Thailand’s international tourism could take years to recover

[Jingthing]

On 11/23/2021 at 11:31 PM, Hanuman2547 said:

"If a tourist has a positive Covid test when they arrive or a negative test but is seated next to someone who had a positive test, they will be quarantined for 14 days at their own cost. This was not announced at the time of border opening. According to local media accounts, this has cost some travellers between Baht 50,000 and, in one example, Baht 350,000.

The relatively high costs of Covid tests at the airport, the 500Baht entry fee that will be implemented in 2022 and collected from a booth upon arrival, are putting people off from planning a trip to Thailand."

 

Additionally, "To visit Thailand, you must complete a slew of paperwork and processes, including full vaccination certificates, a pre-paid hotel reservation, a USD 50,000 health insurance coverage covering Covid-19, and an online application for the Thailand Pass. Applicants have complained about difficulties and approval delays on the Thailand Pass website."

 

In regards to the above, I cannot advise anyone to plan a holiday to Thailand at this point in time.  Who would want to risk being quarantined for 14 days at a minimum of $1,500?  Not to mention the cost and inconvenience of being tested at the airport and the required health insurance covering Covid-19.  Only certain hotels are used and at over inflated prices.  This includes the one night mandatory stay for 12-30 hours and could possibly be two nights depending upon when your flight arrives.  It seems that this is nothing more than a cash grab by the Thai authorities. In addition, the country is not fully open to tourism.  My suggestion is to choose another destination until Thailand is ready to enter the global tourism market.

Absolutely!

Only very motivated people as opposed to typical tourists, such as people trying to return here that have already lived here, have much of a RATIONAL reason to go through all that. Thailand's program is exceptionally onerous for a program that claims to be open. Of course some other countries are totally closed. For people wanting classic leisure travel there are much better options that are much more open in reality.

 

[Captain Monday]

37 minutes ago, timendres said:

Contradictory statements. The "complete cultural experience" of Thailand is not some "corporate experience" that provides "the safest, world class, sustainable vacation destination". It is certainly not why I fell in love with the country. Of course, improve sustainability and safety, but we have already seen the destruction of too much of what makes Thailand unique and desirable. "Open minded people" understand there are many reasons people love to vacation here, and not all of them are coming for temples and beaches. There are already plenty of destinations providing the "western standard" of tourism. Thailand needs to retain its character, or tourism will dwindle. Police checks for all foreigners entering the kingdom? They are already doing what is reasonable. Anything more is likely to turn people away. "Severe prosecution"? For masks? Get a grip Anutin Jr. Simple reminders and 500 baht fines will work just fine.

Thanks for reading my long unreasonable screed.

 

People come from all over the world eschewing masks. They need to be educated first. Heavy fines and penalties, broadcast to foreign media channels can be part of that learning process before arrival. The Thailand of 24 years ago I fell in love with will never return, though I wish it most of it could. Some elements will always be there, outside of major tourist city centers. The more "charming" wonders of Siam however, all the scams, casual pedestrians or children savaged by wild dogs on beaches or sois,  the easy haven for foreign crims have passed their sell date. All could be easily eliminated without endangering the attractiveness of Thailand to any type of visitor, except the crims and sex-pests.

Did you like the foreign crims and sex-pests? Bangkok street food is worthy of unesco intangible cultural asset status.  So, move it to Singapore style hawker centers. Anybody who really liked it because of its haphazard and potentially unsanitary nature wishing that to last forever is just being unreasonable. It's 2021 Bangkok can have proper pavements accessible to wheelchairs.

 

 "You can never go home again"

[A1Str8]

I don't know why Thais now want tourism to recover. Before convid they were all xenophobic and wanted foreigners to go home. Now that they left they want them to come back. 

[Hanuman2547]

6 hours ago, A1Str8 said:

I don't know why Thais now want tourism to recover. Before convid they were all xenophobic and wanted foreigners to go home. Now that they left they want them to come back. 

There's still a sizable group that doesn't want the country to open up to foreign tourism.  

[timendres]

21 hours ago, A1Str8 said:

I don't know why Thais now want tourism to recover. Before convid they were all xenophobic and wanted foreigners to go home. Now that they left they want them to come back. 

I have encountered very little xenophobia in Thailand. Personal experience. It is the government that is going broke, and those in the tourism industry who are already broke, that want tourism to return. The average Thai just wants a better economy and a better government.

[timendres]

21 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Thanks for reading my long unreasonable screed.

Well crafted posts deserve a genuine read.

