Picture: Thai Rath

 

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said at the weekend that the country's leader is demanding that the Thailand pass system is working seamlessly to facilitate the arrival of foreign travellers and tourists, reported Thai Rath.

 

One of the PM's ideas was to promote the idea of offering holiday packages, said the media. 

 

Meanwhile the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has ensured that the system couples hotels with hospitals and it's all connected to COSTE that can be updated. 

 

There are now 1,128 SHA+ affiliated hotels onboard.

 

The TAT has worked closely with platforms such as Agoda, Booking.com, AirBnB and Expedia so that hotel costs, airport transfers and costs related to RT-PCR tests are all included in the packages.

 

Examples of this are on Agoda's front page.

 

ASEAN NOW notes that the story lacked any substantial change from other rhetoric coming from the government after early hiccups in the Thailand Pass system were supposedly overcome. 

 

Health insurance plans that meet the long stay visa requirements

 

 

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There is no such a thing as a seamless Thai Gov web site they either dont work or are just down and on the odd occasion they are working its pure luck of the draw .

It cannot be described as seamless given the number of reports of people having problems and so being stitched up by it!

Then get rid of it. How’s that for seamless? Oh, sorry far too logical for Thailand. 

"Demands!"

 

What a buffoon. 

Dispatch a team to Stanford University. A small team of undergrads, from their English department even,  could have a great app finished by next weekend.

 

Offer some beer money and a paid  trip to Ko Phangan for New Year.

Why Why Why are govt apps always so buggy and useless?

It's not just the Thailand Pass, it's the whole system.

 

A friend arrived back in Thailand from an overseas business trip last week. At the airport overseas, they needed to see every scrap of physical paper already submitted for the Pass, not just the digital copy. Can't blame airlines, if you get refused entry it's on them to get you back. We can barely keep up with the changes in Thai regulations and flow charts, how could they?

 

Got Thailand social security and don't need travel insurance with $50k for covid? That will mean 2 hours of calls to try to resolve and approve.

 

Arrived, had to go to the SHA+ hotel booked for a single night, check out 2 hours later and go home when the negative test came back and a sigh of relief that they they weren't going to be carted off for a 200k stay at a hospital.

 

What a waste of time. Why would any genuine tourist be bothered with this rubbish. 

 

 

The journalist is confusing hiccups with severe whooping cough.  The only sensible cure for the Thai Pass is a bullet between the eyes.

 

Alternatively they could purchase a pre-packaged and functional sales website online for $49.99 and have my 12 year old grandson amend the necessary pages to facilitate a visa application (with no spelling mistakes and correct use of tense and pronouns) and bang a TAT logo on the top - problem sorted.

If they want to get tourists they will have to scrap it

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

One of the PM's ideas was to promote the idea of offering holiday packages

Quick everyone , start carving wooden elephants .....or maybe spoons would be better

Let me interpret the OP into a simple one liner 

 

 

"""Why is nobody coming"""

26 minutes ago, Denim said:

Quick everyone , start carving wooden elephants .....or maybe spoons would be better

Or perhaps wooden paddles would be more appropriate.

 

The illustrious PM is continually up a certain fetid creek sans paddle. Slow learner.

An example: For the Phuket Sandbox, people have to book the RT-PCR with ThailandPsas. Then you have to book 7 nights at the SHA Hotel separately. Then upload them to Thailand Pass along with the insurance, vaccination certificate and passport.

 

- Check visa requirements beforehand

- Pay and wait for ThailandPsas dokument.

- Find the "right" insurance. Pay and wait until you get the documents.

- Find an approved hotel, pay in advance, wait for the documents.

- Then convert all documents to jpg.

- If the insurance documents consist of several pages, build 1 jpg from them

- For the vaccination documents, cut out the QR code for both vaccinations. Make only 1 jpg out of it again.

- Make sure that you are working with the correct browsers and email addresses.

- Organize approved transport to the hotel.

-  Print out all documents on paper.

 

Then they get the Thai passport online. Before leaving, they need to get RT PCR, fly to Phuket. When they land, they get an RT-PCR test at the airport, they also get ATKs. You take ATK after arriving at the hotel. Stay there for 7 days and after free to go.

 

- Fill out TM6

- Fill out T8

- Download the Mor Chana App. Try to register.

- Wait for pcr test result

- Make your atk  selftest at day 6-7

- Make Foto from your self test.

- Give or send result from selftest to your hotel. Upload in MorChana is not possible.

- When check out do not forget health letter from hotel.

 

Did I forget something?

The effort for test and go is similar.

 

Question: Does anyone have any idea how to make this even more complicated?

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think tourists will come in masses, before Thailand Pass and other similar inventions have gone; there are many more easy to access fine alternatives...????

ChaCha, please have a chat with immigration too.

90days online not working and now, they even don't bother to send anything back by post.

Waiting already 7,5 weeks and nothing.

as with everything related to official work in thailand also Thailand pass is manned with lazy employees.

You get to bkk airport and AOT information desk is not able to help with your driver.

They have to redirect to hotels tables, where you have to try find yours.

Than misspelled names, with habitual "h" added at random.

So even if handed out a boarding card they answer "no have your name".

Of you go to yet another AOT information desk, which might now be willing to help and call the driver (who doesn't speak english, so can't call him directly or even find him in cars parked outside gates) so 5 or maybe 10 minutes waiting time turns into 45 minutes.

And wait for the driver, who suppose to be on stanby at airport, but is on it's way to hospital or hotel with another passenger.

