General Reports

[Rodwint2]

The "special tourist visa" of 90 days is about as worthless as they come. The recent comments by the CP Group chairman that Thai tourism should be only for the wealthy ignores the fact that millions of poor Thais rely on the tourism business in some manner and that the industry makes up over 20% of Thailand's GDP!

The recent student protests will become a revolution if the government fails to recognize the needs of its people. A communist ploy of fermenting revolution to get rid of the monarchy will play in to the Communist Chinese Party's intention on making Thailand a client state or worse a complete take over with the PLA seizing the entire country. When 11 million Chinese tourists come from the PRC, one can easily see how the CCP would relish taking over Thailand.

[Mr Enternational]

MrE.

You won't see them around Pattaya or the mongering mass tourism spots of Phuket, Samui etc but there are a small but significant band of reasonably (and some of them extremely) wealthy foreigners who come to Thailand to escape the cold northern hemisphere winter

I am not saying there are no rich people or businessmen that come to Thailand. I am disputing them willing or able to come to Thailand and sit in quarantine for 2 weeks.

[GettingFedUp]

I suspect the whole setup is aimed at just some small VIP groups and business people that are just being given a legit way to enter so they don't have to jump through bribes or bureaucracy or who knows what to get back in and do what they need to do.

GrapeMan,

You've kind of hit the nail on the head. The Ministry of Tourism / Tourist Authority of Thailand blows hot air about stimulating the moribund Tourism sector, but in reality this is aimed at a very small market of individuals.

What business people or VIP groups do you know that have 2 spare weeks to sit around waiting?

MrE.

You won't see them around Pattaya or the mongering mass tourism spots of Phuket, Samui etc but there are a small but significant band of reasonably (and some of them extremely) wealthy foreigners who come to Thailand to escape the cold northern hemisphere winter for 4, 5, 6 months each year. Chinese, Russians, Scandinavians, North Americans. Some are retirees, others may have business interests in Thailand or elsewhere in SE Asia.

There's a reason why the marinas of Phuket are always full of boats. And not cheap boats (or moorings) at that. I know a chap who worked on an Azimut 105 which is usually based in Phuket. The Chinese owner spent around 6 months a year living on Phuket and about 4 days of that on the boat but never stayed overnight because "only fishermen and sea gypsies sleep on the sea". For those 4 days of boating he retained a crew of 6 for the boat on top of the 4 or 5 Thais employed at the villa year round and certainly not at 330 baht per day (the Thais likely 10 times this, the two farang well into 6 digits USD). He had to leave his cushy job when the boat was sold to a Russian. He made the mistake of admitting he understood some Russian and the new owner would never allow any of the crew the opportunity to overhear or eavesdrop his dodgy dealings.

To everyone.

Understand this. Thailand has made its choice to avoid "second wave", renewed lockdowns, etc. And that means anything vaguely like mass tourism is closed until further notice. The vast majority of the Thai population nationally agree with keeping the borders effectively shut. The demonstrators / activists / reformists are not calling for a change to this policy. High season 2020 has been written off. Their country, their rules as they say.

As to the economic impact. It is what it is. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the overall impact of a second lockdown of all but essential businesses versus the tourism effect of the borders closing. A lot of people both here and on other forums display complete disregard for the composition of the Thai economy.

[DanCee]

That is about how many boaters / rafters are allowed to raft the Grand Canyon in Arizona per day. That is a drop in the bucket for Thailand.

Thailand will survive because the 40 people per day they will allow in will have "deep pockets". Their words, not mine. Just as a comparison those 40 tourists per day they will allow in to Thailand need to spend the equivalence of 109,000 tourists per day who visited Thailand in 2019 (39.8 million visitors in 2019). I think we can all do the math here.

Yeah. Looks small if we just focus on the daily number as an absolute and limited number. But this is cumulative, remember visitors under this scheme must stay minimum 90 days and up to 270 days with 2 extensions.

