Thailand tourism situation

[PeteC]

None of what's said here should surprise us. Profiting by fraud is a reasonable conclusion....again!

Covid test confusion ruins UK family holiday to Thailand

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism ... o-thailand

An email with another sad outcome from possible risks, albeit small, that individuals and families face returning to Thailand at this time. The Thaiger receives at least a few of these sad stories every week. Names of individuals and locations been changed or withheld on the request of the author.
______________________
My name is Pete Passport. I am a journalist and travel writer from the UK.

I have travelled to Thailand many times since the 1980s, and love the country and the culture.

But I have just had a disturbing experience in my latest visit with my wife and son, as part of a trip to write a holiday feature about how Thailand is re-opening to tourism in time for Songkran.

Before we set off from the UK, we had PCR tests done at a government-registered and NHS-accredited lab to make sure that we were covid negative, even though these are no longer required by the Thai Government. We were all negative. The result of my son Tim is enclosed.

When we arrived in Bangkok for our two week holiday, we had our Thailand Pass ready, our quarantine hotel booked (a hotel close to the arrival airport), and we had our covid test. My wife and I had a negative result, but our son Tim tested positive. It meant our planned flight to Phuket was missed.

We could not understand it because our son had no symptoms and had just had a negative test literally 10 hours before we left the UK.

The doctor did not phone us to tell us what to do that night. But my wife and I decided to book a room next door so Tim could start isolation immediately.

Firstly: We received an email from the health authorities wanting our son Tim to go to hospital – despite him not having any covid symptoms. This would have required us to deposit up to 80,000 Thai Baht which the hospital said we would be able to reclaim from our insurance company. I did not think this was reasonable or necessary. We contacted the insurance company also said they would not pay for that because hospital treatment did not seem necessary at the moment.

Secondly: Then the health authorities said that we could not stay at our present hotel, but they had found us a “Quarantine Hotel”. They said that Tim would need to stay here for seven days, and maybe more if he continued to test positive.

The cost of this was THB 27,000 for seven days. And for me and my wife THB 1943 per night (THB 13,601). That is THB 40,601. But even if we did this, there is no guarantee that Tim would be allowed to leave after seven days.

Thirdly: We were told that we could fly home immediately. But we had to make a quick decision because we could not stay in our present hotel. So, we booked a direct flight from Bangkok to London.

There are no requirements to have a Fit-to-Fly certificate to enter the UK so the airline said we did not need to produce one. But for public safety, Tim wore an FFP3 mask all the time (see the photographs), and he sat away from other passengers.

Just so you are aware, Tim, myself and my wife are all fully vaccinated, and we brought our covid vaccination certificates and our pre-flight negative covid test results with us.

When we arrived back in the UK, we went straight from the airport to the PCR testing lab to get Tim covid tested again because we could not believe he had tested positive. The result came back that he was negative. I have enclosed the test result.

I asked the lab technician why he would test negative in the UK twice, and yet he tested positive in Thailand, and he had no explanation. He insisted that both Tim’s negative results were accurate.

We arrived in Thailand on April 10 and stayed one night before leaving. We should have been staying in Thailand until April 24, and I should have been writing a wonderful story about how Thailand is open for business again. But instead, the story will be a very different one.

I have also lost a lot of money from wasted flights, hotel bookings which cant be refunded, car parking fees, etc. And my family did not get to have the holiday they had hoped for. I feel heartbroken.

I just thought that I should share with you our very disappointing experience. We will now spend the remainder of our two weeks holiday back here in the UK.

But I must admit that we wished we had chosen instead to go to one of the other southeast Asian countries which are open to fully vaccinated tourists instead of taking a chance on Thailand.

Maybe in the future we will venture back, but as you can imagine, this sort of experience does leave a lasting impression of injustice.

Best wishes

Pete Passport
_________________________
The documentation and paperwork mentioned in the article was provided to The Thaiger.

There’s a lot to unpack in this tale of woe and confusion which amplifies the risks people still face if they travel to Thailand at this time. We should point out that the vast majority of people coming to Thailand at this time don’t have similar experiences but it remains a small and measurable percentage of people that will not be returning to their home countries with glowing reports about Amazing Thailand.

[HHTel]

My daughter will be on her way back to the US in a couple of days having had a full groveling apology from the CBP. She's armed with a mountain of paperwork showing how CBP got it so wrong. All just in case she gets reeled in again but even if she does I guess she'll find embarrassed officers letting her through with further apologies (maybe).

The next move is to try to get compensation from them. I don't expect that to succeed but worth a try.

Sorry, this is about Thailand. Migrant's post prompted my response.

Good luck to her! Getting an apology is more than most get from CBP!!

