Tourism and Sports Ministry to propose “Thailand Pass” cancellation and introduce single ATK test to spur tourism growth

[Trip Hop]

31 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I am not looking for an argument, but some time ago the UK was offering hotel quarantine for UK arrivals, and from all reports, it was very expensive and awful..... 

True to a certain extent as it was only applicable to travellers from countries that were on the red list? The main difference to Thailand being that you knew what you were in for and not sprung on you upon arrival by a PCR test that was amplified way more than the rest of the civilised world, possibly picking up previous infections whilst you were no longer a danger?

[peter zwart]

28 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

A bit into the conspiracy stuff aren't you?

The very fact that there is a lot of Covid about, with ensuing hospital admissions, and burden on the health service, is, to me, a justification, of some of Thailand's measures. The 2000+ (and rising) daily hospital admissions with or because of Covid in the UK is quite a burden, and I am concerned the UK moved too far too fast, when the health service might have benefitted from some damping down measures.

Its "with" Covid and quiet logical as Omicron woes around. But with very minor consequence. So i would not talk about conspiracy but more of scaremongering.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, shdmn said:

It's endemic. Get rid of everything.  EVERYTHING!  The science no longer supports any of these dumb policies.  It's all politically driven now.

Diseases that are endemic also require measures to handle them and minimize impact.....we are only a mutation away from further grief. 

[jacko45k]

7 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

Its "with" Covid and quiet logical as Omicron woes around. But with very minor consequence. So i would not talk about conspiracy but more of scaremongering.

Of those being admitted to hospital it is approximately 60% because of Covid, and 40% with Covid (and other issues). But both still require special attention and isolation and treatments that eats up  hospital resources. With 2000+ a day and rising in the UK, this is a concern for all needing medical treatment. 

Has the West backed off too soon on this....?

Edited March 25, 2022 by jacko45k

[sapson]

Covid has been endemic in Thailand for a few years with the initial help of the Chinese.

 

However the goons no test no have policy and figure fudging has presented a ludicrous facade and with astonishing xenophobia they continue to portray a handful of fully vaccinated and tested tourists as more of a Covid threat than the local population.

 

Absolutely deluded.

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Wonder how many of the missing 87% are Chinese, who are absent because of their own country's restrictions. Everybody knows what is best in an improving situation.....

Probably very few. Mainland Chinese were not a huge part of tourists traveling TO or THROUGH Changi airport ever.  What do you think a 7 day vacation to Thailand vs Singapore would cost them? Have you seen the prices at 7/11 in Singapore? 

[StevieAus]

23 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

My nephew has been to school for approximately two weeks over the past year and there is no still no word on his school reopening. So yes, Covid in any form appears to be rampant except in official figures, That. or the government doesn't want kids educated. It's a toss-up which is correct. Probably both.

We are in the North of Chiang Mai Province and our daughter has been in the same situation at a non government school.

She managed to get back a few weeks ago and we got a call at lunch time to collect her as a teacher tested positive.

There seem to plenty of Omicron cases but from the people we know who have contracted it, the symptoms are like the common cold.

[Homburg]

As a tourist I look at Thailand this way, and expect that many tourists would do something similar:

 

Positive

Thailand is a destination with sunshine, beaches and shops.

 

Negative

Thailand pass - expensive, time-consuming and difficult and one of my party could be rejected and spoil the holiday for all 

Pre-departure testing- expensive and one of my party could test positive and spoil the holiday for all

Testing on arrival- expensive and one of my party could test positive and spoil the holiday for all

Testing after arrival - expensive and one of my party could test positive and spoil the holiday for all

Requirement to book hotels for post arrival testing - expensive and these hotels are not where I want to be

Limited options for getting a drink - why would I go anywhere with a ban on relaxation?

Testing before returning home - expensive and one of my party could test positive and upset return plans for all

Risk of incarceration in hospi-prison - unacceptably expensive and would spoil the holiday for all

 

Neutral

Insurance requirement - expensive, but no biggie.

Vaccination requirement - we are vaxxed so again no biggie.

 

To get the tourists back in quantity Thailand needs to remove the negatives that currently make other destinations more attaractive to potential visitors.

[BumGun]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the minister suggested that ATK testing should still be conducted on the first day of arrival for public confidence or that the test could be optional but encouraged

This is stupid though, requiring a test PRIOR to boarding makes sense. It's so stupid, it has to be a way of keeping the testing centers etc gainfully employed as people here keep opining.

