DonniePeverley

There will be no 'about turn' .... they are committed to mass tourism, and to hell with the experience or enjoyment. You are going to see visitor numbers from India shoot up especially, and many will come to seek some employment. Indian economy is much less than Thailand, and many will seek an opportunity to come here and work. I can't literally believe only a few months ago Indians could only stay for 14 days, visa on arrival, and had to show savings evidence ... to now being given 2 months, and more with no need for any visa! There was a reason Malaysia back tracked on opening up to Indians due to the volume of overstays.

Disgusting mass tourism here we come. As citizens of other countries fight back against mass tourism, Thailand does the reverse. Totally disgusting. Low quality mass tourism here we come.

The Thai economy is a very delicate system. This will push rents up for many local Thai's. If that happens, workers will demand more wages. More wages means prices pushed onto the consumer, and a reduction in workers. At the moment labour is plentiful in Thailand, as locals can by and large afford housing, even in central Bangkok. As a result you have a pretty content population. You mess with this eco system at your peril.

Mass protests today in Barcelona over mass tourism. Joins Japan, Italy, Southern France, Some UK cities, Portugal, and Spanish islands pushing back against wreckless mass tourism. Firmly believe we will see this kind of anger amongst Thai's in the coming years. https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c0dm9w2ey7po

Phuket has just become so over developed. It's no longer some idylic island type paradise. The constant development is outrageous and just wrong, especially when the whole point of the place is the mass tourism it brings. It's been wrecked. It's basically now turning into a metropolis city with a beach. And with the leaders keen on pushing even more and more cheap mass tourism to the island i am seeing more and more moving. It's soul destroying in the evenings trying to get somewhere. Same with other areas of Thailand. Same old mass tourism being pushed. Most of my mates this year usually come to Thailand for their winter breaks, but all heading to the Caribbean, eg Barbados, Aruba, type islands. Every single one of them could not deal with the mass tourism they faced. There was simply no need to open up to literally the world without any limits. I doubt anyone in Thailand cares or has any long term vision - they only barometer that is looked upon is the number of visitors, not the quality of tourist spend. So you end up turning away 'quality tourists' and then you commence talk of the ecological damage that mass tourism brings.

Bizarre comment, as tourism is through the roof in Thailand at the moment. It may well actually be number 1 this year. Problem is they are attracting very cheap tourists from China and India, which in turn is putting of high spending tourists from 'better' regions.

Susssh because bad news is not good news for tourism ( c ) Thailand

You know what this means - beggin more tourists to come. Next stop Afghanistan, Iran and Syrian tourists all welcome

Oh great just what we need ... more Chinese tourists.

Never chose a female agent.

Because it sits next to a nation where the population is desperate to hide their money.

Utter nonsense. Singapore has a population of 6 million (compared to Thailand's 70 million), and took the British laws left in place with some strong leadership to make a success - mainly a financial centre where the local Chinese could hide their money. You simply cannot compare it to Thailand. Malaysia was in the pits like Thailand (with half the population) - however it did have established industries and a workforce that the British set up during colonialism, and then oil / Petrons has taken it to another level.

Historically Thailand has always protected it's population from outside capitalism. But recent measures seem to me anyways abandoning that - first we are set on the path for extreme mass tourism, which will harm the way of life. See how locals in Japan, and many European countries are fighting back against mass tourism as their local towns are desimated. Then we have new rules outlining foreigners maybe allowed to stay longer - which as seen by the Russians will drive up prices and push locals out. Now we have the latest measures. You already know what's going to happen. It's been a disgraceful few months, and i'm quite surprised there's been no push back in the political circles.

I don't know much about him - but what are his policies and say his stance on Nana PLaza and Soi Cowboy ?

It's completely out of control at the moment. A mixture of Thai's operating a very soft approach and visitors taking advantage of the hospitality. I blame Russians, Brexit loving British types, and out of control Indians.

Attract cheap mass tourists then wonder why high spending tourists have gone elsewhere. Their Thai solution is clearly going to be allow even more tourists to enter. I predict an open door policy for Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq coming up to bolster even more tourists number higher.

Give me a break with this one

You are kidding me aren't you ? There is no justification for those busses. I have travelled in the depths of Africa, and not a single bus there emits black smoke like the ones they have here. They've turned alot of the busses into electric, and some are clearly much cleaner, but the big dangerous red ones are brutal if you get stuck behind one.

They still have the dangerous red busses out there emitting black smoke !!!! GET RID OF THEM FIRST !!!!

They will smash over 40 million visitors this year. Mass cheap tourism, which will inflict an ecological damage to the country. The chase for 'quality tourism' has gone. Instead the new mantra is just let everyone in and stay. Disgraceful.

I am not shocked the prime minster is a real estate tycoon. It can explain the changes to visiting, mass tourism and the new home owning rules. There seems little regard to the local population (which Thailand has always done).

Mass cheap tourism from China and India turns away high spending tourists from 'higher spending regions'. Thailand looks at one sole number - volume of tourists. It does not look at other factors like 'quality tourists' who will spend more. What happened to quality tourism by the way ? Mass tourism is not only an enviromental disaster, but it turns away tourists to other regions. For the first time i've decided not to travel to Phuket this winter, and head to the Caribbean where things are still pretty much elite. Why would i want to holiday surrounded by a few hundred Indian tourists who are on holiday for their first time and still struggling to adapt to behaving with decorum that we take for granted, or having to share a buffer breakfast with Chinese tourists who will stamp on your head to empty the buffet all on one plate.

One tanglible benefit of Brexit please? My sister used to export easily to Europe. No longer. She now has to fill massive forms to get products into that market, and furthermore to import things she needs. It's ridiculous. No other country puts up barriers up to trade because the population has racists.

Not really, just like the asylum seekers you complain about - many 'immigrants' (the term expat is highly offensive) also game the system with visa runs, etc

Before Brexit, if an asylum application was refused, you could send them straight back to France as being part of the EU meant we had that deal in place. Why do you think this asylum number has become a major issue now? It's because we can now not send them back. That is why we are now scrambling around looking for other countries like Rawanda - which is a mess in itself. Secondly, under Labour asylum applications used to be done in a few weeks. Why is it now taking over a year? Theoretically, you could do an ayslum case in a couple of days (even in a day if you wanted to be tough). Personally, i think the Tory's may have thought this type of electrioneering rhetoric against immigration would work in their benefit. If anything it has completely backfired, because they have failed to deliver. The Tory party works best when they stay in the centre right of the political ground. A balanced explanation why some immigration benefits the country, whilst illegal immigration and huge numbers should not be tolerated. Instead they have become so fearful of Farage, Brexit Party, UkIP, that they veered harsh to the far right and we had a catastrophic Brexit. They learnt nothing and did it again, and this time we could see the end of the party.