Thailand tourism situation

[buksida]

Just 8 foreign tourists have visited Hua Hin since reopening
Just 8 foreign tourists have visited Hua Hin since the country reopened to tourism on November 1, officials have confirmed.

On Wednesday, (Nov 10) Dr. Wara Selawattanakul, Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Public Health Doctor, revealed that out of the 8 foreigners who have visited Hua Hin, none had tested positive for COVID-19.

After months of planning, it has been somewhat of a slow start to Hua Hin’s reopening.

During the first week of reopening, Hua Hin had received no foreign tourists, and now into the second week, only a handful of foreigners have arrived the resort.

The uncertainty regarding the arrival of foreign tourists to Hua Hin was predicted by Mr. Udom Srimahachota Honorary Advisor to the Thai Hotels Association and the Hua Hin-Cha-Am Tourism Business Association.

Mr Udom said that Hua Hin is unlikely to see any significant numbers of foreign tourist arrivals until mid-December.


Huahintoday

not really a laughing matter I know ...

[HHTel]

Well my daughter's American friend arrived on the 5th using the Thailand Pass and is staying at the Intercontinental.

During the first week of reopening, Hua Hin had received no foreign tourists,

Well I know of at least one... lol

[buksida]

I have no idea where they pull these stupid figures from. Same with the 104% vaccinated in Hua Hin, I know at least 3 people living there that haven't had their first shot.

I think the overwhelming conclusion regarding any Thai statistics is that they all amount to a steaming pile of bullshit.

[caller]

'Tourist' is a misnomer. Where I live, a returnee has just arrived to winter here. Wasn't able to get here last year. I know of one other that is planning a return shortly. Neither are tourists.

[HHTel]

Agreed. The guy I'm talking about, however, has never been here before so is truly 'a tourist'.
There's no differentiation between 'returnees' and tourists. The 40 mill that came in 2019 includes such people along with all those that do 'border runs'.

[buksida]

Off to a shaky start
Two weeks after the country reopened, the private sector is seeing signs of a tourism recovery despite lower-than-expected arrivals of international tourists.

To help cash-strapped operators back on their feet, businesses are urging the government to lessen entry regulations, further relax Covid-19 curbs and roll out financial packages in a bid to boost the industry.

Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said there are positive signs following the Nov 1 reopening and hotel bookings in December and January are expected to increase.

She said tour operators have put together promotional campaigns and special packages to bring in much-needed cash as they clarify entry rules for "Test & Go", sandboxes and mandatory quarantine programmes.

However, she echoed concerns among tourism operators about quarantine requirements which foreign guests have to comply with when returning home after holidays here.

For some countries, Thailand remains a high risk country and people hesitate to take holidays overseas if they have to quarantine upon return to their home countries, she said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/sp ... haky-start

"Lower than expected" - no shit! Now that the junta has kiboshed xmas and new year, the cancellations will start mounting up. The resort next to me has already lost all bookings for NY.

[Ratsima]

We’re at Don Mueang now waiting for a flight to Phuket. It is eerily quiet. When we were here in September to fly to Hat Yai it seemed busy enough and most food and retail outlets were open for business. Today we were surprised to see both Silom Village (nice Thai food) and McDonald’s (well, you know) closed. We had no wait at check in and the security lines were empty. Quite a shock. “Shaky Start” indeed.

[migrant]

We’re at Don Mueang now waiting for a flight to Phuket. It is eerily quiet. When we were here in September to fly to Hat Yai it seemed busy enough and most food and retail outlets were open for business. Today we were surprised to see both Silom Village (nice Thai food) and McDonald’s (well, you know) closed. We had no wait at check in and the security lines were empty. Quite a shock. “Shaky Start” indeed.

Were there any special procedures you needed to do in order to go to Phuket?

[Ratsima]

You gave to register in the https://www.gophuget.com/ website. You need to be fully vaccinated and have an antigen test from a lab within 72 hours of arrival.

[Ratsima]

We just left the airport in Phuket. No one ever checked to see if we had indeed registered with that website.

[migrant]

You gave to register in the https://www.gophuget.com/ website. You need to be fully vaccinated and have an antigen test from a lab within 72 hours of arrival.

Thanks!

[Ratsima]

The bottom line on Phuket is that we could have entered without registering at the website and without getting a Covid antigen test (ATK). At the Nok checkin counter passengers were told to scan a QR code to go to the registration web site. But no one ever checked anything.

Hey, it’s Thailand. The hub of misinformation and misdirection.

[buksida]

MANY PROVINCES NOT SEEING SURGE IN FOREIGN TOURISTS
Two weeks after the reopening, business operators in major tourist destinations outside Bangkok say they still have to rely more on domestic travelers than foreign tourists.

In cities traditionally renowned as world-famous destinations for foreign visitors like Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phuket, domestic tourism remains the dominant trend so far, according to trade representatives.

Although Chiang Mai is touted by the government in its tourism campaign “Charming Chiang Mai,” most of the arrivals in the past several weeks were Thai travelers, president of the Chiang Mai Tourism Council told reporters.

Domestic flights had been seeing passenger arrivals to Chiang Mai in the area of 1,000 to 2,000 passengers per day, but in October that figure rose to as many as 5,000 people per day on average, he said.

Hotel bookings have increased as well, but that’s because of domestic tourists who traveled to natural landmarks where hotel bookings managed to hit 50 to 60 percent occupancy at times.

Down south on Phuket island, the president of the Phuket Tourism Council said the number of travelers arriving on its airport have doubled since the reopening two weeks ago, bringing in tourists from Germany, the UK, and Scandinavia as well as Thai people returning home.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/cri ... -tourists/

Foreign tourists would have to be out of their mind to entertain the idea of a holiday in this place at the moment. North Korea is slightly more welcoming I think.

[Big Boy]

Foreign tourists would have to be out of their mind to entertain the idea of a holiday in this place at the moment. North Korea is slightly more welcoming I think.

I hear what you're saying, and I wholeheartedly agree. However, We already have a queue of visitors on their way to see us before the year ends (mostly December). Yes, I have told them they're bonkers coming so soon.

[buksida]

No such "queues" where we are, most have cancelled in light of the recent clampdown. Sanuk and Thailand don't belong in the same sentence any longer.