Thai tourism may get Ebola-fear leg up

[laobali]

You really have to wonder about some of these people. One, trying to make hay from a crisis in west Africa. Two, being , so massively ignorant as to imagine that anyone would avoid travel to three massive continents because of an epidemic in Liberia.

Cretinous is the adjective that springs to mind. You have to question on what basis these people get and keep their jobs.

Probably have to buy them, much like the rest of the employment industry in Thailand..

[TheCruncher]

Come to Thailand where Ebola is the only thing that wont kill you.

Plenty of other sources available.

[laobali]

TAT should get copy of Monty Python's "Always look on the bright side of life".

Although it wasn't TAT in this instance, announcements from the Thai tourist authorities are becoming increasingly Monty-Pythonesque – without the humour.

[wabothai]

There we go again....you guys don' t quit, do you ?

[BuddhistVirus]

'Welcome to Ebola Free Thailand...We got Hoe'

Sorry for the pun...

[uptheos]

A great example of Thainess.

Ebola Travel Bans Enacted by Nearly 30 Countries http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/ebola-travel-ban/2014/10/16/id/601025/

Angola


Botswana


Cameroon


Chad


Colombia (South America)

Congo (DRC)


Equatorial Guinea


Gabon


Gambia


Ivory Coast

Kenya


Lesotho


Madagascar


Malawi


Mauritius


Morocco

Mozambique


Namibia


Nigeria


Rwanda


St. Lucia

Senegal


South Africa


South Sudan


Swaziland


Tanzania


Togo


Zambia 


Zimbabwe


African countries weren't slow at issuing a travel ban I notice!

[hawker9000]

^{Honestly, they'll say anything.... I'm betting the peak season won't be all that this year.}

[wabothai]

TAT, you are a despicable bunch of people thinking of tourist income while 1000's are dying.

[Don Aleman]

Thai tourist busses/vans/scams//boat accidents/hi rise "falls"/ "suicides" take far more lives than Ebola and, likewise are incurable.

[arrowsdawdle]

I do not think marketing Thailand as ebola free is a very wise move. It is really only a matter of time before a case appears here. And once that happens I doubt very much that Thailand will live up to world health standards. If it should get out of Bangkok, look out, I would expect an epidemic.

And what happened to the Thai 'cure'? Curiously silent lately.

You can be sure there will be no ebola deaths reported, a sudden surge in mass suicides and balcony accidents maybe, but no ebola deaths.

[Thai at Heart]

Medical Escapism.

Thailand has found a new hub to be part of.

[rickirs]

And as a further incentive to visit Thailand, every new tourist (must not have been in Thailand for the previous 90 days) will receive a free vial of ebola vaccine/cure just developed at the Siriraj Hospital, patent pending to assure that their stay is stress-free. This offer does not apply to illnesses such as murder.

[Fred Flinstone]

Really can we trust Thailand ?

[asdecas]

You gotta love the stupid pinbrains though. Such compassion, such empathy.

[Fat Haggis]

Considering a lot of these African locations we're not exactly awash with quality tourists it makes the PMs earlier comments seem pointless.

Every week this new ruling group make bizarre statements TaT is like a drowning man desperate to stay afloat, instead of making the place more appealing, stop driving the pointless drivel blaming everyone else but themselves.

The Junta SHOULD have been well aware their actions by performing a coup would have had a considerable impact on tourism, accountability starts at the top not the middle.

Nothing learnt from the last coup in terms of dealing with tourism it seems.

[hawker9000]

'Don't think it's about the "junta" any longer. If anything, the military takeover, after the initial period, removed the fears of many that their trips might be impacted by political demonstrations, civil unrest and a mood of uncertainty. Since the curfews were lifted and most broadcast media went back on the air, martial law probably hasn't been a big deal for the vast majority of tourists except for one thing - travel insurance. And I'm not really persuaded that alone drives many away. Maybe a few. I think Ebola, maybe ISIS, and the fact that world economies seem to be slumping a bit have much more to do with it - and not just for Thailand. But I do agree that the "Ebola-fear leg up" thing is a very lame come-on.

[Jonmarleesco]

Why target the West when you could aim for the stars? Promote Thailand as a scam-free destination.

Oh, wait - eliminating ebola will require only an effective antidote; eliminating scams will require something akin to biblical loaves and the fishes.

[Krataiboy]

JackyWacky's quip, "Welcome to Ebola-free Thailand and catch AIDS," set me thinking.

I've lived here 15 years and don't know of a single Westerner who has caught AIDS in Thiland, despite knowing many who have been "risking it" by having unsafe sex with Thai sex workers for many years.

One of them, in fact, was so convinced he must have aids after a huge number of palpably unsafe sexual encounters spanning more than a decade that he actually went to a doctor and demanded to be tested, saying: "I must have AIDS and I need to make sure in order to make provision for my loved ones".

