Thailand's 10 important tourist provinces/ 4 time periods opening to foreign tourism explained

[ukrules]

33 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

And of course, this will only apply if Government have not placed Thailand on a Red Flag List.

 

It's far worse than that, by default all countries are banned unless they get on the 'green list', this is how they're doing it in the uk.

 

No personal holiday / vacation travel is permitted to countries not on the green list.

 

 

[kimamey]

5 hours ago, keith101 said:

Where do they keep coming up with these farcical numbers , expectations of grandeur as usual . 

It sounds more like an order than a prediction. Maybe it's come from the military based government. That would certainly fit.

 

"We have ways of making you go on holiday and spend money."

 

"Resistance is futile."

????

[jirathama]

One of the biggest Tour Operators in Germany offers already, starting 15th September a Phuket Island jumping with a Tourguide, they call it,

flight from Frankfurt to Phuket, roundtrip 15 days, from Airport to Kao Lak one week, then Koh Yao Noi 4days and at the end 4 days in Cape Panwa.

Incl.Bf 1300,--€.  No mentioning of need  being vaccinated. Just passport.

In November you can come 24days to Phuket at around 1200,--€. Flight FRA-HKT,  Tourguide, Transfer, 4star Hotel and Breakfast.

Iam sure alot of people are booking this....

[madmen]

8 minutes ago, jirathama said:

One of the biggest Tour Operators in Germany offers already, starting 15th September a Phuket Island jumping with a Tourguide, they call it,

flight from Frankfurt to Phuket, roundtrip 15 days, from Airport to Kao Lak one week, then Koh Yao Noi 4days and at the end 4 days in Cape Panwa.

Incl.Bf 1300,--€.  No mentioning of need  being vaccinated. Just passport.

In November you can come 24days to Phuket at around 1200,--€. Flight FRA-HKT,  Tourguide, Transfer, 4star Hotel and Breakfast.

Iam sure alot of people are booking this....

Of course they are. Tour companies won't lose anything when they send out the inevitable " sorry to inform you" emails 

[jirathama]

Well, that is true too. They just could cancel it. But still...a lot of work for nothing. And the charterflight they booked...and so on.

[NeoDinosaw]

2 hours ago, keith101 said:

And for a family of 4 parents and 2 kids they think they are going to spend 340,000 baht I DONT THINK SO 

4 parents and 2 kids !!!   Thats only half a kid per parent   ????????

[pookondee]

6 hours ago, khunphil said:

It's OK, it is only in 1 month half .. until that date, we can estimate 100 flip-flops ... ????

My question is, as someone compared Phuket to Samui without sandbox ... if they open Phuket for international travelers, do they close it for domestic travelers , as they are speaking about direct flights only ?

If they close Phuket island, what would you agree to sign on NOW ... Regular domestic tourists (including expats) from June-July or "unknown number" of international travelers ready to spend 100,000 or more for a week from July ... ?

Not an easy choice, so maybe Samui, which is not "ready for July test", is not the unlucky one.

My 2 cents

Phil.

 

" it is only in 1 month half .. until that date, we can estimate 100 flip-flops"

 

Well thanks Thailand,

but this little black duck is going to be waiting at least  1.5 months AFTER the grand opening before i consider heading over.

 

I get how some guys will be keen to go, but the idea of being a guinea pig on the the first fleet doesn't do it for me.

 

I can see there being flip flops after the opening, possible infections, policy changes, flights cancelled.

 

And It wouldn't be Thailand if the Immigrations didnt bring in a bunch of New requirements for entry- while you were en-route and waiting to land.????

 

 

 

[DoctorB]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

It's far worse than that, by default all countries are banned unless they get on the 'green list', this is how they're doing it in the uk.

 

No personal holiday / vacation travel is permitted to countries not on the green list.

 

 

Actually this is far from clear. Thus the Daily Mirror:-

"Can I book a holiday to a destination on the amber list?

In short, yes. Non-essential travel to amber lists will be allowed, but you’ll have to self-isolate at home for 10 days. You’ll also need to take a PCR tests on day two and day eight of your self-isolation, with an option to test and release on day five."

