Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Thailand is Cambodia's neighbor to the West, and this forum is dedicated to Thai news, stories, reviews, blogs, videos, Thai people and anything else related to the country. A lot of expats have both lived and worked in Cambodia and Thailand, and this area is a place to discuss all aspects of life in Thailand and what's going on there. Most topics are about Bangkok and Pattaya because of their larger populations of expatriates and tourists in those cities, but this is for all things Thai.
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phuketrichard
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by phuketrichard »

dismal figures:
when i worked for agoda it was 40% occupancy was break even
at 10.....
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said hotels in August had an occupancy rate of 10.6% nationwide, which was only slightly higher than the previous month’s 9.6%.

BANGKOK: Amid tepid tourist demand, 52% of hotel operators are considering closing temporarily, while 9% want to shut down permanently if the COVID-19 pandemic lasts longer than expected.
I think we can say the samui sandbox is a failure:
As of Sept 6, Samui had received only 621 tourists via the pilot programme, while the number of tourists that completed the programme in Phuket and then travelled to Samui stood at over 400.
https://www.thephuketnews.com/hotel-ope ... VZ9sa2KYdw
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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jaynewcastle
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by jaynewcastle »

The lack of many international flights to Ko Samui, plus all the extra restrictions involved, compared to the Phuket Sandbox more or less guaranteed it wouldn't be popular
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yong
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

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https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/im ... ce=nar-cms

Thai tourism reopening hits roadblock due to slow vaccine rollout
October or November? Government sends mixed messages on resuming travel to Bangkok

Image
The southern Thai resort island of Phuket welcomed 29,654 vaccinated travelers with no quarantine over a period of 10 weeks after reopening on July 1. © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerSeptember 10, 2021 13:10 JST

BANGKOK -- The pace of Thailand's tourism reopening will slacken as the government reworks its plans due to the country's slow vaccine rollout.

The delay will allow Southeast Asia's second-largest economy to better prepare for welcoming tourists, but will also reduce the tourism industry's opportunities to secure fast cash.

"International tourists are expected to enter without quarantine from January, led by travel bubbles with surrounding countries starting on Jan. 15," said Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

The time frame given by the minister suggests a delay of over a month in the country's reopening schedule. In June, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha launched a 120-day plan to start allowing vaccinated foreigners to roam freely around Thai soil without any quarantine requirements. The four-month period will expire in mid-October.

The reopening of Bangkok appears to be wavering. Phiphat has said that the reopening of the capital to vaccinated travelers will be postponed from October to November, as not enough residents will be fully vaccinated until the end of next month. "The plan for Bangkok is more challenging, as it has extended territory covering vicinities that require more elaborate standard operation procedures," he said.

However, Prime Minister's Office Secretary-General Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana posted on Facebook on Thursday that the capital is still among the five provinces that are set to reopen in October. The other four are Chiang Mai, Chonburi, Petchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Bangkok's reopening is a key step toward nationwide reopening, as it will provide data on visitors' activities and spending that is vital in judging how safe and economically effective it will be for the country to fully welcome tourists.

Image
Thailand's government partially lifted its lockdown on Sept. 1, reopening malls and beauty parlors as well as allowing dine-in services and resuming interprovincial travel. © AP

The delayed national reopening will give Thais more time to adapt to the country's new normal. From September, the government has lifted business lockdowns that were imposed to contain the delta-strain outbreaks in certain provinces, including Bangkok.

The easing of restrictions came not because the epidemic has been curbed -- the country reported 16,031 new cases on Thursday, jumping from 14,176 the previous day. Instead, it reflects the country's shift in its COVID-19 policies. Instead of eradicating the virus completely, the government now aims to coexist with it.

From October, residents in provinces with high epidemic levels who want to use high-risk facilities such as restaurants, hair salons and spas will be asked to provide a certificate of full vaccination or a negative antigen test result.

These new-normal measures have prompted Thais who were hesitant over vaccination to finally get a shot. Many had been skeptical of the efficacy and safety of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, the main sources of inoculation for the kingdom. With supply meeting demand, the proportion of fully vaccinated people jumped to 15% by Sept. 7 from 10.3% on Aug. 27, the day the lockdown easing was announced.

The easing is part of the government's efforts to revive tourist attractions before welcoming tourists. Some restaurants have gone out of businesses due to measures that prevented people from dining in, and many others barely survived.

The removal of restrictions and subsequent reopening will provide breathing space for businesses to work out operations that are safe and economically sustainable under the new normal ahead of the arrival of tourists from abroad.

