AverageAussie

I received the following email from Airbnb today. It seems that the Thailand Ministry of Interior’s Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) is currently holding a virtual public consultation until 31 March 2024 to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the Hotel Act in Thailand. Hosts are encouraged to voice out their concerns and advocate for a fairer Hotel Act 31 March 2024.

I wouldn't read too much into it. VA's entire fleet is based on the 737 (post administration) and it would take a quantum leap at a time when they are still consolidating to swap over. They'd be on the short-list for one of the least likely carriers to switch manufacturers. Other airlines? Who knows? How quickly they can get delivery for a new order also matters.

I remember reading somewhere that even if Boeing suddenly ceased production or went out of business (unlikely), then Airbus is in no position to ramp up production to meet the shortfall anytime soon. Personally, I think that Boeing might be a prime target for takeover (hostile or otherwise) given the value of it's other businesses - especially military. Maybe the previous joint ventures with Embraer could be rejigged - if they can raise capital and/or finance and overcome their own issues. Maybe a syndicate? But one entity that is out of the running would be Comac. Congress would never allow it, especially as they are currently shooing off other Chinese entities such as Tiktok and some infamously opportunistic & nationalistic Presidential candidate is watching in the wings.

Thanks for sharing that. Looking at the overall sequence of events, it seems there might have been some real victimisation happening (by Boeing directed to their employee). If nothing else, here is an exemplary long-term staff member that suddenly took a nosedive in (internal) ratings. So something changed. I do however agree that this is a historical HR issue, not "directly" linked to Boeing's other current issues. If Boeing is going to get out of this mess of its own making and doesn't address their culture of fear first, then it will all be a waste of time & investor's money.

If you're planning well in advance, then I would arrange take the path of least resistance and arrange for the visa prior to departure in Australia. It saves you time (visa extension in TH), risk and probably a few $. Watch the dates though as the Visa has limited validity before you need to start the trip.

Perceptions matter and "brand trust" for airlines is critical. At least it's still in positive territory. Analysis by Anna Fleck, Statista March 18, 2024

@OneMoreFarang - I respect your decision. It was probably #1 and a bit of #3 of my points that warranted a "No". Do keep your ear to the ground and stay close to those 2 farang committee members. The bridge will always be there - at least whilst they're involved.

@Rampant Rabbit I can feel your frustration with those windows. Whilst the view is nice, cleaning is a definite minus when you have floor to ceiling windows without the balcony. Fortunately labour is relatively cheap in Thailand, so the abseilers wouldn't have broken the bank. I probably would have done the same - especially if I was intending to sell the unit. Perceptions matter & a couple of thousand Baht spent here might have added fifty thousand Baht of value. And even if the committee wasn't on board, I would have gone a step further and canvassed other owners if they wanted to come on board with a "joint" cleaning project - so shared some of the expense.

I'm not disagreeing with you. John was the litigant and Boeing the defendant in this case. He would have been warned about the stress & difficulties of being cross-examined in court. I've been in the chair myself. Every victim of crime and witness faces that dilemma: "Do I want to go through this?" But that doesn't make it any easier on the day. And some people deal with that stress better than others.

@OneMoreFarang This is a good question and I may possibly be asking myself the same in a year or two. I'm on one other (non-property-management) committee now and have been on others previously (both property related & outside that scope) so this is something that I would encourage you to join if: You have the time & patience. You feel that you have something to contribute. You're not about to join a fragment, polarised and/or dysfunctional group that focuses more on personalities than outcomes. As for #3 I wholly endorse @newnative's comments. Sound out some of the existing board members and get on board with the ones that you can find common ground. They might be feeling drowned out right now and would welcome a supporting voice. Just be careful not to get too aligned with any single faction. A lot of committees can become very political and rational people cease to be that when given a small amount of power. As for @ezzra, I do hope that at the very least the local police & committee members were immediately aware of the threat/s. 99.9% chance that nothing will happen, but if it does then they already have a hot lead. Also, if the mailbox area in the building doesn't already have 24/7 CCTV coverage I would make sure that happens. Even if I made that my final-ever motion on the committee.