She went through Houston airport in 10 mins. They must have updated her details on their computer otherwise I'm sure the 'emergency order' would have been picked up. She had a mountain of paperwork with her showing how CBP got it wrong along with their apology, but didn't need it.

[buksida]

Firstly: We received an email from the health authorities wanting our son Tim to go to hospital – despite him not having any covid symptoms. This would have required us to deposit up to 80,000 Thai Baht which the hospital said we would be able to reclaim from our insurance company.

That is the key paragraph, it is an elaborate scam between the state-approved hotels and hospitals, preying on larger foreign insurance companies. I wouldn't be surprised if the govt got a cut also, it all sounds too orchestrated. Thais don't need insurance to enter the country.

This scam will continue until the mandatory insurance is scrapped for tourists.

[PeteC]

^ Yes, and they make it worse by targeting the kid when there are horror stories about positive test children being forcefully separated from their negative test parents. I'm sure these folks had read about that and it was lingering in their minds as all this unfolded.

[hhinner]

Firstly: We received an email from the health authorities wanting our son Tim to go to hospital – despite him not having any covid symptoms. This would have required us to deposit up to 80,000 Thai Baht which the hospital said we would be able to reclaim from our insurance company.

That is the key paragraph, it is an elaborate scam between the state-approved hotels and hospitals, preying on larger foreign insurance companies. I wouldn't be surprised if the govt got a cut also, it all sounds too orchestrated. Thais don't need insurance to enter the country.

This scam will continue until the mandatory insurance is scrapped for tourists.

Nothing elaborate about it.

I've read that in the case of a positive test a second test isn't allowed. To me that's indicative of something. Just can't put my finger on it.

[buksida]

It is an orchestrated scam, simple as that. Maybe "elaborate" is the wrong word and justifies the nitpicking, but the facts remain the same and children are now being involved in it.

[handdrummer]

When tourists stop coming to Thailand the scam will stop. 90 days of no tourists, with advertising and articles in the foreign press, would change their greedy little minds.

[PeteC]

All officials present must have been napping in their tent as no way all that could have happened while maintaining current Covid regulations. Happy to see it actually took place though.

Full Moon Party draws over 10,000 revellers

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -revellers

SURAT THANI: Haad Rin beach on the Pha-ngan island off this southern coastal province was packed with more than 10,000 tourists, most of them foreigners, for the Full Moon Party under the theme "Back to the Roots" on Saturday night - thanks to the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions.

The road leading to the beach from the boat pier back to live.

Along both sides of the road were shops selling drinks and beverages, body-painting kiosks and stalls selling various kinds of dresses.

Led by Suthipong Klai-udom, the deputy governor, Vicharn Junthawichit, the Pha-ngan district chief, and Pol Col Panya Niratimanond, the Pha-ngan district police chief, more than 60 administrative officials, marine police, tourist police and immigration police were deployed to maintain law and order.

The party went on smoothly throughout the night.

After the party was over, most of the tourists returned to the main land on the Ko Pha-ngan - Ko Samui - Don Sak route by Raja Ferry services. Some of them continued to stay on the island.

On Saturday, Raja Ferry announced that the boats for the 8.00am, 11.00am, 2.00pm and 5.30pm trips were fully booked. It had to arrangers two more trips, departing Don Sak at 12.30pm and 6.30pm.

Manop Sae Tiew, a Ko Pha-ngan resident, said the return in a large number of foreign tourists indicated the Full Moon Party was still in their minds after a long suspension.

"Ko Pha-ngan's beaches are most beautiful on full moon nights. We also have many other attractions which must be preserved. The party went on without problems last night. I believe the next party, scheduled for May 16, would definitely draw even more tourists," he said.

The last Full Moon Party on Ko Pha-ngan was on Feb 8, 2020 at the onset of the first outbreak of Covid-19 in the kingdom.

[buksida]

Tourism Billionaire Calls for Thailand to Scrap Pass and Test & Go
One of Thailand’s leading hospitality figures has called on the Thai government to scrap the Thailand Pass and Test & Go program.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, William Heinecke, chairman of the hotel and restaurants empire Minor International has called on Thailand to “remove all travel obstacles and resume pre pandemic entry rules.”

In the letter dated April 18, 2022, Mr. Heinecke says that despite a rise in the number of international arrivals at Suvarnabhumi airport since the lifting of pre-flight COVID-19 tests, it is still a fraction of the average number of arrivals before the pandemic.

...

Mr. Heinecke says that the frequency of domestic transmissions of Omicron within Thailand are greater than those from people entering the country from overseas.

“I believe it is incumbent upon our government to recognize that the frequency of domestic transmission of Omicron within Thailand is far greater than that of internationally-introduced transmission. The ratio is 99:1, respectively.