 

Or Travel Weekly:-

Speaking after the webcast, Cleary clarified that Caribtours would only send customers to destinations were the FCDO did not advice against non-essential travel.

He pointed out: “The government has said that you shouldn’t travel for leisure, not that you cannot travel for leisure. It won’t be illegal anymore, from May 17.

“Our interpretation of that is that you can travel as long as the FCDO advice allows it. We’re not trying to be clever, but it is confusing for customers who want to get away.”

 

While The Manchester Evening News said:-

Transport secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that overseas holidays can resume from May 17 - but only to a limited number of "green list" countries.

All remaining countries are placed on either an "amber" or "red" list which mean you must not travel to them for leisure purposes, and on return you will be subject to certain quarantine measures.

 

And you thought obfustication was a Thai speciality.

[Trujillo]

"...current devastating and most severe wave ...."

 

Could you be a little more dramatic, please? What not "earth-shatteringly horrible," or "utterly catastrophic"? Come on, man! You can do better than that. 

 

What is it with vaccines? 

Vaccines are a way to " trick" the body into thinking it needs to make anti-bodies without actually having the sickness; therefore, those who have tested positive in the past, and are not now deceased, are protected in exactly the same way, only achieved via natural means.

This is not a secret, yet why is this fact being ignored?

 

There is NO difference between being vaccinated and having recovered from the illness, except some people familiar with the subject contend that natural immunity probably lasts longer. If you are a foreigner and can show that you had a positive covid test more than 2 weeks prior to departure, you are good to go in exactly the same way as if you were vaccinated. 

 

Is big pharma really that powerful that it reaches even to SE Asia?

[TheFreqFlyer]

8 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

These people seem to have  completely different agenda than the rest of the World.

It is 70 % of the entire population that need to be Vaccinated.

No Tourists are going to wander around a Country that has only maybe 10% of the entire population Vaccinated, for fear of carrying the Virus back home to loved ones.

And of course, this will only apply if Government have not placed Thailand on a Red Flag List.

 

I think the majority of free thinking tourists would rather come to a country that has few people vaccinated. 
 

What tourists care about are things to do, costs, how much freedom there is (tourists aren't coming if they're being threatened with fines or jail time for not wearing a mask at all times or having a beer with their partner), sights, ease of entry etc.

[TheFreqFlyer]

No mention of land borders. I am assuming that only arrivals and exit by air will be permitted, even well into 2022. It will be like Myanmar/Burma pre 2013 when only arrivals and departures by plane were allowed. Land border entry was prohibited except for limited one day or sometimes longer excursions limited to a short distance from the border, where you had to return the same way you came and were not permitted to travel further into the interior. 

[TheFreqFlyer]

42 minutes ago, Trujillo said:

"...current devastating and most severe wave ...."

 

Could you be a little more dramatic, please? What not "earth-shatteringly horrible," or "utterly catastrophic"? Come on, man! You can do better than that. 

 

What is it with vaccines? 

Vaccines are a way to " trick" the body into thinking it needs to make anti-bodies without actually having the sickness; therefore, those who have tested positive in the past, and are not now deceased, are protected in exactly the same way, only achieved via natural means.

This is not a secret, yet why is this fact being ignored?

 

There is NO difference between being vaccinated and having recovered from the illness, except some people familiar with the subject contend that natural immunity probably lasts longer. If you are a foreigner and can show that you had a positive covid test more than 2 weeks prior to departure, you are good to go in exactly the same way as if you were vaccinated. 

 

Is big pharma really that powerful that it reaches even to SE Asia?

It is indeed. In Cambodia, Covid vaccination is about to be made mandatory in stages (starting with government workers) and now Buri Ram in Thailand is doing the same.

 

There is no mandatory vaccination in the USA, Australia or many other western countries. 

 

I'd say this is proof that big pharma is perhaps MORE powerful in SE Asia than in the west (in some ways, at least). The Rockefeller Foundation's Asian office is in Bangkok and so is the regional headquarters of the WHO. Dr. Yong's conflict of interest with vaccine manufacturers as well as being paid by GAVI and Thailand being run by an ultra authoritarian government all combine to create a nebulus of pharmaceutical control.

