USD to Thai Baht today and long-term forecast - Bangkok Jack

USD to Thai Baht today and long-term forecast

Albert JackJanuary 15, 2021

Dollar To Baht Forecast For 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025

Month	Open	Low-High	Close	Mo,%	Total%
2021
Jan	29.99	29.54-30.44	29.99	0.0%	0.0%
Feb	29.99	29.56-30.46	30.01	0.1%	0.1%
Mar	30.01	29.29-30.19	29.74	-0.9%	-0.8%
Apr	29.74	28.47-29.74	28.90	-2.8%	-3.6%
May	28.90	28.06-28.92	28.49	-1.4%	-5.0%
Jun	28.49	28.49-29.42	28.99	1.8%	-3.3%
Jul	28.99	28.38-29.24	28.81	-0.6%	-3.9%
Aug	28.81	28.70-29.58	29.14	1.1%	-2.8%
Sep	29.14	27.85-29.14	28.27	-3.0%	-5.7%
Oct	28.27	27.32-28.27	27.74	-1.9%	-7.5%
Nov	27.74	27.20-28.02	27.61	-0.5%	-7.9%
Dec	27.61	27.61-28.87	28.44	3.0%	-5.2%
2022
Jan	28.44	28.30-29.16	28.73	1.0%	-4.2%
Feb	28.73	28.73-30.03	29.59	3.0%	-1.3%
Mar	29.59	28.73-29.61	29.17	-1.4%	-2.7%
Apr	29.17	28.75-29.63	29.19	0.1%	-2.7%
May	29.19	28.36-29.22	28.79	-1.4%	-4.0%
Jun	28.79	28.35-29.21	28.78	0.0%	-4.0%
Jul	28.78	28.09-28.95	28.52	-0.9%	-4.9%
Aug	28.52	28.30-29.16	28.73	0.7%	-4.2%
Sep	28.73	27.53-28.73	27.95	-2.7%	-6.8%
Oct	27.95	27.22-28.04	27.63	-1.1%	-7.9%
Nov	27.63	27.37-28.21	27.79	0.6%	-7.3%
Dec	27.79	27.48-28.32	27.90	0.4%	-7.0%
2023
Jan	27.90	27.79-28.63	28.21	1.1%	-5.9%

Feb	28.21	26.95-28.21	27.36	-3.0%	-8.8%
Mar	27.36	26.82-27.64	27.23	-0.5%	-9.2%
Apr	27.23	27.23-28.32	27.90	2.5%	-7.0%
May	27.90	27.12-27.94	27.53	-1.3%	-8.2%
Jun	27.53	26.77-27.59	27.18	-1.3%	-9.4%
Jul	27.18	26.89-27.71	27.30	0.4%	-9.0%
Aug	27.30	27.30-28.54	28.12	3.0%	-6.2%
Sep	28.12	28.12-29.01	28.58	1.6%	-4.7%
Oct	28.58	28.49-29.35	28.92	1.2%	-3.6%
Nov	28.92	28.21-29.07	28.64	-1.0%	-4.5%
Dec	28.64	28.34-29.20	28.77	0.5%	-4.1%
2024
Jan	28.77	27.49-28.77	27.91	-3.0%	-6.9%
Feb	27.91	27.40-28.24	27.82	-0.3%	-7.2%
Mar	27.82	26.92-27.82	27.33	-1.8%	-8.9%
Apr	27.33	26.84-27.66	27.25	-0.3%	-9.1%
May	27.25	26.96-27.78	27.37	0.4%	-8.7%
Jun	27.37	26.87-27.69	27.28	-0.3%	-9.0%
Jul	27.28	26.37-27.28	26.77	-1.9%	-10.7%
Aug	26.77	26.28-27.08	26.68	-0.3%	-11.0%
Sep	26.68	25.87-26.68	26.26	-1.6%	-12.4%
Oct	26.26	26.05-26.85	26.45	0.7%	-11.8%
Nov	26.45	25.61-26.45	26.00	-1.7%	-13.3%
Dec	26.00	25.49-26.27	25.88	-0.5%	-13.7%
2025
Jan	25.88	24.95-25.88	25.33	-2.1%	-15.5%
Feb	25.33	25.06-25.82	25.44	0.4%	-15.2%

USD to THB forecast for January 2021.
In the beginning rate at 29.99 Bahts. High exchange rate 30.44, low 29.54. The average for the month 29.99. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 29.99, change for January 0.0%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for February 2021.
In the beginning rate at 29.99 Bahts. High exchange rate 30.46, low 29.56. The average for the month 30.01. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 30.01, change for February 0.1%.