[Harveyboy]

41 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

My nephew has been to school for approximately two weeks over the past year and there is no still no word on his school reopening. So yes, Covid in any form appears to be rampant except in official figures, That. or the government doesn't want kids educated. It's a toss-up which is correct. Probably both.

yep educated people scare the government..keep em in the jungle ..control..control

[jacko45k]

14 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Probably very few. Mainland Chinese were not a huge part of tourists traveling TO or THROUGH Changi airport ever.  What do you think a 7 day vacation to Thailand vs Singapore would cost them? Have you seen the prices at 7/11 in Singapore? 

There are some cheaper options in Singapore, I ended up in one or two of them myself until I learned better... and the breakfast buffet was like a free for all! Isn't there a few budget carriers involved there too, with a special terminal? Quite a lot of flights used to go to/from Changi to China...

Edited March 25, 2022 by jacko45k

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

I am not looking for an argument, but some time ago the UK was offering hotel quarantine for UK arrivals, and from all reports, it was very expensive and awful..... 

Yes it was expensive but I don't think it applies now. I think now you can quarantine at home which would be free. Or maybe you need to isolate at all. 

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, kimamey said:

Yes it was expensive but I don't think it applies now. I think now you can quarantine at home which would be free. Or maybe you need to isolate at all. 

Of course, it was not permitted back then. Just highlighting the fact that it isn't Thailand that had the idea. Plus the reports I saw of the UK version were very negative.

[pomchop]

2 hours ago, peter zwart said:

Do forget about the vaccination. its rubbish. What if the vaccin is already 4/5 months old and has no effect anymore???

Tell the millions upon millions of people who avoided getting seriously sick from covid by gettting vaccinated that they are rubbish.  Then take a look at most any news source from any city and see how many stories u see where unvaxxed people ended up in serious or fatal condition where they finally admit that not getting vaxxed was DUMB.  Vaccines are not rubbish but antivaxxer misinformation sure is big time rubbish.

Edited March 25, 2022 by pomchop

[peter zwart]

5 minutes ago, pomchop said:

Tell the millions upon millions of people who avoided getting seriously sick from covid by gettting vaccinated that they are rubbish.  Then take a look at most any news source from any city and see how many stories u see where unvaxxed people ended up in serious or fatal condition where they finally admit that not getting vaxxed was DUMB.  Vaccines are not rubbish but antivaxxer misinformation sure is.

Tell the millions upon millions of people who avoided getting seriously sick from covid by gettting vaccinated ............ASSUMPTION!!!!!!

Keep believing if its giving you a good feeling.

[Tony125]

If foreign tourists knew how closed most of the former fun areas are they wouldn't come anyway.  Few bars open compared to normal times, early closing times, and go-go girlie bars few and far between why bother coming over. Just for the beaches?

[charmonman]

2 hours ago, peter zwart said:

Do forget about the vaccination. its rubbish. What if the vaccin is already 4/5 months old and has no effect anymore???

It's not rubbish. Not highly effective at preventing infection but prevents the majority of hospitalizations for covid-19 at the very least. Perhaps require proof of a negative pre-departure test or proof of vaccination.

[kimamey]

16 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Of course, it was not permitted back then. Just highlighting the fact that it isn't Thailand that had the idea. Plus the reports I saw of the UK version were very negative.

I never had to do it so I couldn't comment on what it was like. It was expensive to start with and then it got worse but I don't know why. 

 

I've stayed in loads of hotels but mostly for 1 or 2 nights. I'm not sure how I'd cope for a longer period plus not being able to go out at all. I suspect the rooms would be pretty small in the UK. 

 

I've just done the Thailand Pass day 1 Hotel stay and that was OK.  I arrived at 9am so after arriving at the hotel before 10 and having the test it was the rest of the day and overnight. Not bad at all but then sleeping was my main focus. 

[NatureFilm]

All my family, got it one year ago, many friends, nobody serious ill. Omicron is even milder, not more dangerous than influenzua. The Covid restrictions are worse than the disease. Time to go back to normal life!

 

[pomchop]

7 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

Tell the millions upon millions of people who avoided getting seriously sick from covid by gettting vaccinated ............ASSUMPTION!!!!!!

Keep believing if its giving you a good feeling.

FACT to all except the tin hat brigade.

[Misterwhisper]

3 hours ago, TheFishman1 said:

Get rid of that Thai Pass

AND of Phipat!

[kimamey]

26 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

Tell the millions upon millions of people who avoided getting seriously sick from covid by gettting vaccinated ............ASSUMPTION!!!!!!

Keep believing if its giving you a good feeling.

I think you'll find there is a lot of scientific research showing that vaccines help lessen the risk of serious illness, deaths and transmission.

