Thailand tourism situation

[oakdale160]

One of the problems is that on returning to your home country you will have to quarantine for 14 days and all the people living with you have to quarantine too.

[oakdale160]

BUT--Ithink once the vaccine is available there will be 2 sets of rules--1 for those vaccinated and 2 for those who are not.

[buksida]

PM EYES ANOTHER LONG HOLIDAY TO SPUR DOMESTIC TOURISM
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday that he is looking to provide another long holiday in an effort to encourage domestic leisure trips and money spending.

Prayut confirmed that the four-day holiday last weekend had seen a surge in cash flows due to increased domestic consumption, specifically by the Thais throughout the country.

Given a long holiday, which may last for three or four days in a row, the people are likely to go on tours and spend money at varied tourist destinations in the provinces, thus stimulating the otherwise sluggish local businesses, he said.

For that reason, the government is yet to schedule the next long holiday later this year, according to the prime minister.

The “We Travel Together” domestic tour campaign has been launched for which the government is currently providing partial grants for eligible recipients’ expenses at hotels, restaurants, spa parlors and other tourism-related venues.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/cri ... c-tourism/

[STEVE G]

BUT--Ithink once the vaccine is available there will be 2 sets of rules--1 for those vaccinated and 2 for those who are not.

Yes, that is my thinking on this, international travel will only really get easy if a reliable vaccine becomes available and you have a certificate.
All those who won't have one because they think this is all caused by Bill Gates, 5G signals or whatever can stay back home in their rooms reading nonsense on the Internet!

[HHTel]

PM EYES ANOTHER LONG HOLIDAY TO SPUR DOMESTIC TOURISM

Yep! This allows the 'haves' who can afford to holiday to throw some scraps to the 'have nots'.

[buksida]

THAILAND PARTNERS WITH ALIPAY TO BOOST CHINESE EXPATS’ SPENDING
The Tourism Authority of Thailand on Thursday said it signed a partnership with China’s mobile payment platform Alipay in an effort to support domestic tourism amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As the country’s trillion-baht tourism sector continues to suffer from border lockdowns, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the joint campaign with Alipay would stimulate spendings from Chinese expats who are working or studying in Thailand.

The campaign is part of a larger effort to assist foreign nationals residing in the country during the pandemic, he said.

“We’re not only targeting Chinese expats,” Yuthasak said in an interview. “We’re targeting every group of expats following the tourism minister’s policy to encourage domestic tourism by foreigners. Alipay is a platform used regularly by Chinese at home and abroad, so I think it’s a good idea to facilitate their transactions at attractions.”

Under the campaign, Alipay users are offered exclusive deals from participating hotels when booking a domestic trip via Fliggy, Alibaba Group’s travel platform. A digital cash coupon valued at 368 yuan will also be rewarded to them for each booking made on the application.

For other groups of expatriates, Yuthasak said there are other campaigns awaiting them, including the “EmExpat Expo” that will be held at EmQuartier mall from Sept. 11 to 13.

“There will be deals from accommodation, wellness, airlines, and golf courses offered at the event,” Yuthasak said.

The governor added that tourism officials are currently working on plans to eradicate “double pricing” schemes at attractions for expatriates.

One of the ideas suggested is an identification card for them to snag local pricing while travelling, he said.

Many businesses in Thailand have already accepted Alipay as a form of payment, including the ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores and Central Department Stores.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bus ... -spending/

[buksida]

Reopening to foreigners 'not risky'
Reopening the country to foreign visitors will not raise the risks of local Covid-19 transmission from imported infections, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC).

Responding to the cabinet's resolution to allow long-stay foreign tourists to enter Thailand, Tanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of the DDC, insisted the move would likely not bring in Covid-19 infections, since the visitors would be subject to a stay at state quarantine facilities for 14 days.

Regarding the case of a two-year-old Myanmar boy who tested positive after returning from Thailand, Dr Tanarak said Thailand was vigorously investigating this case. No special measures had been imposed in Ayutthaya province where the boy had stayed before returning to Myanmar, he said.