USD to THB forecast for March 2021.
In the beginning rate at 30.01 Bahts. High exchange rate 30.19, low 29.29. The average for the month 29.81. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 29.74, change for March -0.9%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for April 2021.
In the beginning rate at 29.74 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.74, low 28.47. The average for the month 29.21. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.90, change for April -2.8%.

USD to THB forecast for May 2021.
In the beginning rate at 28.90 Bahts. High exchange rate 28.92, low 28.06. The average for the month 28.59. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.49, change for May -1.4%.

USD To THB Forecast For Tomorrow And Month.

AUD To THB Forecast For Tomorrow, Month, 2021, 2022.

Dollar to Baht forecast for June 2021.
In the beginning rate at 28.49 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.42, low 28.49. The average for the month 28.85. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.99, change for June 1.8%.

USD to THB forecast for July 2021.
In the beginning rate at 28.99 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.24, low 28.38. The average for the month 28.86. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.81, change for July -0.6%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for August 2021.
In the beginning rate at 28.81 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.58, low 28.70. The average for the month 29.06. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 29.14, change for August 1.1%.

USD to THB forecast for September 2021.
In the beginning rate at 29.14 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.14, low 27.85. The average for the month 28.60. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.27, change for September -3.0%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for October 2021.
In the beginning rate at 28.27 Bahts. High exchange rate 28.27, low 27.32. The average for the month 27.90. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 27.74, change for October -1.9%.

USD to THB forecast for November 2021.
In the beginning rate at 27.74 Bahts. High exchange rate 28.02, low 27.20. The average for the month 27.64. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 27.61, change for November -0.5%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for December 2021.
In the beginning rate at 27.61 Bahts. High exchange rate 28.87, low 27.61. The average for the month 28.13. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.44, change for December 3.0%.

USD to THB forecast for January 2022.
In the beginning rate at 28.44 Bahts. High exchange rate 29.16, low 28.30. The average for the month 28.66. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 28.73, change for January 1.0%.

Dollar to Baht forecast for February 2023.
In the beginning rate at 28.21 Bahts. High exchange rate 28.21, low 26.95. The average for the month 27.68. The USD to THB forecast at the end of the month 27.36, change for February -3.0%.

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Chonburi announces ten new cases of Covid -19 and timeline, new cases increase - Pattaya News

Chonburi announces ten new cases of Covid -19 and timeline, new cases increase

Saturday, 16 January 2021, 10:45

Chonburi –

The Chonburi Public Health Department this morning at 8:30 A.M. (January 16th) announced four new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in Chonburi which were discovered in Si Racha, Sattahip and Mueang Chonburi.

Chonburi now has a total of 644 cases of Covid-19 and one previous death from this recent round of Covid-19 cases and infections. The death was a 47-year-old woman with previous health issues.

Today cases saw five in Si Racha, three in Sattahip and two in Mueang Chonburi. No cases were found in Banglamung, home of Pattaya.

The cases were all close contacts of previous Covid19 patients or tracked to a brewery and gambling related gathering and cluster. Two foreigners, Japanese men, were also part of the new cases.

The Chonburi Public Heath Office last night (January 15th) released an updated timeline to inform people who went to places last month and this month to notify health authorities and monitor your health.

1. Rain Ka and King Pa Ji Karaoke on Si Racha Nakhon Road Soi 6 in Si Racha on December 25^th to December 29^th from 7:00 P.M. to midnight.
2. Aeon Soi Ja Ban in Surasak, Si Racha on January 3^rd from 5:00 P.M. to 5:10 P.M. to January 10^th from 4:00 P.M. to 4:15 P.M..

If anyone has problems with respiratory symptoms and/or a fever within 14 days from when they had visited those places, they must go to a hospital, according to the Chonburi Public Health Office.

Please inform the hospital that you visited the same place as a Covid-19 confirmed case, they continued

Thai people more willing to take COVID-19 vaccine than anyone else - Thai Visa

Thai people more willing to take COVID-19 vaccine than anyone else

 

Image: Reuters file photo

 

Thais are more willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than those from any other country.