Half a.sed work with tens of employees at the arrival hall playing on their smartphones.

Nothing ever changes in thailand. They don't learn on their previous mistakes. They never excuse for making mistake.

They blame bad spirits or outright the foreigner for coming to their country.

What is the point of the PASS when everything is checked again at your departure airport and then again when you arrive in Thailand. Utterly pointless.

 

If you don't have the correct documents you are unlikely to be allowed to board your flight. And even if you have made a mistake and you somehow arrive in Thailand, and your documents are wrong - then you go back home on the next flight (just like those who arrive with a wrong visa or out of date passport, etc). 

 

It's just nonsense and puts massive hurdles in the way of tourists. 

38 minutes ago, khunPer said:

I don't think tourists will come in masses, before Thailand Pass and other similar inventions have gone; there are many more easy to access fine alternatives...????

The biggest obsctacle is still any form of quarantine and the huge risk of testing positive on arrival. Under those circumstances how can a family travel and take such a risk ?

 

Furthermore, you risk being put into quarantine if you sit near someone positive too ! 

2 hours ago, Denim said:

Quick everyone , start carving wooden elephants .....or maybe spoons would be better

 

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

There is no such a thing as a seamless Thai Gov web site they either dont work or are just down and on the odd occasion they are working its pure luck of the draw .

yes there is, it will seem less when those who seem to want to cuse the app will be less, so it will seem less are arriving because of a lesser than useable app.....

He's now demanding instead of usual ordering. Look out!  He really means it now.  

3 hours ago, Denim said:

Quick everyone , start carving wooden elephants .....or maybe spoons would be better

EU tourist may prefer Frogs if only there was somewhere in the world I could buy a wooden frog with a serrated back that could be tickled to make a froglisch noise!!

4 hours ago, webfact said:

One of the PM's ideas was to promote the idea of offering holiday packages

Now that's revolutionary. He is so creative.

What would Thailand do without him? (that's  rhetorical question)

Another sweet. On the TAT page below the large logo for SHA Hotels. Quite a few tourists click on it in their never-ending search for the latest information. Can anyone tell me what that is? How can you find a SHA hotel there?

4 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Dispatch a team to Stanford University. A small team of undergrads, from their English department even,  could have a great app finished by next weekend.

 

Offer some beer money and a paid  trip to Ko Phangan for New Year.

Why Why Why are govt apps always so buggy and useless?

Because nobody can question the person in charge as they would eventually be given a tea making post 

Not just TP that is a problem.

 

The new evisa site is often down. And it has some ridiculous requirements that were nto previously required for visa issuance for the countries approved to use the evisa e.g. financial statement. The amount of money is not an issue but having to get a financial statement to upload is a hassle and an invasion of privacy.

 

It is highly unusual for a country heavily reliant on tourism to have such a requirement for all tourists.

 

In the past, proof of finances was asked for only in some countries where there was a clear reason eg. Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh as long required it (but then Cambodians can't do evisa anyhow). TThis is perhaps understandable as there is an issue with illegal immigration fro mthere.

 

However Thai Embassies in Western countries did not require this, and it is ludicrous to make Europeans, Australians, North Americans etc  submit proof that they have the equivalent of 20,000 baht.

 

Not only is it a hassle to do but people have understandable reluctance to upload personal financial documents. As well they should be given the history of data breaches on Thai websites, government websites included.

2 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

An example: For the Phuket Sandbox, people have to book the RT-PCR with ThailandPsas. Then you have to book 7 nights at the SHA Hotel separately. Then upload them to Thailand Pass along with the insurance, vaccination certificate and passport.

 

- Check visa requirements beforehand

- Pay and wait for ThailandPsas dokument.

- Find the "right" insurance. Pay and wait until you get the documents.

- Find an approved hotel, pay in advance, wait for the documents.

- Then convert all documents to jpg.

- If the insurance documents consist of several pages, build 1 jpg from them

- For the vaccination documents, cut out the QR code for both vaccinations. Make only 1 jpg out of it again.

- Make sure that you are working with the correct browsers and email addresses.

- Organize approved transport to the hotel.

-  Print out all documents on paper.

 

Then they get the Thai passport online. Before leaving, they need to get RT PCR, fly to Phuket. When they land, they get an RT-PCR test at the airport, they also get ATKs. You take ATK after arriving at the hotel. Stay there for 7 days and after free to go.

 

- Fill out TM6

- Fill out T8

- Download the Mor Chana App. Try to register.

- Wait for pcr test result

- Make your atk  selftest at day 6-7

- Make Foto from your self test.

- Give or send result from selftest to your hotel. Upload in MorChana is not possible.

- When check out do not forget health letter from hotel.

 

Did I forget something?

The effort for test and go is similar.

 

Question: Does anyone have any idea how to make this even more complicated?

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the Thailand requirements it was easier for my wife to come to Australia for Xmas, so that is what we are planning. By the time she is ready to return to Thailand I may be able to accompany her but with reduced restrictions.

 

Yesterday she went to the shop for a passport photo and it was a two hour wait, today got done first thing in the morning. 

The greatest obstacle to any program is often the ineptness and corruption of the authors.

Wouldn't it have been nice if the PM had wanted better entry experience at immigration prior to Covid. Once spent 2.5 hours getting through passport control at BKK.

2 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

What is the point of the PASS when everything is checked again at your departure airport and then again when you arrive in Thailand. Utterly pointless

Just job creation. Nothing more.