Nearly 2,500 travellers enter Thailand on first day of full reopening

[SantiSuk]

2 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Yes that was my understanding. Maybe they found out all the bars are still closed and there is no alcohol being served anywhere?

.... and there is [insert] supposed to be no alcohol being served anywhere????

[vangrop]

A litte  bit more than 50 for one plane with the capacity to transport around 400 people. I don't think that the airliners will proceed this.

[Blumpie]

[PB172111]

6 hours ago, bkksteve123 said:

It was supposed to be 30 000 - https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2206455/suvarnabhumi-to-welcome-30k-passengers-on-monday

 

Isn’t any amount good for Thailand. Especially if it relieves the suffering of the local people.

[dutchweller]

Wife, Son and I are on a road trip around Thailand.

I hope for the people in the tourism industry things pick up.

A lot are virtual ghost towns.

Of note was Ao Nang, Phuket, Krabi, Ranong..

The most disappointing and annoying thing that has soured our Trip is the Dual pricing.

Especially the National parks..

Latest one today was Ao Nang 

Sneeky National Park pay booth on a random island last stop on a day boat trip..

Everyone is encouraged to get off the boat ... Out pops a fee collection officer Thai fees is 40 bhat... no problem..

FARANG you pay 400.... 

<deleted> Thailand 10 x the local pricing...

Even the Boat operators were <deleted> off.. the National Park tickets are normally 200 for Farang...

This type of greed is what puts a sour taste in Tourists mouth.

And is why when asked do I recommend Thailand I say No.

Go somewhere else where you are appreciated and it's worth the money asked...

People are sick of the scams, corruption and contempt Foriegn Tourists are treated with.

It needs to change or Thailand is doomed 

 

Attached the official sign for pricing.

And the 400 bhat ticket issued.

 

[DrPhibes]

3 hours ago, Andycoops said:

It's been admitted that 90% were returning expats, hence why they have not used the word tourists.

Nor does anyone mention number of business travelers.  I know of 2 Chinese that are coming back shortly purely for business.

[ArcticFox]

Happy Dayz are here again!!!  ***POP***  Champagne corks fly.
Then......
<blue and red lights flashing> 
"You Go Jail.  Drink Alcohol.  Bad Foreigner!!!"

[Scott]

Off-topic post reported and removed.

[aussiexpat]

3 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

Slightly offset by the thought that one in three of the passengers on average might be Thai and there is no requirement for returning Thais to have been vaccinated. Better to wait until that factor can be risk-assessed before coming will be my advice to family who are keen to get here from Europe.

 

Stop spreading BS. Everyone who gets on a flight must be vaccinated and show a negative PCR test.

[Black Angus]

Bottom line is. HOW MANY WERE TRUE TOURIST FROM EUROPE, USA etc.  Cloud nine has just got a little higher.

[HashBrownHarry]

9 hours ago, happysoul said:

Average of 63 pax per flight... Must be comfortable to fly these days ????

Sure is, i was on a flight from BKK via Qatar June and there was 29 people onboard.

 

Just arrived back about 10 days ago and there was 63 people on that flight.

 

Fantastic!

[aussiexpat]

How did they get this so wrong? When I worked in airlines we could tell exactly how many seats were booked weeks in advance. 

 

7000 becomes only 2500, never, whole 7000 press announcement was a scam 

[joecoolfrog]

11 hours ago, tingtong said:

What happened to the headlined 7000 from yesterday?

 

Somebody lied again... 

[Antti]

2500? That's not even 10 full large airplanes. Still have some ways to go before can claim that tourism is back..

[hioctane]

The article summaries seem to be so poor. 

 

2500 to BKK.

7000 to ALL the airports combined under the reopening program.

 

As for the 30,000 travelers, that is counting domestic.

 

As for wanting to differentiate who these travelers are, just wait and see. Of course in the beginning there will be more Thai nationals. Regardless of who they are, they will come back and spend money.

[herfiehandbag]

19 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Yep, I think you're right there!

 

Another problem that has arisen is the lack of vehicles at Suvranabhumi airport for transporting passengers from the airport to various places including those who go to Pattaya. There are not enough vehicles as drivers have to be SHA+

 

To make matters worse, different families members have to take different cars

This has prompted the cost of taxi to Pattaya to rise to 2,300 to 2,500 baht from 1,300 to 1,400 pre-Covid era.

There are significant " logistical and manning problems so it is just as well the numbers are lower than predicted;  for example, with the demands on the police resources made by the Bangkok protests, and the reopening restaurants needing large numbers of officers to strut around collecting bungs ( I'm sorry I meant monitor preventative measures) where are they going to find the resources to shake down large numbers of tourists?

[Blumpie]

What an incredible accomplishment!  Well done thailand!!!  I wiped away a tear just now.

Excuse me, I'm drunk.  