 

According to a poll conducted by YouGov, 83 percent of Thai people are willing to take the vaccine when it becomes available to them.

 

After Thailand, the study found that Britain and Denmark, at 80 and 70 percent, respectively, was where willingness to take the vaccine was high. 

 

Least likely to take the vaccine were the Polish and French, the study found.

 

The study said that there was distrust in France with regards to taking vaccines.

 

The news comes as Thailand is about to start issuing vaccinations against COVID-19.

 

Starting next month, frontline health workers and those deemed most vulnerable will be given the vaccine.

 

By April, the Thai government says it will have vaccinated 1 million people, while the second phase of vaccinations will begin in May and will eventually see 26  million people vaccinated.

 

 

The third phase of vaccinations will begin in early 2022 and will see 70% of the general population vaccinated so that herd immunity can be developed.

 

Earlier this week, Thailand's Ministry of Public Health gave approval for local authorities to pay and run their own vaccination programs.

 

On Thursday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration suggested that it will spend as much as 10 billion baht on vaccinating 5 million of the capital's residents for Covid-19. 

 

In Pattaya, the resort's mayor Sontaya Khunpluem met with local officials to discuss plans  to vaccinate 120,000 of the city's inhabitants at a cost of 80 million baht.
 

16/1



COVID-19 test



Chonburi holds major public health meeting, announces priorities, Covid-19 related measures to stay in place for now - Pattaya News

Chonburi holds major public health meeting, announces priorities, Covid-19 related measures to stay in place for now

Friday, 15 January 2021, 16:25

Chonburi-

The Chonburi Provincial Public Health Department and Communicable Disease Committee held a major meeting this afternoon to discuss the current status of the Covid-19 situation in Chonburi and the current status of regulations, measures, and restrictions in place around the Covid-19 coronavirus.

For our readers who are short on time, we will cut straight to the chase-other than the opening of a previously closed municipal office, all other regulations, closures, measures, and restrictions will, as of this moment, stand until further notice. On the bright side, no stricter measures were introduced as well.

This is not, however, a surprise as both the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and the Chonburi Governor have said multiple times this week that they will review the situation with Covid-19 over the next two weeks and possibly (but not guaranteed) make some decisions on lifting, loosening or easing restrictions that have seen many businesses closed locally and domestic travel essentially ground to a halt around the end of this month.

Here is a brief recap from the office on what was stated:

1. Heavy focus over the next two weeks on proactive searching for potential Covid-19 cases in high-risk areas such as migrant camps, factories, and similar places. A large amount of targeted mass testing in these "high risk" places are scheduled. The Committee mentioned that over 80% of the Chonburi cases are completely asymptomatic.

2.  Heavy focus on places that are high risk and either currently ordered closed or never allowed to open such as illegal gambling. Officials will also continue to ensure venues ordered closed are not open to the public.

3.  Officials are continuing to put a lot of effort into locating people who visited venues on timelines and getting them to come forward. We publish timelines in English on a nearly daily basis. Officials stressed that people needed to be honest with them and they aren't looking to charge anyone or get anyone in legal trouble, only to detect Covid-19.

4. Chao Phraya Surasak Montri Municipality building will re-open on January 18th, 2021.

5.  Officials have declined generous offers from several organizations to open more field hospitals as they feel the situation is under control with the hospitals they currently have.

6.  Officials stated they know how difficult and devastating the measures and restrictions are for nearly every business, especially due to the lack of travel being allowed currently and no domestic tourism. They stated they are working on relief measures for Chonburi residents and more details will be coming in the near future.

That concludes the details released from the meeting today. 

Nok Air: Six months liquidity remaining

Nok Air: Six months liquidity remaining

A Nok Air Boeing 737-800 jet sits at Don Mueang airport.

Nok Air estimates it can sustain its business for another six months, although the uncertain market outlook makes predictions difficult.

The recurrence of virus cases locally is affecting the rehabilitation plan, which is scheduled for submission to the Central Bankruptcy Court on March 15, as the airline has to revise it again, said Wutthiphum Jurangkool, Nok Air's chief executive.

The revision is unlikely to delay the time frame of the rehabilitation process, which started on Dec 15, 2020, when the court's order was published in the Royal Gazette.

Nok Air has three months from the announcement date to finish the plan.

