News Forum - PM Prayut orders Thailand Pass to be improved, says tourists are essential

[Ksmui]

1 hour ago, totes said:

So true - who would sign up for that lol - heading to Philippines !

Me too

[vlad]

Its the same old same old with this lot. " We know what we are doing and wer'e winning " They know full well other country's have opened up, but there ego's and face saving is top priority. They still think tourists will flock in but now surly they must realize the figures are low and will continue to drop, only expat and oversea's Thais are returning for visits not tourists. Everyone knows what needs to save them but they will ignore every piece of advice of how they can recover tourism and there Economy through tourism.

[Fundok]

3 hours ago, Ksmui said:

Thank you sir. We are a few days in and both fine.  In retrospect I’m sure I had the previous week- I thought I just had allergies and was a bit tired.  I’m vaxed and boosted - didn’t realize I had it. Only reason I tested was because my son got a fever which lasted one day. Thankfully Omicron, at least in our case, is EXTREMELY mild. Now I understand why so many are surprised when they test positive - people have no idea they have it. 

This is all we can do. Get our 3 shots and hope for the best. Seems to work for you - thumbs up!

[pumbaas]

15 hours ago, Mazz11 said:

I am hoping to come to Thailand in April. I hope they have rescinded the requirement of the 5th day covid test by then.

^{I'm looking to book my flight April 28th,I hope the 2 test will be gone by then} 

[Dooges]

There are four of us here in Australia that are planning a trip to Thailand in April.  The total spend on this trip including golf package with GolfAsian and spending money will be around 3 million Baht. There was suppose to be eight of us which would have been a spend of 6 million Baht. Four have already pulled out because of the risk of being isolated through the 5th day pcr test requirement.  If the 5th day test and the Thailand Pass system is not scrapped before mid March then we will not be coming at all to Thailand and we will rebook to another Asian country. 
However I expect that the Thai government will move to abolish these requirements very soon. The pressure is building from many business sectors across Thailand. If they don’t move to scrap any hurdles for entry to Thailand soon then they will risk losing tourists to other countries for years as those tourists discover other Asian destinations worth exploring. If the government doesn’t move on this soon then all credibility will be lost.  

[Soidog]

7 hours ago, vlad said:

Its the same old same old with this lot. " We know what we are doing and wer'e winning " They know full well other country's have opened up, but there ego's and face saving is top priority. They still think tourists will flock in but now surly they must realize the figures are low and will continue to drop, only expat and oversea's Thais are returning for visits not tourists. Everyone knows what needs to save them but they will ignore every piece of advice of how they can recover tourism and there Economy through tourism.

Spot on observations. The really sad part is that your behavioural observations are not confined to this virus. The attitude to research of the problems, taking best practice from other countries and being prepared to accept they need to change approach holds the country back. This will never change here. Thailand has developed a lot over the past 30 years, but so too has the rest of the world. The gap of where it is compared to where it could be remains the same. 
 

When this pandemic began the Thai government did what it does best, control, restrict and close down. Some people praised them for their swift action. I always said what they did was the easy part. The difficult part that requires good data, informed and open debate and the ability to learn from others, is how to safely open back up. The tourism sector was a particularly difficult problem, in part brought about by their historical and current distrust of foreigners. 
 

I’ve no doubt tourism numbers will eventually get back up to the 40 million mark. The Chinese in particular will see to that. It may take until 2024 or 2025, but the authorities here will still claim it a planned and carefully orchestrated success. I feel so sorry for your average Thai person who has to suffer this.

[brownronin]

15 hours ago, Guevara said:

I'd adopt the belt and braces approach. I don't intend relying on just the QR code, I'm going for the paper as well (just in case).

I strongly agree. I've already got a folder full of printouts ready for my travel next week. Multiple copies of key documents as well just in case in case the authorities suddenly need a copy.

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

Just now, brownronin said:

I strongly agree. I've already got a folder full of printouts ready for my travel next week. Multiple copies of key documents as well just in case in case the authorities suddenly need a copy.

That's right, the QR code is just a stunt. Theyll check all documents at multiple stations on arrival at Suwanapumi. Remember: Copy is king!

[Grumpyoldman]

He has completely misunderstood the real issue here and as usual acts like a general "ordering" his men to fix it.

 

Abolish all the unnecessary tests and bookings and papers and Thailand pass is fixed and tourists will return en-masse.

[Soidog]

27 minutes ago, brownronin said:

I strongly agree. I've already got a folder full of printouts ready for my travel next week. Multiple copies of key documents as well just in case in case the authorities suddenly need a copy.

Agreed. I was tempted to also bring carbon paper, rubber stamps and an ink pad with me. Maybe worth also packing a manual typewriter. Just in case

[sprez33]

15 hours ago, Fundok said:

Get well soon.

It seems, according to his statements, that he is well.  He just has an asymptomatic infection with a virus.   We all have dozens of these at any time.  It's high time to stop focusing on infection and on disease. 

[AussieTony]

Does anyone know if the additional insurance requirement of quarantine hotel cover is mandatory or just a recommendation at this stage? I am trying to fly back to Australia for 10 days and then return to Thailand. At this point, it is way easier to get to Australia than it is to come back to Thailand. Looked at some insurance companies and their cover says Test and Go approved but doesn't include isolation, only hospitalisation. Such a pain in the a--e. Then there is the issue of the second hotel stay and PCR test. I am in a regional center and we have a number of SHA hotels but only 2 SHA Plus (PCR Test) hotels and they want 4000 Baht for the PCR test alone plus overpriced room rate. I am only paying 3000 Baht for the test in the hotel in Bangkok on return Day 1. 

