Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Immigration and whether there is sort of an "Achilles Heel" within Thai Immigration. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Visa Policies threaten soft power hippos, gay marriage and gambling. This was a rather funny article and it goes in a lot of different directions. I urge those who are watching this video, go check it out. I'm going to quote one line here, quoting directly: "Visas, entry rules and extensions of stay are the Achilles Heel in the marketing debate." 

Yeah, as we have discussed in other videos, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has run out and done a PR blitz. Admittedly I would I have to say, I think it's overall a good thing; they're trying to create a really top-notch high season, a real spike in terms of travellers coming to Thailand and that's a great thing. One of the things that has been rolled out with regard to this is the so-called Destination Thailand Visa and other initiatives like the increasing of Visa Exemption - lawful status granted upon entry to Thailand went from 30 days to 60 days with the option to extend by another 30 days. But as pointed out here, especially in the discussion on the Destination Thailand Visa and to a lesser extent or to some extent, although it's not quite as poignant because you see less people seeking that category, to some extent the LTR as well. Again, Immigration has been very silent and meanwhile things like Ministry of Foreign Affairs has run out on a PR blitz talking about this stuff but they're not going to ultimately be the ones that are going to administer Thai Immigration Law. That's why it's being put "Visas, entry rules and extensions are the Achilles Heel if you will from the marketing side.” Well it's not an Achilles Heel, it's just a fact. It's going to be Interior Ministry, Immigration's job to deal with how people with Visa are allowed to enter, or whether or not they are allowed to enter and whether or not they will be allowed to extend their status here in the Kingdom. And they have been silent on all things pertaining to the Destination Thailand Visa to this point. 

So it remains to be seen whether or not that will come to pass the way that Ministry of Foreign Affairs at least initially bandied it about, like the way they announced it and frankly people on the internet did not help by hyperbolically talking about this as if this is the greatest change to Thai Immigration ever; it really isn't. It's the creation of a new visa and as discussed in prior videos, it remains to be seen exactly how it's going to work out and Immigration themselves have been notably silent. So I don't know if Achilles Heel is the right way to put it but from a marketing standpoint, maybe it would have been better to tone some things down and not talk about this in such absolute terms especially if you're not the agency that's ultimately going to be the ones administering the relevant law.