BayArea

2023 looks a lot like 2020. ????

famous last words...

all these articles in the past few weeks (tourism, real estate, etc.) would seem to indicate Thailand's economy greatly depends on China's reliance.

I am getting my popcorn ready.

somehow, I envision 2020 all over again for LOS if the flood gate is truly open.

Cha Cha is actually referring to himself when he cautions about the New Year ahead

I'm sure some Korean director will look for ways to make this tragedy into a K Horror style movie

Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand=TAT ????

Banana Republic

They would have saved time and money from this so-called exhibition by actually doing their job that they're supposed to do in the first place!! Thailand has become or already is a parody of themselves.

of all the things plaguing this country, this subject keeps making headlines.

https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20221213/northern-vietnam-to-enter-winters-coldest-time-this-weekend/70449.html Now, this really cold weather in SE Asia. 11 degree Celsius is no joke.

TAT, you mean to tell me the Turkish ice cream vendors on Walking Street and all the Donor Kabob in every soi isn't enough Turks for you??

when he sets foot in Brussels, he'll soon realize its 2022 not 2020 Thailand.

LOL!! they already do.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, it's too late for Thailand. Many on this forum have expressed repeatedly and rightfully so about the eventual takeover of LOS from the CCP. In fact, it started with the first king of the current dynasty, he was the one that encouraged the Chinese esp. the men to come and settle in Siam. He " believed" that your average Thai weren't the smartest bunch and needed them to be mix with the Chinese blood who he thought were more intelligent and business savvy compared to his subjects. They heard his call alright and boy did they come! Flash forward 300 years later, and here we are where the overwhelming majority of the Hiso, billionaires, entertainment personality, political heads, captain of industries, etc. in LOS are Chinese descent. If the last figures are correct, outside of mainland China, Thailand is home to the biggest Chinese diaspora in the world, 11 million alone claimed Chinese heritage and we're not counting the mixed Thai/ Chinese ones. To say the Thais are worried about Chinese infiltration and annexation brings to mind the idiom, "There’s no point in closing the barn door after the horse has escaped!"

So, for a nation that many Thai apologists on this forum who reassured us that tourism makes up very little of the total GDP, why does TAT spewed out daily numbers and forecasts what they need to get back to the 2019 level?? I thought LOS didn't need tourism to sustain success, but these articles on a weekly basis seemed to beg to differ.

we know it's not good for Thailand, but the 5 % who control LOS are happy as hell and don't give a you know what. what matters is they stayed rich and powerful.

Thailand and TAT would be so much better off in the long run if they just welcome tourists without any gimmicks or silly promotions. Stop with all these rubbish nonsense regarding specific countries or nationalities to " lured" in. It's basically open discrimination and alienates everyone else who have visited Thailand for decades. Be thankful and deeply grateful that tourists from anywhere around the world would consider spending money in these uncertain economic times. 2023 will not be any better so they better enjoy anyone landing on their shores at the moment.

Precisely!! the voting mechanism in place in LOS is basically an exercise in futility. All for optics for the sheeps and outside world.

I have told my Thai wife numerous times, the difference between Viet Nam and Thailand, is one country calls itself a communist regime and extremely proud of it while the other likes to think of itself as a " democracy". Peel the layers away and you soon realize that both countries are run by former military men who pretend to be politicians, any opposing political group is put down or disparaged from running, less than 5% of the population controls pretty much everything and in VN case, only 200k citizens are allowed in the exclusive Communist Party which is basically a carte blanche card to do whatever you want without impunity. I can go on and on. You get the picture.

And should add " nothing will change for decades to come " to the title of this thread.

To the rest of the world, it's a non-story, but to the Thais, it's a big blow. Losing the title is one thing but losing to the Khmer is devastating. ????

I have a theory that the Japanese have been left to their own device for so long (island nation), they are truly an odd bunch. Aside from trading and religious exchanges with China and Korea in the past, they did not have any type of interactions with the outside world until the 16th century and it wasn't until 1860, they allowed Western countries to trade with them. If you really delve into their culture, traditions and customs you soon realize it too.

if " Thais" looked Chinese is because they are Chinese descent.