Travel agency TUI receives more criticism after Norwegian family was isolated in Thailand

[BusyB]

1 minute ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The symptom is the presence of the virus.

There is no need to put someone in a hospital who is asymptomatic. Most insurances won't pay. Your argument won't fly because you don't need treatment. Quarantine is enough as practiced throughout most of the civilized world. 

Friends of mine have just tested positive, they are not being hospitalized as they have no symptoms.

Some say shoving people into hospital is about money, I have no insight into that, I tend to think it's more to do with cluelessness and wanting to be seen to 'do something'.

But then again, as Roblok says, who'd want a quarantine case in the hotel room next door? Many and especially the larger chain hotels have a centralized aircon system ...

Nightingale hospitals will become essential if they continue with this policy. And I'm on the verge of cancelling my trip for a few more months having now put it off since March of 2020 ...

[Dont confuse me]

Gotta feel for them, but it appears they didn't check everything and more or less took a 'punt' and its backfired.

I hope TUI advised them to buy adequate insurance? 

I wonder how many Norwegians will have read this story and changed their holiday plans?

[VBF]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Just checked TUI  on Trustpilot.....1.6 Stars out of 5, a bad rating. Perhaps they expect too much.

Don't forget that anything with "agent" in its title is basically a parasite for the lazy.  Especially in these days of the Internet why on earth would you......?

[khunPer]

57 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

The family is Norwegian according to the OP. 

Thanks... Ups, I missed that, but same-same (Norway was part of Denmark until 200 years ago, when they chose a Danish prince as their own king...????).

Just change "Danes" with "Scandinavians" we are pretty much enough alike...????

[stigar]

6 minutes ago, VBF said:

You're right about many readers here being better informed etc....BUT certainly in UK, companies supplying the public have a "duty of care" and should be informing their customers of potential dangers. I don't know if Norway has similar rules of course. So perhaps TUI has a paragraph somewhere on its website that this family ignored??

 

Bottom line though....we're all responsible for our own actions and the parents have a bigger "duty of care" to their kids.  UK Gov has loads of travel information - I wonder if the Norwegian equivalent does?  

Any Norwegians on here care to comment?

If people want to travel to norway the rules are wery clear.Even vaccinated have to go in quarantene now.If we want to cross the borders to sweden or finland we have to have a PCR-test minimum 72 hour before.ATK-tests is not valid for travel.

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, geisha said:

So many empty hotels with give away prices on all the booking sites. Why is it not easy to adapt these to isolation hotels ? With the small amount of people arriving actually positive , I’m sure a small hotel in each city would suffice. Bangkok and Phuket would be the main places to have these. Of corse with strict rules of healthy food, cable tv and deliveries. 

Indeed, that would be a good solution. Better then in a hospital (if no care is needed). Though in a hospital a person might get a refund from the insurance. Hotel quarantaine maybe not. (that would be the next thing people would complain about)

 

But yes makes sense appoint some hotels as quarantine hotels and bring people there if they don't want to be in a hospital.

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

The family is Norwegian according to the OP. 

Thanks... Ups, I missed that, but same-same (Norway was part of Denmark until 200 years ago, when they chose a Danish prince as their own king...????).

Just change "Danes" with "Scandinavians" we are pretty much enough alike...????

[The Hammer2021]

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

The thing here is that it's perfectly reasonable to expect to isolate in your hotel if you test positive because that's what all the sane countries in the world do.

 

Thailand deserves to suffer extreme economic damage due to this policy - and it will.

 

Only the power crazy countries who trust nobody at all to comply with any measure due to the general lawlessness of the population put people who test positive for covid in prison. China do it, Thailand does it - I'm sure there's a few others but I really don't care to spend time looking them up.

 

'Thailand deserves to suffer extreme economic damage due to this policy - and it will.' Some people might consider such  a comment cruel and vindictive. Who do you want to see suffer?

 

'Thailand deserves to suffer'

You mean the poor and the powerless deserve  to suffer?

Five people voted  thanks for this comment! What a disgrace!

 

[ukrules]

7 hours ago, Swampy999 said:

Some fools come here and complain when it all goes Pete Tong, are they really that stupid that they do not do a little research of their own?

Nobody in their right minds would come here considering the possible implications, especially with a child.

I feel sorry for the 9 year old, for one, becoming infected and secondly, having stupid parents.

 

They came with TUI which is the rebranded Thomson holidays.

 

As such they do cheap 'packaged holidays', the type used by people who have no idea that there's a difference between charter and scheduled flights.

 

[BusyB]

Amidst all the criticism of this family, it should not be forgotten that they did actually go to a travel expert to plan their trip. That is what reputable travel agents are for, and TUI is reputable. It looks to me that TUI failed here in due diligence. This kind of issue should be common knowledge throughout the organization. It's not as if TUI is a bucket shop.

Personally I prefer to organize my own trips.

