Christopher Albert

1 hour ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

I'm afraid that these are different times; years ago, long before 9/11 put paid to relaxed air travel and immigration requirements, and when tourism to the Kingdom was less than a fifth what it is today, the farang and his pension were tolerated, even welcomed. Now however, with the Chinese short-stay market seemingly limitless in scope for expansion, and other markets such as India still nascent, the Thai government and its absurd arm, the TAT, have an eye for bang-bang, quick in-and-out tourism, while extracting as much cash as possible as quickly as possible. This, coupled with tightening of visa regulations both here and worldwide, means that the real aspect of the famous Thai smile is being increasingly laid bare. Together with a resurgent nationalism, the feeling is often, as noted here and elsewhere, that we as a group are at the very least dispensable, if not downright unwelcome any more.

Sad, but I think true.

I think this is a sound analysis. The Chinese are #1 largest group of travelers in the world now, their numbers are legion and on the average far wealthier than anyone on a retirement visa. They dont come here to get married, or even invest in real estate like they do in Canada since Thailand is simply much less stable in comparison. There is a small percentage of business investment but nothing like the colonization of Laos or Vietnam. So short stay, big speed shopping trips = $ per visitor per day dwarfs what comes in from retirement visas which are not really that anayway since they dont lead to permanent residency. It might have seemed like a good idea when it started and did help build up the tourist industry but times have changed and the Chinese now rule that part of the world.