Thailand at 'Crossroads' as COVID-19 Surges Amid Tourism, Economy Rebound

[Will B Good]

6 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

About as well as they do with roundabouts I expect...

Tiny one near the beach in Ban Chang......can sit and watch for hours as they try to negotiate it.......not a clue who has right of way.....5555

[Cake Monster]

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

"... with thousands of arrivals flocking to the country" - it used to be millions, now thousands is sensationalised.

Apparently, from a statement issued just Yesterday, there have been 300,000 " Tourist " arrivals since November

Of those 300,000, it is highly likely that at least half of them have been people stuck outside the Country for one reason or another, and are returning to their Business's and Families here

[jeanrem]

The fastest people get it, the fastest we will reopen without any restriction. Look at Denmark...

[arithai12]

How many times do we want to have the same discussion over and over again?

[hioctane]

They have to realize that in order for Covid to become endemic, everyone needs to get infected. The unvaccinated will need to avoid crowds. Lots of seft testing and self isolation needs to be encouraged.

 

At home, about 80% of my friends, who were triple vaxxed, got omnicron and a majority recovered with minimal symptoms. When this happens, cases will peak and drop down drastically.

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

At least on a straight road the Thais can only flip flop between forwards and backwards.......God alone knows how they will cope with crossroads.

Put in 3-way traffic lights instead of 2-way as they have done in an attempt to cut the road carnage. And look how effective that has been...555.

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by SunsetT

[BadSpottedDog]

Here's some humor. I've been watching a travel map for updates on different countries and the COVID rules/restrictions. I came across this in the Thailand description. LOL.

[RemyDog]

4 hours ago, kennw said:

So quarantine was dropped in Nov ? then what would you call the 7 nights (8 days) I had to spend in an AHS hotel in December on my return from Australia carrying a tripple vaxccination certificate? 

Fully agree, my 7 nights 8 days in Grand Belle Hotel Pattaya from 10-17 January 2022 when fully vaxxed and PCR negative on leaving Canada and on arrival here was not a voluntary holiday of my choice. Total bullsh*t to say quarantine had been dropped.

[BusyB]

'But along with the renewal of tourism in Thailand, new COVID-19 infections have also begun to accelerate throughout the country.'

 

Why oh why do they have to perpetually flog this old chestnut? The two facts are not co-related, they are co-incidental. They have nothing to do with each other at all.

They should be rejoicing the (vaxed and tested) tourists are still coming despite the soaring Covid cases instead of peddling this garbage.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Precisely.

 

The WHO and UNWNTO are calling for an end to travel restrictions globally.

 

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/unwto-who-call-on-lifting-of-travel-restrictions-claim-theyre-proven-to-be-ineffective/

 

 

No, what the third party source you cite above is reporting is not actually what the WHO has said. The WHO has called for the lifting of travel BANS, but not necessarily travel restrictions such as testing and quarantine.

 

See what they actually have recommended:

 

"In Geneva, the leaders of UNWTO and WHO agreed on the importance of easing or lifting travel bans. Blanket restrictions should be replaced with risk -based, evidence- informed, context-specific policies."

...

Risk and evidence-driven approach

According to the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on COVID-19, all measures applied to international travellers should be based on “risk assessments - including testing, isolation and vaccinations”. Furthermore, the financial burden of such measures should not be placed on travellers themselves.

 

“As countries ease travel restrictions, health must remain the key priority. By basing their decisions on evidence and a risk-based approach adapted to their specific context, countries can find the right balance between keeping people safe, protecting livelihoods and the economy, and keeping borders open”, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus."

 

https://www.unwto.org/news/unwto-and-who-travel-measures-should-be-based-on-risk-assessment

 

If you're going to report such things, at least try to get it right.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, hioctane said:

They have to realize that in order for Covid to become endemic, everyone needs to get infected. The unvaccinated will need to avoid crowds. Lots of seft testing and self isolation needs to be encouraged.

 

At home, about 80% of my friends, who were triple vaxxed, got omnicron and a majority recovered with minimal symptoms. When this happens, cases will peak and drop down drastically.

 

Contrary to your examples above, the problems are for Thailand:

 

--about 29% of the population hasn't even received two vaccine shots thus far including a lot of elderly, and

 

--about 71%  haven't received the three vaccine shots that the medical experts and research say is needed to combat Omicron.

 

So, Thailand just isn't there yet in terms of its vaccination rates.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/511235057161490/?type=3

 

[puck2]

I can trust our dogs by 100%, but the Thai military regime not yet by 1 Cent.

The numbers are (down) manipulated, forced by the military government. Only one reason among a lot of others: OPENESS !  Why is the military leader so shy to show us the covid-numbers of each region? Answer: afraid of being  detected as liars.

[daveAustin]

Traditional dancers wearing masks? Just childish. Thailand, get over yourself, mate. Covid is soo 2020. People bloody well die. They always do, but this thing now is a nothing, a mere cold. Wake up and smell the roses. What’s your agenda. Yes, rhetorical, we already know! 

[bangon04]

9 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Which has nothing to do with the arrival of international tourism.

This is purely and simply a domestic concern.

but lets blame the foreigner anyway........