“Hence, requirements of pre-arrival Thailand Pass and post- arrival COVID-19 tests are futile and ineffective.

https://eturbonews.com/3067081/tourism- ... d-test-go/

He's not wrong - pretty much everything the junta does is "futile and ineffective".

[Big Boy]

He's not wrong - pretty much everything the junta does is "futile and ineffective".

But they've done it, and to change it would admit they are wrong. Face saving is much more important than the country's economy.

[PeteC]

No Covid-19 tests on arrival for vaccinated travellers from May 1

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/22 ... from-may-1

The Test & Go process for foreign arrivals will be terminated at the end of the month and vaccinated travellers will require only self-antigen tests for Covid-19 from May 1, to stimulate tourism and the economy, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.

"Tourism is recovering and antigen tests will be more convenient and faster for visitors," Gen Prayut said after chairing a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) at Government House.

"Many countries are relaxing travel restrictions significantly and our country depends considerably on tourism to support our economy," the prime minister said.

CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin later said that from May 1 there would be no Test & Go entry scheme. The government would have different measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated foreign arrivals by air.

Vaccinated visitors would not be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival anymore. It would be recommended they self-test using antigen kits during their stay. If they tested positive, they could enter their Covid-19 insurance process or take care of their own treatment, he said.

Unvaccinated travellers would be welcomed if they presented proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than 72 hours before their trip.

They would be quarantined for five days, with another RT-PCR test on day 4 or 5. They would also be advised to do self-antigen testing during their stay.

High-risk visitors would be quarantined for five days. The minimum Covid-19 insurance coverage for all foreign arrivals would be US$10,000.

The compulsory tests under the Test & Go entry scheme could be lifted because statistics showed a very low infection rate among foreign arrivals, only 0.46%, through Test & Go this month, Dr Taweesilp said.

For arrivals by land, visitors who intend to stay no longer than two days must be fully vaccinated and pass self-antigen tests. Otherwise, they could not enter the country.

For visitors who intend to stay longer, vaccinated travellers would not be quarantined if they pass antigen tests, while unvaccinated travellers would be quarantined for five days.

The CCSA on Friday also acknowledged the Public Health Ministry's decision to relax disease controls nationwide from May 1, ending control (orange) zones in 20 provinces.

As a result, the number of close surveillance (yellow) zones would rise from 47 provinces to 65 provinces, Dr Taweesilp said.

In addition, the number of tourism pilot (blue) zones would increase from 10 provinces to 12 provinces, with Songkhla and Rayong the new additions.

[PeteC]

If someone watches this, let us know if it differs from the Bangkok Post article above.

[HHTel]

what about The Thailand Pass. Does the above imply that that is scrapped as well?

[PeteC]

what about The Thailand Pass. Does the above imply that that is scrapped as well?

No, from what I read in other places Thailand Pass is still in effect, but simplified. What that means we'll have to stay tuned to the news. It may be one of the last to go in June or so I guess. Covid insurance of 10,000 still applies as well.

[PeteC]

Thailand Pass to end on June 1

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/23 ... -on-june-1

The cancellation of Thailand Pass registration is expected to take place on June 1, with tourists using their TM6 immigration form for vaccine declaration, says the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

After the Test and Go scheme is scrapped from May 1, the removal of Thailand Pass will create a more seamless travel experience and stimulate more travel to the country, said Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

He said Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul already agreed to terminate the Thailand Pass scheme.

Eliminating Thailand Pass means Thai embassies and consulates can reduce their workload, as they worked to help approve the required documents.

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration must approve this proposal at its meeting next month for the requirement to void.

Tourists might be required to complete their vaccination record on the TM6 immigration form upon arrival, with immigration officers responsible for screening the form or vaccine passport, said Mr Phiphat.

However, the government hasn't decided to step up screening measures by mandating booster doses, as the vaccine coverage of each country differs.

"If the infection rate caused by the Omicron variant subsides by June 1, the remaining travel regulations must be unlocked as the country prepares to announce Covid-19 as endemic," he said.

Meanwhile, the plan to collect a 300-baht tourism fee from international travellers will be submitted to the cabinet within the next two weeks to implement in roughly three months.

Mr Phiphat said if there is no requirement for health insurance in the future, the tourism tax can offer insurance to tourists, covering medical costs for green-level Covid patients.

As the government set a target for foreign arrivals of 7-10 million this year, he said delegates from the ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand plan to visit Saudi Arabia to sign a memorandum of understanding with Saudia, the nation's flag carrier, in mid-May.

The Middle East market can help to fill the void in the low season thanks to Thailand's abundant natural resources and rainfall, which matches this segment's travel interests, said Mr Phiphat.

In terms of the "We Travel Together" hotel subsidy scheme, the ministry has to calculate how much of the budget is left from the fourth phase. He said at least 1 million room nights could be added to support the off-peak season between June and September.