TikTok has had an amazing rise to popularity in recent years - which (in part) explains why this is now such a significant issue and has the potential for a further diplomatic rift. Just for the record, I'm not part of the 40% and don't intend to be. Personally I think the Chinese are more clever than we give them credit for and have devised the perfect tool to (further) dumb down the masses in the US & elsewhere in the world (everywhere but China).

Nobody knows the real story - except for John and the person that pulled the trigger. That may or may not be the same person, but even if it was, then consider this: if you're suffering from PTSD after years in a hostile work environment what could be more traumatic than having to face a hostile defence lawyer fronting those same people in a court environment? I know that I wouldn't be sleeping that night.

More on the former Boeing employee and whistle-blower found dead - just prior to giving testimony. https://youtu.be/a32RLgqNfGs

Even if they were included (and they make up a significant volume of travellers - which I doubt) then as long as there is consistency across jurisdictions, then the trend from 1 year to the next is the same. All these different types of travellers have to go through the same immigration checkpoints and spend money whilst in the Kingdom. And furthermore even if you don't trust the government figures, in this instance the private research company projections are only 10% less.

So, can someone please share the link? I need to be offended.

It's easy to get confused. The precise numbers are always going to be an estimate - and not just because they will vary from year to year. The definitions will vary and of course there are different organisations that do the counting & different inputs to compare. For example, the percentage of workforce that is DIRECTLY EMPLOYED by the tourism sector in Thailand can be about half the actual value of GDP output for the sector (and as little as 7% by some organisations). That can happen because of a flow-through effect; a hotel makes $x revenue per annum from its room bookings, a big percentage of that is expended as wages, those employees spend that money on other sectors (food, transport, housing etc) and those sectors will increase their spending. So even if it's only 7% employed - if that sector stops earning (such as during a pandemic) then the flow on effect can multiply the economic impact. Here's a more comprehensive graphical representation of the current economic sectors in Thailand. Variations can be quite stark. Overall though, the Thais are MUCH MORE dependent on the tourism sector than most other economies. Expats & retirees actually morph closer into "local resident" status, insofar as their economic impact. Except of course most are no longer working or directly contributing to output of goods & services.

You're wrong - and not just with your grammar & sentence structure. As at the end of 2023, global tourism had recovered about 90% of pre-pandemic levels and 95% of pre-pandemic levels for South Asia (as a region). The only thing that the statistics would concede is that North-East Asia is only back about 50%. Source: UN Tourism | World Tourism Organization

2024 is a year for elections in several parts of the world, so brace yourselves. It will be the year of constant whataboutisms in the news & on social media. Even more so than normal.

For Bangkok’s younger generation and dedicated foodies, craving for street-style fare is often succeeded by a trip to Ban Tad Thong. What was once a street hawking car and motorcyle parts has been transformed, over the past few years, into Bangkok’s most exciting new foodie destination. Both sides of the 1.3-kilometre stretch are now lined with more eating options than you could ever imagine, from long-standing khao tom joints and up-and-coming sweet spots to upscale mala hotpots – all ready to satisfy hungry visitors that come in their droves on a nightly basis. More info on timeout.com - scroll to #14 https://youtu.be/SrOoPwj6xAQ

Not at all. We used different words to say much the same thing. But I might add an observation about all the naysayers that query the quality of the data and think they know better because of some anecdote about this morning's traffic on Beach Road. Here we have a bank-owned subsidiary research company with a projection that's only about 10% below the government's for 2024. If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on the organisation that has direct access to nation-wide spending patterns the instant that we tap onto the EFTPOS terminal or scan a QR code. For some reason I think they'd have their finger on the pulse.

@Gottfrid - you beat me by about 1 minute with your response. We've come to the same conclusion though.

I'm not sure what gives you that idea. The tourism sector in Thailand contributes about 18% of GDP - compared to a global average of about 7% in the rest of the world. Do you seriously believe that expats in Thailand that own their own condo and living off their super and/or overseas pension contribute more than that?

There is no "groan" button. Maybe he was trying to find one on Koh Larn?

I was thinking much the same. In most of Australia we have a 10¢ deposit on drink containers now. There has to be 50-100 empties there. Even at the lower end of the scale that's potentially about $5 to be cashed in - or almost ฿120 at today's exchange rate. How much is the ferry ticket?