Pipat Ratchakitprakan. File photo

 

Thailand's minister for tourism and sports Pipat Ratchakitprakan - increasingly marginalized and absent from high level decisions in recent weeks - says he is going to press the CCSA to relax the ban on consuming alcohol in restaurants from 9pm to 11pm or even midnight.

 

This is for the benefit of tourists ahead of the New Year "countdown" reported TNN.

 

The minister will be chairing a tourism and sports sub-committee today and plans to raise the issue then take it forward to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration at their main meeting on Friday. 

 

The language of the report shows that the minister can no longer bark orders - the CCSA will tell him what to do, notes ASEAN NOW.

 

TNN also reported that the minister is working on ways that the ATK swab tests can be administered to aid the convenience of tourists across all forms of entry into Thailand be it Test and Go, Sandbox, AQ, QQ, AHQ and SQ. 

 

In the first 25 days of the reopening of Thailand there were about 4,000 tourists a day, said the report, meaning 100,000 from November 1st to 25th. 

 

Health insurance plans that meet the long stay visa requirements

 

 

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Will he be pushed or will he just go?

Rather than pushing to extend the hours in the few regions that are open he should be pushing for the opening of bars in all regions now that we have no "Dark Red Zones"!

8 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Will he be pushed or will he just go?

Go and become a tourist in a country that actually welcomes tourists and see how it should be done.

Test and Go, Sandbox, AQ, QQ, AHQ and SQ. 

TP, COE, TM8, TM6

SHA, SHA+, SHA++,

ATK, RT-PCR

Mor Prom, Mor Chana, QR 

Plus all Visa Variants.

 

That sounds complicated and

is not tourist-/costumerfriendly.

 

 

2 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

Test and Go, Sandbox, AQ, QQ, AHQ and SQ. 

TP, COE, TM8, TM6

SHA, SHA+, SHA++,

ATK, RT-PCR

Mor Prom, Mor Chana, QR 

Plus all Visa Variants.

Don't forget TM30

3 hours ago, webfact said:

This is for the benefit of tourists ahead of the New Year "countdown" reported TNN.

 

 

Sure the 127 real international tourists here on New Years eve will be delighted.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration just announced restaurants can serve alcoholic beverages to 23-00 from December 1st

 

(20+) ศูนย์ข้อมูล COVID-19 - Posts | Facebook

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's minister for tourism and sports Pipat Ratchakitprakan - increasingly marginalized and absent from high level decisions in recent weeks

They finally got tired of his presence.

Let me guess. He owns restaurants.

 

How about Pattaya? I couldn't even have wine on Thanksgiving!

1 hour ago, brucegoniners said:

He owns restaurants.

Actually:

 

https://www.amamarine.co.th/

 

https://www.ptgenergy.co.th/

 

 

He's the wealthiest member of the cabinet. I mean if you use "declared" assets.

 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's minister for tourism and sports Pipat Ratchakitprakan - increasingly marginalized and absent from high level decisions in recent weeks

Yeah, being classified as "increasingly marginalized" is not a good look. prayut should throw him overboard and start with someone new in that role, once it looks like the COVID thing wanes.

 

 

13 hours ago, brucegoniners said:

Let me guess. He owns restaurants.

 

How about Pattaya? I couldn't even have wine on Thanksgiving!

How awful, what suffering, such inconvenience and agony.......

People are living on the streets for heavens sakes..... 

 

You could have had a glass at home..........in the hotel room...... it really is not such torture.

25 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

How awful, what suffering, such inconvenience and agony.......

People are living on the streets for heavens sakes..... 

 

You could have had a glass at home..........in the hotel room...... it really is not such torture.

Very narrow minded take.   Some of those living on the streets could well be bar/restaurant owners/workers that have had their means of income taken away due to prohibition.   It's not about one person not being allowed to have a glass of wine with their meal, its about the suffering and loss of income of everyone that relies on alcohol sales as part of their business model or their job.   In Pattaya I should imagine that is a significant proportion of the population.    

6 minutes ago, James105 said:

It's not about one person not being allowed to have a glass of wine with their meal,

Too many are whinging in relation to their own personal inconvenience over this rather petty restriction. That is narrow minded.

The complaints so often specifically mention drinks with meals, although likely a cover for a deeper need. 

My point is the bigger picture!

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Too many are whinging in relation to their own personal inconvenience over this rather petty restriction. That is narrow minded.

The complaints so often specifically mention drinks with meals, although likely a cover for a deeper need. 

My point is the bigger picture!

It may just be a petty restriction to you, but this petty restriction is costing people their businesses and in extreme cases their lives due to financial ruin.   It matters not what the reason is for someone wanting or needing a glass of wine as they can get it from somewhere like 7-eleven anyway, but these restrictions simply make the already rich (7-eleven owner) richer, and the family owned restaurant or whatever significantly poorer.   It's not about one glass of wine from a poster on a forum, it's the tens of thousands of glasses of wine/beer/whatever that cannot legally be sold just now that provide the ability for those who sell it to pay their rent and feed their families.   That is the bigger picture.   

7 minutes ago, James105 said:

That is the bigger picture.   

The bigger picture is there are no customers to sell the wine to anyhow.... 

I would love to see the bars reopen..... not particularly fussed about alcohol in restaurants, I am not having any problems in that respect. 

I responded to one poster on the forum,  that is how these forums work. You went on to something else....  just tired of seeing that overused complaint about not getting a beer with dinner, or boo-hoo no wine with my steak!

I see Bangkok has got the extension to 11pm. I see that as a bigger issue, Pattaya being subjected to different rules,

14 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Too many are whinging in relation to their own personal inconvenience over this rather petty restriction. That is narrow minded.

The complaints so often specifically mention drinks with meals, although likely a cover for a deeper need. 

