Omicron panic decimates Thai tourism "high season" - foreign tourists cancel, events scrapped, flights stopped, insurance woes

[webfact]

File photo: Travel Daily

 

Thai business media reported that the tourist "high season" was in tatters in Thailand because of the Omicron variant.

 

Foreign tourists - with no appetite for going through a seven day quarantine since Test and Go was suspended - have been cancelling in droves.

 

They are cancelling trips to Phuket.

 

Flights into the holiday island are being scrapped with TUI Nordic stopping them on Christmas Day.

 

In Chiang Mai tours are being cancelled and hotel bookings are going unfilled. 

 

Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang pulled the plug on New Year events by the BMA.

 

The media put this down to Omicron and noted that this comes despite general acceptance that the variant means less hospitalization but is considered faster spreading. 

 

The impact on tourists potentially testing positive once in Thailand is enough to tell them "no thanks" and persuade them to stay in the US and Europe for now. 

 

Trying to buck the trend are tourism leaders in Rayong, Pattaya and Hua Hin with requests to be considered "sandbox" destinations. 

 

But these seem little more than forlorn hopes with the market for trips to Thailand thoroughly depressed.

 

Whether January will see any renewed hope remains highly debatable with Omicron sweeping Europe and the US with record numbers and Thailand itself bracing for worse days to come. 

 

Central, The Mall Group and Icon Siam - three major retail groups - are pressing ahead with New Year plans with Covid protocols - but what visitors they have will mostly be domestic Thais not international visitors.

 

Meanwhile it was also reported that insurance companies face payouts of 20 billion baht on Covid policies - the new variant is overstretching them and means that many are facing losses after miscalculating the cost of policies. 

 

All in all, "Happy New Year" as far as the Thai tourism industry goes looks a hollow saying this year. 

 

Health insurance plans that meet the long stay visa requirements

 

 

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[stigar]

Well..they been warned allready.Close down this country rigth now.UK(just england)with 130.000 new cases..france 180.000 new cases.USA 580.000 new cases.And thailand only about 3000 new cases????

Come on..start testing and tell the real truth.

[RandiRona]

2 minutes ago, stigar said:

tell the real truth

You cant handle the truth!!  Jack Nicholson

[Thaiwrath]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

All in all, "Happy New Year" as far as the Thai tourism industry goes looks a hollow saying this year. 

Happy New Fear ?

[RubbaJohnny]

Who'd have thought, certainly not TAT, luckily millions of hi-so big spenders due from ...errr Myanmar? Mars?,Mongolia?

 

Anyways, I'm sure they'll think of something perhaps remove those already here into expensive forced quarantine or the usual last resort increase prices to equalize revenue.

 

I fear TAT have mispoken these widely over optimistic gentlemen would be unable to arrange refreshments in a brewery?

 

 

[ozfarang]

But hospital admissions are not increasing dramatically.

Australian cases nearly doubled over night but hospital admissions only up slightly and ICU and ventilator case were down marginally.

If Thailand follows a trajectory similar to Australia then their health system will cope

[RubbaJohnny]

30 minutes ago, stigar said:

USA 580.000 new cases and thailand only about 3000 new cases????

They'll be flying in in drops and dropping like flies, if this variant is as deadly as Delta. Even if people recover those who take up ICU's block others and regardless of beds in streets as we saw in the last wave there is a finite number of trained staff and some of them may succumb, sick , die or be forced to quarantine.

 

Severe Chinese style lockdowns my  be the sole solution, we'll soon know 13 million in Xian is the Petri dish. I don't think this regime  has the will cojones or discipline to really herd these pussy cats, all we can do is get vaxxed, mask up and hide, yet I foresee a New Year superspread.

 

[bdenner]

Either this is complete nonsence or the insurance companies are cooking the books?

Quote

Meanwhile it was also reported that insurance companies face payouts of 20 billion baht on Covid policies - the new variant is overstretching them and means that many are facing losses after miscalculating the cost of policies. 

They have only reported a 1000 odd Omicron cases and how many of those patients actually have Covid insurance?

[thaiman]

Thailand reaps what it sows!

[Cherrytreeview]

People aren't stupid.

We had the story of the Danish family yesterday, with the daughter being taken off to hospital for failing a test.

Area 39, a very popular bar near Treetown, Soi Bukahow, Pattaya has started ATK testing to get into the premises. They are not accepting proof of vaccination apparently.

