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House Speaker Chuan Leekpai joins Phuket Vegetarian Festival
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai joins Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was in Phuket yesterday (Oct 18) to preside over the opening ceremony of a parade held as part of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in honour of His Majesty King Vachiralongkorn.
Pawin rallies to win Phuket Open
Pawin rallies to win Phuket Open
GOLF: Pawin Ingkharadit won his third All Thailand Golf Tour title with a one-shot victory at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open 2020 yesterday (Oct 18).
Hammer blow for Spurs, Van Dijk injury woe
Hammer blow for Spurs, Van Dijk injury woe
FOOTBALL: West Ham ruined Gareth Bale’s Tottenham return with a stunning late fightback from three goals down to rescue a thrilling 3-3 draw, while Aston Villa extended their perfect start with a dramatic 1-0 win at Leicester yesterday (Oct 18).
Anti-government protesters gather in Phuket
Anti-government protesters gather in Phuket
PHUKET: About 700 people gathered at Suan Luang yesterday (Oct 18) to stage their own anti-government rally in support of the protests held in Bangkok over the weekend.
Weighing the consequences
Weighing the consequences
What is the real cost for tourists when planning an outbound trip to Thailand in the COVID-19 era? Apart from sufficient budget for a quarantine facility, which for the most luxurious trip can be as high as B300,000 per person, tourists must consent to dedicated extra time for a 14-day quarantine – a condition that only allows people who don’t have time and money constraints to visit the country. While high-net-worth travellers may agree to spring for vacation here, their visits will be just a drop in the ocean when compared with B1.9 trillion Thailand recorded last year from foreign tourist receipts, reports the Bangkok Post. According to data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the upscale market or those earning over US$60,000 a year made up less than 20% in the past five years as officials struggled to generate a healthier portion of high-end travellers. In the past, the TAT avoided mentioning the targeted number and stressed the importance of the revenue goal instead, but volume was always in the limelight. Last year, when foreign tourist arrival numbers nearly hit 40 million, major revenue sources came from short-haul markets in Asia. Since the strict lockdown was eased in the second quarter, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) has repeatedly called for a shorter quarantine period or, ideally, no compulsory quarantine to attract intra-regional travellers who don’t want to spend two weeks in confinement for their four- or five-day trip. To be specific, the association pointed to a few potential markets, the likes of China and Taiwan, that are considered low-risk countries. If applied, the scheme would draw 100,000 travellers a month and help repair the broken tourism engine with at least B5 billion in revenue, Atta said. Tour operators pledged to be responsible for those tour groups to calm public concerns. “With mandatory quarantine in place, nobody wants to visit Thailand. But if the government allows tour operators to cater those guests, I’m confident that we can contain the virus spread and reignite our economy at the same time,” said Atta president Vichit Prakobgosol. REGIONAL BUBBLES Hong Kong and Singapore recently reached agreement on a travel bubble policy, which will soon let people from those two countries travel back and forth without being quarantined. Mr Vichit said the decision is unavoidable for any tourism-led country that wants to save itself from peril. During the crisis, businesses that could redirect to domestic customers tended to have a better recovery pace than those heavily reliant on international guests. Some 62.5% of travel companies have reopened, but that rate pales compared with the overall average of 78.2%, according to the latest statistics from the TAT. A poll of 682 tourism-related operators found that 100% of car rental services have resumed business as people avoiding public transport in the wake of the pandemic, followed by restaurants (89.2%) and hotels (81.6%). Due to international travel restrictions still in place, most (93%) tourism customers are Thais, up 31% from the pre-COVID period. Mr Vichit said local communities should accept that special international groups allowed in earlier and those applying for a special tourist visa (STV) are not enough, as the expected number is just 1,000 per month, a far cry from the monthly figure of 3 million last year. “The STV model with a 14-day quarantine is only a minor remedy to the large-scale devastation of the tourism industry,” he said. The Atta president insisted that achieving 100,000 tourists is not a far-fetched goal, given that in a normal situation tourists from low-risk countries total at least 1 million per month. “If just 10% of them return, the tourism industry and overall economy will rebound,” Mr Vichit said. “At present, there are many cities that are free from the virus for longer than 60 days, so why can’t we start with a few of them.” He said there’s also pent-up demand from Chinese tourists who have been travelling domestically – a noticeable trend shown during this month’s Chinese National Holidays, which spurred 650 million trips on the mainland. TESTING THE WATERS There were positive signs for tour operators last week when the Public Health Ministry floated the idea to shorten the standard quarantine period from 14 to 10 days for visitors from low-risk countries, including China, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. The risky attempt is seen as an effort to drive the tourism engine amid negative factors awaiting this quarter, such as the end of the first-phase debt moratorium period for small and medium-sized enterprises on Oct 22. Tony Fernandes, chief executive of AirAsia Group, said keeping borders closed is not a solution in a globalised world, as Thailand and most countries in Asean depend on tourism. Testing on arrival without a mandatory 14-day quarantine is the preferred solution for post-outbreak travels. A strong contact tracing app is also important to detect people who have been in close contact with COVID-19 patients, in case the number of cases started to flare up. “At some point, countries have to take a little bit of risk to reopen, as we cannot live in a cave for the rest of our lives,” Mr Fernandes said. Moreover, vaccine development and distribution will take time. “We have to live with this virus as we have with others before like the common cold or dengue,” Mr Fernandes said. While the airline waits for borders to reopen after the outbreak, AirAsia has to focus on the domestic market as demand for short-haul work and travel still persists. Mr Fernandes said air travel will not change much relative to the impact of the 9/11 attacks, which demanded airlines adapt to new strategies. Still, there are a lot more health-related regulations to be added to deal with the situation, he said. CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC Opening the country to foreign visitors may not necessarily be an economic booster, but it is an attempt to learn how to deal with Covid-19 risks that transcend frontiers, said Tanit Sorat, vice-chairman of the Employers’ Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry (EconThai). The relentless spread of COVID-19 in many countries, including the US, India and Myanmar, and the revival of the disease in European countries like Britain, makes it hard to predict if this is the right time for international tourism. Mr Tanit said he is “not confident” tourists will enjoy a trip to Thailand while businesses in their countries are slammed by the pandemic. The number of foreign travelers is likely to be small relative to pre-COVID figures. Arrivals will stimulate the economy only for some local business operators and in certain areas, Mr Tanit said. “Opening the country to thousands of tourists cannot immediately restore the Thai economy, as we usually welcome 3 million tourists on average per year,” he said. But this does not mean the entry for foreign visitors should remain shut. The government should open the country as an “experiment” to see how it can manage risks, he said. “But they must be quarantined for 14 days,” Mr Tanit said. For foreign businessmen who only come to Thailand for errands or contract signing, the government should hold business meetings for them inside state quarantine venues, he said. The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) agrees that the 14-day quarantine is appropriate if the government allows international arrivals to resume. “Opening the door to foreign tourists will put Thailand at risk of a second outbreak, but the economy needs restoration,” said Kriangkrai Tiannukul, the FTI’s vice-chairman. “The B1.9-trillion stimulus programme to help the economy is not enough.” Analysis from health experts at the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) are needed to help the government strike a balance between disease prevention and economic rehabilitation. “The government cannot listen only to the CESA,” said Mr Kriangkrai, referring to the Center for Economic Situation Administration. “They need to heed facts and recommendations presented by both groups.” Authorities must make careful decisions because some business people are calling on the government to relax measures to screen foreigners. Harald Link, chairman of B.Grimm Group, Thailand’s oldest trading conglomerate, suggests the government relax the measures so that Thailand can remain attractive to foreign businessmen planning to invest in the country. These investors are looking for new locations to set up their production bases in Asean, so “if the measures are too stringent, our economic development may be affected”, he said. Flights to Thailand have become scarcer compared with those to Vietnam, not to mention the cheaper electricity rate in the neighbouring nation catching investors’ eyes, Mr Link said. If lenient measures lead to another domestic outbreak, it should not be difficult to curb the problem, he said. – Narumon Kasemsuk, Dusida Worrachaddejchaiand Lamonphet Apisitniran
House mulls meet to end unrest
House mulls meet to end unrest
BANGKOK: House Speaker Chuan Leekpai is scheduled to unofficially meet government and opposition representatives on Friday (Oct 23) to discuss the possibility of holding a special parliamentary session as anti-government protests continued on Sunday.
