowing the bars etc to open to help them earn a living. 

So there is a compromise and the government have made a decision which I think for now helps both

sides of the argument. 

 

Of the 17 Provinces opening up only Phuket and Bangkok are over 70% vaccinated although Chonburi is not far behind at 61.1%

 

However think again on most of the others such as:

 

Udon Thani 29.8%

Loei 29.6%

Trat 37.5%

Krabi 34.3%

Chiang Mai 38.6%

 

There's still a long way to go.

4 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Of the 17 Provinces opening up only Phuket and Bangkok are over 70% vaccinated although Chonburi is not far behind at 61.1%

 

However think again on most of the others such as:

 

Udon Thani 29.8%

Loei 29.6%

Trat 37.5%

Krabi 34.3%

Chiang Mai 38.6%

 

There's still a long way to go.

Thanks for confirming what I already said. 

1 minute ago, Kadilo said:

Thanks for confirming what I already said. 

You said:  "I think many of the tourist areas are either there or not far off that target already."

 

I posted statistics showing thats just not true sorry.

 

 

34 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Something to do with Thailand's vaccine roll out and its inequality, best tell Thailand to get cracking not them. Maybe you should take a look at the official statistics for Issan and see what they say, seems to conflict with your friends experiences

Maybe it’s similar to the information  you post every day re the official statistics for infection numbers not being correct and your “unofficial” ones being more a accurate reflection. 
 

Maybe  the “unofficial” ones in this data would tell a difference story too. 

 

2 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

You said:  "I think many of the tourist areas are either there or not far off that target already."

 

I posted statistics showing thats just not true sorry.

 

 

No need to apologise. I’m more than happy with your breakdown of numbers. 
 

Many already there and others on target for year end if not before as planned. 

4 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

No need to apologise. I’m more than happy with your breakdown of numbers. 
 

Many already there and others on target for year end if not before. 

Only 3 in which world do you describe 3 as many? the majority of the others for opening on the 1st Nov for 46 countries which is what this is about are not and will not be by then.

52 minutes ago, VBF said:

covered that above in my reply to @Cherrytreeview.... It's fair to say that SOME Tourists "plan for weeks.....etc" but a great many do so on the spur of the moment especially we singles. Using the 'net it takes about 10 minutes to buy a flight and book a hotel, IF you know exactly what you want....well it did pre-covid, anyway

Two points.  One is that the government indicated it wants to transform Thailand from a bar scene to a family oriented destination.  Yes far easier for the singles to do so but that is attracting exactly the tourist that Thailand wants to discourage.  Also even singles work.  Typically an employer requires some notice to take time for a holiday.  Finally, what on earth if the bars and night entertainment venues are still closed or curbed would cause even the single people to come. 

As I stated, less than 50% of Thai residents are vaccinated.  If the government wanted to do something constructive it would hasten vaccinating the number of Thai's without vaccination.   This insane focus on tourists and covid is absolutely ludicrous.  You have tourists who were tested before they left, are fully vaccinated before leaving, and tested again upon arrival. 

Its like saying you are going fishing but casting your bait into a farm field.  There ain't no fish to catch there, just as there is precious little Covid to prevent from fully vaccinated, and tested tourists. 

7 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

Maybe it’s similar to the information  you every day re the official statistics for infection numbers not being correct and your “unofficial” ones being more a accurate reflection. 
 

Maybe  the “unofficial” ones in this data would tell a difference story. 

 

What are the unofficial statistics for vaccinations then?

7 hours ago, BE88 said:

Dr. Apisamai said Thais and foreigners who are not fully inoculated against COVID-19 will have to enter quarantine for 7, 10, or 14 days depending on the conditions met by each individual.

 

 

3 different quarantines ? 7 days for the Thai 10 days for Asia peoples and 14 days for the Farangs.

Is right ?

Or 7 days for Farangs 10 days for Asia peoples and 14 days for Thais ?   Maybe ?

7 for inoculated people from other than the 45 low-risk countries, 14 for people from high-risk countries without inoculation, you could read it up if you wanted. Just wondering why so many who post here need such negative comments to hide their lack of knowledge or understanding.

There's a whole load of tangled issues being all muddled together in the responses to this post . . . there's the ramifications of Covid and quarantine; there's the Thai government's lack of awareness that seasonal holidays have to be booked months in advance; there's the sudden weekly leaps and lurches and backtracks and changes in policy decisions about alcohol, bars, restaurants and "entertainment"; there's the muddling together of 'seasonal tourists' and 'quality tourists - which to the Thai eyes appear to be identical. What a mess!

 

Up until 2019 I had spent 15 years working in an associated role in the hospitality industry on Samui. I was constantly in and out of hotels (both budget and 5-star) restaurants, bars and clubs. And the following are my observations on tourists of all nationalities) and what they expect.

 

1. Until Covid there were two types of tourist - long term snowbirds and seasonal vacationers. The longtermers were typically male and working in construction-related industries. The 'seasonals' were here for an annual holiday, typically as a couple and quite often with children.