Editor of the Pattaya News confirmed that if you fail that ATK test, an ambulance will be called and you will be taken to hospital.

Who in their right mind is going to travel 6,000 miles to put up with heads you win, tails your taken to hospital.

 

 

[MrJ2U]

3 minutes ago, Cherrytreeview said:

People aren't stupid.

We had the story of the Danish family yesterday, with the daughter being taken off to hospital for failing a test.

Area 39, a very popular bar near Treetown, Soi Bukahow, Pattaya has started ATK testing to get into the premises. They are not accepting proof of vaccination apparently.

Editor of the Pattaya News confirmed that if you fail that ATK test, an ambulance will be called and you will be taken to hospital.

Who in their right mind is going to travel 6,000 miles to put up with heads you win, tails your taken to hospital.

 

 

And its freaking EXPENSIVE!

 

 

[LivinLOS]

13 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

But hospital admissions are not increasing dramatically.

Actually USA deaths are now trending back up.. and the speed of the recent rises means your likely 2 plus weeks away from the current infections presenting in mortality figures. Omicron is milder but the infection rates are way way higher to compensate somewhat. 

The other issues are more economic.. People isolating on mass means lack of staff for services, a breakdown of these can lead to all kinds of economic chaos even with a mild virus. 

 

[Cherrytreeview]

12 minutes ago, bdenner said:

Either this is complete nonsence or the insurance companies are cooking the books?

They have only reported a 1000 odd Omicron cases and how many of those patients actually have Covid insurance?

Or the Thai figures are complete BS.

UK and France 100K - 150K cases per day Thailand 2500 cases 

Do me a favour.

 

[Cake Monster]

Of one fact that is certain, if Thailand has the blasé attitude towards this Omicron Variant that it has taken over the previous Variants that infected the Country, the Hospitals will be overflowing in short order.

This Variant is not so much about severity, but is about sheer volumes of people infected.

And with massive numbers infected, it only takes a small number, percentage wise, to swamp the Hospitals

[Bvor]

8 minutes ago, Cherrytreeview said:

Who in their right mind is going to travel 6,000 miles to put up with heads you win, tails your taken to hospital.

i was intending going to pattaya early march. not anymore, will now consider june.

the condo can gather a bit more dust, my absence will then be 28 months.

[stigar]

4 minutes ago, Bvor said:

i was intending going to pattaya early march. not anymore, will now consider june.

the condo can gather a bit more dust, my absence will then be 28 months.

I have booked a fligth late march..but ican change that any day.I just talked with my lady in korat.She will pick me up in bangkok when i arrive.Anyway i holding my breath now because i dont trust the thai numbers at all.

[edwinchester]

"....many are facing losses after miscalculating the cost of policies."

 

Oh dear, how sad, nevermind.

 

[Trip Hop]

56 minutes ago, Cherrytreeview said:

People aren't stupid.

We had the story of the Danish family yesterday, with the daughter being taken off to hospital for failing a test.

Area 39, a very popular bar near Treetown, Soi Bukahow, Pattaya has started ATK testing to get into the premises. They are not accepting proof of vaccination apparently.

Editor of the Pattaya News confirmed that if you fail that ATK test, an ambulance will be called and you will be taken to hospital.

Who in their right mind is going to travel 6,000 miles to put up with heads you win, tails your taken to hospital.

 

 

Currently in Koh Kood but met up with a few of the lads last week and had a few nights out around Treetown.  I’ll be staying well clear of any bar that’s requiring a LFT to enter when I head back up in the new year. Even with a decent LFT and not Chinese <deleted>, it’s still too much of a risk in case of a false positive or you’re asymptomatic? 

[TheCowboy]

The person who writes these headlines is doing Thailand a great disservice. 

 

As the article points out, Covid is "sweeping the US and Europe with record numbers," Thai hospitals are "bracing for worse days to come," and Omicron payouts are "overstretching" insurance companies.  

 

The government has changed its arrival policy in response to new information and new circumstances since Test & Go was originally devised -- in particular, that fully vaccinated travelers may be infected, and infections may be missed because of smaller testing windows.   Tourists have changed their plans because holiday travelers usually have shorter vacation times.   

 

Any "panic" reflects the writer's own opinions about Thailand's Covid policy, and not the facts nor responses to them.  