The airline and passengers are learning to cope with the virus a year into the pandemic, which makes planning easier to manage, said Kasemsant Weerakun, Nok Air's chief strategic officer.

Predicting passenger demand is harder, as numbers dropped drastically even without a nationwide lockdown order from the government as seen last year.

The airline's load factor dropped to 40% from 80% before the fresh outbreak.

Some routes like Chiang Mai-Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani-Hat Yai were temporarily halted this month.

There are 40 flights per day on average, compared with 120 flights during last year's peak and 160 flights pre-pandemic.

"The airline's liquidity will be sufficient for the next six months, assuming the pandemic situation is unchanged," Mr Kasemsant said. "We think large-scale infections may not continue until February."

Nok Air is one of seven airlines that requested financial aid from the government.

He said the operating cash flow estimate assumes only the airline's income, not aid.

If virus containment does not succeed by February, Nok Air, which has 1,500 employees, may consider other options to save on costs, such as leave without pay policies, said Mr Kasemsant.

He said apart from sluggish sentiment, price wars cause difficulties for all airlines.

Nok Air filed a petition against price cutting for low-cost airlines with the Office of Trade Competition Commission at the end of last year, hoping to spark an investigation.

Mr Kasemsant said the aviation industry knows what prices they must charge to stay in business, calculated as the cost per available seat kilometre.

Yet some airlines have set prices below the actual cost, he said.

Once the virus is under control, the government should set up mechanisms to allow the entry of travellers from low-risk countries such as Singapore, China and Taiwan this year to restart inbound tourism, said Mr Kasemsant.

For a full-scale revival of the international market, Thailand may have to wait until next year, he said.

"When everything sorts out, reaching 40-50 million international tourists will not be difficult for Thailand. Airlines are still vital to travel and we have already drafted our position in the rehabilitation plan," said Mr Kasemsant.

He was one of the preparers of the rehabilitation plan and said in the post-pandemic market, the airline aims to extend services to the regional level.

Economic growth in Southeast Asia is key to supporting aviation as the region totals 18 million trips to Thailand each year, said Mr Kasemsant.



Thailand Sold Itself as a Paradise Covid Retreat. No One Came - Bloomberg

Thailand Sold Itself as a Paradise Covid Retreat. No One Came

Wasana Jumnongjit at her seafood stall in a wet market in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- It's hard to imagine a more luxurious place to spend two weeks of quarantine than the Anantara Phuket Suites & Villas in Thailand, where visitors are pampered in private residences that can have their own pool and courtyard.

Yet more than three months after the resort and more than a hundred like it reopened to extended-stay travelers in an attempt to revive Thailand's battered economy, foreign arrivals have failed to meet even rock-bottom expectations. Just 346 overseas visitors have entered the country on average each month on special visas since October, according to the Thailand Longstay Company, which helps facilitate the program. That's well below the government's target of about 1,200 and a tiny fraction of the more than 3 million who came before the pandemic.

The tepid response to Thailand's highly publicized reopening illustrates the difficulties facing tourist-dependent countries as they try to shore up economic growth while also protecting citizens from Covid-19 before vaccines become widely available.

Thailand had hoped to lure retirees escaping the European winter and others who could stay for an extended period. They would have to go through quarantine, but that could be done in the comfort of high-end resorts in a country that had been relatively unscathed by the pandemic. After two weeks, Thailand would be theirs to roam for as long as nine months.

The lack of interest is adding pressure on Thai policy makers, who have struggled to accommodate both industry players calling for relaxed quarantine rules and public-health experts warning against putting people in danger. All the while, as the beaches stay empty, many tourism-related companies are going out of business. To make matters worse, virus cases have jumped in the country.

"It's really challenging to balance the demands of the tourism industry and locals," said Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket Tourist Association. "I understand how hard it is to be stuck in a room for 14 days. I've done it. But the safety of the people gets priority because tourists come and go but locals live here."

In 2019, Thailand received more than $60 billion in tourism revenue from about 40 million visitors. The industry contributed about a fifth of gross domestic product before the pandemic, compared to about 10% globally.

But six months without any foreign arrivals followed by months with just a trickle has battered the sector. At least 931 registered tourism-related companies closed last year, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of data from the Commerce Ministry's Department of Business Development. The real number is probably much higher as many tourism businesses aren't registered in any database.

