TAT latest figures: Half a million tourists will visit Thailand this year - 2/3 day wait on "Omicron Effect"

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I wonder how often he wins the Lottery?

[cncltd1973]

Has he ever hit the numbers correctly - even before the pandemic? Great job security to always fall short and not get called in and questioned for his consistent clownery. No accountability in the gov't then. What does he do all day, since he clearly isn't studying tourism projections!

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

The number of tourists is a very debatable subject but as has previously been said, many will not be tourists at all - people visiting to see their wives, families, business etc.  The TAT may have thought it a good idea to ask the reason for travel on the Thailand Pass application - there wasn't a place for visiting wives or family so I for example, just ticked travel.

 

For the future, a lot will depend on Thailand's response to the Omicron variant.  If they impose tighter restrictions, many will simply cancel.  However, it's not entirely down to what Thailand does.  My own government (UK) has started to impose restrictions and added to their Red List again.  After more than 20 months away I'm booked to arrive on 30 December but as I've no doubt many other's will, I'll be watching the situation very closely. 

 

As well as the worry that Thailand may close up again, I have to consider the fact that even if Thailand remains open to tourists from the UK, if the situation in Thailand itself becomes more serious, they might be put on the UK's Red List.  If I am allowed to fly and that happens whilst I'm away, I'll probably be given a couple of days notice to get myself home or face 10 days quarantine at a cost of £2285 (103,000 baht).

 

This situation is absolutely crazy - over the last 20 months, I and thousands of others have been prevented from visiting our families and hundreds of thousands of Thai's have been thrown out of work due to the collapse of tourism.  At first, although they were hard to live with, I supported restrictions and understood the need for them.  However, time has moved on and its clear this virus is going to be with us for a long time.  There will be countless new variants in the coming months and years. We have to learn to live with the virus.  So many of our 'leaders' have said the same but as soon as a new variant comes along, its forgotten and the travel bans/restrictions begin again.

 

Living with the virus means accepting that some people will be infected and sadly some will die but there is no such thing as living a 100% safe life.  You could be run over and killed simply crossing a road or struck down with food poisoning and be sick for a while. The vaccines were supposed to let us 'learn to live with the virus' - we in the UK have been told from the very start that they were not 100% effective against all features but that they would offer a good level of protection, especially against severe illness and death.  A new variant comes along and the 'learn to live with it' message seems to have been forgotten.

 

Yes, this variant may be more infectious, it may be more resistant to the vaccines and the government may want a little time to study Omicron's capabilities but is this going to happen every time a new variant comes along? There is no way of forecasting when a new variant will appear and it is entirely possible that one may come along whilst Omicron is being studied.  Are we to be in limbo forever?

 

The UK's governments answer when they are questioned about the fairness of imposing quarantine charges on people returning home is that in light of the Pandemic, you should be prepared for things to change before you make the decision to travel.  If we all start to do that, the airlines, hotels and tour companies + their support industries are doomed. Very few people are going to take the risk of being quarantined - imagine how much a family arriving back in the UK is going to have to pay?

 

As an example, a husband and wife with one kid aged 11+ and one aged 5-11 will have to pay £5470 (246,000 baht) for their quarantine hotel. How many families can save up that amount + the cost of their holiday before travelling?

 

Living with the virus

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by spidermike007

[spidermike007]

Omnicon may be next to nothing. No need for alarm, when we don't know the facts. Of course, the WHO, the CDC, the FDA, the MSM, and Big Pharma seem to benefit from public alarm. But, don't buy into something we know little about. At least not yet. 

[zzaa09]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Omnicon may be next to nothing. No need for alarm, when we don't know the facts. Of course, the WHO, the CDC, the FDA, the MSM, and Big Pharma seem to benefit from public alarm. But, don't buy into something we know little about. At least not yet. 

Too late now - most have already bought into the latest sensationalized scare...

 

[cheapcanuck]

Where is he getting these numbers from? 

[bkk6060]

16 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

yesterday we did our shop in BIG C  central ,the wife commented how few Thais were shopping ,the only ones seemed to be with their Falang husbands /boyfriends ,

Big C central has never been a big Thai shopping place.  They mostly go to Macro or the local markets.

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, cncltd1973 said:

Has he ever hit the numbers correctly - even before the pandemic? Great job security to always fall short and not get called in and questioned for his consistent clownery. No accountability in the gov't then. What does he do all day, since he clearly isn't studying tourism projections!

Perhaps he spends his time making money shorting stocks in tourism and hospitality related companies? 

Edited December 1, 2021 by spidermike007

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Omnicon may be next to nothing. No need for alarm, when we don't know the facts. Of course, the WHO, the CDC, the FDA, the MSM, and Big Pharma seem to benefit from public alarm. But, don't buy into something we know little about. At least not yet. 

I'm not buying into anything but my Prime Minister already has - Thailand has also imposed bans and quarantine requirements.  I won't be alone in the fact that if I am to get things done on time and at the right price, I have to book and pay for a pre-departure PCR test (Airline rules) and car parking.  If things go wrong I'll lose out to some extent on things I've already paid for so it seems a little crazy to book more with the current situation. 

 

22 cases in the UK already - Thailand banned flights from South Africa when they had just 59.  At the current rate, the UK will pass that number in a few days.

 

It might never happen - that doesn't make it any less worrying (or infuriating) - I'll be very happy if it turns out I'm worrying for nothing.

Edited December 1, 2021 by KhaoYai

[Jiggo]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:56 AM, fangless said:

Does he buy his crystal ball from a 20Baht store?

Crystal Meth more like.

[fangless]

21 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Crystal Meth more like.

Quite correct; Drinks Meths and talks Balls!

Edited December 1, 2021 by fangless
not telling

[ThaiFelix]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:53 AM, webfact said:

The head of Thailand's tourism authority said that when the final numbers are tallied half a million foreign tourists will have visited the country this year.

Really?  In all the years I have listened to this dept. I got the distinct impression no-one there could count nor use a calculator properly