Do the maths now.

[GettingFedUp]

I'm presuming the overpriced flights and ASQ will have to be booked before your visa is approved, what happens then if you go to the embassy and they don't like your paperwork, we all know what its like dealing with these people in Thai consulates or if there is an issue or delay with your test before you fly, I doubt you will get your money back or they will be accommodating in any way.

JohnnyO,

I've just answered a query in another thread which covers this. http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/...78#post2486278.

Short answer is if they don't like your paperwork or you test positive at the required test within 72 hours of departure your cash is gone.

[GrapeMan]

What business people or VIP groups do you know that have 2 spare weeks to sit around waiting?

What do you mean "spare weeks" they are working remotely anyways, they can do that from quarantine in thailand for a couple weeks to get back there to do whatever they need to do. People around the world are dealing with this type of thing.

[Banana Boi]

That is about how many boaters / rafters are allowed to raft the Grand Canyon in Arizona per day. That is a drop in the bucket for Thailand.

Thailand will survive because the 40 people per day they will allow in will have "deep pockets". Their words, not mine. Just as a comparison those 40 tourists per day they will allow in to Thailand need to spend the equivalence of 109,000 tourists per day who visited Thailand in 2019 (39.8 million visitors in 2019). I think we can all do the math here.

[Nyezhov]

I totally agree Banana Boi. I love Bangkok and I love Tokyo. I enjoy the nightlife but also the culture. When I am in BKK, I usually get a BJ in the morning and then go off to explore and photograph Bangkok all day. I like to go to places where you don't see farangs or barely see them. I find the Thai people to be some of the nicest people anywhere I have ever traveled. If you show respect, they show respect. If you smile, they smile. The food is outstanding. I am missing Thailand badly. I was about to make my 8th trip there when all of the Covid stuff blew up. I wish I had gone. I would be safer there than here in the USA where people are so angry if you wear a mask.

Try Sukhothai. It is a pleasant little town. It has ruins from long ago. I photograph there all of the time. The different seasons have different light. Don't go in the burning season. In the summertime, it is all Thai tourists for the most part. I looked up hotels recently and they are so cheap. Places are showing up that I had never seen listed. If college is back in session, I recommend Phitsanulok as well. It is dead in the day. The students and faculty come out at night and they are fun. Interesting little town with some of the best street food in Thailand.(in my experience) The Chiang Mai train passes through Phitsanulok. It is an interesting ride north. Going south to BKK is grueling.

I'm with these guys. I love Bangkok and am totally bummed I haven't been able to go there from my home here in Siem Reap. As soon as they ditch the quarantine BS and allow Visa waiver entries, me and my camera are heading back, I have a condo lined up and loads of spare batteries.

Phitsanalok is great, I though what Yai was gorgeous and I really spent some time with Phra Buddaha Chinnawat, which itself is worth a trip.

[Mr Enternational]

I suspect the whole setup is aimed at just some small VIP groups and business people that are just being given a legit way to enter so they don't have to jump through bribes or bureaucracy

What business people or VIP groups do you know that have 2 spare weeks to sit around waiting?

[BuschMan]

1200 tourists per month! So 40 special people are allowed in to Thailand per day! Yep, this will get the economy rolling. Don't even dream about being one of the 1200 per month if you live in USA. This will purely be a China money grab with only the richest of the rich getting in.

That is about how many boaters / rafters are allowed to raft the Grand Canyon in Arizona per day. That is a drop in the bucket for Thailand.

[GrapeMan]

Most would agree that the high costs, the jumping through regulatory and medical hoops, time commitment to stay minimum 90 days, and the uncertainty in dealing with bureaucratic shape-shifting, is not ideal from a tourism product marketing perspective.

But their point is that we are in the leper colony now, not them.

Sure, economic complacency will set in eventually, but I'm not holding my breath any more. I've given up, been gasping too long.

