Head in the Sand or Wise Thailand Lockdown?

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Viewing 15 posts - 61 through 75 (of 90 total)

  • SimonS1
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1011310][/postquote]

    Yes, good summary.

    If the game plan is to prevent infections coming into the country then I understand closing the borders.

    However if the intention is to have any economy or tourism left at the end of this then perhaps it isn’t a smart move after all.

    The win/win is surely something in the middle – Dubai seems to be functioning by opening borders but requiring a Covid test to arrive and then to leave.

    The point about the quarantine hotels is an interesting one. I wonder what attitudes will be when the situation moves on. When in Dubai I noticed that one of the hotels in Barsha we used for coffee meetings was dark and shuttered…..when I asked the client he said “oh, that was a quarantine hotel” as looked at me as if they were some sort of lepers. I asked around and it turned out that when the Government made changes to remove the 14 day quarantine their business collapsed. No quarantine travellers left, and it seems no-one else was willing to set foot in the door. The outcome being that the hotel was quickly shut down and all the staff terminated.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    The one way travel corridors and totally diverse Covid 19 strategies amongst nations are not only confusing but extremely frustrating.

    So the UK (or is it just England) removes Thailand and Singapore (for this week any way) from the need to self isolate when arriving into London. Thailand indicate they may soon allow foreigners to enter Thailand for a minimum of 90 days, being kept ‘locked’ in strict quarantine (ASQ) hotel for the first 14 nights and there is likely a need to obtain a special visa (with all the paperwork and documents) prior to arrival.

    So it seems the world has opened slightly for the Brits who needed sunshine in Europe and the long term retired who wish to lead the ex-pat life style. But what about the UK businesspeople, who need to travel but for a shorter period. Multi country (never mind single country) visits to the Asian region are out of the question due to a 2 week strict quarantine in each.

    BA and the airlines want us to travel, BA (and CX) keep emailing me with sale prices (for 2021 and beyond), Alex Cruz has gone to the papers asking Brits to travel to safeguard jobs and the airline, but apart from Dubai or some African destinations, where on earth can we go outside of Europe. I am amazed the airlines are still flying long haul with so empty seats……

    Even on these threads, I think SimonS1 is the only contributor who has been on a longhaul business trip.. in 5 or 6 months

    Or, is the world gambling that a vaccine will cure all these problems…..? The world certainly needs to cooperate and talk with each other, now, more than ever…

    Shana Tova to those that celebrate – to the rest, have a fabulous weekend.

    6 users thanked author for this post.

    Polly
    Participant

    Terry,

    Just read through the comments..seems like we must stay the minimum of 90 days.

    What would happen if you decided to go back to the UK after 6 weeks then? Know you have to have evidence of prepaid accommodation etc, but the latter part could be refundable? Just thinking around this crazy visa offering.


    BPP
    Participant

    Hi Poly.
    Thanks for your input. We have used one 5* riverside hotel exclusively twice a year or so for the last 20+ years. Over the that time we too have watched very junior staff develop and be promoted to quite senior positions and made many friends in the process. The welcome is amazing and we have the same suite allocated each visit. Recent e-mail communication with hotel senior management is not at all encouraging and I suspect that our rescheduled (from Nov – now March 2021) visit will also be a ‘non -starter’.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    SimonS1
    Participant

    [quote quote=1011322]Even on these threads, I think SimonS1 is the only contributor who has been on a longhaul business trip.. in 5 or 6 months[/quote]

    I have been working on the next plan today. I need to go to Luxembourg for 3 days work – ordinarily that means 14 days quarantine but subject to a test I can get straight back out of the UK to Dubai. And I understand from a colleague that Kenya is doable now.

    But it really is a test of endurance, and subject to further changes….


    TerryMcManus24
    Participant

    Polly …waiting for some further “secure information”…will response…when..if…T

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    K1ngston
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1011580][/postquote]

    Polly, dont hold your breath the whole immigration question here in Thailand is a sh1tshow …. basically they are making things up as they go along, throw ideas out there people go “you must be joking” so they withdraw them and start again with some other nonsense!

    Align this with civil unrest planned in a big way this coming weekend in Bangkok and you will start to see the land of smiles become the land of grimaces! When the locals have lost faith in the messages coming from the Government you know there are issues ahead….