[candide]

1 hour ago, bdenner said:

Either this is complete nonsence or the insurance companies are cooking the books?

They have only reported a 1000 odd Omicron cases and how many of those patients actually have Covid insurance?

Spot on! There has never been a significant number of hospitalised people among those who entered under Test&Go or sandbox schemes.

Another B.S. article, as usual!

[ebean001]

The high speed train to China from Chiang Mai to be completed 2017. Ooops, that did not happen but China now has a train to Laos. my question is this...China has almost 30,000 klms of track. If Thailand had connect with China, it would have been connected to nearly all people in China...including ex-pats. What would Thailand be like today?  

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, stigar said:

Well..they been warned allready.Close down this country rigth now.UK(just england)with 130.000 new cases..france 180.000 new cases.USA 580.000 new cases.And thailand only about 3000 new cases????

Come on..start testing and tell the real truth.

Rising UK cases are irrelevant in light of the fact that deaths continue to fall and the average length of stay for a hospital admission is 3 days.

 

Because:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

 

 

 

 

+ Also UK got it right, at the beginning of the year, with its exemplary Vaccine initiative, and is now doing so again with its Booster programme:

 

 

 

For the UK it's swiftly going from (briefly) "just flu" and more towards "another cold".

 

The major problem is the effect on ordinary, everyday life, as pointless self isolating is "de-staffing" and damaging vast swathes of the socio-economic infrastructure.

 

Of course the former can't be true for those countries who, hubristically, managed to **** up during "half-time".........no names mentioned.

 

But they still get the socio-economic meltdown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

3 minutes ago, Enoon said:

Rising UK cases are irrelevant in light of the fact that deaths continue to fall and the average length of stay for a hospital admission is 3 days.

 

Because:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/28/omicron-is-not-the-same-disease-as-earlier-covid-waves-says-uk-scientist

 

 

 

 

+ Also UK got it right, at the beginning of the year, with its exemplary Vaccine initiative, and is now doing so again with its Booster programme:

 

The issue for the UK is the impact on health services. Although hospitalizations with Omicron are shorter in duration and less often lead to death, the numbers of hospitalizations are rising so rapidly that the system could soon reach or exceed capacity. At the same time, staffing levels are affected by large numbers of medical personnel themselves falling ill.

 

There is a genuine need to try to slow down the rate of spread in the UK at this point to ensure that the system can handle it and people in need of health services (for all illnesses) don't lack access.

 

Slow down the rate, not halt the spread - the second is impossible.

 

 

[Bvor]

1 hour ago, stigar said:

I have booked a fligth late march..but ican change that any day.I just talked with my lady in korat.She will pick me up in bangkok when i arrive

do you already have approved TP QR Code for late march cos i got my doubts (ditto everything else) that test and go will be reinstated anytime soon as it was.

[rtco]

1 hour ago, RubbaJohnny said:

if this variant is as deadly as Delta.

It isn't ... look at the numbers and research ,,, faster spreading but like a common cold. Take the risk ... the more that get it the greater the immunity.

[Guderian]

But...but...but...didn't the tourism minister, Pipat, tell us just a few days ago that Omicron was having no effect at all on tourist bookings? How is this possible, a minister of the government either telling porkies or else being poorly informed, lol.

[mjakob007]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Foreign tourists - with no appetite for going through a seven day quarantine since Test and Go was suspended - have been cancelling in droves.

Cant have your cake and still eat it......

[Mavideol]

I don't think TAT is to worried/panic about Omicron, this  morning was in Ao Nang beach 90% of foreigners not wearing masks, walking around like there's nothing to worry about and no police or any other government agencies around to check or enforce the regulations..... it will be fun after the holidays, let's see TAT's reactions/comments when the infections jump over the roof

[stigar]

9 minutes ago, Bvor said:

do you already have approved TP QR Code for late march cos i got my doubts (ditto everything else) that test and go will be reinstated anytime soon as it was.

I didnt apply anything yet..just have a ticket.If its still quarantene in thailand im NOT going.I been there earlier this year and took my 15 days quarantene.Never ever again.My lady agree its wasted money.So like i said im holding my breath.

[Willy Wombat]

A weaker version of the virus and governments around the globe are wetting their beds.

 

You would think we are on The Train to Busan the way people and governments are acting