newnative

Possibly true of other areas but, pre-covid, Pattaya had become busy year-round, with the large influx of Asian tourists who were traveling year-round, not just during the winter months. These numbers, from China, India, and the rest of Asia, dwarfed the numbers from Europe and North America. Also adding numbers, the increasing visitors from Bangkok on weekends, coming to their getaway condos. There was no longer a 'low season' and a 'high season'. Instead it was more 'busy season' and 'busier season'.

I agree. Thailand had around 11 million tourists in 2022. Pattaya seemed quite busy in the latter half of the year and there were lots of traffic jams. The road system as currently configured, with curb parking still offered on the major roads, just can no longer handle the increasing amount of traffic, especially on weekends when all the Bangkokians come to town. My partner and I have rearranged our routine to try not to be in the congested areas on weekends or when special events are going on but even during the week some areas are traffic-clogged. The city has been doing drainage work all over town and, while needed, adds no lanes and does nothing to alleviate the traffic jams. Pattaya remains with too few traffic lanes to handle the ever-increasing traffic as it continues to rapidly grow. Meanwhile, the clueless city added a parking lane to Beach Road, making that road even more traffic-clogged, with one fewer traffic lanes. Of the three underpasses planned for Sukhumvit Road, only one has been built. So, that's the situation at 11 million. What's it going to be at 20 million? Or if Thailand gets back to 40 million at some point?

And, plenty of land for all of that.

Total a-hole whether drunk or not.

I saw one of the surviving, horribly burned and scarred victims on tv the other day. No amount of money would compensate but it certainly should be more than this woefully inadequate, miserly amount.

Hopefully the two Ps and Anutin will all split the clueless vote and allow a Move Forward candidate with hopefully some new ideas and energy to win as PM. Is it too soon for the new mayor of Bangkok to run?

If you use 2019 tourist numbers and spending stats, he would not be far wrong.

Incorrect statement.

The majority of the Chinese visiting Thailand were not in tour groups in 2019.

I can't think of too many regular businesses on Beach Road that have closed but I'm sure there are some. Most, if not all, of the big hotels are open, D-Beach Hotel added a third highrise wing. A-01 Hotel has re-did it's beach frontage outdoor space. One of the beach-adjacent hotels has opened a roof top 2-tier restaurant/night spot called Virgin Pattaya. Beach Quarters restaurant opened by Amari. An old building on Beach Road near A-01 was torn down and a nice, new coffee shop has opened in the space.

This is a persistent myth that is false and with no basis in fact. In 2019, the majority of Chinese tourists were independent travelers and not in tour groups, budget or otherwise. Whether traveling independently or in a tour, they spent over 500 billion baht in Thailand, the most of any country, and most of that was not spent in 'chinese owned hotels, restaurants, and chinese owned shops'.

The majority of Chinese tourists in 2019 were independent travelers, not in tour groups. Whether traveling independently or in groups, they spent over 500 billion baht in Thailand--not exactly 'zero dollar'--and more than any other country.

Some of those tour groups may have been from Taiwan. My partner and I ran into several tour groups from Taiwan on our December trip to Europe.

I think those last two requirements involving the airlines are non-starters.

I think those last two requirements involving the airlines are non-starters.

Exactly!

Explaining how something is done is not 'advising'. The pros and cons of using company ownership have been debated extensively on the Forum. Feel free to draw your own conclusions.

I post experiences I have had buying and selling property as a buyer and a seller, not as an agent. For example, from past experience, I have said I would not buy off-plan except from a large, well-financed, experienced developer with an excellent track record of completing projects. I posted that as a buyer, not as an agent, and from experience. Readers are welcome to take that however they want--or avoid my posts completely. It's the same for whatever else I post that is real estate oriented--it's based on my and my partner's experiences buying and selling 20-some properties here. Feel free to ignore, disregard, or skip the posts.

Well, I do know what it's like having vacationed there several times. It's certainly pleasant and I'm not knocking it. I, however, prefer Pattaya--for a variety of reasons, none of which involve the nightlife.

Right, and my post was in response to someone claiming Thailand can be more expensive due to a certain brand of water being cheaper in Europe. Although the main thrust of the thread is focused on Chinese, I don't think it's too off topic to show that other nationalities can find Thailand to be a bargain in comparison, as well. I tell you in my earlier post that Myrtle Beach is in the USA--probably should have said SC stands for the state of South Carolina.

I have no desire to live in either Shanghai or Beijing so I have no need to compare. As an American, I could see myself living in Myrtle Beach--but I'm happy in Pattaya and it's 3 times cheaper.

You can always find this or that product which is cheaper in one country than another country. You've found a brand of water that is more expensive in Thailand. Safeway, in the USA, offers two brands of fish sauce. One costs $5.79 and the other is $8.49. You can buy a bottle of fish sauce at Big C for 33 baht, about a dollar. So, we have a brand of water that's cheaper in Europe and fish sauce that's more expensive in the US. Is either meaningful? No. It's more important to look at the big picture and focus on a wide range of everyday expenses when a comparison is done. I was just on a website--livingcost.org--that allowed me to type in two cities and compare the cost of living. I live in the beach city of Pattaya and I compared the cost of living to the beach city of Myrtle, Beach SC, in the US. The cost of living in Myrtle Beach was 3 times higher than Pattaya. That's a meaningful number, far more important than a small saving on a certain brand of bottled water.

Agree--never asked for when my partner and I visited Phuket, Chang, Samui, Hua Hin, and a number of other places.

As always, way too slow on everything. Whatever happened to gay marriage?

Buh bye bye