DonniePeverley

If it has it's own immigration desks, and manned - that can only be a positive.

And remember Heathrow is closed between 11pm and 6am

4 million arrivals in January. Airports the busiest i've ever seen them since time began. That would be on course to smash 50 million for the year. No hand breaks now with all visas fees waves for China and India. There seems to be a raft of online content creators who are pushing this 'move to Thailand' nonsense too. Particularly from the UK on TikTok. Flat out lies how anyone can just come to Thailand and work, the supposed cheapness of the country ( it isn't), and how easy it all is (it's not that easy), and how the UK is a dump. Funnily enough none of them are prepared to give up their UK citizenship though. I found it rather bizarre, until one of the guys on TikTok who pushes this whole narrative (it's cheap, move to Thailand), suddenly appeared at a mall event with officials talking about tourism. When he was asked if he was just promoting Thailand, he denied it. But it does feel slightly unusual and a whiff of adverts posing as 'amateurs'. Anyways tourism is back in a big way. We had a great few years with relative peace, but that's all over now.

There was simply no need to stop the visa fees for Chinese tourists. Tourism from China has resumed all around the world. In a blind panic and desperation they've invested billions into wiping away visa fees - when there was simply no need to in my opinions. 4 million tourists January - means we could be heading to 50 million tourists by the year end. That is just too much. That was a massive investment when you consider they also did the same for Indian tourists. Huge investments.

At the risk of running through 231 pages, can someone give me a brief synopsis of what is going on ?

You continue the problem by paying them 200 Baht or even attempting to negotiate a non meter fee. Just get out and don't use them.

These taxi drivers are rotten to the chore - they really ruin the reputation of this country.

But if you are in desperate need of a taxi, and the driver doesn't cancel - you are then unable to get a taxi. You have to cancel to try and find another driver.

They will reach those numbers, and probably some more. Tourism has bounced back around the world. They panicked and stopped visa fees for Chinese and Indians to give a boost, which was a stimulus that wasn't needed. If you cancel some 2000 Baht for nearly 15-20 million tourists that is a big massive investment. The only way you are going to even recoup that (and then some more) is by massively allowing millions more tourists to enter. Now effectively what you have done is remove all the levers that could sustain a level of tourism that the country can handle. There is no way they will reinstate visa fees for the Chinese again. You now have no levers to stop the masses coming in. The knee jerk decisions have been astonishing. You are already seeing many complaints from Phuket and some islands about the sheer volume of tourists. If you are going to open the gates to allow a free for all, then you need the infrustructure in place (roads, transport system being vital). At the moment Bangkok roads are a standstill. Phuket has zero public transport system, nor do the islands. The airports have seem massives queues. The vaunted BTS in Bangkok (although still great) has gone from seating, to removing many seats, to now everyone just stand up and get squashed in. You need to invest in the infrustructure like Singapore has to accomdate that many people, but sadly that is not going to happen here. So what you are going to get is 40-50 million tourists this year. Most will be low spenders, and most will have miserable experiences. And those who live here will suffer.

I have news for you - even the regular taxis on the street have fees to pay to use a taxi.

So they refuse to cancel themselves. Then kind of play a game a chicken to see if we cancel ? Knowing the mentality of Taxi drivers here they would rather sit and not accept any jobs rather than have to cancel.

We unfortunately got rinsed by our agent, who showed us a lovely condo - but deceptively failed to mention the school runs in the area are absolutely horrific. So whenever we attempt to order a grab, they will always accept it straight away, but then immediately call and message and tell us to cancel. Even if i attempt to book the premium grab, they just want to cancel. What is the glitch in the system that makes them accept the job in the first place? Then why can't they cancel it themselves? But no, they want me to cancel. Sometimes i give it ten minutes, and watch their cars sitting their stationary (they could have come to me in 5 mins), and they still don't cancel. The problem is as soon as you cancel, Grab then penalise me and add a fare onto the next attempt i make. With the taxi mafia now in full swing in Bangkok and rarely anyone using a meter, it's become ridiculous here.

Nothing will be done. Unless it hurts tourism. Apparently tourism is all that matters now

Did he inspect the taxi drivers refusing to use meters ?

concerns? They've literally been one of the most visited countries in the world last year. Why always a constant concern and panic ?

Obsessed with tourism. Horrific for locals.

I miss that General.

It's quite clear they have invested billions in waving Chinese and Indian visa fees, so they are going to pack in as many tourists as they can - regardless if they are quality or not. If you live in Thailand it means misery. This is what they want EVERYDAY They want Sukhuvit like this EVERYDAY

How many tourists will they be happy with ? 40 million? 50 million ? 100 milliom? They've removed all barriers from China, and relaxed Indian barriers. It's going to be carnage.

Vehicle pollution is utterly disgusting. You come back from western countries to this depressing crap really bothers you. It's a scandal they still have the busses that omit black smoke.

The United States of China. Might as well just become a part of China now.

Thailand has some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, and some incredible beaches. A brilliant culture, great street food (when they are not trying to ban it), and some fascinating history. Thailand has the hard part all done. The easy part the fail on. You would think the easy part would be providing the world class services and amenities, and cutting out the shady practises on the ground. But sadly no, there is little will to make changes.

How is a Chinese tourist different to a European tourist?

Thailand had one of the highest tourist numbers in the world in 2023. At what point do they stop obsessing with China and a few other countries? They should stop looking at numbers, and look at quality tourists. Tourists who will spend in Thailand. Not tourists who book 'everything' on a zero dollar holiday before they leave their country, or tourists who come on an extreme low budget.

Oh dear .... where do we start?