Astonishingly, after asking him why he was so concerned and hearing of my friend's cavalier Casanova lifestyle, the doctor told him it was very unlikely he had AIDS as it was very difficult to catch from normal vaginal sexual intercourse and to go home and stop worrying.;

My friend insisted on the test and was amazed to find he was HIV Negative, and somewhat gratified to discover after a wide-ranging search of the Web that the odds of contracting AIDS were a lot higher than he had imagined - around 1,000 to one for "normal" unprotected sex, he reckoned was the average.

His story is not unique. I know numerous heterosexual men who have swanned around Thailand, taking enormous risks with dubious ladies without contracting AIDS.

It makes one wonder, particularly since Thailand allegedly has a high incidence of HIV, particularly among sex workers (Since the first HIV positive cases were discovered here in 1984, more than a million cases of HIV/AIDS have been diagnosed and half of those infected have died - though, over a period of 25 years, not all were attributable to HIV/AIDS).

One does hear the occasional (apocryphal?) account of a Thai sex worker who has "gone home to die in Isaan" of AIDS but neither my Thai wife nor any of her friends - some of whom worked in the "tourist industry" for years can cite specific cases.

I have always been sceptical about the claims linking the dubiously-identified and never properly isolated HIV virus with the group of opportunist diseases which are commonly cited in AIDS deaths. My doubts have grown as the years have passed and the disparity between the official scale of the so-called AIDS epidemic and its relative inconspicuousness among the indigenous and expat populations in a country which allegedly has the highest rate of infection per capita in Asia.

It is impossible, of course, to garner any figures to show how many, if any, foreigners living here or falang tourists who may subsequently have gone down with AIDS got the initial infection here. They have never been collated and probably never will be, as the task would be logistically monumental.

I'd be interested to hear the views of other ThaiVisa members on a touchy subject, where to be even doubtful of the official version of the AIDS phenomena is to be labelled a heretic.

;

[Tboy928]

A great example of Thainess.

Ebola Travel Bans Enacted by Nearly 30 Countries http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/ebola-travel-ban/2014/10/16/id/601025/

Angola


Botswana


Cameroon


Chad


Colombia (South America)

Congo (DRC)


Equatorial Guinea


Gabon


Gambia


Ivory Coast

Kenya


Lesotho


Madagascar


Malawi


Mauritius


Morocco

Mozambique


Namibia


Nigeria


Rwanda


St. Lucia

Senegal


South Africa


South Sudan


Swaziland


Tanzania


Togo


Zambia 


Zimbabwe


BUT WHAT HAS tHAILAND DONE???? DO THEY HAVE A BAN FOR TRAVEL FROM THIS COUNTRYS ?

[Richardbhh]

Ebola free but HIV rife. Ebola kills how many? I'd be more worried about having one of the highest HIV/AIDS levels in the world if I were them.

[Alwyn]

So it's been confirmed, Tourism Council of Thailand (and TAT) are insane. People are going to stop visiting Europe and the US? In their dreams.. Africa? Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Liberia ate hardly hubs of tourism (as they would say in Thailand). By the way, does anybody know whatever came of of the claims (boasts) that Thailand had invented the cure for Ebola? Insane.

[Sheryl]

Post spreading unsubstantiating rumors about Ebola cases in Thailand and replies to same removed in keeping with forum rules about false statements as well as simple common sense. Rumors spread on twitter or other social media do not constitute "substantiation" and repeating them will not be tolerated here. This is a serious matter and while there is nothing to prevent an Ebola case occurring here in someone who traveled from an endemic area, there is also no reason to think that this has as yet occurred.

As for various HIV posts - Thailand is neither a place with "one of the highest HIV/AIDS levels in the world" nor is it a place where there are no clearly documented cases of HIV. The truth falls well in between these two extreme claims. And there most definitely have been -- to my certain knowledge - western men who became infected, through heterosexual sex, here in Thailand. Not in huge numbers, but it can and does happen. Now please stick to the topic, which is Ebola, not HIV.

[TechnikaIII]

... I have not read any of the comments on this one. But isn't it pathetic that they will attempt to promote the tragedy of another place, to put a few more farang bums on the Thai beaches, in stead of cleaning up their own act.

Perhaps we should remind the shit-for-brains 'think tank' that Thailand is still writing with H.I.V.

[thailiketoo]

... I have not read any of the comments on this one. But isn't it pathetic that they will attempt to promote the tragedy of another place, to put a few more farang bums on the Thai beaches, in stead of cleaning up their own act.

Perhaps we should remind the shit-for-brains 'think tank' that Thailand is still writing with H.I.V.

In the thread directly above this one a mod wrote, "Now please stick to the topic, which is Ebola, not HIV." Gee are you blind?

[FiestyFarang]

cough, human trafficking, cough.

Thailand has an incredibly porous border and . Im glad youre so confident since you get to live there. Hope the confidence shields you against ebola like a forcefield, because its just a matter of time and i really dont see Thailand having the sophistication or facilities to deal with it when it does. Dont worry though! they invented a cure!

A big part of Ebola worry is starvation. That is not a problem in Thailand. Everyone has rice and can hole up for a month and eat rice. Do most Thais need electricity? No. I lived in Thailand 45 years ago and most did fine without refrigeration, AC and electric lights. Thailand is really not a very crowded country everyone can go home to the farm.