 

[vlad]

Well here in blighty we have just just overcome storm Dudley where we were battered by winds of upto 60mph today were being hit by Storm Eunice where winds of upto 100mph are expected with a potential of life has been issued with some parts already being hit with snow. However I would rather batten down the hatches then go through all the crap were expected to go through to travel to Thailand at the moment, i'll wait till Christmas.When hopefully this lot is kicked out and a new government installed.

[js89]

They could start by employing IT managers who understand how to do robust software development processes and quality control.

I've never seen a single usable Thai government IT system. They're all an utter disaster, riddled with bugs and bizarre UI constraints (only JPG files for documents with Thailand Pass, inability to use all browsers with 90 day reporting for example).

The functionality and quality of official Thai IT systems is so poor that it's even comical....

[Alavan]

14 hours ago, Dooges said:

The total spend on this trip including golf package with GolfAsian and spending money will be around 3 million Baht.

That is 750000 per person. What are you planning to do? Chartered a plane? Sleep Amanpuri in Phuket?

[BJoe]

On 2/17/2022 at 5:09 AM, farang said:

one big draw back is the do nothing insurance!!for people over 70/ to74  its cost is outragious and its not worth buying!al so most cant even buy the stupid insurance if over the 70/74 range.and some will sell it for one month,but you need it to cover your total stay!! so  how in the hell are they going to get a visa? drop the crap insurance.

 

[BJoe]

How the heck can you require covid insurance when the country’s own insurance companies are refusing to offer ?    So typical of the “blind leading the blind” mentality under this government. This obvious feeble mentality will continue as long as the “coup” boys remain in office.   This sad state of affairs would have been resolved by a democratically elected government.    More vaccines would have been obtained at an earlier date had submarines, military planes, and tanks not taken priority.  But the key to this whole dilemma would-have been  the reduction in salary of all government employees, including the executive and legislative branches, until the economy recovered.  But of course, that’s wishful thinking .   If officials continue to be paid regularly, there is little motivation to accelerate the fix.

[Janneman]

Just in time for the high season. The one that starts in october that is 

[Thommo]

On 2/17/2022 at 3:02 PM, RedBirdy said:

If they just had PCR negative in the last 72hr and maybe the insurance, I would be looking to book today! Ill leave it at that

48 hrs prior if you happening to be transisiting though Singapore

[Thommo]

On 2/18/2022 at 9:22 AM, DoUKnowWhoIAm said:

That's right, the QR code is just a stunt. Theyll check all documents at multiple stations on arrival at Suwanapumi. Remember: Copy is king!

Me experince has not been the case,  Just looked at the TP (printed copy) and PP arriving into to phuket this month and also Swampy in Dec last year.

[AussieBob]

On 2/18/2022 at 11:31 AM, Dooges said:

There are four of us here in Australia that are planning a trip to Thailand in April.  The total spend on this trip including golf package with GolfAsian and spending money will be around 3 million Baht. There was suppose to be eight of us which would have been a spend of 6 million Baht. Four have already pulled out because of the risk of being isolated through the 5th day pcr test requirement.  If the 5th day test and the Thailand Pass system is not scrapped before mid March then we will not be coming at all to Thailand and we will rebook to another Asian country. 
However I expect that the Thai government will move to abolish these requirements very soon. The pressure is building from many business sectors across Thailand. If they don’t move to scrap any hurdles for entry to Thailand soon then they will risk losing tourists to other countries for years as those tourists discover other Asian destinations worth exploring. If the government doesn’t move on this soon then all credibility will be lost.  

If they continue to play Generals, then check out Vietnam - their golf courses are newer and better from all accounts.  Most Thailand courses are very old - only a few courses built for over 20 years.  Greg Norman is/was building lots of course in Vietnam - they are going to boom - Thailand is massively over-priced and the industry is like the General's - we are the best - no way we will reduce prices.  In Hua Hin in 2018 we went to one of those upmarket tourist courses and it was run down and vacant (place was empty) - they still wanted 4000 Baht (each) for us to play - plus caddy plus cart plus tip. Absolutely ridiculous - the Chinese dont play golf - the Japanese and Koreans are going elsewhere - but they dont change.  Thailand is becoming like Phuket - massively over-priced and not as popular anymore.  And more people are becoming aware and looking elsewhere - in the past (pre-Junta) no one looked past Thailand in SEAsia.  They are falling behind and their Covid management has not helped at all. 

 

[Soidog]

PM Prayut “orders”. Another piece of patriarchal clap trap. Why doesn’t he “order” an independent investigation in to why the process failed so miserably in the first place. Identify the processes and systems which caused the problems. Learn from the mistakes in order to make the next government online system better. Instead, he’s “ordered” the same numpties who developed it to try and fix it. 

[Dooges]

On 2/19/2022 at 2:24 AM, Alavan said:

That is 750000 per person. What are you planning to do? Chartered a plane? Sleep Amanpuri in Phuket?

Thanks for pointing that out.  It was 400,000 baht each.  I got my sums wrong there