The deputy director-general urged businesses, particularly those based in the provinces adjacent to Myanmar, not to hire illegal migrant workers for now due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in Myanmar in recent weeks.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said tourists with a Special Tourist Visa (STV) recently authorised by the government must travel on chartered flights from overseas directly to their destinations in Thailand.

The TAT predicted that around 14,400 tourists will visit the country a year under the STV programme, generating revenue of about 12.36 billion baht per year.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -not-risky

Where do they pull these stupid numbers from? So TAT are thinking every tourist is going to spend 860,000 baht ...

[Dannie Boy]

A lot of this just doesn’t make sense - how on earth can they check whether the tourists have visited crowded places and how will they enforce the quarantine requirements in the home country?


https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/19 ... -countries

The Ministry of Public Health on Friday unveiled its latest plan to reopen to visitors from abroad with 2,270 foreign tourists already reportedly planning to visit Thailand.

Dr Chakrarat Pittayawonganon, director of the Bureau of Mental Health Strategy under the Department of Disease Control, (DDC) said in a press briefing yesterday that foreign tourists must present proof of a negative Covid-19 test no more than 72 hours prior to travel.

They must also have quarantined in their country of origin and have health insurance for international travel and a specified minimum amount of money in their bank account as well as a record of not visiting crowded places prior to their departure.

During their domestic quarantine, visitors must have been tested twice for Covid-19 at the beginning and end of the process.

If both tests are negative for the virus, they will be allowed to travel to Thailand.

The DDC said it planned to increase staff at international disease control checkpoints and allow people from low-risk countries to enter Thailand first.

The department will provide training on Covid-19 control and prevention for entrepreneurs as well as the general public and government officers whose jobs place them in contact with foreign travellers.

Related state bodies are currently deciding when these measures will take effect.

Director-General of the Health Service Support Department, Dr Thares Krasnairawiwong, said 735 medical tourists from China, Myanmar, Oman, Australia and Cambodia were receiving treatment in Thailand after they completed a 14-day quarantine. The tourists were expected to generate around 25 million baht for the country, said the doctor.

More than 2,270 foreigners from China, Myanmar, Japan and Kuwait have reportedly expressed their wish to enter Thailand, and are expected to generate 115 million baht in revenue.

On Sept 15, the cabinet agreed to allow in foreign tourists who agree to a 14-day quarantine and stay for at least 90 days which could be extended to 270 days, to help the flagging economy.

The 90-day special tourist visa can be extended twice, for 90 days each time. Long-stay visitors can begin arriving next month.


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[dtaai-maai]

A lot of this just doesn’t make sense - how on earth can they check whether the tourists have visited crowded places and how will they enforce the quarantine requirements in the home country?

They seem to be assuming that quarantining will be officially monitored/controlled as in Thailand, rather than the self-isolation approach adopted in most countries.

[caller]

As Australia has effectively banned foreign travel for its citizens, I wonder what reason they gave that justified the Oz authorities allowing those that have travelled here for medical tourism and how they got here?

Does anyone here think that the so called special tourism visa is a just a sham? Every day a new set of requirements seem to be added to make an already messy process more onerous. Certainly various hotel associations in Thailand have responded with comments such as 'lots of talk, no action' and 'they tell us to prepare, but for what and when?'

[handdrummer]

I don't understand why anyone would want to travel under those conditions.

[migrant]

The only people I could imagine maybe wanting to take advantage of this would be the ones that have a house here and normally come for months anyway. I doubt anyone coming for even a couple months would want to spend two weeks in quarantine.

[Dannie Boy]

Most, although probably not all, who have houses here and wanting to stay for quite a few months will probably already have a longer stay visa, so for pure “tourists” it’s a very small number indeed that will want to jump through all the hoops being suggested!!

[Big Boy]

But would they be allowed back in on their existing visas?

[Dannie Boy]

If it’s still valid I would assume they would be classed as a returning expat, although still needing to go into quarantine and have COVID insurance, but the whole things a bit of a mess so who knows?