I suspect the whole setup is aimed at just some small VIP groups and business people that are just being given a legit way to enter so they don't have to jump through bribes or bureaucracy or who knows what to get back in and do what they need to do. These would be people who work or have business interests in thailand, but come in on tourist visas which is pretty. Business people have found plenty of ways around thai visa requirements, just like everyone else has.

[AmPervert]

...Bangkok DOES NOT need tourists or the sex industry to survive. imo Bangkok is one of the coolest cities in the world if you like shopping and culture and #2 for food only behind Tokyo....

I totally agree Banana Boi. I love Bangkok and I love Tokyo. I enjoy the nightlife but also the culture. When I am in BKK, I usually get a BJ in the morning and then go off to explore and photograph Bangkok all day. I like to go to places where you don't see farangs or barely see them. I find the Thai people to be some of the nicest people anywhere I have ever traveled. If you show respect, they show respect. If you smile, they smile. The food is outstanding. I am missing Thailand badly. I was about to make my 8th trip there when all of the Covid stuff blew up. I wish I had gone. I would be safer there than here in the USA where people are so angry if you wear a mask.

Try Sukhothai. It is a pleasant little town. It has ruins from long ago. I photograph there all of the time. The different seasons have different light. Don't go in the burning season. In the summertime, it is all Thai tourists for the most part. I looked up hotels recently and they are so cheap. Places are showing up that I had never seen listed. If college is back in session, I recommend Phitsanulok as well. It is dead in the day. The students and faculty come out at night and they are fun. Interesting little town with some of the best street food in Thailand.(in my experience) The Chiang Mai train passes through Phitsanulok. It is an interesting ride north. Going south to BKK is grueling.

[DanCee]

Just think how much money this is going to cost after 2 - 3 weeks before your holiday even starts, I'm guessing around $5000 to basically spend 2 weeks on a leper colony and go through the worst bureaucracy on the planet and then to top it all off they want to track you on an app which leaves me with more questions. What happens if you run out of battery and the tracking stops or you lose your phone, will you get into trouble? There must be a lot more to this that they will only reveal once you land on the leper colony as you will have no choice but to comply.

This is really only for people that really need to return and there is no other way for them. There are just way too many obstacles and out of pocket expenses for the ordinary tourist for this to make any sense.

Most would agree that the high costs, the jumping through regulatory and medical hoops, time commitment to stay minimum 90 days, and the uncertainty in dealing with bureaucratic shape-shifting, is not ideal from a tourism product marketing perspective.

But their point is that we are in the leper colony now, not them.

Sure, economic complacency will set in eventually, but I'm not holding my breath any more. I've given up, been gasping too long.

[JohnnyO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiU9SppsvJs&t=65s

It's probably easier to go to the moon with SpaceX (and maybe cheaper)

I'm close to losing my mind without a imminent return to mongering in Asia but these are some hoops I'm simply not willing to jump through. The whole thing is just insane and a farce. I'm presuming the overpriced flights and ASQ will have to be booked before your visa is approved, what happens then if you go to the embassy and they don't like your paperwork, we all know what its like dealing with these people in Thai consulates or if there is an issue or delay with your test before you fly, I doubt you will get your money back or they will be accommodating in any way.

Just think how much money this is going to cost after 2 - 3 weeks before your holiday even starts, I'm guessing around $5000 to basically spend 2 weeks on a leper colony and go through the worst bureaucracy on the planet and then to top it all off they want to track you on an app which leaves me with more questions. What happens if you run out of battery and the tracking stops or you lose your phone, will you get into trouble? There must be a lot more to this that they will only reveal once you land on the leper colony as you will have no choice but to comply.

This is really only for people that really need to return and there is no other way for them. There are just way too many obstacles and out of pocket expenses for the ordinary tourist for this to make any sense.

[Pimpampoumpipo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiU9SppsvJs&t=65s

It's probably easier to go to the moon with SpaceX (and maybe cheaper)