Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests we are discussing the possibility of reopening Phuket. Things do seem to be going full steam ahead. At least the Government appears to be going at full cylinders to get Phuket reopen July 1 to allow this "Sandbox" initiative so that vaccinated travelers can come into Phuket without the need to undergo quarantine. 

A recent article from the Thai Enquirer that is thaienquirer.com I thought put a little bit of nuance on all of this and brought things home to a human level. The article again is titled: Third Wave of Pandemic Could be Death Sentence for Thai Hotels. Quoting directly: "Two years ago the seaside in front of him on Seksith Pimolnat Guesthouse on Phuket's Patong Beach was packed. Holiday makers from Siberia, China and the various corners of the European Union crowded together in a cacophonous revelry. Today Patong is deserted, another casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic." I do think it is worth noting it is not just the pandemic. It is the Government's response to the pandemic and that is a worldwide thing, but I thought this particular quote was very enlightening: "I am betting everything on this July reopening for Phuket the Government promised he said." And they are quoting Seksith. "If it doesn't happen, I will have to sell and do something else with my life." Yeah, I have talked to a number of clients here that are in the tourism business; also in food and beverage, entertainment and friends and things that have said: "Man this third wave, this has been way worse than anything," and by third wave the response to this third wave, the lockdowns, the shutdowns all these restrictions that aren't lock downs but effectively have the same practical implications of lockdowns. Basically, a lot of folks have told me "if they don't come up with some kind of solution to this, if things don't improve this time around I am going to have to do something else".

I have noted it before on this channel, I think economically we are looking at some really dire straits ahead and we are looking at a situation wherein, I don't say this lightly and this is not hyperbole but I think especially the SME sector can truly be decimated in the aftermath of this third wave. Now I hope there will be a strong recovery especially in the second half of 2021. That remains to be seen. For now it doesn't look good and the response to this, whatever they come up with and however this plays out it has got to be good for the businesses because if it is not I just don't see what happens after that.