    Unless you have 90 days to spare (14 in quarantine) and a load of money for approved hotels, then I would seriously be considering elsewhere to spend your time, if you listen to the Thai sentiment they only want the High End Tourists which ultimately will kill the tourist trade anyway so what you will end up coming too is questionable.

    The hoops we are all jumping through to maintain legal presence here is frankly a joke and today at the Immigration office in Phuket they had to turn people away it was that busy and chaotic ….. Think hard and fast before coming here

    8 users thanked author for this post.

    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I have recently started to subscribe to a daily podcast/new review of Thailand created by Tim Newton who I think is a journalist.

    UCfyWB_cTvCBWau8mFcMnJkQilst

    One of the interesting comments presented, if the approximately 150,000 overstayers spent just $1,000 US per month, that would put into the Thai economy ca. Billion 1.8… pa

    Not an amount to be sniffed at…

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Tramor01
    Participant

    I came across this via ThaiVisa/The Nation this morning

    Fear and confusion in Thailand’s tourism industry as near-bankrupt hotels decline foreign tourists

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Polly
    Participant

    Hi K1ingston

    Thanks for your detailed update. Think it’s fast becoming a non trip fast, even delaying to March won’t cut it l think. Will just take FTV from QR to attempt to use next Nov. And today QR have delayed our departure by 24 hrs but don’t want to refund us, which by law they must. So battle in our hands there too.
    Good luck with your own matters in hand. They don’t have a clue when something goes wrong over here. And we thought HKT was the most advanced tourism island! Even tho we go for the quiet side of it. Raining here today, so back to reality here in the UK. We have had enough good weather here since March To keep us topped up in vit D. Stay well…

    Terry, Tnx too for the updates.

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    BPP
    Participant

    Hi Polly. Thanks for your continuing updates. Further to my comment earlier; about 2 weeks ago following several schedule changes, I took an Emirates offer to transfer our booking from November to March (f.o.c.). Contacted the Hotel – no problems, e-mailed our travelling ex-colleagues again no problem so went ahead, spent hours rearranging everything. Damn me on Friday Emirates cancelled the outbound completely (this is for March!!). This was the fourth schedule change in as many weeks, so I (We) have therefore abandoned the whole meet up till November 2021 in the hope that this will be possible. We are all well into our 70’s so lets hope so!
    The only good thing in all this is that Emirates have been easy to contact andvery co-operative. Requesting a refund was accepted without question. It may take ‘up to 90 days’ though.
    BPP


    K1ngston
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1011670][/postquote]

    I wish it was more positive news for you but the place is fast becoming a basket case of information or mainly misinformation, now 2 week reporting for some visas and a general air of incompetence aligned against the backdrop (if you can believe the numbers) zero additions of COVID for well over 100 days!

    Others have said it, every action has consequences the fact the borders are closed the process of coming in so stupid its bordering on ridiculous has kept the population safe from the Pandemic but its systematically strangling the economy in BKK and succeeding in choking the life out of the tourist industry in places such as Phuket where this no other income to be made…..

    Again I am so sad to say that you are best to concentrate on being safe if you are UK based and choose carefully where you want to go to get some warmth, here in Asia (and not just Thailand) there is no easy place to visit and the process will outweigh any enjoyment once getting here … Welcome to the new normal!!!!!

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Polly
    Participant

    K

    Tnx again for all your local advice. QR have offered a full refund following a 24hr flight move. So that’s sorted. We will hopefully get there Nov 21 all being well, no pun intended….and yes it does sound chaotic. Just feel sosorry for the locals who really do depend on us visiting and spending locally.


    anyonebutba
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1011322][/postquote]

    The flights are still operating with zero passengers and much more cargo at the moment, airlines make far more money from cargo than they ever do from passenger traffic, hence why BA9 (BKK), BA15 (SIN),BA57 (JNB) and the USA ones for example are all still operating , some can take passengers other cannot, the ones that cant have extra cargo loaded in passenger cabins, with no cabin crew aboard, so a win win profit wise for the airlines that still fly routes with no travelers allowed entry

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    SimonS1
    Participant

    BA are doing massive cargo volumes….50 tonnes on one flight from India.

    https://www.simpleflying.com/iah-cargo-mumbai-london/amp/

    I sense from what I see on here some Asian economies will take a long time to recover. I suppose they consider throttling the life out of their economies an appropriate price to pay for keeping Covid at bay.

    2 users thanked author for this post.
Viewing 15 posts - 61 through 75 (of 90 total)
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