My point is the bigger picture!

James105 is right. If you can't see the correlation between businesses being closed/restricted and the people who work in those businesses being out of work then maybe it's best you remain quiet about this astounding lack of insight and stick to making childish, tedious accusations about posters you have never met ????.

7 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

James105 is right. If you can't see the correlation between businesses being closed/restricted and the people who work in those businesses being out of work then maybe it's best you remain quiet about this astounding lack of insight and stick to making childish, tedious accusations about posters you have never met ????.

It is not your job or position to suggest anyone keep quiet. Nor make comment relating to me, a person YOU have not met. 

Look at the post I responded to and take my reply in that context, I even mentioned the bigger picture, which you seemed to miss..... too many cry-babies on here complaining how it affects them. I live here and see the bigger impact. 

Just now, jacko45k said:

It is not your job or position to suggest anyone keep quiet. Nor make comment relating to me, a person YOU have not met. 

Look at the post I responded to and take my reply in that context,,,,, too many cry-babies on here complaining how it affects them. I live here and see the bigger impact. 

It was good advice, you should take it.

 

If you could see the bigger impact of these silly bans you'd be supporting the easing of restrictions to help the people who have lost their livelihoods. Instead, you prefer to make unfounded, tiresome cheap shots at other posters under the guise of being oh so virtuous. Not a good look. 

 

I live in Bangkok and I've seen the city spring back into life since November 1st with no spike in cases. People getting their businesses and their lives back. That is the impact.

12 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

t was good advice, you should take it.

It was not advice, simply interference. Jumping on the rolling stock.

The restrictions save lives, reduce infections, it is what the world is doing and Thailand is no different. 

Bangkok started all this off with their misguided reaction to Covid..... let us hope they are not doing so again!

How soon people forget.

 

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

The restrictions save lives, reduce infections, it is what the world is doing and Thailand is no different. 

There is no evidence that alcohol leads to Covid. And no, most of the world is not banning alcohol so Thailand is in a very small minority. There has been no spike in infections since the serving restrictions in Bangkok were reduced. Vaccinations are the way out of this, not silly puritanical virtue signalling.

31 minutes ago, James105 said:

but these restrictions simply make the already rich (7-eleven owner) richer,

That could easily be resolved by a complete alcohol ban. When I was in Rayong a couple of weeks ago 7-11 only sold alcohol from 11.00 to 1400.

It is what it is, get over it.

Japan had a full alcohol ban up until a few weeks ago and now only allowed to sell until 9pm, they haven't allowed tourists since the pandemic started.

Things could always get much worse than they have been.

 

Just now, JonnyF said:

There is no evidence that alcohol leads to Covid. And no, most of the world is not banning alcohol so Thailand is in a very small minority. There has been no spike in infections since the serving restrictions in Bangkok were reduced. Vaccinations are the way out of this, not silly puritanical virtue signalling.

The ultimate blinkered diversion.... see the bigger picture!

Alcohol has not been banned anywhere in Thailand since the 1st wave. On sale in loads of places! Do you have 7-11s in Bangkok?

Measures are needed to save lives until  vaccination levels are high enough. 

The nightlife in Bangkok was responsible for many infections previously.... which was exported nationwide.... not again thank you.

9 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

There is no evidence that alcohol leads to Covid.

Now who cannot see the bigger picture?

19 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

The ultimate blinkered diversion.... see the bigger picture!

Alcohol has not been banned anywhere in Thailand since the 1st wave. On sale in loads of places! Do you have 7-11s in Bangkok?

Measures are needed to save lives until  vaccination levels are high enough. 

The nightlife in Bangkok was responsible for many infections previously.... which was exported nationwide.... not again thank you.

How does buying Alcohol at the 711 benefit local businesses? It doesn't, it benefits CP. Tourists don't want to buy beer at the supermarket and scurry back home to drink it in their hotel rooms, they want to sit in a beachside restaurant with a cold beer or glass of wine and watch the sun set. So this is hurting tourism as well as the local style restaurants and pub businesses, and those that work in them. 

 

A socially distanced pub full of vaccinated tourists is far safer than a crowded local market full of unvaccinated locals. Same with crowded food courts, the BTS, MRT etc. Alcohol does not spread this. It's really not that complicated if you take 5 minutes to think about it.

This seems like a good experiment.

 

Just make sure you have testing in place, and evaluation criteria based on the infection rate, and procedures for those places found to have high infection rates.

 

 

5 hours ago, JonnyF said:

How does buying Alcohol at the 711 benefit local businesses?

What.... a local 7-11 is not a local business? You aren't making sense!

20 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

What.... a local 7-11 is not a local business? You aren't making sense!

7-11 is a huge franchise owned by CP, which is owned by one of the richest men in Thailand.

7 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

7-11 is a huge franchise owned by CP, which is owned by one of the richest men in Thailand.

Not all of them... anyhow, business is business.

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

That could easily be resolved by a complete alcohol ban. When I was in Rayong a couple of weeks ago 7-11 only sold alcohol from 11.00 to 1400.

It is what it is, get over it.

Japan had a full alcohol ban up until a few weeks ago and now only allowed to sell until 9pm, they haven't allowed tourists since the pandemic started.

Things could always get much worse than they have been.

 

Tokyo cases went from 25000 per day or more in August to near zero now.

 

Nobody can explain why? (Nothing to do with Olympics)

 

They have never had 7/11 or store restrictions people were drinking  in the streets.

Even Japan government said they expected cases to rise when restaurants and bars re-opened a few weeks ago.  Korea, similar  but now they are at "peak covid".  Many mysteries with this scourge.  

 

Thailand needs to keep the pace with reopening or 1 year from now we will be in same place.

 

The virus is never going away, Live with it and it mutants or be closed, forever.