The July 1 reopening of the southern island of Phuket provides a success story -- and a cautionary tale. Between July 1 and Sept. 8, the resort island welcomed 29,654 vaccinated international travelers with no quarantine period, up from virtually zero in 2020 due to coronavirus-induced border closures.

But this "sandbox experiment" is in danger as delta-strain outbreaks penetrate the island. Phuket Province reported 219 cases on Wednesday. "That the number of infections is more than 200 a day is a crisis situation," said Phuket Gov. Narong Woonciew. Cases surged despite the fact that 70% of the island residents were fully inoculated ahead of the reopening.

When the early reopening program was launched, the government had prepared contingencies to delay or cancel the experiment if authorities found 90 confirmed new cases per week, transmission across three districts and six subdistricts, or a spate of untraceable superspreaders. A halt would also be triggered if an uncontrollable superspreader situation resulted in 80% or more of the island's hospital beds being occupied. However, having a level of over 200 daily cases had not yet stopped the experiment as of Thursday.

"The Phuket sandbox is a pilot program and a pivotal first step that lays the foundation for the rest of the country," hospitality giant Minor International's chairman, William Heinecke, told local media. "The failure of the sandbox would be a stain on Thailand's global image. Therefore, we must go above and beyond to safeguard the program and ensure its success," he insisted.
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

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Thailand reports 15,191 new COVID-19 cases, 253 more deaths
11/09/21 15:59

BANGKOK, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Saturday reported 15,191 new COVID-19 cases and 253 more fatalities, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The new cases have brought the country's total number of infections to top 1.36 million, while that of fatalities has risen to 14,173 since the pandemic began, according to the CCSA, the country's COVID-19 task force.

The capital city Bangkok, which has been the epicenter of the country's third wave of the outbreak since early April, continued to top the list of new infections by regions, with 3,364 new cases being detected over the past 24 hours.

After assessing the situation, the Thai government eased some restriction measures, allowing shopping malls and parks to reopen from this month, but it has kept the night-time curfews in place till the end of this month.
http://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/e ... 25-28.html
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Doc67
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by Doc67 »

Thailand opening Bangkok to vaccinated tourists in Oct. 2021


https://mothership.sg/2021/09/bangkok-v ... ober-2021/

Bangkok, Chiang Mai among more Thai tourist spots set for October reopening

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... -reopening

There's a few websites getting excited about the October opening up.

Come on Cambodia!! Take your dress off and grow a pair...
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yong
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by yong »

Doc67 wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:08 am
Thailand opening Bangkok to vaccinated tourists in Oct. 2021


https://mothership.sg/2021/09/bangkok-v ... ober-2021/

Bangkok, Chiang Mai among more Thai tourist spots set for October reopening

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... -reopening

There's a few websites getting excited about the October opening up.

Come on Cambodia!! Take your dress off and grow a pair...
I am getting very excited too because when wife is back from her vaccine trip back to Singapore there’s no need to spend more money in hotels and food in Phuket for 2 weeks.
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

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14,029 new Covid cases, 180 more deaths
published : 12 Sep 2021 at 09:13
Image
Thailand logged 14,029 new Covid-19 cases and 180 more fatalities during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Sunday morning.
There were 13,753 cases in the general population and 276 among prison inmates.

On Saturday, 15,742 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ore-deaths
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phuketrichard
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by phuketrichard »

Phuket sandbox, past week everyday over 200 new cases
14 deaths on the island. NO international arrival's
still ONLY 83 or so infections for incoming international arrival's with about half showing negative on arrival, but 12 days later positive< ( which to me, shows they caught it by being out and about)
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Bangkok to reopen to international travellers on Oct 15
Pichayada Promchertchoo
15 Sep 2021 11:09PM (Updated: 15 Sep 2021 11:09PM)

BANGKOK: Bangkok will reopen to international travellers on Oct 15 when at least 70 per cent of its residents are expected to have been fully vaccinated.

The decision came after a discussion between Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan and Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang on Wednesday (Sep 15).

“Our mutual decision is that we want to carry out the vaccination throughout Bangkok - in every district - so that when we reopen it, it will apply to all of Bangkok,” said Mr Pipat in a press conference.

“For the safety of Bangkok residents, the vaccination coverage of no less than 70 per cent is very important.”

According to the minister, more than 70 per cent of Bangkok’s population have already received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine but only 37 per cent have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The remaining 33 per cent should have been given their second dose by early October, he added.

“We are confident that on Oct 15, Bangkok will be able to reopen to international tourists,” Mr Pipat said.

However, he did not mention if there will be any quarantine requirements for international travellers once the capital city reopens.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/th ... rs-2180526
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Re: Thailand Travel Restrictions and Info

Post by Ahyou!whyme? »

Below 11,000 today. First time for 2 months.
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