On Thailand's famed resort islands, the situation is particularly bad. Take Phuket, which got about 90% of its tourism income from foreign visitors before the pandemic. At Patong, its main tourist town, a once busy street of bars and nightclubs lies empty. Bangla Road is lined with shuttered businesses, with chairs stacked on tables and chains barring access. Dust gathers on the barstools and countertops. The few places that are open have barely any customers.

"When there are no foreigners, the area is just empty," said Rungarun Loiluen, who works at The Kitchen, a restaurant and bar at the end of Bangla Road. She's one of eight employees who kept their jobs from about 30 before the pandemic, albeit with fewer working hours. "There's barely anyone walking down the road."

On the next block over, Hotel Clover Patong Phuket has slashed its prices by as much as 75% to attract domestic travelers instead of its usual clientele of American, Russian and Chinese tourists. Still, it ran at about 10% occupancy in December, a period that used to be overbooked, according to Jessada Srivichian, the hotel's country financial manager.

Go to Phuket for the Beaches, Stay for the Food and Adventure

Despite the government's efforts to help tourism businesses, such as subsidizing the cost of hotel rooms, meals and airfares, domestic tourists who usually travel just on weekends can't fill the gap left by foreign visitors. Even though only about half the country's hotels have reopened, the average occupancy rate is only about 34%, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said in an interview in December.

"I've been in Phuket for 20 years and have never seen it this quiet," Hotel Clover's Jessada said. "We need international visitors. We're not thinking of making a profit but instead focusing on minimizing losses, because as long as there's a quarantine requirement, people won't come."

The government should consider waiving the two-week isolation requirement for visitors from regions of countries with no local infections for more than 60 days, Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said in late September. He was hoping to have the rule relaxed for visitors from some parts of China, Thailand's biggest source of tourism income. But no such deal was concluded.

"It seems impractical to double the duration of a trip to satisfy the local quarantine requirements," said Ron Cooper, an American photographer and business consultant who traveled abroad for leisure several times a year before the pandemic. "Add to that the cost of staying in a hotel for two unproductive weeks -- not a very attractive proposition."

Thailand's approach contrasts with other tourism destinations that have been less cautious. The Maldives reopened to overseas tourists in July without requiring a quarantine, although a negative Covid-19 test is needed. The archipelago has seen more than 172,000 arrivals since then, according to Maldives Immigration data. While new infections increased in the aftermath, they've since declined.

"It was bold, daring to open up the Maldives with all the risks attached to it," said Dirk De Cuyper, chief executive officer of S Hotels & Resorts Pcl, whose December occupancy rate at Maldives properties was 70%. And that might be bad news for Thailand, he said. "Many travelers won't buy into quarantine, particularly when other countries are opening up and they have no quarantine rules."

But most Thais opposed the reopening plan and are unlikely to want relaxed quarantine rules, partly because local residents live close to the resorts, unlike in the Maldives where properties are often isolated on their own islands.

"If I had to choose between health and income, I'd choose health," said Wiparad Noiphao, a fruit and vegetable vendor at Banzaan fresh market in Patong. "We have to prioritize safety."

Majority of Thais Oppose Lifting Tourist Ban on Virus Fears

As a compromise, the government's Covid-19 task force discussed shortening the quarantine period to 10 days. But that has yet to be implemented because of concerns about new infections. The government has also approved six golf resorts as quarantine centers.

"Any modification to the original plan would mean higher risks," said Thira Woratanarat, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine. "There are many examples of free international travel that led to a resurgence," he said, giving the example of Europe. "We should wait until the global virus situation has improved."

Cockfighting, Gambling Make Thailand's Covid Fight Tougher

A resurgence of the virus has also weakened the case for easing quarantine rules. Thailand has seen Covid-19 infections more than double to more than 11,000 in less than a month. An outbreak that began in seafood markets and migrant communities has spread throughout the country. The government curbed travel in some high-risk regions but has so far refrained from imposing a broad lockdown. It has also extended its travel-subsidy program.

Ultimately, the country won't fully reopen until vaccines are widely available, government officials have said. Thailand plans to offer the shot developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to frontline health workers and those with underlying conditions before the end of February. From May, it will give one by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, aiming to inoculate at least 33 million people, about half the nation's population, by the end of 2021.

