OPINION

Rebrand is doomed

Re: "Time for tourism policy rethink", (Editorial, Sept 5).

The pull factors for Thai tourism will not drastically change. High income, environmentally conscious travellers who accept restricted freedoms and the limitation of package tours will be a minority in the future.

That is why the plan to rebrand Pattaya is doomed.

Re: "Time for tourism policy rethink", (Editorial, Sept 5).

The concept of Thailand's international tourism re-opening is fundamentally flawed. Perhaps when Thailand was still relatively Covid-free, strict quarantine of incoming travellers made sense. But the Covid-19 virus, including the Delta variant, is now ubiquitous in Thailand. So, what exactly are we trying to protect against by quarantining fully vaccinated travellers entering the country?

As the Bangkok Post editorial points out, fully vaccinated tourists pose little risk to the local population. In reality, it is the tourists that are taking the greatest risks by visiting a country that is still wracked by the virus. But if vaccinated travellers are willing to assume that risk, there is no point in subjecting them to a lengthy quarantine in addition.

Re: "Covid curbs forever", (PostBag, Sept 4) and "Are we ready for compulsory vaccine passes?", (Opinion, Sept 7).

How correct the above letter writer was to say that he did not trust the government's declaration that all people in Thailand will be able to enter restaurants and other high-risk places such as beauty salons without requiring Covid-19 vaccinations!

A mere day or two later after making the announcement, the government back-tracked on its promise.

It declared that Thais in high-risk dark-red provinces, beginning next month, would have to be fully vaccinated, or at least have a negative antigen test result, to enter restaurants and other such places.

Columnist Atiya Achakulwisut argued this was a poorly thought out policy which discriminates against normal Thais, since just over 10% of the populace have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and the antigen test kits (ATKs) at 300 baht are cost-prohibitive.

The end result is that only a few Thais in dark-red provinces will be able to freely enter any establishment of their choice next month, with the vast majority almost certainly coming from the upper crust of Thai society.

Re: "Vaccine fashion", (PostBag, Sept 4).

Karl Reichstetter is essentially asking: Does Covid 19 really deserve a thousand times more publicity than all the other diseases in the world combined? This is a virus that doesn't seriously harm the vast majority of people it infects.

And the "death" statistics are manipulated. For example, in the American state of Massachusetts over 98% of people who "died of Covid" already had pre-existing conditions. (Google: "The loose definition of inflated tally of Covid 19 deaths".)

Indeed, Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as these fatal diseases have not received the attention they deserved, according to a report released by the organisation Global Fund.

I hold the media and medical establishment responsible for their singular obsession with one virus which could cause millions of people to die from other diseases.