newnative

We're in deep red lockdown with travel restrictions so--guess what--occupancy is low. But, surprisingly, most of the big hotels in north Pattaya were doing ok on weekends with domestic tourists before the current lockdown. Some visitors, indeed, may have been taking advantage of travel offers/coupons--both from the hotels and the government. Slower on weekdays but apparently they were doing enough business overall to stay open at that time.

The last time I checked construction was still going on at Grande Centre Point 2, the new highrise hotel across the street from it, and the new highrise hotel across from Central Festival. The third highrise tower at Discovery Beach Hotel is about done. The two new condo projects on Third Road are also nearing completion, as is the Edge project. I don't get to Jomtien that often but last time I was there it appeared that construction was proceeding on Copacabana and the two Riviera projects. There likely are projects such as the Runway 88 airplane site you mentioned that have been paused but the majority seem to still be progressing. I welcome and corrections and updates.

Try reading a bit more carefully. My post was referring to visitors to Thailand, not specifically to Pattaya. In 2019 only two countries, of those tracked, had slightly fewer visitors to Thailand--Australia and Singapore. Whether Pattaya had fewer western visitors, I don't know. City specific statistics seem to be harder to come by. Mastercard says Pattaya had over 9 million visitors in 2019 and was in the top 20 of visited cities worldwide. I believe the Pattaya mayor quoted 15 million in 2019, both international and domestic. Neither broke the numbers down by country, as far as I know. If I had to hazard a guess I would say western tourists to Pattaya were no fewer in 2019 than previous years--they were just spread out a lot more with Pattaya's tremendous growth and the popularity of Airbnb. The article you referenced I found quite laughable--especially the headline. Again, I doubt you read it very carefully. First, the minor tourism official in the article says he thinks there are, I quote: '20 to 30% less tourists this low season'. Did you even notice the reference to low season ? I love the scientific 20 to 30%, too. Which is it? And, how was the entire year, by the way? No mention of that. Yes, I'm sure some 'foreign business owners' will 'confirm' your 'observations'. And, I'll be the first to agree that not every business was doing well. If you have around the same number of western visitors coming each year, but the number of businesses catering to them doubles or triples, not everyone will do well. The pie is sliced thinner and thinner and some may not even get a piece. Supply and demand usually sorts things out eventually. Some businesses not doing well doesn't automatically translate to the city not doing well. Let's not forget that top 20 in the World.

In some cases that is what is happening in Pattaya. I think an old low-rise resort was razed for the new Grande Centre Point 2 going up. And, an old hotel was demolished to make way for the Edge project. The Imperial Hotel and Grand Sole Hotel are both closed and slated for redevelopment at some point.

2019 tourism stats: 10.9 million Chinese. 14 million from other Asian countries. So, not just exclusively Chinese.

Not everyone over 60 got AZ. I was scheduled for AZ but ended up with Sinovac when the AZ fell short. The day I was vaxxed there were others over 60, Thai and farang, also getting Sinovac, the only choice available.

So, to sum up, the Phuket Sandbox generated 'low numbers' and 'low income' but was 'clearly something that worked' and should be followed elsewhere. Hmm. In my book low numbers and low income are clearly pointing to something not working. Back to the drawing board and here's a hint: Keep it simple.

I try not to be bored and try to stay busy. My partner and I are renovating a house and we are at the moving-in stage. First house we have ever owned after always living in condos. I suspect a house will keep us busy--with breaks to enjoy the pool, gym equipment, and ping pong. Next up is buying bicycles to enjoy the bike path near our house. I like reading suspense and mystery novels and discovering interesting international tv shows on Netflix entertains me in the evening. (Recently liked 'Lupin', 'Are You Human?', 'Call My Agent', 'It's Okay to Not be Okay', 'The Empress Ki', 'Queen of the South', and 'Wanted', among other Netflix offerings.)

I selected the second choice but I didn't like any of the choices. I would have liked something like: 'Thailand needs tourism and should open up with no quarantine to fully vaccinated tourists' as another choice.

Today's "Look we're doing something!!!" news blurb.

'...pulling out all the stops...' Hardly. Sounds like a complete waste of time. How's a Thai embassy going to procure millions of vaccines? Maybe they will manage a donation of a few thousand here and there--and we will get another news story. The millions of vaccines should have been ordered months ago--and not by the foreign ministry but the health ministry. Just another news blurb in the never ending 'pretend we are doing something' exercise.