If you want to take no notice of that fine.  Keep believing if its giving you a good feeling.

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

The science no longer supports any of these dumb policies.

Were they ever following the science?

[soi3eddie]

Arrived at Suvarnabhumi this morning 06:15am. The Thai Pass checkers were not at their desks so the whole plane had to wait on the blue chairs. Then one by one the staff showed up until just 4 desks were open. What a shambles! As time went on more European flights were arriving. After getting through and walking to immigration the queue there wasn't too bad. Very thorough checks though and asking about destination after test&go. The worst part was the chaos after customs where all the hotel reps process arrivals to the transport. No way could they have coped with more arrivals.

 

If Thailand really wants visitors (business or tourism) then they should:

1) Scrap Thai Pass immediately

2) Scrap Test&Go and Sandbox etc.

3) If they must keep testing then pre-departure test only (no test on arrival).

 

I just had my second PCR test in less than 48 hours. Can all this testing really be neccessary? Certainly putting off a lot of people travelling.

 

[Dialemco]

Reinstatement of unrestricted entry into the country and extension of visa exemption to 60 days would encourage some international tourists but rising inflation and war in Ukraine will restriction numbers willing and able to travel.  Tourism will not return to prepandemic levels any time soon so incentives are required as the gravy train will not be returning.

[Karma80]

1 minute ago, Dialemco said:

Reinstatement of unrestricted entry into the country and extension of visa exemption to 60 days would encourage some international tourists but rising inflation and war in Ukraine will restriction numbers willing and able to travel.  Tourism will not return to prepandemic levels any time soon so incentives are required as the gravy train will not be returning.

I agree. Tourism isn't going to return to the form it was for some years, and that's a global issue not unique to Thailand.

 

But, Thailand is unlikely to just throw open the doors, despite the dismayed shouts from Brits and others wanting a holiday. Asia has followed a conservative approach to varying degrees. Ultimately, this is where the tourism recovery will come from, not from the west. As that starts, Thailand will need to demonstrate it is responsible and can facilitate at least a nod to the concept of safe travel, effective or not.

 

We declare 26k cases a day right now. Anyone here will tell you it's way more and going to get worse. The Minister for Health needs to be seen to be in control, after all an election is coming. The eyes are on the bigger prizes, no matter what daily announcement is from the Minister of Tourism, Lottery numbers and fantasies.

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Well, the Songkran business is toast already and summer vacations are mostly planned and booked as well. 

Drop all that carppy ideas, Thailand passes etc. will not make a difference except feeding the endless Thai bureaucracy. I suggested to all those who asked me in faraway lands NOT to come for the time being. You leave healthy and triple vaccinated without any tests on departure. If there is ONE single positive case (no symptoms nothing, just positive) upon arrival = off to the quarantine slammer at thousand of Baht a night for cold, stale food served in plastic containers by staff dressed in transparent garbage bags. Two weeks later its straight off to the airport to travel to their home country again. 

¿Lo entiendes?

Nobody in his right mind burns his well- and hard earned vacation with such funny weed dreams by the congregation of clowns in Bangkok! 

Si, entiendo. Todos. 

 

If you can get away with 1,000 baht a night for a lengthy quarantine stay consider yourself fortunate. 

 

You are absolutely right. The tourists are taking all the risks. The local goons do not seem to have any comprehension of that. Nor do those Ivory tower creeps seem to care. Their pathological behavior continues unabated. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by spidermike007

[pomchop]

57 minutes ago, pomchop said:

FACT to all except the tin hat brigade.

Unvaccinated people are about 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, according to a CDC study released Tuesday.

 

• The new study also found that unvaccinated people were nearly five times more likely to be infected with Covid than vaccinated people.
• The data is in line with comments from federal and state health officials, who have been saying for weeks that millions of unvaccinated Americans have been putting themselves at serious risk.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/cdc-study-shows-unvaccinated-people-are-29-times-more-likely-to-be-hospitalized-with-covid.html

[Tubulat]

1 hour ago, Tony125 said:

If foreign tourists knew how closed most of the former fun areas are they wouldn't come anyway.  Few bars open compared to normal times, early closing times, and go-go girlie bars few and far between why bother coming over. Just for the beaches?

And if you like to buy some alcoholic drinks in a shop even then you have to be careful not to arrive at the wrong time.

Thailand has now made itself highly ridiculous.

[node]

Singapore announced, 1st April, for all arrival by AIR, only requirement to enter is a PCR test 48 hrs before departure. No uploading, downloading, installing, <deleted>.