[ChC1]

I have a different vision about 'Crossroad'. 

 

I think Thailand is at a 'crossroad' between Prospect and Falling down from a Tourists Mecca.

 

How so? And why I would have this worry?

 

I think we can talk about Philippines and South Africa. Both country were very big in tourism. Both fell from its height due to safety concerns (kidnapping, robbery, killing of tourists in some cases). And the safety concerns was due to widespread poverty, drugs trade which in turn makes people violent, corruption and social structure failures. 

 

After 2 years in desperate situation, many Thais used to live on mass tourism and its benefits suddenly found themselves in a situation that no prospect of mass tourists return in a short period of time. What is worse, many of the tourism industry owners or workers took loans to expand or to enjoy a better life before the Pandemic as the booming seems to be endless at that time. 2 years on without work or steady income, many are close to bankruptcy or even have to borrow more. However, there is no US style bankruptcy laws in Asia in general, so many will carry the debts for ages to come.

 

If you really analyse the situation, you can certainly see the worrying picture. Desperate people take desperate means. How long before some of the people decide to falling through the system and sees rob tourists or even kidnap tourists in order to pay the debt? How long before some of the people becoming street beggar or join gangs? If Thailand authority is not careful here and let the small problem becomes a big problems that eventually eats the whole foundation of the social structure, it will be non-containable. Contain a virus or pandemic is easier job compared to contain poverty driven crimes.

 

I am sure my worry is unfounded and fictional to many people and Thais. And I am sure my worry is what it is, a worry.

 

Yet, if one truly understand history, sociology and have any sense of how poverty can change the landscape of tourism, one should be deeply concerned. Thai elite/ruling class might have the resource to last forever in this highly restrictive environment. It is not same if you have lots of debts but little income, or lost the steady income that was fuelling your debt. Look at Atlantic City, look at Blackpool, look at Egypt after the attacks a decade back, look at Lebanon, and look at Sri Lanka. There are many examples of how a once tourists mecca can fall to desperation and forever downwards spiral. 

 

Thailand has no social safety net like those in developed country, or not enough safety net. 2 years of no tourists will leave scars and underline damage to its society that once relied on mass tourism. I personally believe Thailand is at a cross road. It must decide how long it can wait to abolish all entry requirements in order to contain the poverty and lost time/income for many of its grass root tourism employees. My not-so-scientific 'worry' is that if Thailand missed the time to be fully reopen, some part of the country might become a tourists no-go area, and that in turn tarnish the reputation of Thailand. When the first monetary aimed attack on tourists occurs, it could be a no-return for an once great tourist destination for decades to come. 

[Shocked farang]

14 hours ago, nattaya09 said:

Probably peak and be on the decline within two weeks

Exactly, it's the so called Omicron peak that has already happened in many parts of the world. 

[wealthychef]

On 2/25/2022 at 11:52 AM, webfact said:

Thailand dropped its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated visitors in November

This is factually incorrect.  

[BangkokReady]

On 2/26/2022 at 8:15 AM, Caldera said:

What to do "next" really is a no-brainer. Let Omicron run its course.

What if the vaccines used weren't good enough and have left Thai people very vulnerable to Omicron?

[illiterate]

You know what happens when frequent visitors of a country travel to other countries (for the first time). They love those other countries and will continue going to them.

 

My point is that the longer Thailand goes with these useless restrictions of any kind, the more share of the pie it could end up losing in the long run to neighboring countries. The neighboring countries aren’t dropping restrictions yet either, which is thailands saving grace at this point. 

[bert bloggs]

Here in Pattaya the beaches are packed with tourists and all the deckchairs are occupied ,its hard to even get into a bar.

[tlcwaterfall]

24 minutes ago, illiterate said:

You know what happens when frequent visitors of a country travel to other countries (for the first time). They love those other countries and will continue going to them.

 

My point is that the longer Thailand goes with these useless restrictions of any kind, the more share of the pie it could end up losing in the long run to neighboring countries. The neighboring countries aren’t dropping restrictions yet either, which is thailands saving grace at this point. 

Good post. However neighbouring countries restrictions are much more sensible and tourist friendly than Thailands.

 

Thailand is still clinging to the belief that they are special and are a tourism mecca. That ship sailed a long long time ago. 

 

Either through incompetence or by design they are continuing to decimate their tourist industry along with tourism employees lives and futures.

Edited February 27, 2022 by tlcwaterfall

[drgoon]

Are they talking about Covid-19, the Delta variant or Omicron?

Omicron is surging everywhere and seems to be less dangerous than the previous variants.

[Bkkbound]

in the UK Johnson has decided to take the gamble, assume future variations are not significantly worse than omicron and return thee country to pre covid times.

If he is right then its over, if he is not the UK will be the first to suffer as any significant new variation takes hold.. watch this space..

[BangkokReady]

9 hours ago, drgoon said:

Are they talking about Covid-19, the Delta variant or Omicron?

Omicron is surging everywhere and seems to be less dangerous than the previous variants.

They seem to be sticking to the "covid bad; isolate positives; keep numbers as low as possible" way of seeing things.