Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well we're asking the question, "is Thailand giving stranded tourists money?" What are we talking about here? I did a video previously on this. I believe it was the Tourism and Sports Ministry in connection with I think it might have been the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration were talking about - I think it was the Tourism and Sports Ministry directly - were talking about giving out 2,000 baht as sort of a stipend for folks who were stranded here in Thailand as a result of the situation in the Middle East. 

I've had a lot of follow-up from folks on that. Folks asking, sending emails asking, "hey, where do I get this? We're running out of funds here. If there's something that can be done." It appears that it's not like a direct handout. It's not like they are just giving people a voucher or something for 2,000 Baht or handing out 2'000 Baht in cash, but it is akin to a subsidy. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Is Thailand planning to "give money to tourists"? Quoting directly: "The proposal outlined by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports suggested a support amount of around 2,000 baht per person per day. Importantly, officials emphasized this should not be interpreted as a direct cash payment to tourists. Instead, the funds would be distributed through the businesses responsible for hosting or caring for these visitors, such as hotels or tour operators."

Well okay, so that's the first thing to understand. This is like akin to a subsidy being granted to folks who have been stranded but it is going to go through the entity if you will that is providing the accommodation to that tourist. So if you're in a hotel or something and you've been stranded as a result of the situation in the Middle East, there may be some possibility of whoever is accommodating you, to be able to receive some sort of compensation from the Government to the tune of about 2,000 about a day, and as we discussed in the prior video, it seems to cap out at 20,000 Baht per person. Again, this should not be viewed as any type of direct cash transaction. It is, as described, it is sort of like a subsidy. And again I think it's important for people to understand that we are in kind of a fluid situation here. It is an ad hoc policy, so don't expect this to be greatly streamlined as of the time of this video. Now they may as time goes on, figure out a way to streamline this and deal with folks who are legitimately stranded and get those folks taken care of. But again it's not a direct cash handout, it's basically a way the government has found to sort of offset harm if you will to those who are providing accommodation to those who are stranded and cannot leave from the Kingdom of Thailand.