[VBF]

1 minute ago, stigar said:

If people want to travel to norway the rules are wery clear.Even vaccinated have to go in quarantene now.If we want to cross the borders to sweden or finland we have to have a PCR-test minimum 72 hour before.ATK-tests is not valid for travel.

Thank you....I was actually wondering whether the Norwegian Govt has a website explaining the rules for Norwegian people travelling abroad. UK Gov does and it's split between various regions of the world thus https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand. Does Norway have similar?

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Cut fingers are not infectious! Please don't be silly. No. There are no other places as good as a hospital  but there are not enough  beds or hospitals which is THE ONLY reason hotel are used or home isolation is accepted. Its a bad solution to lack of medical services.

 

Indeed there are not enough beds if you put everyone in the hospitals... As I wrote in earlier posts too, in the hotels there should be facilitation for infected tourists with no or only mild symptons. They don't need to stay in a hospital, so there is space free for people who are really sick. That is why I said a cut finger. Than you are not sick but you don't go to the hospital too... and the same can be done for people who can be elswhere in quaratine if they are not sick. 

[Virt]

28 minutes ago, VBF said:

You're right about many readers here being better informed etc....BUT certainly in UK, companies supplying the public have a "duty of care" and should be informing their customers of potential dangers. I don't know if Norway has similar rules of course. So perhaps TUI has a paragraph somewhere on its website that this family ignored??

 

Bottom line though....we're all responsible for our own actions and the parents have a bigger "duty of care" to their kids.  UK Gov has loads of travel information - I wonder if the Norwegian equivalent does?  

Any Norwegians on here care to comment?

I'm danish but Norwegian and danish spelling are very much some, so i think i found the right page ????

 

https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/utenrikssaker/reiseinformasjon/velg-land/reiseinfo_thailand/id2415097/

 

Translated from Norwegian.

As a result of the corona situation, the Thai authorities have introduced stricter entry requirements for all travelers. The pandemic still affects society with many restrictions. Everyone in Thailand is advised to keep up to date with current restrictions and follow the advice of local authorities. For other information about the corona, see under the items Entry and Health.

 

Edit. I tried to read everything i could on that page and also followed the link to the Thai embassy, and all i could find were the requirements for entering Thailand.

 

I couldn't find a description where it said what would happen if you test positive on arrival.

 

Not saying it's not there, but if it's so hard to find it, no wonder if people don't find it before they travel.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Virt

[stigar]

4 minutes ago, VBF said:

Thank you....I was actually wondering whether the Norwegian Govt has a website explaining the rules for Norwegian people travelling abroad. UK Gov does and it's split between various regions of the world thus https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand. Does Norway have similar?

Alot of differnt rules.Also depends from whitch country u arriving from

Coronavirus in Norway_ Travel advice - helsenorge.no.mhtml

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Surely you are not equating a cut finger to being infected with a virus that has so far killed in excess of 5 million? Thai authorities do not trust people to isolate themselves.... as per the case recently of an Israeli who went on the grand tour when tested positive. 

World wide there is almost no other country that put everyone in a hospital if they test positive.. The are other solutions instead of being in a hospital with mild or no symptons. That would free a lot of beds for people who really need them and give the nurses and doctors some air... But nobody seems to understand.... If you test positive you are going to the hospital sick or not, ana a result is overworked doctors and nurses and nobody gets the treatment they need because it is too busy... The Israeli was tested negative over and over again, he only broke the rule that the did not wait for the result of the test... please inform yourself

[herfiehandbag]

5 hours ago, Robin said:

Only hope for tourists to be informed is if the popular press in Europe catches on to this and make a big issue of it.

I think they have. My brother has just now sent me a "WhatsAp"text from the UK asking about it. I don't offhand know what paper he reads but it is one of the big circulation tabloids.

Edited January 1, 2022 by herfiehandbag

[spongeman]

It is just too risky to go there at the moment. Me and the Mrs have 3 jabs and still caught it from the son over Xmas. It is not life threatening to us but it spreads like wildfire very easily.

 

It probably would have been better to hold off until mid year 2022. Let this wave settle down and they will have a better handle on things then.

 

And I would not be bringing kids anywhere far, unless it was a life or death situation. 

[VBF]

11 minutes ago, Virt said:

I'm danish but Norwegian and danish spelling are very much some, so i think i found the right page ????

 

https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/utenrikssaker/reiseinformasjon/velg-land/reiseinfo_thailand/id2415097/

 

Translated from Norwegian.

As a result of the corona situation, the Thai authorities have introduced stricter entry requirements for all travelers. The pandemic still affects society with many restrictions. Everyone in Thailand is advised to keep up to date with current restrictions and follow the advice of local authorities. For other information about the corona, see under the items Entry and Health.

Thank you - THAT was what i was asking about - so YES the Norwegian (and Danish) Govts DO provide information to the public about travelling TO Thailand.

 

@stigar Thank you too but your link was for people travelling TO Norway rather than FROM it which is subtly different.