Questions remain about how international tourism will function as more people become vaccinated worldwide. Vaccine passports are seen as a way to get people traveling again, but whether and how they will be implemented is still unclear. It's not even known whether vaccinated people can transmit the virus.

Thai Beaches Won't Reopen Fully Until Vaccines Become Available

Taking all this into account, the Bank of Thailand estimates that even in 2022, overseas visitors will still fall well short of the 40 million in 2019. It projects that 5.5 million people will visit this year and 23 million in 2022.

The economy is estimated to have contracted 6% in 2020, the biggest decline since the Asian financial crisis. It's projected to expand 3.5%-4.5% in 2021, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council.

Despite the hit to the economy, the Phuket Tourist Association's Bhummikitti says Thailand's cautious reopening plan was the correct option, and the embattled tourism industry has little choice but to wait for vaccines to take hold.

"We can't close our borders forever, and we can't let people in without strict measures in place," he said. "So this controlled, gradual reopening is the best approach."

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.



Train passengers banned from leaving 5 provinces without permission - Bangkok Jack / The Nation

Train passengers banned from leaving 5 provinces without permission

January 14, 2021

Train travellers from the five provinces under maximum Covid-19 restrictions – Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat – can no longer leave their province unless they show their trip is necessary.

The move was in line with travel guidelines from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), State Railway of Thailand (SRT) governor Nirut Maneepan said on Thursday.

Train passengers who want to leave the five provinces must provide a document certifying the necessity of travel and follow ticket-purchasing procedure by presenting an ID card and filling out the Tor 8-Khor form.

They will also need a travel permit from their destination provinces. They will not be able to purchase tickets for travel across the borders of the provinces unless they have these documents, said the SRT.

To enforce the new rule, monitoring has been tightened at nine Chonburi stations – Phan Thong, Chonburi, Bang Phra, Sriracha, Banglamung, Pattaya, Ban Huai Khwang, Khao Chi Chan, and Plutaluang.

Guards will also screen passengers on the two services on this route, the No 283 Bangkok-Plutaluang train departing at 06.55am and arriving at its destination at 11.20am, and the No 84 Plutaluang-Bangkok train (1.35pm-6.15pm).

Temperature checks and alcohol gel are in place at all stations, and the SRT advises passengers to check-in with Thaichana or MorChana application to track their travel. – The Nation

15/1



Deserted Cha-Am beach: Hotels chief says foreigners will not return to Thailand until 2022 - Thai Visa

Deserted Cha-Am beach: Hotels chief says foreigners will not return to Thailand until 2022

 

Picture: Komhadluek

 

Thai media Komchadluek went with the now standard "quiet and deserted" caption on their picture after they went to Cha-Am beach in Phetchaburi to report on the devastation to tourism of the second wave of Covid-19 infection. 

 

They spoke to a seafood vendor and the head of a hotel association to back up their observations - now all too familiar - that both domestic and foreign tourism is just not happening at the moment.

 

They had a few pictures of three policemen wandering about then standing to attention - they didn't report what they were doing there. If they were looking for tourists they would have been disappointed.

 

Picture: Komhadluek

 

Prasan - better known as Lung Chang (Uncle Elephant) - owner of a beachside seafood restaurant called Lung Chang - said there were no tourists at all. The economy had been bad, now Covid. The government seemed preoccupied - traders would have to fend for themselves, he said. 

 

Wasan Kittikul of the Western Hoteliers' Association said that hotels in Cha-Am and Hua Hin were suffering greatly. They were lowering charges, offering promotions, cutting staff salaries and working hours. 

 

Some were just calling it a day and closing until the situation improves.

 

He said a proper recovery plan would be needed over the next few years. 

 

He couldn't see foreign tourists returning until 2022 and that would depend on the airlines. 

 

Already this week similar tales of doom and gloom have come out of Pattaya - where ghostly movie doll Annabelle was pictured on a chair on the beach - and Patong, Phuket, where though the sea was clean and inviting there were no tourists to enjoy it. 

 

Soure: Komchadluek

 

 

Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration to review Covid-19 related restrictions and measures at the end of January. There was not, however, any promise that any regulations, measures, or control status would be changed or lifted by the end of the month from any of the officials, only that they would take it into consideration and review the situation - Pattaya News

Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration to review Covid-19 related restrictions and measures at the end of January

Thursday, 14 January 2021, 22:32

Thailand-

The spokesperson for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) stated today that although Thailand was seeing improvements in the overall Covid-19 situation and that nearly all cases were being tracked, traced, and managed it was still too early to consider lifting restrictions that have hurt many businesses, especially in high risk and highly controlled provinces.

Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, speaking earlier in the day, said the CCSA would be monitoring the situation closely from January 17th to the 31st and would consider based on the situation potentially changing the status of some provinces and possibly giving guidance on measures and restrictions. Governors, the Pattaya News notes, have a lot of leeway in terms of restrictions but the CCSA also has set some of its own, particularly in terms of the highly controlled provinces such as Chonburi and Rayong.  Some of these restrictions include travel restrictions and closure of what the CCSA considers high-risk venues like bars and entertainment.

This corresponds with statements made by both the Chonburi and Rayong governors as well as the spokesperson for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration who have asked the public for "patience" with the current measures and that they will be lifted as soon as "safely possible". All parties involved have also stated they understand how difficult the situation is, especially for highly controlled provinces and those reliant on domestic tourism like parts of Trat (Koh Chang) and parts of Chonburi (Pattaya and Bangsaen.)

There was not, however, any promise that any regulations, measures, or control status would be changed or lifted by the end of the month from any of the officials, only that they would take it into consideration and review the situation.

Meanwhile, prominent executives from the hotel industry have continued to ask for relief in terms of being ordered to legally close in Chonburi which would allow their staff to collect social security, saving the industry significant money during the difficult time. So far, there has been no official answer to this continued request.



Corruption without a moral backstop - Bangkok Post

Corruption without a moral backstop

Police task force members targeting online betting raid a warehouse in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district. Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

For Thailand, Covid-19 has become an unwitting spotlight that has exposed shadowy closets and drawers where corruption and graft have long festered. In the past, Thailand's dirty deeds and illegal wrongdoings operated within certain parameters set by a semblance of moral authority at the top echelons of Thai society. But in recent years, moral turpitude has set in while the sense of moral backstop has faded. As this trend intensifies, Thailand risks suffering political decay, social decadence and economic stagnation, while impunity and immorality reign without boundaries.

As the second wave of Covid-19 has nearly tripled Thailand's case numbers in just one month from over 4,000 infections in mid-December to nearly 12,000, the driver and direction of this surge are telling. Relative to the rest of the world, this sudden spike is understandable because virus numbers have jumped during the winter months in northern climates and cooler climes in the tropics. Other countries elsewhere have faced a much more dire virus situation, with daily numbers regularly in a four-digit range.

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What is less understandable and excusable about Thailand's Covid situation is that it has revealed a nexus of corruption, government incompetence, and a lack of vision going forward at the expense of public health. We have learned that Thailand has illegal gambling dens throughout many of its provinces, tied up with prostitution, extortion, bribery, racketeering, and the entire black underbelly of the economy.

It is clear now that entertainment complexes on the Myanmar side of the Thai-Myanmar border formed one major cluster of infections. Migrant workers from Myanmar, who needed jobs in the Thai economy as much as Thai businesses needed their backbreaking work, have been another. Both Thai and Myanmar workers who traversed the long and porous border have had to bribe middlemen and local officials, particularly the army and police, to earn their living.

The army and police officers, in turn, exploit their positions and authority to bend the law for private gains. This process of seeking "rent" by using public and official positions and roles for private and personal gains and benefits is commonplace all over the world. They can be a petty policeman accepting a bribe for a traffic infraction or a cabinet minister peddling influence to procure lucrative projects from the state for a hefty commission. There are even global surveys to measure and rank such rent-seeking prevalence and degree by country, such as Transparency International.

Most countries with low transparency and high corruption ranking tend to make efforts at cleaning up, or at least trying to be seen to clean up. But not Thailand. What is different now is that corruption and graft are becoming structural and systematic, running away unimpeded without the pretense of law enforcement and official suppression.

This is why Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has effectively conceded that gambling dens are out there, admitted that he is unable to eradicate them, and is pleading with the public for cooperation and understanding. It is the same reason Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon initially denied that local casinos existed only to reverse himself soon after by dismissing them as a police matter.

