The Phuket Tourist Association confirmed the extent of cancellations in a formal appeal to revise the entry measure sent to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Saturday (Jan 7).
The formal request was also addressed to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul, Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn and Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
The request was signed by Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, Advisory Chairman of the Phuket Tourist Association, and Phuket Tourist Association President Thanet Tantipiriyakit.
“The Phuket Tourist Association has received contact and coordination from guided tour operators in many countries, in which all companies have shown are of the utmost concern regarding the changes to the entry policy,” the request noted.
Worrying reports had been received by tour and travel companies in England, Germany, France and Scandinavia as well as Russia, the letter pointed out.
In the 72 hours from Thursday, when the new measure was announced, through to Saturday, tour operators in Germany alone had suffered cancellations of thousands of room nights, the letter continued.
Another key concern was that as the new ‘vaccinated only’ rule was outside the tour operators’ refund policy, operators in all the countries contacted were now scrambling to find ways to provide refunds.
Tour operators in England complained extensively about the lack of notice given in introducing the rule, with passengers being refused onto the plane at the airport.
The operators said they had tried to find official information on government websites, but were not able to find any.
Tour operators in Scandinavia said they were unable to notify their customers in time, exacerbating the problem.
Tour operators in France were greatly dissatisfied with the change. Fly, a French travel agency, is seeking a way to have the rule change declared force majeure in order to cancel its tours to Thailand in the name of Thai political instability, the letter explained.
Tour companies in Russia were greatly concerned about the number of passengers who had booked holidays to Thailand but were not vaccinated.
“In addition, companies have sold prepaid packages, especially large operators that have entered into aircraft charter or purchased large numbers of seats from airlines in advance,” the letter said.
“Most of them are unable to travel to Thailand, which is causing great damage and impact on business. The requirements and Code of Conduct as an official document is needed, more than news from the media that may cause confusion and misunderstanding,” the letter continued.
“The operators said they had been Informed by the Russian Embassy in Bangkok that the announcement has not yet become official because [embassy staff] were unable to find official documents for reference,” the letter said.
“The Phuket Tourist Association is concerned about the situation. especially because tour companies have expressed dissatisfaction, and many tourists will be affected by the changing of the rules,”
“Please Prime Minister, consider ordering as soon as possible to find solutions to problems and find a way out for the benefit to the country’s economy,” the letter concluded.
harald | 11 January 2023 - 08:32:46