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*Edited out* So recently I come across a piece of reporting from CNBC, talking about where Americans want to travel abroad, and where they’re losing interest. It was very interesting read. The article is based on a study by a company called ParkSleepFly. So I went ahead to that website to see the raw data. On the ParkSleepFly website, it compiled a list of the travel destinations, using Google search results to discover how many searches on a particular destination on a year-on-year basis and see where Americans want to visit in 2022. If anyone is interested, you can got the ParkSleepFly website HERE. The Fastest Growing Vacation Hotspots | ParkSleepFly Thailand as a country, it is listed on the 17th among about 80 countries. It had 91,100 search on flights, 26,100 search on vacation packages and 21,300 search on hotels. Not bad. But, there are one very alarming statistics need attention. If you scroll down the screen, you will see how Thailand's number changed in 2021 compare to 2020. It is not a good reading. So among 79 countries lists, Thailand is ranked 75th on the list, due to rapid decline of search interests in 2021. It shows that there are increased search on flights to Thailand, possibly due to sand box and then Thailand Pass. The partial opening of Thailand made people search for flights to Thailand more. It was 265,400 searches in 2020, but 429,600 in 2021. What is lacking, however, is the vacation package searches. It decreased from 108,800 to 52,700. And the hotel search decreased too. Overall, the interests was down 39%. Which is alarming. [**However, the numbers given by ParkSleepFly did not make any sense at all, as if the numbers are to believed, Thailand should be increased rather than decreased. Somewhere there is mistake being made. If anyone actually understand this part of numbers please tell us. As of now, I could not calculate how this site came up with the increase/decrease. Thanks.] City wise, Bangkok performed badly. The demand for Bangkok is number 46, among 89 cities worldwide. And to add salt to the injury, Bali ranked number 2. On a year-on-year comparison, Bangkok did really badly to attract American tourists. It is ranked 85 among 89 cities, it is the number 6th of the declined interests from Aemrican tourists. That is pretty bad. The search for Bangkok as a tourism destination declined 49.41% in 2021 compare to 2020. So what do you think of this list? I know it only covers US tourists and the Google searches may not mean actual trips or interests. However, the rate of decline is alarming (only if we understand how the increase/decrease was calculated!!!). If Thailand and TAT keep their amazing job in persuading tourists not to visit Thailand, I am afraid 2022 and 2023 is not going to be pretty if you have a tourism related job/business in Thailand!

Two minutes reading Aseannow forum on Thailand can save you from a horrible decision to go to Thailand as a tourists during pandemic.

You guys are too harsh on those Thai Elites. Their calculation is not wrong. Once Thailand is fully absorbed by China (due to submarine debt or high speed rail debt or Mekong River water crisis etc.), all the Chinese flood into Thailand will surely push the airline arrivals to at least 500 millions per year or more. 200 million is underestimate.

The lady in question should have came to ASEANNOW forum (especially Thailand News sub forum) just once maybe a 3 minutes browsing before she made the decision to purchase the tour from TUI, would have avoided one of her worst decisions in her life.

Guys, I am in the process of opening a company called Enron2021. I desperately look for talented people (sales and accounting). I found the TAT bunch is really good at manipulate and mispresent, oh, no, I mean mastermind in product delivery and optimistic presentation. Do any of your guys know how I can contact those TAT folks? They could work wonders for my proposed company. I am going to be super rich by listing the Enron2021 to New York Exchange with the help from these guys. Their track record is just so wonderful. They can certainly spin endless hope into a dire situation. It is like you are falling from a 200,000 feet cliff and they can keep your hope alive right to the moment you head is hitting the bottom of the valley. Please help me you guys, tell me how I can get in touch with them! (disclaimer: if you could not tell above paragraph is intended as a joke, you need to get some form of sarcasm education)

The news said it is 251,000 international arrivals, not 251,000 foreign arrivals. (for those do not comprehend, the first term is all arrivals to the country, the second term is foreigners arrived to the country). So the question is, among the 251,000 arrivals, how many Thai national? Top 10 countries contributed 109,801 arrivals. Considering lower number from outside top 10, possible another 20k to 40k in total. There is a good chance that Thai national could count for 50% or 75% of the total arrivals, depends on how many Thais holding foreign passports. Very good work TAT. That surely will give Thai economy confidence (of destruction).

At this moment, it is far easier to visit Saudi Arabia as a tourist for Europeans and Americans than Thailand, makes you think, huh?

When one day when your 'friend' met a bar girl tries to pimp out her husband, then please let us know. That is more newsworthy.