United We Can!
United We Can!
Every year, all 18 UWC schools around the world celebrate one special UWC Day, knowing that although we are separated geographically, we are united in spirit. For the students and staff, UWC Day is an opportunity to help, learn and grow through service learning and fulfill the UWC mission: to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. For 2020, “United We Can” was the chosen theme.
Majority want independent PAO chief: Nida Poll
Majority want independent PAO chief: Nida Poll
BANGKOK: A large majority of people want to see a provincial administration organisation (PAO, or OrBorJor) chairman who is an independent and not from a political party or political group, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The Play’s The Thing: Panto or Pantomime? Here we come!
The Play’s The Thing: Panto or Pantomime? Here we come!
Theatrix is in rehearsal on a new play, this time a pantomime based on the ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ character, Aladdin. 
Phuket Opinion: The middle way
Phuket Opinion: The middle way
PHUKET: Bangkok is once again being rocked by protests. Thankfully, they have not reached the level of unrest that lay siege the capital in 2010, or the ’Bangkok Shutdown’ that suffocated the capital in 2014. Yet they are providing a very clear image of key issues gripping the country at this time.
Late blitz saves Man Utd blushes as VAR denies Liverpool
Late blitz saves Man Utd blushes as VAR denies Liverpool
FOOTBALL: Bruno Fernandes atoned for a missed penalty as Manchester United blitzed Newcastle with late goals yesterday (Oct 17) while VAR denied Liverpool a cathartic victory against Everton on another day of breathless drama in the Premier League.
Ardern wins landslide in NZ election
Ardern wins landslide in NZ election
WORLD: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election yesterday (Oct 17), capitalising on her success battling COVID-19 to gain an unprecedented outright majority and the chance to carry out her reform agenda.
Jutatip takes tour crown for 2nd time
Jutatip takes tour crown for 2nd time
CYCLING: Jutatip Maneephan successfully defended her Women’s Tour of Thailand title although she could only finish second in the third stage in Surat Thani on Friday (Oct 16).
Man falls into water, drowns while fishing at Sarasin Bridge
Man falls into water, drowns while fishing at Sarasin Bridge
PHUKET: Phuket rescue workers retrieved the body of a Thai man who fell into the water and drowned while fishing from Sarasin Bridge. The body was found and retrieved this morning (Oct 17).
Quarantine for Covid may be cut to 10 days
Quarantine for Covid may be cut to 10 days
BANGKOK: The Department of Disease Control has advised the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to reduce the quarantine period for returnees from 14 to 10 days.
Water cannon used on protesters in Bangkok
Water cannon used on protesters in Bangkok
BANGKOK: Protest leaders declared an end to a third successive night of anti-government demonstrations on Friday (Oct 16) after police used water cannon against a large crowd at the Pathumwan intersection in central Bangkok.
Phuket island medical hub in the works
Phuket island medical hub in the works
PHUKET: Prince of Songkla University is pushing to make Phuket a medical hub capable of providing high-quality treatments for locals and tourists.
Damage Done: Phuket’s tourism industry will take years to recover, say experts
Damage Done: Phuket’s tourism industry will take years to recover, say experts
PHUKET: The damage to Phuket’s tourism industry by the COVID-19 prevention measures has already been done, and will take years to recover from, Phuket Chamber of Commerce President Thanusak Phungdet told The Phuket News this week..
PHUKET XTRA: VIDEO: Riot police vs protesters! Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins! Tourists coming next week? || October 16
PHUKET XTRA: VIDEO: Riot police vs protesters! Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins! Tourists coming next week? || October 16
PHUKET XTRA - October 16 || Brought to you by PVCPhuket.com Confrontation between police and protesters |:| First international tourist arrivals due next week |:| Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins |:| 4 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand today Hosted by: JP Mestanza || #Phuket
Resurgent Everton face acid test in Liverpool showdown
Resurgent Everton face acid test in Liverpool showdown
FOOTBALL: Lifted by Carlo Ancelotti’s astute leadership and the transformative signing of James Rodriguez, Everton have a golden opportunity to prove their rise to the top of the Premier League is no fluke when they face Liverpool tomorrow (Oct 17).