July reopening to prevent Phuket from plunging into poverty

[webfact]

Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong at the meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee meeting yesterday (Mar 24). Photo: PR Phuket

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: Reopening Phuket to receive foreign tourists from July 1 is aimed at preventing island residents from plunging into poverty, it was revealed yesterday (Mar 24).

 

Before the pandemic, the average income in Phuket was B43,000 per month, Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong told a meeting of the Communicable Disease Committee.

 

After the outbreak began last year, the average income fell to B8,303 per month, he said.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/july-reopening-to-prevent-phuket-from-plunging-into-poverty-79461.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-03-25

 

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[keith101]

They will need to diversify and not rely so heavily on tourists but then if they were capable of doing so they would have already been making headway by now .

[Frank Abegnale]

Define "reopening." If that means international tourists can go to Phuket without any kind of quarantine, but they still cannot go to other parts of Siam, I really don't think this will work.

[KarenBravo]

He can say what he likes. It isn't up to him to decide when Phuket can be opened, it's up to the powers-that-be in Bangkok.

[RichardColeman]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

PHUKET: Reopening Phuket to receive foreign tourists from July 1 is aimed at preventing island residents from plunging into poverty, it was revealed yesterday (Mar 24).

I think those of us on the right, the left and in the middle can mostly all agree on one thing for a change  - Phuket will remain in poverty until quarantine is ended.

 

Give it a week and the locals will roll out the same spiel - we were promised more people coming and they didn't

[trainman34014]

Been reading for weeks that they are already in Poverty !

[chilli42]

Well they certainly have their work cut out for them.  The decent into poverty seems to not have had much effect on the willingness of residents to take the jab(s).

 

Quote

Overall, 28% of respondents voted an outright “Yes” to taking a COVID vaccine, and a further 28% voted “It depends on the vaccine”.

The remaining 43% voted an outright “No” to taking a COVID vaccine.

 

[newnative]

Phuket has already taken the 'plunge'.

[bermondburi]

On 3/25/2021 at 9:08 AM, Frank Abegnale said:

Define "reopening." If that means international tourists can go to Phuket without any kind of quarantine, but they still cannot go to other parts of Siam, I really don't think this will work.

Disagree with that. Most tourists to Phuket would normally stay there for their one or 2 weeks anyway wouldn't they.

 

As a vaccinated person, id have no problem staying there a week before being allowed to travel elsewhere. That's what I'd be doing anyway.

[stuarty]

Opening in July was approved today

 

Thailand will waive quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors arriving on the resort island of Phuket from July 1, the first key reopening for the tourism-reliant nation.

On Friday (March 26), an economic panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the proposal by Phuket's private sector and business groups to inoculate at least 70 per cent of the island's residents to prepare for the reopening for vaccinated tourists, according to Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

The government plans to test the reopening plan in Phuket before expanding to other key tourist hot spots, like another resort island, Koh Samui, to help restart the tourism industry battered by a year without its millions of tourists who contributed to one-fifth of the economy before the pandemic.

The approval means that Phuket will reopen three months earlier than the rest of the country, which is expected to reopen for those who are fully vaccinated only in October.

Phuket residents will also be prioritised in the vaccine roll-out, with more than 930,000 doses expected to be administered before the reopening, Mr Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the island's tourist association said separately earlier this week.

[Frank Abegnale]

3 hours ago, bermondburi said:

Disagree with that. Most tourists to Phuket would normally stay there for their one or 2 weeks anyway wouldn't they.

 

As a vaccinated person, id have no problem staying there a week before being allowed to travel elsewhere. That's what I'd be doing anyway.

I don’t think these direct to Phuket tourists that don’t do ASQ will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand. 

[bermondburi]

16 minutes ago, Frank Abegnale said:

I don’t think these direct to Phuket tourists that don’t do ASQ will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand. 

But what's the difference between a vaccinated tourist doing a week in lockup and traveling to other parts of the the country, and a Phuket tourist then. Both still do a PCR.

[bkk6060]

They will need to do some type of minimum ASQ and a negative test here.  Maybe 3 days.

Too many arrivals showing up positive now.  And, anyone think fake vaccine documents are possibility?

And getting all the locals vaccinated in the next 3 months seems impossible.

[stuarty]

1 hour ago, Frank Abegnale said:

I don’t think these direct to Phuket tourists that don’t do ASQ will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand. 

I think you are completely wrong

[stuarty]

1 hour ago, bermondburi said:

But what's the difference between a vaccinated tourist doing a week in lockup and traveling to other parts of the the country, and a Phuket tourist then. Both still do a PCR.

Phuket tourists without quarantine at all (because vaccinated) will still have to wait before travelling.

[bermondburi]

1 hour ago, stuarty said:

Phuket tourists without quarantine at all (because vaccinated) will still have to wait before travelling.

Yeah, I get that. My point was that if they stay in Phuket a week and then move on, it's no different to being in ASQ a week and then move on. Both groups vaccinated, both having done a PCR.

 

So why wouldn't Phuket visitors be allowed to go to other places in Thailand?

[stuarty]

1 minute ago, bermondburi said:

Yeah, I get that. My point was that if they stay in Phuket a week and then move on, it's no different to being in ASQ a week and then move on. Both groups vaccinated, both having done a PCR.

 

So why wouldn't Phuket visitors be allowed to go to other places in Thailand?

They will be. Just not after one week.

[bermondburi]

9 minutes ago, stuarty said:

They will be. Just not after one week.

What makes you say that?