I have a Master Degree in Science simply because I completed a Master course of business studies. And I have a title of M.Sc. afterwards, which is Master in Science. Does that mean I am full of knowledge of actual medical science? No. So when I tell other people I have Master degree in Science, does that mean I am scientist? No. Dr. Campbell might have a lot of knowledge from his readings. It does not mean he choose his source wisely. Mistake happens, and one of the common behaviour of human is that we choose what we want to believe, rather than believe in what is true. Dr. Campbell might have 200 doctoral degrees, but he can only tell what he believes from what he chose to believe. Even among virologists different opinions on Covid exists. Real scientist won't join a debate if he/she had not investigated the subject first hand.

I think major hotel groups would have a set of idealistic and realistic figures. Their booking and cancellation figures must be very interesting to read.

You are wrong. When BA merged with Iberia, British's share in the new company was close to 60%. As BA was the bigger, two times bigger than Iberia in that time. BA by definition is still a British company. Otherwise it will loose all US routes authority. BA's parent IAG is registered in Spain but it does not mean a thing. That is because, IAG does not own BA as a whole. It is a holding company that holds certain percentage of BA entity. For instance, BA pension funds, BA treasury and AABA holdings (a joint holding company between American Airlines and British Airways) all owns shares of BA (not IAG). Modern company structure is very complicated. BA as a business is still considered as a British company. IAG is not exactly BA, BA is not exactly IAG. The two companies are not the same although related. You have to imagine BA and Iberia as two half-brothers. They may share a same mother (IAG), but they have two different fathers (UK and Spain) and live in different household.

I was going to make that point. But I know someone here will jump out and criticise me' are you in Thailand? Do you know Thailand?' as illustrated by one of the poster here. Plus if I put that point it it would be too long to read. There are a big Thai middle class family now. No one would want their children going to sex industry once the family jumped through classes. Sure there is always illegal immigrants and peasant family may provide some sex workers. Yet the trend is there. General Thai population wants to be respected. New middle class Thai wants prosperity. I agree with you.

I think some older times are too used to what it used to be. But from a neutral point of view, the change of direction is needed for Thailand. First, it is the change of landscape. There are many factors will change post Covid. Thailand is already an expensive place due to strong Thai Baht. You guys kept saying that so it must be true. Now the crown of cheaper destinations are moving to Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia alike. Countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and even Sri Lanka have built many international hotels in past decade, and are still building as we speak. These will add pressure to Thailand to maintain competitive edge. Not to mention the ambitious Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman plans, are all building tourism industry. When Thailand was top destination, nobody thought about Vietnam or Middle East. Now look at it. All the shining and new hotels along the coastline, and casinos, which Thailand is short of. Thailand can not maintain to be a cheap destination in next decade. There are too many alternatives, Thailand knows it. Second, it is the change of clientele. For sure you old timers likes the bars, like the scene. But you older timers as a breed, is ... dying off slowly. No offense but look around yourself you would notice. How many under 35s customers you see in the place you are going for sex?...one, two, three...Yes you see the same old same old year after year. All the younger ones are dating through app, or stay at home to use P0rl2 hul3. Sure there is always new blood discovering gogo bars and soapy massages. But next time when you are back home in USA or UK, have a look around. One thing you will notice any sizeable city in USA or UK, all have multiple Thai Massage shops. Remember the New England Patriot boss who got caught in a Florida Thai Massage place? You do not need to come to Thailand to get Thai sex. The novelty of an authentic Thai gogo bar, or soapy massages is not attractive any more in today's globalised world. There will always be changes in the world. Thailand has changed. It may need more changes ahead. For good or for bad. Will Thailand get rid of the image of land of sex? I don't know. But for the planners, or anyone who has a sense of market, it is dangerous to stay where you were while ignore the competition next door. A winning formula can only last you so long until there are copy cats everywhere. However, that being said, I still doubt TAT's ability to repositioning Thailand's tourism industry. They might be able to identify the problem, and its obvious solution. But they are shXt in draw up a strategy and even worse at implement such grand strategy. So, yes, nothing will change in the end. Except soon all the gogo bars will have frail older guys with walking frames complaining the music is too loud.

Translation of SIMPLIFY in Thailand: Let us throw all complicated duplicated unnecessary bureaucratic processes into one platform while keep all the original requirements and steps.

Reading some of the post talking about 'higher earning' relatives or even sons swearing 'never Thailand' again, is entertaining. Sure, Thailand's drive to lure wealthy is laughable. But some of the posters clearly do not understand the luxury market although they claim to have relatively high earner relatives. I can only say, there is a luxury segment in Thailand's tourism, which is enjoying a booming time. You don't see these people. They are not all well known, but have higher than average net worth. They arrive by private jet, or commercial jet in First/business class. But they have service that take them directly off a plane by limo and out to their private villas or residences. You see few of them in country clubs. Occasionally in hotels like Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Evason etc. Sometimes it is not how much you can spend define class. It is how you can enjoy spending on the things define class matters. For instance, if you have class and money, you would not go to Fisherman's Village in Samui. You would be heading directly to the Ritz-Carlton, Conrad (has to be residence, not the hotel itself), Four Seasons in Koh Samui. Thailand is a place full of luxury and great hospitality. If you know how to spend and where to spend your money, you can live like a king. If you have money, and did not enjoy Thailand, you are more likely to be a fool does not know where to go and how to enjoy. In my personal opinion, they are more likely being mislead by their poorer relatives.