[RocketDog]

19 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Yet another OP said 3k arrived, another saying 13k for the week and another stating that CAAT was expecting 15 for the week. Competing news stories and numbers that do not add up, but then TIT.

I keep reminding folks here that they must use an approved Government calculator to make these numbers add up.

Does anybody listen? No.

 

They keep using western brand calculators and then throwing shade on government figures.

 

I give up.

[cheapcanuck]

Is it really that hard to get an accurate count of arrivals? 

[farang51]

15 hours ago, Rhacsyn said:

It was reported that the first flight arriving from Zurich yesterday was also pretty full as was the flight to Phuket from Singapore which my friends flew on. Qatar air arrived in Phuket earlier today and again, according to friends on the flight, was busy.

I was on the Qatar flight, full except some four or five seats.

 

15 hours ago, Rhacsyn said:

There are nine PCR stations at the airport in Phuket and i was through, from landing in 30 minutes with hotel taxi waiting outside. PCR result (negative!!) was received within 6 hours.

I was in the back of the plane, it took around 1½ hour to get through the document check and immigration. The covid check took less than 2 minutes, and I got the result in 6 hours as you did.

 

15 hours ago, Rhacsyn said:

For anybody thinking of travelling from overseas to Phuket, suggest you download the COSTE app which has replaced MorChana app. You can register your ATK test result on this app  and this is done after 5 days. ATK kit is given out at the airport at the Covid test centre.

I didn't get an ATK kit, and no one asked about the app. I can see that the MorChana app is back at Google Play. The COSTE app, is that this one?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tely360.coste

It says it contains ads which does not sound promising. Where did you see that the COSTE app replaces the MorChana app?

 

As for those talking (well, bickering) about residents entering, quite a lot of the passengers were on the younger side, typical tourists.

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, SantiSuk said:

Slightly offset by the thought that one in three of the passengers on average might be Thai and there is no requirement for returning Thais to have been vaccinated. Better to wait until that factor can be risk-assessed before coming will be my advice to family who are keen to get here from Europe.

 

Vaccination does not prevent people from being infected. A PCR test does not prove you do not have the virus, only that it was undetectable at that point in time.

You do not view human contact in the time prior to or after boarding as a problem, but the possibility of a Thai being on the flight is a gamechanger.

Of course xenophobia doesn't come into it.

[Longwood50]

I have no idea why the government seems intent on fabricating the number of tourists entering Thailand.  The occupancy rate at the hotels will authenticate what the true number of tourists are.  

Also, this is like the Russian fable about the boy who cried wolf.  If it already has not happened no one will believe anything that the government is broadcasting even if what they are attempting to convey is true. 

[steven100]

2 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

Is it really that hard to get an accurate count of arrivals? 

they could just ask the cleaner to sit at the immigration entrance and count them all ......

[steven100]

2 hours ago, Blumpie said:

What an incredible accomplishment!  Well done thailand!!!  I wiped away a tear just now.

Excuse me, I'm drunk.  

it's too early to start drinking Blumpie, i usually wait until 11.00am  ......    

[whiteman]

Roll on high season think of all the money they bring.      I think not.  ALL THE CLOSED SHOPS PUBS you name it  it is probably closed.

[samtam]

17 hours ago, DrPhibes said:

Nor does anyone mention number of business travelers.  I know of 2 Chinese that are coming back shortly purely for business.

If your Chinese are coming from China, (or Hong Kong or Macau), they will have to quarantine for 21 days going back.

 

 

14 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

How did they get this so wrong? When I worked in airlines we could tell exactly how many seats were booked weeks in advance. 

 

7000 becomes only 2500, never, whole 7000 press announcement was a scam 

They could also presumably tell the exact number from the COE or the Thailand Pass, (if the latter was working). They could also presumably tell the exact number who needed to go to X hotel and Y hotel for their ASQ, and lay on the requisite buses or transport to facilitate their quarantine requirement. Do they file all this verified information under "bin", and just go and ask TAT to make an estimate?

[big dendrobenaes]

On 11/2/2021 at 11:09 AM, tingtong said:

What happened to the headlined 7000 from yesterday?

 

changed their minds koz no bars open !!!!!

[big dendrobenaes]

3 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

Is it really that hard to get an accurate count of arrivals? 

who knows this IS T.I.T     (tourist information totals) !!!!

[robsamui]

On 11/2/2021 at 11:09 AM, tingtong said:

What happened to the headlined 7000 from yesterday?

 

Not bothering to read the story properly is a terrible habit. 

 

It was actually 6,600.

[robsamui]

On 11/2/2021 at 11:50 AM, aussiexpat said:

Why is the paper we are not allowed to quote stating 6,631 people arrived 1 November, conviently close to the stated 7000

 

Now we have a more realistic 2424, with 890 of those being returning Thai

Big chuckle - can someone explain to the majority of the posters here that we can't quote it but we are allowed to read it.  Sadly about 50% of the replies here are posing questions about points that are all there in the full article.