Chelseafan

5 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

The numbers provided are statistically insignificant...Bad journalism.

Yes small numbers but what they are showing is a trend. These are the people that Thailand should be courting to bring investment into Thailand and if they had any sense would be encouraging them but to see a downward spiral in all visa categories is a worry

I applaud this and anyone who travels should have at least basic travel insurance.

How it's implemented is another matter. The easiest way would be add it to the cost of the airline ticket in the same way the old departure tax is now however this being Thailand, I'm sure they will find some way to make the process onerous.

10 hours ago, bluesofa said:

What were you eating - crunchy nut cornflakes? Salami?

Maybe a banana and a couple of plums

2 hours ago, malt25 said:

Really ! Why do you think he's lost face ? Coz he was caught ?

For sure. I assume this would of made the local TV and if he has family then anyone of any nationality would be embarassed and shamed if they have a right mind

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

And this is why these perverts, cheats and conmen will continue to commit those despicable offences simply because the deterrents IS NOT THERE, and 1,000 baht will not stop them unless a much more serious penalties will be implemented and brought to bare of this unruly cabbies...

I'm sure you understand Thai culture but being named and shamed is much more of a deterrent especially as he has lost a lot of face.

Personally I think it's the trains fault as it didnt spot the pickup and try to swerve to avoid him ????

Just now, marcusarelus said:

They do surveys of all the people mentioned in the report and the results are accurate to a couple of percent.  

I really doubt that and even if that is the case, how many people were surveyed? Did they give correct information ?

I don't know but I'm always suspicious of where the data comes from and how it is compiled.

Just now, sandmonster said:

Thai Visa experts simply Google it. Like it or not, every article says Chinese outspend Europeans on holiday here. Try it sometime ????

 

Chinese numbers have been declining since last year's Pattaya incident. Loss in European AND Chinese money mitigated somewhat by increases from India, ME, Asia etc who are probably even bigger spenders than even the Chinese.

This is not the point we were making. Yes they outspend because there's so many of them. The point was that per person they do not.

2 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

The margin of error is less than 1%.  Like I said look up how modern countries figure Unemployment statistics.  USA, Australia, UK and so on..  I guess you think of statistics in your grandfather's day and will start quoting Mark Twain any minute.  Google Germany labor force survey methodology for an idea of how modern statistics work and how Thailand computes numbers for the TAT.  

I'm well aware how statistics are calculated having a higher-level diploma in computer studies. I would be astounded if the margin of error is less than 1%. Whilst I appreciate it's necessary to gather data, you cannot really say that on a survey of let's say 60,000 people that this is representative of 60 million people. It's a guide for sure but so many factors can skew results. Even if you ask every one of the 60million, some will lie or give false data.

Yes, OK, you got me. There's lies, damned lies and then there's statistics ????

21 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Is there still the TM6 questionnaire in the back? I used to check the highest just to bring the Euro stats up. Can't be losing to no Asians can we, face and all.

 

Good man ???? Though the asians are probably doing the same thing....

13 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Actually I do know.  They get the numbers the same way the USA gets unemployment numbers.  By survey.  No desire to go through a statistics training course if you want more information google how the government measures unemployment.  

So either they ask people in which case that's incredibly inaccurate as people by nature will big themselves up or they take a survey of x people and factor up which again has a high margin of error.

That's why I take these figures with a huge grain of salt.

Someone mentioned that the data was taken from credit card transactions supplied by the CC companies. If that's true then again it's highly inaccurate as Farangs don't tend to use their credit cards in Thailand in the same way Asians do.

The question I have is WHAT makes up the daily spend? I somehow doubt your daily barfine is included in the calculation...

2 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

ThaiWebsites.com is a human-edited web directory for English-language Thailand-related resources.  Feel free to ask them.  

In other words you don't know.

The data is coming from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports so must be 100% reliable!

18 hours ago, jesimps said:

Couldn't be due to the high value of the baht, could it?

You said in 12 words what the article couldn't in over 500 !

4 hours ago, JAG said:

Which reminds me, off topic but apropos of your post: Peter Sellers had his first heart attack shortly after he married Britt Eckland.

 

He Britt off more than he could screw...

 

My taxi awaits.

Please take tomorrow off ????

5 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Expenditures by day Chinese tourists, $192.84

                               Europe $125.47

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

Maybe they know and it's you that have zero clue.  Anecdotal evidence is not accurate if you have better information please feel free to link it.  

 

Please explain to me how they get to these figures...

6 hours ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

TAT showing its incompetence again.

High season is in July - August and from November till April!

Even that they cannot understand , totally useless

July-August is considered low season. Though I'm not sure there are really any hi/low season anymore outside Xmas and New Year.

Does anyone know if the figures that TAT give us every year include those passengers in Transit ?

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why not go back to 1997, what was the exchange rate then?

Yes, that was a one-off due to the Asian crash. From memory I seem to recall getting around 85 for a short period of time.

17 minutes ago, Isaanbiker said:

  No smoking at beaches, no smoking near government offices, etc... and no this, and no that. Who wants to go to such a place? 

   

 

And God-forbid if you bring in a vape-stick!!!

1 minute ago, CNXexpat said:

I wonder why the Le Meridien in Chiang Mai is full of Chinese tourists and they pay the normal room rate of minimum 5,000 Baht per night. Also the other 5 star hotels are full of Chinese. But the dormitories are full of western tourists. 

Tourists are not interested in the political system or the human rights of the vacation country. They visit China, Cambodia, Turkey, etc. - all not known as democratic countries.

Do you really think they are paying 5000 a night? And even if they are, taking one hotel as a snap shot isn't the reality of the situation. The same can be said for the Hilton in Pattaya or any other of the 4-5 star hotels in Bangkok. Those establishments will always have affluent customers but what about the other thousands upon thousands of smaller hotels?

Luckily there's Airbnb...no wait ????

18 minutes ago, British Bulldog said:

Huh ? Europeans, Chinese and others all decide not to come to Thailand because of a sway of 1 or 2 baht difference to their respected currency .... come on ... try pulling the other one. (International exchange rates at 30.80 to the USD this morning) the Aussie dollar dropped heaps this year, but it doesn't stop them coming !

I agree to an extent. It certainly doesn't stop the likes of us going there but to the families who have never been and are planning their vacation I'm sure they are carefully reviewing websites with regards to how much bang for their buck they are getting. It's not the main reason but I'll bet it's part of their decision making process.