 

21 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

People come from all over the world eschewing masks. They need to be educated first. Heavy fines and penalties, broadcast to foreign media channels can be part of that learning process before arrival. 

I think a simple pamphlet handed out on arrival at the airport would be cheaper and more effective. A 500 baht fine will get most people to comply. Masks are not the real problem here, so I cannot understand your obsession.

 

21 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Did you like the foreign crims and sex-pests? 

I tend not to judge. People who cause no problems, are... not a problem. Apparently these specific people have been causing you much angst.

 

21 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Bangkok street food is worthy of unesco intangible cultural asset status.  So, move it to Singapore style hawker centers.

I think you misunderstand Thailand. Street food does not exist for tourists. It exists for Thai people. It is their culture, not something created to generate tourism. Move it to Singapore style hawker centers, and you have eliminated its entire purpose. If you find it inconvenient, there is always Singapore waiting for your arrival.

[Captain Monday]

1 hour ago, timendres said:

 

 

I tend not to judge. People who cause no problems, are... not a problem. Apparently these specific people have been causing you much angst.

You are a better and more enlightened being than am judgmental. Expecting everyone to live up to Captain Monday's standard of excellence. It is unreasonable. We would have a world with no crime, no exploitation, no professional sports. But also little risk taking and innovation.

The troubles I have with the crims were never direct but every bad action the foreign scofflaws and miscreants take results in hassles and bad karma against all foreigners. Structural xenophobia exists all over the world I have lived and worked several counties always true.

 

1 hour ago, timendres said:

 

I think you misunderstand Thailand. Street food does not exist for tourists. It exists for Thai people. It is their culture, not something created to generate tourism. Move it to Singapore style hawker centers, and you have eliminated its entire purpose. If you find it inconvenient, there is always Singapore waiting for your arrival.

Totally right about the street food or the street dogs, anything else said would just be argumentative. 

My final comment was about "progress", which is unavoidable unless you really close off the country.

It doesn't really affect me but Thai people know better than anyone know their capitals streets are inaccessible to wheelchairs/why they have to keep granny at home. Not only from vendors but the archaic urban infrastructure. They know children attacked by packs of dogs while playing by dogs is a suboptimal result from an indifferent policy. 

 

 

 

 

[The Hammer2021]

On 11/23/2021 at 4:48 AM, Captain Monday said:

If Thailand cannot come up with an entry app that can produce a QR code in 5 minutes like any other country in the world that already has such apps give up and scrap it.

 

Impossible but would like to see them maybe enforce existing laws and break up transport mafias 

 

 

• All alcohol and entertainment restrictions should be repealed. There is no way to "improve ventilation" by January 15 2022 or January 15 2029, and no number of vinyl signboards describing the 24 step process of how to drink in a bar will have any effect on public health. People are not going on holiday to Saudi Arabia either are they? For real most of the dreaded "bar beers" have perfect ventilation already, a roof with no walls!
• Coming to Thailand should be a complete cultural experience for open minded people Make  clear public statements through all travel industry channels that although it may not be scientifically essential wearing a mask at ALL TIMES EVEN OUTDOORS is part of most Asian cultures already and will be required for in Thailand many years under force of severe prosecution. OR PLEASE DO NOT COME HERE
• Build back better. The safest, world class, sustainable vacation destination. No more group tour hordes, sex-pests and crims. Require police checks for all foreigners who come to Thailand. Eliminate dodgy travel insurance. Require a 300 baht per day payment for all temporary visitors with discounts (example 4500 baht for 30 day stay). To fund comprehensive travel health and accident and medical repatriation insurance for duration of stay in Thailand. Also to fund facilities and environmental infrastructure improvements, and significant enhancement to Tourist Police in all major areas.
• Any rare case of a tourist requiring covid treatment or isolation should be free and at top facilities and hotels.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps liver function tests to determine alcoholics and ban them from entry.

[Captain Monday]

2 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Perhaps liver function tests to determine alcoholics and ban them from entry.

So whats on YOUR rap sheet Hammer?

[The Hammer2021]

There will be no 'recovery'. The era of tourism as we knew it has finished. In the following years a new model of highly restricted, highly controlled mass tourism will develop. There will be no independent travellers. It will be all government controlled like the Chinese or North Korean system. Tourism and travel as we knew it here is finished and the wealth it brought people has dried up for ever.

[peter zwart]

With the continuous flow of new covid variants, we can assume that tourism will be battered for many years to come. And not just in Thailand.