måndag 9 maj 2022

Over 300,000 foreign tourists land a week after Test & Go scheme scrapped. The Nation

In a marked changed in tourism sentiment, some 300,000 foreign visitors arrived during the first seven days after Thailand abolished the Test & Go scheme, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Monday.
Over 300,000 foreign tourists land a week after Test & Go scheme scrapped

Thanakorn said Prayut was happy with the foreign arrivals figure after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration cancelled the Test & Go scheme on May 1.

The spokesman said the Tourism Authority of Thailand reported to Prayut that more than 300,000 foreign tourists had arrived in the Kingdom during the first seven days after the scheme was abolished.

Cancellation of the scheme means fully-vaccinated foreigners do not undergo the expensive RT-PCR Covid test upon arrival and do not have to be quarantined.

Only unvaccinated tourists, who fail to provide proof of Covid negative test results 72 hours before arrival, will be quarantined in their booked hotels for five days.

While the spokesman called the abolition of the Test & Go scheme as the full opening of the country, all foreign arrivals will still have to register for entry permission via the Thailand Pass website, a process seen by tourism and hotels businesses as the last hurdle for recovery of their industry.Over 300,000 foreign tourists land a week after Test & Go scheme scrapped

Thanakorn said the TAT expects that some 300,000 foreign tourists will visit Thailand each month from May to September.

He said the number is expected to rise to one million per month from October to December, which is regarded as the high season for foreign arrivals.

The spokesman also quoted Prayut as saying that tourism and hotel operators should retrain their staff to be multiskilled in anticipation of an influx of foreign tourists later this year.

The prime minister has also instructed government agencies concerned to improve and restore sightseeing places to make them more attractive to tourists. The prime minister also suggested that hotel operators improve their facilities ahead of the arrivals, Thanakorn added.

Prayut reminded local people and tourism operators that they should strictly follow Covid-19 preventive measures.

Over 300,000 foreign tourists land a week after Test & Go scheme scrappedOn Monday, the Public Health Ministry reported that 6,484 more people had tested positive during the previous 24 hours of whom four were imported cases.

The spokesman added that 56.4 million people have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines, 51.63 million had received both doses, and 26.61 million had received the third jab.


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Tourism operators not getting their hopes up, still wary of government U-turns. Despite a further easing of entry restrictions at the start of the month, with the lifting of PCR testing on arrival, Thailand’s tourism sector is not getting its hopes up. According to a Bangkok Post report, tourism operators are concerned about several factors that have left them uncertain about any potential recovery. | The Thaiger / Bangkok Post

Tourism operators not getting their hopes up, still wary of government U-turns

Despite a further easing of entry restrictions at the start of the month, with the lifting of PCR testing on arrival, Thailand's tourism sector is not getting its hopes up. According to a Bangkok Post report, tourism operators are concerned about several factors that have left them uncertain about any potential recovery.

Chief among these is the risk of new variants and how the government might respond to that. Businesses say they want a clear plan from the government, to ensure the mistakes of the past 2 years are not repeated. A sea of policy changes and U-turns left tourism operators fighting to stay afloat, with half-hearted re-opening schemes simply not going far enough.

The country first re-opened with its pilot "sandbox" programme in Phuket, which launched in July 2021, before the arrival of the Test & Go scheme in November. According to Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn from the Association of Thai Travel Agents, tourism recovery has been up and down since the launch of the Test & Go scheme.

While acknowledging the recent lifting of PCR testing on arrival as a positive move, he believes Thailand must keep its entry requirements consistent, with a focus on traveller convenience, as well as providing a comprehensive healthcare plan that protects locals from the risk of new variants.

In the event of a new variant emerging, Sisdivachr says a return to strict border controls is not the way to go, as it's now clear the tourism sector can't survive such measures.

Meanwhile, the president of the Thai Hotels Association is less than optimistic about the government's projection of 10 million foreign arrivals this year. Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi says China's ongoing travel restrictions make this impossible.

"It's not possible to post 10 million foreign arrivals this year without the Chinese market."

She goes on to say that while this month may look more promising than previous months, the best-case scenario remains just 1 million visitors a month in the last quarter of the year.

"We should not forget some tourism operators are still on the sidelines. Most hotels remain closed, as current income may not cover operational costs, while service charges, which is an important source of revenue for workers, are scarce because of weak demand. Though we should get a better result this year than the past 2, the practical outlook for arrivals should be 6 – 8 million."

SOURCE: Bangkok Post






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🔴 #COVID19 update on Monday ⬇️ 6,488 new cases ⬆️ 55 deaths ⬇️ 84,957 active cases. Richard Barrow



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Warning over new sub-variants. New types found in US, South Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning over the emergence of three Omicron sub-variants that have the potential to transmit Covid-19 faster and infect the lungs, says the Ramathibodi Hospital's Center for Medical Genomics (CMG). Sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 and BA.2.12.1 may cause more severe infections than the Omicron strain, it said on its Facebook page. Bangkok Post

Warning over new sub-variants
Covid-19-infected people with mild symptoms drive in and get Covid-19 medicines at a Drive Thru service at a public van station in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul)
Covid-19-infected people with mild symptoms drive in and get Covid-19 medicines at a Drive Thru service at a public van station in Pathum Thani's Thanyaburi district. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning over the emergence of three Omicron sub-variants that have the potential to transmit Covid-19 faster and infect the lungs, says the Ramathibodi Hospital's Center for Medical Genomics (CMG).

Sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 and BA.2.12.1 may cause more severe infections than the Omicron strain, it said on its Facebook page.

CMG said the WHO and many scientists around the world had been monitoring the three sub-variants in South Africa and the United States for weeks.

Last month, South African scientists identified BA.4 and BA.5 there and laboratory experiments showed the strains can reinfect those who had the original Omicron strain, the centre said.

Figures showed a rise in the number of patients infected by the sub-variants admitted to hospitals in the two countries, it said. However, there has not been an increase in fatalities, it said.

It said that a change in the virus' spike gene was the reason for the higher transmission rate, noting the virus can lodge into a cell wall of the lungs to cause an infection similar to that of the Delta variant. Some reports said the sub-variants had the capacity to dodge vaccines.

Meanwhile, the country registered 8,081 more Covid-19 cases -- making it the seventh successive daily tally below 10,000 -- and 54 new fatalities over the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry said yesterday.

The figures did not include 10,055 positive results from antigen tests over the past 24 hours. Doing so would raise the total daily number to 18,136.

On Saturday morning, the kingdom recorded 8,450 new cases and 58 fatalities.

As of Saturday, a total of 91,279 people were receiving Covid-19 treatment, including 29,346 in hospitals, the ministry said.

It said 10,382 people were in hospitels and field hospitals while 51,172 were at home and community isolation centres.

The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said all but four of the 8,081 new cases were transmitted in the country.

Bangkok continued to log the most daily cases with 2,176, followed by Buri Ram with 274, Chon Buri with 271, Samut Prakan with 243 and Khon Kaen with 241.

The four imported cases were two from Israel, and one each from Japan and the United States, the ministry said.

On Saturday, 10,588 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from Covid-19.

According to the CCSA, the 54 people who died were aged from eight months to 95 years old with an average age of 75. All were Thais.

Bangkok logged two new deaths and no fatalities were reported in its adjacent provinces.





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