newnative

Helpful but relax the foreign quota while you're at it.

Let her work off her annoyance with some serious jail time to go with attempted murder.

Delusional. Change 'entice' to 'eliminate' in the headline.

The things Bangkokians like are open. The malls, the beach, the beachside seafood restaurants, the big hotels in north Pattaya and Wong Amat, the seafood market at Naklua. And, their Pattaya getaway condos. North Pattaya Road was jammed when we were on it with a long line of cars waiting to get in to T21.

That's the fun part of going to IKEA--wandering through the vast store. They do a wonderful job with their displays, their model room settings, their merchandising. There's always something new or seasonal to keep your interest. When we go my partner and I usually spend several hours or more, with a break for lunch at their restaurant. Always an enjoyable outing for us.

Well said. Thank you.

I think he's under the impression that the plane flies faster in 1st class than it does back in steerage.

The problem with your post is you're not the typical tourist--you're a long-term resident. I imagine someone living in Orlando might be wailing your same lament. "If I have to take one more relative or visiting friend to Disney I'm going to slit my throat with a dull knife." The tourist sites no longer hold any fascination for you but most tourists will enjoy the places you mentioned--and others. After all this time you've likely forgotten how interesting Thailand was on your very first visit. Think back. I know for me it was all new and fascinating--and it still is when I visit places I haven't been to before. That's the way it is for most first-time tourists. Most tourists do 'one and done' tours. Many have a bucket list of places they want to see--once-- before they die. My 4 sisters visited me in 2017 and we toured places in Thailand and we also took a side trip to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. They had a wonderful time--including at Nong Nooch Gardens and Sanctuary of Truth. Will any of them ever go back to Angkor Wat? Not likely. Nong Nooch Gardens or the other places they saw here? No. Instead, it's on to the next item on their travel bucket lists--and we've all lost nearly two years of international travel with covid.

70% of the tourists were not coming from China, pre-covid. In 2019, there were about 40 million arrivals. A little less than 11 million were from China.

I know tourist numbers are low but next time maybe put an 's' on 'tourist' in the headline. Reading the headline, I thought the plane arrived with just 1 passenger.

Nobody's booking flights because Thailand's travel policy is an utter mess.

I disagree. Plenty of Thais did not lose their jobs. My Bangkok Thai relatives all kept their jobs, as have all my Thai friends, none in the tourist industry. Plus, they have been working from home and not going out much so they've saved even more than usual. They usually take 1 international trip a year and they've saved on that, too. I'm not saying that there aren't lots that are hurting but there's also a large middle class segment that will be able to take some domestic trips.

Well, in the other headline article, airlines have returned 80% of their landing slots. Since international travelers are only allowed to arrive by air, that means few will be coming in the next few months. Not that many would have been coming anyway with the hoops still too numerous and too high. On the plus side, it gives Thailand plenty of time to do more vaccinations and tweak the travel requirements. And, by tweak I mean eliminate everything except vaccination.

Actually, the western market was not 'dwindling the last few years. pre covid'. That is a misconception. Only one 'western' country, of those with numbers large enough to bother tracking, had slightly fewer visitors to Thailand. That was Australia. Singapore was also slightly less. For the rest, the numbers were mostly slightly up. Thailand was not gaining huge increases in western tourists like it was with Asian visitors but the numbers were not 'dwindling'. This myth of the dwindling western tourist is likely a perception issue. In 2010 you looked into a crowd and maybe saw more westerners than Asians. In 2020 you looked into a crowd and saw the reverse. Although the numbers had not actually dwindled, westerners were perhaps being lost in the crowd. Numbers specific to Pattaya are difficult to find but I suspect it is also likely a perception issue when people think western tourists to Pattaya were also dwindling. Instead, Pattaya has expanded tremendously in the past few years. Rather than dwindling, those western tourists are simply spread out in all the new places that have opened. That includes many new bars and restaurants in different areas, new tourist attractions, using Airbnb to rent condo rooms in all the new condo projects all over the place rather than hotel rooms, and two big retail behemoths rather than 1 with the arrival of T21.

Nearly 40 million tourists chose to visit and see Thailand in 2019. The only thing that stopped them in 2020 was covid--not 'scams' or 'negative reports'. I suspect Thailand will remain popular while Vietnam becomes more popular as it opens up to tourism. I frankly hope Thailand plateaus at around 40 million tourists. There can be too much of a good thing--as places like Venice have found. They may not all use it for 'long distance' but, obviously, quite a few tourists, both domestic and foreign, use land transport to get to tourist destinations all over Thailand. A good highway to get them to ___________(fill in tourist attraction) is a plus. Dubai just built the tallest ferris wheel in the World. I still want to visit and see Spain.