 

Also, even pre-Covid, if you went to any Thai doctor or hospital you'd know how many pharmaceutical pills are pushed on patients. Get the sniffles and you're prescribed 20 different pills. An Australia GP might not prescribe anything at all, or tell you to get bedrest, eat some chicken soup and maybe...if you want (or insist upon it) prescribe ONE type of anti-inflammatory or fever reducer or whatever (depending on your symptoms), which you're under no obligation to get because he writes you a script that you take to a pharmacy of your choice. In America it's similar even if doctors tend to prescribe more medication it's still not as bad as in Thailand (and Vietnam and other SE Asian countries). 

[TheFreqFlyer]

5 hours ago, jirathama said:

One of the biggest Tour Operators in Germany offers already, starting 15th September a Phuket Island jumping with a Tourguide, they call it,

flight from Frankfurt to Phuket, roundtrip 15 days, from Airport to Kao Lak one week, then Koh Yao Noi 4days and at the end 4 days in Cape Panwa.

Incl.Bf 1300,--€.  No mentioning of need  being vaccinated. Just passport.

In November you can come 24days to Phuket at around 1200,--€. Flight FRA-HKT,  Tourguide, Transfer, 4star Hotel and Breakfast.

Iam sure alot of people are booking this....

You'd have to be a moron to make any advance booking like this right now. I'd only dare make arrangements AFTER things are back to normal (well assuming they ever will be). 

[TheFreqFlyer]

8 hours ago, keith101 said:

And for a family of 4 parents and 2 kids they think they are going to spend 340,000 baht I DONT THINK SO 

Exactly. And spend on what? Everything's closed! And many businesses will NEVER reopen, because SMEs can't just stay closed indefinitely and spontaneously open up again at the drop of a hat.

 

What will happen is, the Phuket/Thailand of the future will be a Kingdom of CP, Central Pattana, Minor and a myriad of local and foreign conglomerates. Mom and pop stores will soon be extinct. 

 

A Thai/American lawyer stated that in his opinion, about 90% of SMEs have already gone under and won't return. 

[Albert Zweistein]

8 hours ago, keith101 said:

And for a family of 4 parents and 2 kids they think they are going to spend 340,000 baht I DONT THINK SO 

Lucky kids with 4 parents..........................................................

[Kadilo]

It’s a plan they have had for some time. All sounds perfectly achievable as long as the vaccine programme progresses to meet the key target dates set out. 
 

If the uptake or supply is low then the dates will be put back to such time it can be achieved. 
 

Their challenges don’t sound any different to what every country is/ has faced.
 

Sadly they have left themselves a mountain to climb in terms of vaccinations, which is the key to unlock the mess, due to their complacency and trumpet blowing when they should have been planning for the worse case scenario. 
 

 

 

 

[RR2020]

Oh look.............now the scientists "dont want to study or report too much" on vaccinated people getting and spreading Covid.

 

Wonder why ? Not suit their agenda ?

 

This is the reason Vaccine Passports are complete and utter nonsense.

 

Vaccinate people can get the virus, can spread the virus and so a vaccine passport means NOTHING.

 

https://fortune.com/2021/05/10/can-you-get-covid-after-vaccine-cdc-breakthrough-cases-tracing/

 

.

[kimamey]

On 5/14/2021 at 4:55 AM, dcsw53 said:

So are they going to be checking that the hordes coming actually stay there, and don't get out ? Otherwise what is the point ? So should be direct flights only, again if not what is the point ?
I bet the hospitality industry on Ko Samui are ecstatic at this news. Why can't they have their own ( slightly smaller ) sandbox ? 

I'm not sure I see the point of direct flights only.  Which airlines actually fly direct to Phuket and how do you define direct?

From the UK I think Thai Airways fly direct to Phuket but till still have to go through Heathrow. Will they check you haven't flown into Heathrow from somewhere else.  Qatar and Emirates fly to Phuket but coming from the UK is have to transit through Dubai or Doha so not direct but its that much different than Someone who lives in Dubai or Doha flying in. 

 

I usually fly Gulf Air at the moment so transferring through Bangkok would be best for me and I can't see any real problem given that the Thai government can control BKK in a way it can't other airports.