Thailand to discuss travel bubble agreement with neighboring countries

[snoop1130]

 

Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is planning to discuss the possibility of a travel bubble initially with China and other ASEAN countries following the resumption of the “Test&Go” scheme this month.

 

Phiphat revealed to the press yesterday, February 2nd, that he would seek a discussion with China’s Culture and Tourism Ministry regarding the travel bubble agreement, or exchanging tourists without quarantine, during his visit to the Winter Olympics Games in Beijing between February 3rd and the 6th.

 

He also planned to discuss the scheme with the Malaysian Prime Minister and authorities during their visit to Thailand to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O’Cha at the end of February.

 

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn revealed that a total of 35,046 tourists had registered for the Thailand Pass system on the first day of reopening on February 1st. Of that, 31,343 were for the “Test&Go” scheme, 3,290 were for Sandbox, and 413 were for Alternative Quarantine (AQ).

 

Full Story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/02/03/thailand-to-discuss-travel-bubble-agreement-with-neighboring-countries-tourism-council-wants-on-arrival-covid-testing-dropped/

 

-- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-02-03

 

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[UKPaul67]

Oh ! A bubble means they don't have covid !

[RubbaJohnny]

Will deals with both China and Malaysia be a double bubble?

I foresee a hub imminent or even a Hubble Bubble, sheeesh

[BangkokReady]

What's the logic?  Find somewhere where they also have just under 10,000 cases per day and then allow quarantine-free travel?  No test and go?  What about new infections?  If you have the same number of cases as Thailand then you don't pose a risk, but if you have a higher number of cases you do?

 

Or is it based on nationality and good-covid vs. bad-covid?

[86Tiger]

 

 

They have been bursting those bubbles for 2 years.....

[Blumpie]

Oh god Thailand, not this again!  

Again?  AGAIN?!!!

[koratkarlos]

Getting a bit desperate perhaps.  People in China will stay in China for quite some time.  And where is the 5th day double prepaid PCR test and hotel in this new Asian travel bubble.  Do people in Thailand think we are idiots and do not notice this blatant rule bending.  I don't care.  In 6 months this will be over except in China where their controlling efforts will just prolong the inevitable.  And I was in a good mood before I read this new plan.

[Petey11]

They stated 23k applied first day Thai Pass yesterday, now 30k plus. TAT getting confused again? And who would travel from China to return to 21 day quarantine.

[ChC1]

Here are several articles this Thai minister should read before welcome debt trapped Chinese coming to his country, because it may means one way tickets for many.:

China economy: Charts show how much debt has grown (cnbc.com)

 

How big is China's debt and who owns it? | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

*This newspaper is owned by China now and is China's mouthpiece. It should alarm you if it is telling this to you.

 

from academic point of view:

An Overview of Chinese Debt (cadtm.org)

 

And this already happened in Vietnam and I am sure if Thailand is to open to China this would happen too:

Ho Chi Minh City again detects illegal Chinese immigrants (vietnamnet.vn)

 

Vietnam arrests 10 Chinese illegal immigrants - VnExpress International

 

Security official discusses illegal immigration from China - Politics & Laws - Vietnam News | Politics, Business, Economy, Society, Life, Sports - VietNam News

 

The reality is that factories are moving out from China to cheaper countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. Workers are loosing work, families have mountains of debts due to unrealistic real estate prices. If Chinese are flocking to Vietnam (a country China is looked down at) as illegal immigrate workers, can you imagine what would happen to Thailand (where the pay is better).

 

I wish Thailand all the good luck. This minister is stupid to pursue Chinese tourists. It almost seems that he does not read important economic cables that is available to diplomas to assess current affairs.  Even Chinese Premier Li Keqiang admitted that 600 millions Chinese with monthly income less than $140. See:

Is China rich or poor? Nation’s wealth debate muddied by conflicting government data | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

* The SCMP's report on urban people has assets over 3.2 million yuan is due to inflated real estate price, and most are debts on real estate, of which the newspaper is not be 100% straight.

 

Chinese tourists boom is finished. Last decade was fuelled by real estate boom. Now the bubble is bursting, already. Reuter said so:

Chancellor: China’s economic miracle is ending | Reuters

 

Are Thai government official that shallow? Do they read any economic indicators? Do they not understand the current situations? Do you bury their head in the sands and assume everything is as before? Please educate me on this one. I can't get my head around this.

 

 

[Albert Zweistein]

8 hours ago, RubbaJohnny said:

Will deals with both China and Malaysia be a double bubble?

I foresee a hub imminent or even a Hubble Bubble, sheeesh

Perhaps a Truble Buble ?

[it is what it is]

 

meanwhile, much of the rest of the world is just getting on with living life with covid, especially in the uk, my friends tell me life there is getting more and more like pre-covid times. thailand seems, sadly, well behind the covid curve.

[RichardColeman]

Brilliant, try and discus a main travel bubble with a country with a zero covid policy. The logic in believing that China with its zero policy restrictions is going to allow its citizens to go mix in huge numbers with foreigners and return later is mind blowing. If I was China I'd say no immediately due to Thailand ranking 140 odd in covid tests per million, that fact may well be coming back to haunt them and bite them on the proverbial backside.

 

 

 

 

[DonniePeverley]

When they say neighbouring countries - we all know they mean one specific country. 

