BangkokReady

He was showing them off? Sounds more like he was flashing.

Even if that was true, surely the fact that we have less money out of the EU than we did in it answers that question?

Anything to back this up?

Based on the outfit, he looks almost like he's cosplaying as a Hollywood bad guy. Perhaps he's a bit unhinged and simply went to Thailand and thought he could get himself a gun and some drugs, slip on an animal print suit, and suddenly Ocean's 11 was real life.

He looks like he just walked off the set of a Vegas gangster/heist movie. I thought people were a little more "low profile" in real life.

Cripes. Will the last one out please turn the light off!!!

I think we're moving away from the original topic which was something like people who stay in Thailand for a year, but don't spend masses of money. They don't necessarily have to be boozing mongers, although they might do some of that. I was thinking it was more like backpackers or "gap-year" type travellers who have saved up some money/work a little online, that stay in Thailand for a significant period of time and don't spend like a high-value tourist, but rather a 20-30k a month "getting by" type of person. They could be living in the provinces, in a Bangkok suburb, or a tourist town. But they aren't necessarily brining down the tone of the area that they are in. Once you move over to wanting to change a tourist town from being about cheap prostitutes and booze, to high value tourism, I think the goal posts of the discussion have shifted too much. IMO. I don't think a foreigner who stays in Thailand for a year, by various visa means, living off savings, in a small apartment, perhaps with a Thai girlfriend, is going to drive high-value tourists away.

But we're talking about additional income, rather than a choice, why would people not want the additional income on top of what comes from the higher spending tourists? It's fine to say "We would rather have tourists that come and spend 100k in two weeks, than travellers who spend 30k a month", but why would anyone say they don't want that additional income on top of the "high value tourists"? Travellers don't prevent holiday makers from accessing 5-star hotels while paying 2-star rates. They're staying in different places buying different things. Their income makes a difference to the businesses in those areas and to the wider economy of Thailand.

Sure. Thailand's economy was fine without foreign tourism. /s ????

That Thailand's economy needs foreign tourists to survive. Or have you really not been following the news for the past two or three years?

Not joking at all. Thailand of course needs as many people visiting as possible. Money is money. People renting out rooms for 1000 baht a day and selling street food want that extra 1000/300 baht that they get from anyone. We saw how Thailand fared during covid, so it's ridiculous to claim otherwise. It isn't a choice between one or the other. The obvious preference would be to have both! The idea that businesses would say "we don't need any foreign customers, we have enough locals visiting already" is simply farcical, as proven by covid. I'm not sure how anyone could think that, other than bat-sh*t crazy foreigners or out of touch hisos who feel that Thailand's need for foreign tourists somehow makes Thailand look bad and therefore makes them look bad.

I think a lot of people do, some just like to pretend to only want the elusive "high-quality tourist" to gain face. In reality, the gap-year thrill seeker's and crusty backpacker's money is as green as anyone else's. They're renting apartments, they're buying food every day, paying those women to have sex with them, etc.. They're like a welfare stimulus cheque. If they didn't want young people "going travelling" for a year in Thailand, they could stop it very easily.

While I'm sure it's possible to say that this group exists, to say that anyone who criticises the police in Thailand is a "Thai basher" is ridiculous. Are you concerned that they are monitoring this website and logging IP addresses, or do you genuinely believe that the Thai police are not very often deserving of criticism?

They were probably included under "staff".

As they should, given the vast differences between the exposure to and importance of the languages in the lives of each group. Thais study English from kindergarten/primary school and it can make a real difference to them throughout their entire education/careers/lives. Foreigners don't typically encounter Thai until they choose to retire to Thailand and can generally make do without it. ????‍♂️

After Thailand changes into a country that facilitates one.

What a boob.

Probably a law saying that you need to be authorised and licenced to produce medical supplies that go inside people's bodies.

No, no. The elite highly educated Thais represent the "real Thailand". The unwashed masses do not. /s ????

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's those who are only hanging around high-class educated Thais who are in fact not experiencing the "real" Thailand. They experience a very nice "ideal" version of Thailand, but given that that is a minority version, it cannot really be claimed to be the "real" one.

I don't think they would, or at least not once they realise that an end to police corruption means an end to much of the corruption that they enjoy every day.

I'm happy for you, but I'm not sure I could just blow that much partying in a weekend knowing how many very poor people there are in Thailand. Obviously it's your money to spend how you wish, but in terms of "waxing" it with nothing much to show for it, I'm not sure I could simply waste that much like that.

Unfortunately Thailand has been protected from price increases for a long time. Food prices had to go up relatively recently for the first time in many years. Imagine what it would be like to go up again so soon? Thai people would suddenly have to face a living situation like the rest of the world. Food going up every six months to a year. Fuel costs going up several times a year. Alcohol and tobacco duty going up considerably once a year. It seems like maybe tourism contributed a lot to the subsidisation of Thai people's daily lives, and two years of covid closure has emptied the coffers. Now Thailand is suddenly looking at a pretty serious situation. It's obviously going to hit poorer people harder. I wonder if suddenly the corruption that has been enjoyed by so many for so long will no longer be tolerated. If the general populace isn't being kept happy, they might become quite upset. "Mai bpen rai" might become a thing of the past.

Do Thai people expect the government to simply subsidise everything for everyone? Who pays for all of this?