DonniePeverley

Didn't Trump's own Vice President say some unsavoury stuff too.

Thailands tourism tactics - forget the enviromental disaster, just get in as many people as we can.

Thailand is well and truly become a state of China. The bullet train initiative that is only useful to flood Thailand with products from China, etc Leaders have no idea what is going on, or are complicit.

My own friends and colleagues. Females walking around Pattaya, around restaurants, enjoying the beach ... approached by a constant barage of Indian men thinking they are prostitutes.

There are many nations that stick to Quality tourism, and keep their tourism geared towards quality high spenders and not mass cheap tourism. This year i'm going to Barbados. It sticks to quality tourism, and has a high threshold to stamp out the cheap riff raff. It's a quality destination, with very high spending visitors. Now Barbados, Aruba, etc aren't rich countries. But they have improved their tourist infrustructure (routed out all corruption, high quality hotels with strict controls, food standards that match those in the west (no dodgy bellys here) and they are rewarded. Thailand should be diversifying it's economy. It has been told after each generation it needs to stop the reliance on cheap mass tourism. It's short termism. All that happens is you addict the local population into these low paid jobs. Look at Vietnam, Malaysia ... neighbouring countries who have ensured their economies are diverse, and not reliant on mass tourism. If Thailand can hook itself of it's mass tourism addiction, it would force it's population into other avenues of employment. Thailand is such a beautiful country, with a great history that it could easily improve the standards to adjust to quality high spend tourism. However, this move into opening the flood gates for Indians is going to be an utter disaster. Even countries that relaxed rules for Indians, had to quickly tighten up the visa processes as the system was being abused for over staying, and the quality of tourists was horrific. But nope ... it's short termism. MASS CHEAP TOURISM.

I'd question that stat with pinch of salt. If you look at what Thailand projects income from indian tourists (which is a big estimate), then compare it with visitor numbers it would be one of the lowest per person spend.

This is a flat out lie. Indians are not even in the top ten spenders per person in India. They are infact one of the lowest, per person. The GDP per person in India, is 3 times lower than Thailands. No other country has offered a comprehensive visa free arrival for indian citizens. For the main reason ... poor behaviour, low spenders, and third the perpetuance to start living and working illegally in that country. Thailand are unfortunately looking at the final total number. The way they are fixated on total number of visitors, they are seeing income from Indian tourists, without realising the pressure they are putting on public resources (transport, roads, etc).

https://thepattayanews.com/2024/10/18/indian-tourists-spark-outrage-for-littering-into-sea-at-north-pattaya-beach-ignoring-warning/

The men view every single lady as a prostitute. They are literally addicted to red light zones. Pattaya is now 75% Indians. Walking Street is full on Indian. You never see them in malls though spending.

Beyond stupidity. The mantra of quality tourism has now been thrown out the window in favour of complete mass tourism - and the enviromental impact that creates, as well turning away quality high spending tourists. Indian tourists spend very little per person, compared to other nations. They will come in mass, creating more pressure on local infrustructure, which is already crumbling. India offers no free visa for Thai citizens. Indians behaviours, especially their addiction in red light areas is alarming.

I used to like John Oliver ... but he's seemed to have really lost the plot. Getting emotionally upset at the prospect of a Trump presidency is utterly insane. It's this wild hyperbole drama like this that turns many people towards Trump. Harris has barely been tested. She's a seasoned polished politician who can navigate (and not answer) questions. Trump is pretty much an open book. In some ways it's refreshing to see. The unfortunate thing about Trump and those who support him, is they are far too right wing for my liking, and that leads to some of his supporters feeling it's acceptable to be racist. And that i cannot support.

In what way ?

John Oliver getting emotional at the horrific thought of a Trump presidency is utterly insane. He was president for 4 years and it was literally the same old <deleted>, nothing new. If anything there were less wars around. Things these days seem more sinsister and underhand.

It's not really about the massage place, but the messuse. I've been to some fancy places and clearly the massesue is knackered or doesn't give a crap. I've also been to some lower backstreet places where i have had the type of massages that sends you into relaxation heaven, and to that sleepy point.

My estate agent says the visa is a trap to bring you into the tax bracket

Needs stricter controls. Too many Indians abusing this. You can't literally allow people to live here without any form of income check - the current system is open to abuse with the income statements needed.

Very bad news for the Thai population. When property in a developing nation is being used as investment for foreigners - prices will surge for locals, in a nation where not everyone is doing well. Disgraceful and all protectionisms Thai's have had in the past has been slowly and rather quietly been thrown out the window.

Not correct. This is for visas. The OP already has a visa. He would only have needed a stamp. But even if you went by that page for a visa, he still only needed one page.

You are correct in stating Sri Lanka do not require two blank pages of your passport. This over zealous official, must assume the two page requirement is a blanket rule for all destinations. The problem with these Low cost carriers is they are very hard to pin down or have an effective complaints procedure - primarily as they have little competition or can't afford to deal with issues.

These will be needed for the low paid labour.

Are the red busses public or private? Because they spew black smoke massively. Vehicle emissions on the ground is just horrific here.

I wonder if they've let local governors know this - as most are on a mission to ban local street food and force everyone to eat KFC/s

It's an Americanisation that is annoying. It's clearly deceptive. It's banned in the UK and the EU for that reason. America is a nightmare as they add on tax on things you buy in a supermarket too !!!

Horrific news. Indians are turning away high spending tourists. I mean this literally ... we had some female friends who regularly go to Pattaya once every few months for a weekend break. Never again. The place has turned into India, and the Indian men are aggressive and assume every woman is a prostitute. It's ruined tourism there, not added to it. If you look at an arbitary figure and become obsessed with adding more people then go for it, but what happened to quality tourism and high spending tourism? It's an enviromental disaster letting so many in. No other country has given Indians a free pass to enter. It's a growing power, but GDP per person is one of the lowest in the world.

THIS. Adding a a service charge (tip) automatically disensitivises any quality in the service.