chinasimon

I have lived and worked in both countries and I definitely prefer Thailand. All the talented Pinoys are abroad, the country is an absolute mess, and I've been (almost) everywhere. Dirty, corrupt, slow, bureaucratic, religious, you name it. People are also a lot less friendly than in the past, which was really a massively redeeming feature. That innocent friendliness and positivity towards (white, mixed) foreigners seems to have mostly disappeared. Service and superficial friendliness is better in Thailand for sure. People are distant but polite in TH. At least Thai people have tried to topple the government, Filipinos have just reelected a dictators' son after 5 years of Duterte... unbelievable. So they really have nobody except themselves to blame for this sorry excuse of a country. I won't go into food, but Manila at least has diverse enough restaurants that you can eat well. The rest of the country not so much.

Which country are we talking about? Don't think Thailand is either of these two.

Foxconn has no particular engineering know-how related to EVs, they have yet to begin mass production anywhere. Not sure how they expect to compete against the big outside of protected markets like Thailand.

Understandable, I try to avoid European airlines for that reason as well. Long-distance flights are a privilege only for longer-service flight crew (read: dragons). But Singapore Airlines has pretty flight attendants and is a nice place for a stopover too. ????

A good thing then that criminals are usually considerate of your feelings. Otherwise you'd get confronted with the higher crime in Thailand relative to much of Europe.

We can throw personal preferences and anecdotes around for days, but as a simple matter of fact Ultra High Net Worth Individuals move to 1) Rich, English speaking countries like Australia, the US, the UK, New Zealand (and Switzerland) 2) Warm European countries (Isreal, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malta) or the Caribbean 3) Developed Asian city-states, namely Singapore and Hong Kong Source: AfrAsia Bank - Global Wealth Migration Review 2018 & 2019 Asia overall - China being the frontrunner - has a large net outflow of these super rich people, and Thailand is likely no exception though there is no substantiated data that I'm aware of. Now a lot of reasons have been mentioned but Thailand is simply a good place for people with modest means, but not so much for really rich people. As a single digit millionaire it certainly is an option, if you have more money than that it's not. "Cheap and fun" nightlife just doesn't feature highly on their priority list, nor do tourist beaches. I honestly struggle to think of any advantages or benefits living in Thailand would offer an UHNWI. Occasionally visit? Sure, a couple of exclusive hotels and private islands offer a pleasant enough stay.

But why in overcrowded, tiny Boracay? Mactan Island, Cebu would make more sense with its 5* resorts.

That's covid-related however. I don't think currently strongly affected countries will take a permanent reputation risk because of that or the political situation. Most tourists just don't care as long as the product/price is right. Besides, there aren't that many real alternatives in SEA - Bali is overcrowded even compared to Thailand. And as for tourism businesses failing, that's a problem for the business owners and banks, lots of people will lose a lot of money. But those hotels and restaurants will still be standing, just under new ownership. A big write-down on the initial investment also helps with operating costs, and could make Thailand a bit more affordable again too. Prices only knew one direction in the last 20 years, but it's a distinct possibility after 2022 I'd say. Global mass tourism will take a while to fully recover, but I would bet that it'll eventually happen.