Sponsor break 15:30 est
M: Welcome to Travel Radio Podcast. Today I am pleased to welcome a new guest to the program, Ric Gazian. Thank you for joining me Ric!
R: It's a pleasure to be here Megan.
M: Ric, would you take a moment to introduce yourself?
R: (Excerpt from Ric's bio) "Hi, I am Ric Gazarian aka GlobalGaz. I am on a quest to travel to all 193 UN countries and I plan to share with my readers; must-see places, unique experiences, and off-the-beaten path locations.
There are so many great travel content creators sharing advice on traveling to amazing places all around the world. But my goal is to help travelers visit locations that are less visited with less actionable information. I will share with you my travels to countries like Afghanistan, Algeria, Mauritania, or Pakistan. Or places, that people love to debate if they are even a country like the Principality of Sealand, Transnistria, or Abkhazia."
M: How can people find you online?
M: Now, I've said it previously, but I do want to thank you for the inclusion in the Travel Massive 34 Must Listen Travel Podcasts. It's an honor and I will proudly continue to spread the word about the list. So THANK YOU!
R: Of course it was a no brainer to add you to the list!
M: You are kind to say so! Here is a link for people interested in the list and joining Travel Massive.
M: Ric, let's move into today's podcast topic. Ric, what are we going to talk about today?
R: Reopening Thailand!
M: So to start, as a resident, I'd like to get your perspective on the scene in Thailand during the height of Covid and how is it now. To be clear, I say at the height of Covid for Thailand because they are living and operating much like normal currently. Hopefully, Covid is in the past for Thailand. What can you tell us about that?
R: Less than 4,000 infections, less than 60 dead for a country of 70 million. The country was effectively shut down in April and May. Today, it is practically 100% open internally. The giant exception, the borders are closed to visitors. In 2019, Thailand welcomed 40 million tourists, this year about 7 million and the vast majority of those visited in Q1.
M: Like many countries tourism is important to Thailand, and many countries citizens, like the US are chomping at the bit to visit Thailand. What can you tell us about the opening, or anticipated opening of Thailand to foreigners?
R: Thailand just rolled out the STV. Thailand has just welcomed over 300 tourists all from China. There is a real push and pull for the safety of the country verse the tourist economy, which is somewhere 10-20% of GDP. A number of plans have been launched, and most of them have been quickly scuttled.
STV is for long stay tourists for up to 270 days. There is a mandatory 14 day quarantined once you arrive as well as a number of other hoops you need to jump through. So in other words you have been to be a very motivated individual to want to come to Thailand now.
M: Do you want to make any predictions as to when US...