[spidermike007]

10 hours ago, ChC1 said:

Here are several articles this Thai minister should read before welcome debt trapped Chinese coming to his country, because it may means one way tickets for many.:

China economy: Charts show how much debt has grown (cnbc.com)

 

How big is China's debt and who owns it? | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

*This newspaper is owned by China now and is China's mouthpiece. It should alarm you if it is telling this to you.

 

from academic point of view:

An Overview of Chinese Debt (cadtm.org)

 

And this already happened in Vietnam and I am sure if Thailand is to open to China this would happen too:

Ho Chi Minh City again detects illegal Chinese immigrants (vietnamnet.vn)

 

Vietnam arrests 10 Chinese illegal immigrants - VnExpress International

 

Security official discusses illegal immigration from China - Politics & Laws - Vietnam News | Politics, Business, Economy, Society, Life, Sports - VietNam News

 

The reality is that factories are moving out from China to cheaper countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. Workers are loosing work, families have mountains of debts due to unrealistic real estate prices. If Chinese are flocking to Vietnam (a country China is looked down at) as illegal immigrate workers, can you imagine what would happen to Thailand (where the pay is better).

 

I wish Thailand all the good luck. This minister is stupid to pursue Chinese tourists. It almost seems that he does not read important economic cables that is available to diplomas to assess current affairs.  Even Chinese Premier Li Keqiang admitted that 600 millions Chinese with monthly income less than $140. See:

Is China rich or poor? Nation’s wealth debate muddied by conflicting government data | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

* The SCMP's report on urban people has assets over 3.2 million yuan is due to inflated real estate price, and most are debts on real estate, of which the newspaper is not be 100% straight.

 

Chinese tourists boom is finished. Last decade was fuelled by real estate boom. Now the bubble is bursting, already. Reuter said so:

Chancellor: China’s economic miracle is ending | Reuters

 

Are Thai government official that shallow? Do they read any economic indicators? Do they not understand the current situations? Do you bury their head in the sands and assume everything is as before? Please educate me on this one. I can't get my head around this.

 

 

Yes. They are that shallow. They have little experience, they were never appointed based on merit, and they were picked from the bottom of the barrel. 

 

I doubt if they do any market research. They just presume. They are the princes of presumption. 

 

And you are right. Either Chinese tourism will fail this time, or they will end up with tens of thousands of illegal Chinese immigrants. China is in big trouble. Their mountains of debt are only topped by America. Both will suffer massive corrections and hardship. 

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is planning to discuss the possibility of a travel bubble initially with China and other ASEAN countries following the resumption of the “Test&Go” scheme this month.

Please please please China... come back and bail us out.

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, ChC1 said:

Do you bury their head in the sands and assume everything is as before? Please educate me on this one. I can't get my head around this.

You understand correctly, China has gone bust.

Piphat thinks there are millions waiting to come for a holiday.

[rct99q]

9 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

You understand correctly, China has gone bust.

Piphat thinks there are millions waiting to come for a holiday.

Population of China.. 1,420,000,000, or so. Even if 1 billion people can not travel, that still leaves more people than the entire population of the US, that possibly could.

 

There will always be a never ending supply of Chinese travellers.

[hotchilli]

2 minutes ago, rct99q said:

Population of China.. 1,420,000,000, or so. Even if 1 billion people can not travel, that still leaves more people than the entire population of the US, that possibly could.

 

There will always be a never ending supply of Chinese travellers.

But Xi is not letting them out.

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, RubbaJohnny said:

Will deals with both China and Malaysia be a double bubble?

I foresee a hub imminent or even a Hubble Bubble, sheeesh

Toil and trouble.......

China will stay isolated a while longer.

[marcusb]

So very desperate, its embarrassing .

[pokerface1]

1 hour ago, rct99q said:

Population of China.. 1,420,000,000, or so. Even if 1 billion people can not travel, that still leaves more people than the entire population of the US, that possibly could.

 

There will always be a never ending supply of Chinese travellers.

Well there are no doubt millions that want to travel. However getting a passport is a problem  so I've heard. 

[superal]

Chinese are regular visitors to Thailand . Special conditions set up for Chinese business men .

 

Further more , I think that Thailand will be open to all , including land borders , within 6 weeks because the new covid variants are not so potent as the original delta . Same goes for most other countries with the possible exceptions of China , New Zealand and Australia . The virus has wrecked many countries economies and still is and now with the cost of living spiralling globally there has to be a return to normality with a new proviso on awareness and safety protection against the viruses .

Can future international travel return to pre- pandemic levels ?  The main problem is the fake vaccination certs or certs issued without tests conducted by legitimate insiders .Until a new test is made e.g. a finger <deleted> blood test at departure and arrivals , there will always be too much red tape unless the current regulations are abandoned .

[Caldera]

That has failed every single time it has been tried anywhere. 

[ChC1]

7 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

Well there are no doubt millions that want to travel. However getting a passport is a problem  so I've heard. 

That is correct. One of my family members in China is still waiting for approval for a passport renewal since April, 2020. The local chief said it is not possible to issue a new passport for 'long time to come'. We are giving up hope for our family member to get her passport renewed now. It had expired for over a year already.

[BayArea]

While the rest of the world is trying to move on from Covid, Thailand remains in a " bubble".

[it is what it is]

 

travel bubbles around the world have been tried and have gone as far i can see. come on thailand, get with it, please.