 

2. ALL in these two categories would undoubtedly have looked elsewhere if they knew there would be no alcohol available; the Thai attitude to alcohol is unable to understand or relate to the Western social expectations . . . Thai thinking is that alcohol causes social chaos and is dangerous.

 

3. Hotels were the only choice for seasonal tourists; often the same hotel year after year. Longtermers settled into a rented apartment/house for 4 or 6 months.

 

4. Seasonal tourists ate in their hotel for 50% of the time, compared to longtermers who used restaurants 100% of the time. Alcohol was regarded by both as an essential part of the food menu.

 

5. Both sets regarded "entertainment" as essential, and included alcohol. 

 

6. The Cost of Living in Thailand was an initial deciding factor. Although flights were expensive, this was offset by cheap food, drink and accommodation. For longtermers, an added bonus - if not the main reason -  was easily-available sex, accesses through the entertainment venues of bars, a-gogos and clubs.

 

SO - Thailand - wake up and decide what you want, then work towards it.

 

As things stand you don't know if you want seasonal, longtermers or once-a year jetsetters, and you are muddling them all together. Thailand is no longer cheap. It is now less expensive to vacation somewhere closer to home. And if you take 'entertainment' off the list and add 'no alcohol' to it, can't you see you are cutting your own throat?

 

If that's the case then all you will get is the Chinese, as they're the only raisins in the cake-mix who will get by with no entertainment or alcohol. But, then, why are you trying to drum up short-term seasonal business for this coming Christmas 2001 and the New Year? What a mess of indecision and confusion!

 

The way things are going you will lose all your Western tourist prospects, probably for a very long time . . . or is that the idea? If that's the case then you better let your citizens know, as they are depending on you for their living!

 

9 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Open a country with many schools still closed and add insult to injury by continuing to deny the livelihoods of those running small businesses, bars/pubs to earn a living.

You are presuming that people are going to run the gauntlet and come visit...

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Thais who arrive from countries and territories whose peoples are exempted from quarantine upon entering Thailand do not need to have health insurance coverage of 50,000 USD, unlike foreign tourists.

As if last April didn't kickstart the out of control spread of the Virus, we are to believe that Thais flying in would never be contagious, only everyone else. Fasten your seatbelts people, to leave that loophole open is asking for trouble.

47 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Ever been to Sao Paulo, Edinburgh, Los Angeles?

There is a small %age of Thais selling sex to feed their families. Thailand has a great welfare system, hence the lack of homeless/hungry people. 

You on mushrooms?

Your now comparing the sex trade of Thailand, a city like Pattaya built on sex, areas like Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy, Patpong and Bangla Road in Phuket to Edinburgh?

Why are foreigners feeding the needy in Pattaya?

Where was the Thai furlough scheme to support businesses and employees?

You ok?

 

 

"The CCSA has also announced the designation of 17 provinces as pilot areas for tourism. These include Bangkok, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Phuket, in addition to specific localities in Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Trat, Buriram, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, Ranong, Rayong, Loei, Samut Prakan, Surat Thani, Nong Khai, and Udon Thani."

 

 

I'm not understanding the need for having certain areas for tourists. After you (Vaccinated foreigner) get the covid test results back that first day in Bangkok you are set free......Right??

49 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

Maybe it’s similar to the information  you post every day re the official statistics for infection numbers not being correct and your “unofficial” ones being more a accurate reflection. 
 

Maybe  the “unofficial” ones in this data would tell a difference story too. 

 

A country tests 50,000 a day and you believe their figures?

You said Thailand would have a high season. It won't.

You said Thailand was on target to be fully vaccinated by 1st December 2021.

It won't.

Every prediction you make is altered/twisted/changed.

 

Here is the full procedure for entry into Thailand, note the insurance needs to be from a Thai company and the SHA+ hotel you must stay there fully until the following day. Once you passed all that enjoy 17 Provinces in Thailand with the entertainment venues, pubs, bars and karaoke shops in these areas having to remain closed for the time being.

 

Guidelines released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) for travelers with exemption from quarantine effective on 1 November 2021 onwards

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1451885689490972672

 

1 minute ago, Bkk Brian said:

Here is the full procedure for entry into Thailand, note the insurance needs to be from a Thai company and the SHA+ hotel you must stay there fully until the following day. Once you passed all that enjoy 17 Provinces in Thailand with the entertainment venues, pubs, bars and karaoke shops in these areas having to remain closed for the time being.

 

Guidelines released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) for travelers with exemption from quarantine effective on 1 November 2021 onwards

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1451885689490972672

 

Well with the insurance needing to be from a Thai Company is a step back! What's wrong with a standard UK (or US or EU) Travel policy with UNLIMITED cover?

These people would have to be promoted to reach idiot status!!!!!!

13 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

note the insurance needs to be from a Thai company

Note the infographic isn't worth the pixels wasted on it.

 

The insurance does not have to be via a Thai company,

Thailand Pass will be at https://tp.consular.go.th/ not the URL in the first column.

The COE is not required although they list it in column 2.