More bad news for Pattaya

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gerefan
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by gerefan »

Gaybutton wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 8:39 pm Along with that, how many Thais who live and work in Pattaya (or a least used to work in Pattaya), but were not born in the Chonburi province are going to be counted as part of that 70%, whether they manage to get vaccinated elsewhere or not? My guess is none of them.
This 70% thing is not going to work.

The first thing that will happen when Pattaya is reopened is that many Thais will return from Esaan. And many new workers will come as well. Doubt any of them will be double jabbed.

If they can’t come, places will be unable to operate. Catch 22.

Even if they put up checkpoints they will find routes around them.

Whole thing is pointless.
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

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gerefan wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:22 am Whole thing is pointless.
I don't know how many would agree with you, but count me as one who does. If it had been handled competently in the first place, maybe it would not have been pointless, but it didn't work out that way.

Regarding Pattaya, once again I hope I'm wrong, but I am reminded of the old American west when boomtowns went bust. Even the towns that survived never regained what they once were.

When Pattaya does reopen, I wish the powers-that-be would keep their noses out of it and just let Pattaya become whatever phoenix rises up from the ashes. But that won't happen. Those in charge never seem to be happy unless they're screwing things up and making things worse. I wonder if they've figured out yet that people coming here for a good time and partying at the entertainment venues at night neither want nor need City Hall telling them what time to go to bed. But if all the dumbass over-regulation is back in place while Pattaya is struggling to recover, I won't be surprised.

Remember how Pattaya was going to build a monorail? That seems to have gone by the wayside. That's too bad. The construction would have provided many unemployed with jobs and much of the work could have been done while the city is empty of tourists.
Jun

Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by Jun »

gerefan wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:22 am This 70% thing is not going to work.

The first thing that will happen when Pattaya is reopened is that many Thais will return from Esaan. And many new workers will come as well. Doubt any of them will be double jabbed.
I agree that it's close to pointless trying to have a Pattaya sandbox, although I don't rule out trying it !

At the current rate of progress, the arrival of people from other provinces MIGHT only be a minor problem, as the vaccination rate in Pattaya is only 5% ahead of the rest of the country. So by the time Pattaya gets to 70% vaccinated, the rest of the country might not be far behind.

As expected, there are signs of some common sense appearing, with talk of Thailand having to learn to live with covid, which is what the endgame will have to be (see link).
Chip away at the problem for a few months with 400,000 vaccine doses per day, then gradually open up.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... h-covid-19
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by traveller123 »

What few people recognise is that Bangkok and surrounding provinces along with Pattaya are completely different to the vaccine situation in North East Thailand.

I live in a province in Isaan where only the over 60s and clinically vulnerable can get vaccines and then only Sinovac followed three weeks later by an Astra jab.(This applies to both Thais and Non Thais)

You can not buy jabs privately.

Therefore if Isaan people return to work in Pattaya for the foreseeable future they will not arrive vaccinated.
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by Gaybutton »

traveller123 wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:25 am Therefore if Isaan people return to work in Pattaya for the foreseeable future they will not arrive vaccinated.
Apparently, for now the only way they can get vaccinated is to travel to Bangkok and get it there - a trip they would end up having to make twice.

My guess is there won't exactly be droves of people living in Isaan making those trips.
Jun

Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by Jun »

Picking a random city in Isaan & googling it, one finds reports of them aiming for 70% in October:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... or-70-jabs
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

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Jun wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 2:49 pm Picking a random city in Isaan & googling it, one finds reports of them aiming for 70% in October
Did you notice what they are going to be vaccinated with? That's right - Sinopharm.

How reassuring . . .
Jun

Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 3:06 pm Did you notice what they are going to be vaccinated with? That's right - Sinopharm.
According to the WHO, Sinopharm has a claimed efficacy of 79% against symptomatic infection, Cf. 51% for Sinovac.

Admittedly, I won't be taking this as a booster.

The line of discussion here is unvaccinated people heading from Isaan to Pattaya.
I suspect the overall vaccination rate in Isaan will not be far behind that of Pattaya AND the quality of vaccines may be similar.

On the other hand, those heading from Isaan to Pattaya will be younger than average, so possibly less likely to be vaccinated. If vaccination is made mandatory for employees of certain businesses AND enforced, that would help improve that situation.
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

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Jun wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 4:24 pm According to the WHO, Sinopharm has a claimed efficacy of 79% against symptomatic infection, Cf. 51% for Sinovac.
Trust those figures if you wish. I think by now it is obvious that I do not.
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Re: More bad news for Pattaya

Post by Gaybutton »

Why do I think Thais not born in the Chonburi province are not going to be counted in calculating the 70% reopening goal?

And why do I think there will be countries that will not allow travel to Thailand, or easy return from Thailand, whether Pattaya opens in October or not?

So far it is still anybody's guess whether Pattaya will reopen in October. The Thai government has not engraved a decision in stone just yet.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pattaya hotels fear for their futures

Oct reopening key or 'buyers will swoop'

by Chaiyot Pupattanapong

11 Sep, 2021

Hoteliers in Pattaya have warned that if they do not get assistance with outstanding loans many could end up in the hands of foreign investors.

Phisut Sae-khu, president of the eastern region's hotel association, said yesterday that hundreds of operators in Pattaya and in the East in general were in dire financial straits after nearly two years of Covid-19.

Many were struggling to keep their business afloat and had pinned their hopes on Pattaya being able to reopen to tourists on Oct 1 as planned.

"Although most tourists would not be from the same groups as before, the arrival of Thai tourists would still be helpful to the tourism sector in Pattaya," Mr Phisut said.

If the pandemic enters a third year with no sign that Pattaya can reopen fully, many hotels in the resort city will end up in the hands of foreign investors. Local hoteliers could not continue to carry the heavy financial burden, he said.

Groups of foreign investors, mostly Chinese, were interested in buying hotels in Pattaya, the hotel association president said.

He called on the government to pay more attention to the plight of the hotel sector and introduce measures to better address their problems. This should include suspension of loan payments to financial institutions that hoteliers had borrowed from to keep their businesses running.

"If remedial action is not taken, the crisis in the tourism sector will persist. Hotel operators will be left with no choice but to sell their businesses to foreign investors and a huge amount of revenue from tourism would then flow out of the country," Mr Phisut said.

Chon Buri governor Phakkharathon Thianchai, meanwhile, said the province is now ready for the planned reopening on Oct 1.

However, he said he doubted how many foreign tourists would want to visit Chon Buri and Pattaya as they will still be required to stay within limited areas and use specific routes prepared for the so-called Pattaya Moves On programme in the first seven days of their stays.

Under the travel reopening scheme, which covers Bang Lamung distirct, Sattahip district and Pattaya City, only tourists who test negative for Covid-19 after seven days will be allowed to travel freely.

Chon Buri has been chosen by the government along with Bangkok, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chiang Mai to spearhead its plan to reopen to tourists on Oct 1 and must achieve a 70% vaccination target by the end of this month in order to get the green light by the Ministry of Public Health, he said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/21 ... ir-futures
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