Then they failed in Thailand Pass. First class tourists do not want the Chana app. They value their privacy and freedom.

I certainly envy baldies. Nice shining smooth head make you want to touch, little maintenance unlike me paying big to barbers twice monthly (outside Thailand!), attracts attention instantly in a seedy bar as ladies run around the shining baldies like moth around a lid light bulb. Baldies have it all. It is something you fully headed don't understand. Ok If I have insulted any baldies or ladies in paragraph one please excuse me. I am not a good joke teller.

Knowing Thailand's overreaction record, this could be a bad news. Thailand Pass may now require a more rigorous check of insurance papers upon applying or entry. The insurance requirement might be expanded to Travel Insurance with Covid Cover that cover the whole period of intended stay. It could be bad news for anyone over 75 should this becomes the new requirement since it is already difficult for over 75s to get insurance.

I don't buy it. A junior chef is looking at £22-26K as a starter salary. Even if he is part time, considering £8.91 minimum wage for 2021, 60 hours week is £534.60 a week. If he is working 8 months in and take 4 months winter holiday, that is 35 weeks working and total compensation of £18,711. Plus over time pay and holiday pay double, and winter/summer time change pay double, we are talking about minimum of 700-780 hours added pay, take the medium of 740 hours, additional £6,593.40 to make his annual salary £25,304.40. If assume he worked for the same company for 3-5 years as minimum, add employee salary increase based on seniority, there is no doubt his salary to be £28,000 either as a junior chef or part timer. Should he works for a reputable company and might have worked for several more years, we are looking at £30,000-36,000. I would seriously doubt if he (or family) doesn't have any savings or assets over £5,000 if he was to take a long winter holiday in Thailand. £30K in London is bad, but in Lancashire is comfortable.

Although the exact year Thai economy will be back is disputed. But the idea of 2022 being not any good is somewhat honest. Looks like the Thai Tourism suicidal policy of Thailand Pass will continue to 2022 and the economy will take a hit until 2023 when the government finally realise it is smothering the economy to slow death.

BA has BA9/10 loaded in reservation system. So I assume BA request the slot. However, there is a big problem. All class for sale is ZERO. To translate: BA is not selling a single seat on the flight at all throughout the next Spring. So effectively, airlines like BA may request the slot, but it may not fly at all. If it is flying, it is not selling a single seat means not a single passenger would be arriving with the flight. Such ghost flight is proudly incorporated into TAT 20% slot request increase propaganda. Now let us wait and see how many flights in this 20% increase actually made to real flight and how many actual passengers are carried? I expect another positive spin from TAT.

Advice from another angle: When repeated solutions did not work, maybe it is time to review your life style. Sometimes it is easier to just lay back, or use more of your oral skills and/or switch to another way of fun which including but not limit to bi S&M or even play with man. It worked for some other elder guys. Enjoyment is from your mind, not your penis. When penis no longer enjoys, try other ways to increase the stimulations between your ears until you find it.

No, the rule of UK is always being 'self isolation' if arrived from non-red countries and tested Covid after arrival, There is no forced quarantine hotels as long as you arrive from Green or Amber countries (and have not been to red countries in last 10 days). If you have symptoms, you can go to NHS and get treated. Still, no fee whatsoever. So the poster was rightly point our your misunderstanding about UK system. You were wrong.

Have you not smelt the coffee during last 5 years? Thai government has always showed their preference to their Chinese brothers. So they kept saying they want Quality rather than Quantity, hence the tourism industry change to chasing quality tourists. What they really mean is for anything but Chinese they want Quality. For Chinese tourists they want the Quantity and don't care about Quality. Thailand was developed thanks to the Quantity of western tourists. But now they want to transform into a Quality destination by clear out the less desired poor chaps like you and me. In the same time they lined up millions of Chinese to mark up the lost Quantity. It is very evident during last 5 years, especially since 2018/2019, if you care to read news from TAT. So to your question, no, Thailand is likely remain to be a wonderful retirement destination for others (aka, not us), those desired by Thai Elite.

Since Phuket Sandbox opening, I have been looking at coming to Thailand. But the requirement and especially download the app that is no better than Thai Pass website, with lots of security backdoors is just too much. So since Phuket Sandbox, as a true tourist, I have been to Cyprus, Greece and Spain. Soon I will be heading to USA (Florida and Arizona) as it is open for us since Monday. Next year it would be Canada first, then may be Barbados. Southeast Asia can wait for 2023. If they don't drop the requirement of download the stupid app and health insurance thing, I am not coming to spend my money. For other 'tourists' take the bait, good luck.