I have a walled and defended home and would not have a problem not leaving for a month.

I feel more confident of the leadership in Thailand than the States right now.

"I have a walled and defended home and would not have a problem not leaving for a month"

Are you serious! If Ebola takes over the world or countries not prepared there will be no government, no law, no local currency, are you so short sighted you think a wall will save you.

Comments like your make me feel happy I am more intelligent than you.

[Fat Haggis]

Walls don't stop viruses like Ebola and it's ignorance that allows it to spread the poster saying Thais don't need electricity either is quite out of touch with most villages too.

Try cooking for a month inside with no gas or electricity also trying to wash and dry your clothing without boiling water to kill basic germs never mind something like Ebola.

Never mind rhe intelligence part it's the ignorance of how such viruses work mate

Edited October 20, 2014 by Fat Haggis

[ggt]

consider promoting the Kingdom as an Ebola-free destination.

Yea...Sure...come to Ebola-free Thailand...contract an incurable venereal disease...and be place in quarantined prison the rest of your life...

People are lining up for some of this action as we speak....

Good luck with that...

[thailiketoo]

Walls don't stop viruses like Ebola and it's ignorance that allows it to spread the poster saying Thais don't need electricity either is quite out of touch with most villages too.

Try cooking for a month inside with no gas or electricity also trying to wash and dry your clothing without boiling water to kill basic germs never mind something like Ebola.

Never mind rhe intelligence part it's the ignorance of how such viruses work mate

You know you really should visit Thailand. The gas comes in bottles mate. The clothes are washed in a bucket with a sanitizer agent tis Thailand here never had hot water to do the washing. I ave two bottles of gas and plenty of sanitizer.

I've been cooking inside with bottled gas forever in Thailand. I can go to bed when the sun goes down. I've got enough rice and water to last me three months.

I've lived in Thailand before with no electricity. It's nothing new for me.

[Fat Haggis]

I live in Thailand and we need to go out and BUY rice and you cannot just live on rice alone you need other nutrients do you have water that comes to the home from a local source ?

That water would be CONTAMINATED should Ebola find it's way into the country sanitizer doesn't last forever and doesn't provide the same protection in the water either.

You are making it sound like it's an easy thing to shut out as in the Ebola, but all your foodstuff that's not stored inside would be at risk of being contaminated.

And you need HOT water to sterilise everything inside your home and bottled gas runs out just like luck

Is your home able to shut out all elements no cracks in Windows's no gaps in roofs etc, not to mention the water needed for basic sanitation.

There's 4 of us in out house and we use between 100-200 litres of water a day that's to wash cook and shower with, unless you have over 1500 litres which is 1.5 tonnes of water stored in bottles inside your home just for a month them you're talking crap mate.

You are underestimating the amount of logistics required to be under an environmental lock down.

If your home is a typical Thai build then all the rice and gas isn't going to prevent an airborne virus get into your home mate, I'd rather just do what my wife did the other day and get her jag from the clinic in the village for protection against Ebola, how effective the Thai claims of it being a cure is anyone's guess, but she's convinced that Ebola will not kill her!!

[thailiketoo]

I live in Thailand and we need to go out and BUY rice and you cannot just live on rice alone you need other nutrients do you have water that comes to the home from a local source ?

That water would be CONTAMINATED should Ebola find it's way into the country sanitizer doesn't last forever and doesn't provide the same protection in the water either.

You are making it sound like it's an easy thing to shut out as in the Ebola, but all your foodstuff that's not stored inside would be at risk of being contaminated.

And you need HOT water to sterilise everything inside your home and bottled gas runs out just like luck

Is your home able to shut out all elements no cracks in Windows's no gaps in roofs etc, not to mention the water needed for basic sanitation.

There's 4 of us in out house and we use between 100-200 litres of water a day that's to wash cook and shower with, unless you have over 1500 litres which is 1.5 tonnes of water stored in bottles inside your home just for a month them you're talking crap mate.

You are underestimating the amount of logistics required to be under an environmental lock down.

If your home is a typical Thai build then all the rice and gas isn't going to prevent an airborne virus get into your home mate, I'd rather just do what my wife did the other day and get her jag from the clinic in the village for protection against Ebola, how effective the Thai claims of it being a cure is anyone's guess, but she's convinced that Ebola will not kill her!!

You don't read too good. I even gave you a photo of the water truck. Ebola is not going to get into my bottled water. Ebola is not airborne enough to get into my house. Using brown rice as a staple I have enough food and water and gas in the house to last me for 3 months. Your wife did not get any protection from a village clinic against Ebola.

Maybe you should do some reading on Ebola before you post such nonsense.

People who live in Thailand and post on Thai Visa start topics and ask questions and participate in different areas of the forum. I sincerely doubt looking at our posting history that you live in Thailand. Since you have never made a non political post outside of the news forum.

Edited October 20, 2014 by thailiketoo