Covid-19 is an amplifier because gamblers punt in close proximity, making it easy for the virus to proliferate. The more cases that come up, the more news of newly discovered illegal gambling in this and that province emerge. Illegal gambling works in cahoots with local police who provide protection and a blind eye for a fee, which is known to be passed up the chain of command. How high this chain reaches these days is unclear. But in the past, such illicit activities perpetrated by state officials operated with limitations because the few at the top frowned on and outright disapproved of corruption and graft.

The late Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, for example, was known and seen as financially incorruptible. When he was prime minister in 1980-88, corruption scandals involving cabinet ministers or senior bureaucrats were investigated and answerable. To be sure, Gen Prem's political manoeuvres in later years as president of the Privy Council became controversial and criticised. He was a broker for both the 2006 and 2014 coups, for instance, and took sides with the pro-establishment forces against pro-democracy activists. But it was critical that Gen Prem was not the financially corrupt type Thais are all too familiar with. Those under him in the military and politics knew that moral authority mattered. Corruption and graft still prevailed but within limits and without the luxury of impunity.

The same might be said of Gen Surayud Chulanont who served as a coup-appointed prime minister for 15 months in 2006-07. He set up a technocratic cabinet, kept corruption at bay, maintained the election timetable against the coup-makers' preference for a delay, and left on time in December 2007. When it was discovered that his mountainside home in the northeast was on public land, Gen Surayud had his resort dwelling removed.

This sense of what is right and wrong in public policy and in the public domain, as distinct from political partisanship and politicking manoeuvres, appears to be absent now. When the Thai cabinet includes a drug convict in violation of the constitution and an aficionado of questionable and pricey wristwatches, and when the prime minster himself sold his family-owned land to an oligarch in an offshore deal, moral authority suffers because state officials down below will see it as an example and a free rein to line their own pockets as long as they pass up some of the proceeds.

The corruption and graft among government officials and military and police officers are likely to add fuel to the fire of social discontent among youth-led anti-establishment protesters and activists. When Covid restrictions are loosened, they probably will return to campuses and the streets to demand more competent and accountable rulers. When this happens, those who will ask again and again about who is backing such protests need to look at Thailand's decadence, decay, and stagnation as the real backers. This is why the student-led protesters will keep going for their country's better future and for themselves.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, PhD, teaches at the Faculty of Political Science and directs the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. 

Tourism fee to help insure foreigners visiting the kingdom - Bangkok Post

Tourism fee to help insure foreigners visiting the kingdom

Phiphat: Sector needs to recover

The National Tourism Policy Committee has approved the proposed guidelines for the collection of a 300-baht tourism fee from each international visitor for the management of local tourist destinations.

The money will also be used to provide insurance benefits to international tourists visiting the country.

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Two Covid deaths, 271 new cases

The government on Thursday reported two new deaths related to Covid-19 and 271 new cases of the disease, 259 local infections and 12 imported infections, raising the total to 11,262.

Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said each foreign visitor will be charged US$10 (300 baht) per visit. The details of the fee collection will be announced in the Royal Gazette once the policy has taken effect.

According to Mr Phiphat, Thailand expects to receive some 10 million visitors this year.

He said the merit of the 300-baht tourism fee is that foreign tourists who fall sick or are injured will be taken care of and given adequate medical care.

The ministry will have to discuss the details with the Finance Ministry and the Office of Insurance Commission.

Of the 300-baht fee, 34 baht is expected to be used for the insurance coverage, Mr Phiphat said.

The fee collection is in line with the revised National Tourism Policy Act, which authorises the ministry to impose a tourism fee for use in developing local destinations and providing insurance coverage to foreign tourists.

Tourism permanent secretary Chote Trachu on Thursday said the fee collection was initially due to begin last year, but it was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the National Tourism Policy Committee has assessed the situation and agreed the tourism fee collection should go ahead this year.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the country had been forecast to close last year with merely 6.7 million international tourists -- not much more than the number prior to last year's outbreak of Covid-19 -- despite government attempts to activate entry schemes for foreigners via Special Tourist Visas (STVs).

With a second wave of outbreaks gripping many countries around the world, particularly during the winter months, triggering new rounds of lockdowns, Thailand is expected to wait longer -- until the second half of this year -- to see more visitors file back into the kingdom and revive the ailing industry.

While the TAT previously predicted the domestic market would reach 100 million trips last year, the recent spike in local cases led the agency to revise down the target to 95 million trips, a result of the partial lockdowns in some provinces.