 

So, the fact is, this family did have access to the unbiased rules rather than just relying on what TUI told them, which is my point

Edited January 1, 2022 by VBF

[ikke1959]

18 minutes ago, stigar said:

If people want to travel to norway the rules are wery clear.Even vaccinated have to go in quarantene now.If we want to cross the borders to sweden or finland we have to have a PCR-test minimum 72 hour before.ATK-tests is not valid for travel.

That is what needed clear rules, but in Thailand the rules can change sometimes from morning and in the afternoon different... That is why there is a lot of confusion all the time

Edited January 1, 2022 by ikke1959

[node]

I wrote about this said scenario happening to many a few weeks ago. Those that choose to come on vacation in Thailand during these time, totally blinded, by white sand and blue water flash across their Tv screen.

I am sure at the hospital, is pop a few worthless antiviral pills they had stock piled earlier in 2021, and after 10-14 days you see the cashier on your way out with an ATK kit in hand as a gift.

Truly the LOS and that 'S' does not mean Smile.

 

[Virt]

6 minutes ago, VBF said:

Thank you - THAT was what i was asking about - so YES the Norwegian (and Danish) Govts DO provide information to the public about travelling TO Thailand.

 

@stigar Thank you too but your link was for people travelling TO Norway rather than FROM it which is subtly different.

 

So, the fact is, this family did have access to the unbiased rules rather than just relying on what TUI told them, which is my point

They did, but some of the crucial info i couldn't find.

Try and read my edited post 

 

I would think a description of what would happen if you test positive would be a nice thing to have in big bold letters.

Actually it should be the first thing described ????

[sandyf]

8 hours ago, kotsak said:

Yes, and then as usual the governement will blame the plebs for the spread when it was itself promoting the holidays in the first place. How many bloody times have we seen this happening in the past?

 

Since when did promoting a holiday equate to disregarding precautions.. If you got a discount voucher for a holiday would you see that as a good reason to go away and leave your back door open, of course not.

There were thousands on Koh Chang beach last night and it was the caucasians that had little regard for covid protocols.

It wouldn't surprise me if there are many media stories in the coming weeks about foreigners being quarantined, or being forced to "extend" their holiday.

[sandyf]

19 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

But nobody seems to understand.... If you test positive you are going to the hospital sick or not, ana a result is overworked doctors and nurses and nobody gets the treatment they need because it is too busy...

Absolute garbage.

[morrobay]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

 These wealthy white  western entitled foreigners should be grateful for their treatment..

May I ask what your ethnicity/nationality is Chief ?

[stigar]

15 minutes ago, VBF said:

Thank you - THAT was what i was asking about - so YES the Norwegian (and Danish) Govts DO provide information to the public about travelling TO Thailand.

 

@stigar Thank you too but your link was for people travelling TO Norway rather than FROM it which is subtly different.

 

So, the fact is, this family did have access to the unbiased rules rather than just relying on what TUI told them, which is my point

Yes.Ur rigth.

[daveAustin]

44 minutes ago, Virt said:

They might be large and well known, but the ratings they get are really crappy.

 

Site is in danish, but gives an overall idea how well they are rated.

 

https://dk.trustpilot.com/review/www.tui.dk?page=2

 

In December almost all the reviews were 1 stars.

 

Maybe the family complaining about TUI are not wrong by doing so?

 

Not saying they shouldn't have done their own research before buying tickets, but the reviews indicate the travel agency really has problems with their customer service.

 

But it's still not the travel agency that are responsible for keeping their customers updated on each and every situation.

 

Some do though.

On vacation at the moment and we received several texts during our vacation when the authorities changed anything major with the covid restrictions.

 

As for the family.

Is it their first time in Thailand?

If not they should have known it's important to keep updated with the situation in Thailand.

 

Wouldn’t put much store in ratings sites where travel is concerned. Not saying TUI is bad, but people generally only react with bad experiences, rarely spending time on such a site to say everything was ticketyboo. 

[Bkk Brian]

19 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

So westerners don't need to demonstrate  gratitude? So the concept  of white  entitlement  is new to you?

As I am a white westerner the idea that I am an anti white racist is silly.

I didn't  mention any race. lol

 But anyway, not all generalisations based in geographical origins are racists.

But I'm sure your heart is in the right place

I don't care where you come from or what race you are. Your comment however outed you already and it stands

[daveAustin]

12 minutes ago, sandyf said:

There were thousands on Koh Chang beach last night and it was the caucasians that had little regard for covid protocols.

Because they have half a brain and want to enjoy living. The dolts that follow the dubious, poxy rules to letter and 100% agree probably wear a mask when they brush their teeth. Quality of life? Not!

[daveAustin]

6 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

I don't care where you come from or what race you are. Your comment however outed you already and it stands

Would avoid arguing with this one. Put into the ignore bank. 

[Cherrytreeview]

2 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Would avoid arguing with this one. Put into the ignore bank. 

Agree Dave.

It's beneath Brian to get involved with someone who comes on the board to bait and troll daily.

Just looking for a reaction.

Will always just say the complete opposite view, no matter what anyone says.

Not the only one that has appeared recently.