I would not pay 140,000 a sqm for any condo in Pattaya--or Bangkok, for that matter. Very nice condos in good projects are available in both cities for much less than 140,000 baht a sqm. You certainly can pay 140,000 baht if you wish--and much more than that--but you don't need to. A couple years ago the Edge project in central Pattaya was in pre-sale. I think the price per sqm averaged around 180,000 baht. Some thought that was a good deal but I couldn't see it. You try to buy low with pre-sales and make a profit when the price goes up when the project is done. My thinking was that at 180,000 baht there was nowhere to go but down. Did a check on Hipflat and sure enough, there are units listed for 200,000 baht and more a sqm. One is at 221,000. For small condos of around 27 to 30sqm, most with no balconies. The pre-buyers at 180,000 a sqm are now trying to sell at 200,000 baht a sqm and make a profit. Good luck with that. Two fairly new and not very different projects in the same location, The Base and Grand Avenue, are at 109,000 and 71,000 baht a sqm.

There seems to be the perception that fewer western tourists were visiting Thailand, pre-covid. In reality, of the countries tracked, only Singapore and Australia had slight declines. Perhaps it seemed there were fewer because of all the Asian visitors--maybe the westerners were getting lost in the crowd. In 2019, 24 million of the nearly 40 million visitors were from Asian countries. Perhaps there actually are fewer western tourists of your ilk--who remember Thailand of the 80s and 90s and now find it wanting--but those types who have stopped coming are apparently being replaced by others since the overall numbers weren't dropping except for the two countries I mentioned.

Should have been done 6 months ago--we might have some results now. Instead, they have just started talking to each other. The dreaded '... have discussed...' reared its ugly head in the article. So, just more talk, talk, talk at this point. Just another news blurb trying to make it look like they are doing something. Look at us! We're 'discussing'!!! Less discussing, more actual procuring of good vaccines.

I agree. People definitely are tired of staying home and are ready to travel--I know my partner and I are. Saw an interesting statistic the other day. Florida welcomed 30 million visitors in the April-June period this year. That is only slightly less than the numbers for the same time period, pre-covid. People were traveling to Florida even with covid still raging; once it's under control and international travel opens up, Thailand will again attract the visitors that made it a popular, and growing, tourist destination.

Actually, Pattaya was also getting lots of the same Russian families you describe, pre-covid. They were scattered all over Pattaya--in Wong Amat, Jomtien, Pratamnuk, Cosy Beach, etc. Many my partner and I saw were extended families--with grandma and grandpa in tow. They were definitely the most prominent western group when we lived on the beach corridor in Wong Amat.

The shade trees are creating too much work for the sweepers? What a crock. The walkways need to be swept anyway. The real work is maintaining all the palm trees--seems like work crews are out often chopping off and collecting all the dead fronds. Likely a lucrative contract for someone.

I don't think there is a 'typical' fee--estates and the work involved can vary so much; some family members named as executor will do the work with little or no compensation. The fee could be a percentage of the value of the estate or a set fee agreed upon by the parties and written into the will.

Yes, very out of touch. Malaysia and Thailand both seem hell-bent on formulating new policies to only attract high roller millionaires. It seems they would rather bring in 1 millionaire retiree rather than 100 normal retirees on average retirement pensions. I guess they are thinking that 1 millionaire retiree will somehow be more beneficial than 100 regular retirees. What they forget--and where they are out of touch with reality--is taking the local economy into consideration, and the local, everyday workers trying to scratch out a living. One millionaire retiree coming to town means 1 barber or hair stylist gets 1 customer every week or so. 100 normal retirees also need hair services and will provide more benefit to the local economy. Those 100 normal retirees will also eat out more than the 1 millionaire; will buy or rent more houses and condos; will buy more vehicles, furniture, electronics, etc.; and will hire more maids, gardeners, pool cleaners, handymen, and other service workers. There is nothing wrong with trying to attract some high rollers with a special visa category. But, in tandem with that, there should be good visa choices, with reasonable financial requirements, for regular retirees, as well. With covid still raging, both countries should be going in the other direction--looking at ways to streamline and relax requirements to both retain and attract more regular retirees--who contribute a lot to local economies.

A Thai lawyer preparing a will is only the executor of the will if that is specifically written into the will. Normally, the executor is often a family member--spouse, son, daughter, etc. Being an executor is not something to be taken lightly--there can be a lot of work--and paperwork--involved. A Thai lawyer certainly can be an executor but it should be clearly stated in the will, with monetary compensation also written into the will for the work involved. 5000 baht normally would only cover the preparation of a will, not the work involved in being an executor.

Apparently the Malaysian government is even more clueless than the Thai government. I don't think anybody I know, including myself, could meet a monthly income requirement of US $9400. And, if I could, I likely would be somewhere other than Malaysia--something Malaysia should be considering with totally unrealistic requirements such as this.

Not just Chinese. 2019 stats: almost 40 million. Of that figure, 10.9 million were Chinese. But, 14 million were tourists from other Asian countries. Combined, 24 million. Western tourists were still coming and not in decline--only Australia showed a slight drop in numbers--but tourists from Asian countries were in the majority.

If the SVT (or is it STV???) and the Sandbox schemes had actually been 'well received' Thailand would be seeing far more than just 150,000 visitors. In reality, with both schemes the numerous and complex hoops to jump through were way too much for most.