You're missing my point. If someone wants to visit Thailand, they will. If they don't, they won't. Nearly 40 million wanted to in 2019. Someone visiting Thailand has little to do with what Vietnam is 'building'. I want to visit Spain--and my decision has nothing to do with France next door possibly building something 'bigger and better.' As I said in my post, there are enough potential tourists for both Thailand and Vietnam. One thing Thailand has been doing is building an excellent road system. I'm always impressed when we drive to CM and I was equally impressed with the highways when we drove to Phuket and other points in the south. And, to other areas as well. As an American, the last time I was in the US I was totally unimpressed with the roads--no wonder they are trying to pass a desperately needed infrastructure bill.

Totally agree. Much better than the horrors in the US. And, let's not even talk about Europe--where it's sometimes a challenge to even find a toilet.

Tourists in normal times will keep coming in healthy numbers, as they did in 2019, because, as you say, 'Thailand is Thailand'. They were coming in record numbers to see Thailand, and not just a tourist attraction a country has built. Not that there's anything wrong with building a tourist attraction. But, Vietnam building a tourist attraction is not going to stop people from wanting to visit and see Thailand. France has Disneyland Paris. I still want to visit and see Spain. Vietnam apparently had a big increase in tourists in 2019. That didn't stop record numbers from visiting Thailand that same year--nearly 40 million. In normal times, there are enough tourists to go around. Both countries are fortunate to be sitting close to large population countries a short plane ride away--with many citizens who did not have the means to travel until now. Not to mention a number of other Asian countries with citizens now having enough money to take a trip somewhere. Over 4 million tourists from Malaysia visited Thailand in 2019, for example. That's more than from the UK, Germany, France, and the US combined. If we ever get back to some semblance of normal both countries should be able to count on a steady stream of Asian tourists, and others.

You make some good points. However, I'm not sure I agree with your statement regarding 'our sons and daughters' envying us as they will not be part of any future golden generation. I think, as with a lot of things, it depends. I am a baby boomer. I, and my 5 siblings, and many other boomers. were lucky to have parents from 'The Greatest Generation'. My parents grew up in the Great Depression and it never really left them. Their entire lives they were thrifty. My Mom saved wrapping paper and bows--and a lot of other stuff--long after she had a need to; it was a running joke in our family at Christmas. "Save the bows!" My Dad kept meticulous monthly expenditure records, accounting for just about every dime spent. I think with many of this generation, it was just in their nature, waste not, want not. They were well-off in retirement and could have 'lived large', as they say, but they didn't. My Dad often joked when we were growing up that he could have bought a new Cadillac every other year if they hadn't had 6 kids. (Always saying no regrets, though.) But, with the kids all grown and plenty of money to actually buy a Cadillac, he never did. A parade of Fords, Chevys, and finally Buicks suited just fine. Now to my point. Being thrifty, owning property, and investing wisely my parents left a fair amount to us kids--even split 6 ways. Being boomers, and part of your 'golden generation', my siblings with children have both the money they have accumulated on their own and the money they have inherited from our parents. They are all in their 60s and 70s and their kids will, at some point, likely be inheriting sizeable sums--with two generations of money passed down to them. In my view, they're looking pretty 'golden', too.

We've been buying LG smart tvs. My partner likes the 'magic remote', which apparently makes it easier to navigate different functions.

I got 2 shots of Sinovac at Pattaya City Hospital, the second July 5. Registered with pink card and Mor Phrom app (well, Thai partner did). Got booster AZ a couple weeks ago at a school in Naklua near the government center. Partner got a message from the app. I think they are doing the boosters by date--earliest with the first 2 shots going first. Maybe keep checking with your hospital.

Umm. Just a couple months too late to be considering the 'full details' of reopening.

Headline should say 'killed' rather than 'attacked'.

I was able to do on-line once and I know I am doing it correctly. Then, the time before last it didn't work. Did in-person and the IO made a change to my address. I thought that might have been the problem but when I tried on-line again this time I didn't get past the first page--message to contact the office. Did in-person once again and I asked about the on-line not working. IO muttered something about the computer not working. This was Jomtien Immigration.

6 conditions too many. Just be fully-vaxxed.