nigelforbes

We'll have none of that on this forum if you don't mind, especially when there's an opportunity to bash something Thai!

You haven't read the thread, we already had that discussion

It's a marketing function, not a precision tool maker! Plus, they exceeded their arrivals target last year, looks pretty accurate to me.

What country in the world that has a sizeable tourist industry, doesn't give its tourism function a decent budget to do their job? Yet give Thailand Tourist Authority a budget to do their job and suddenly it's money that's thrown away, just because this is Thailand....really?,

Your journey from, she was openly breaking the law in front of the police, to, she should be given a warning and let off, encompassed ignorance of the law, xenophobia and unjust laws imposed by the elites....hmmmm! Are you available for hire as a defense lawyer, in case I ever get arrested for a serious crime? You may not be able get me released but the show will at least be entertaining. ????

Flying business class means you get a parachute assigned, and your own oxygen bottle, it's worth the extra in case it ever manages to get over 10,000 feet.

Sorry....my misread of what you wrote, my bad. ????

China Northern still uses them on their Nanjing to Dalian run, I'm certain. ????

That's fine. But if you are never going to believe any statistics that are compiled in Thailand, why even bother debating the issues, it's pointless.

Switch the transponder units, job done.

Apparently they were at one point. China made the switch from Tupolev and Antonov to Boeing during the 1970/1980's but after a couple of years they found the spare part and maintenance program too expensive so they cancelled it and started to make their own. Several crashes later the program was reinstated! And you can still see the Tups/Ants on runways in China, god forbid your internal flight connection should involve one.

When Thailand refers to China it includes Taiwan, it doesn't separate them, even in their export reports.

Hmmm, unsure here. I think this is about visa networks rather than BOT. Fernando withdraws 5k Baht which is given to him by the bank that owns the ATM. Visa (who owns the network) then issues a debit against Fernando's account in Mexico where his account is then debited accordingly. The last step is for the Mexican bank to reimburse the bank that issued the 5K to Fernando, via the ATM and that is done by Visa as part of their settlement process. I am not certain but I think that settlement takes place outside Thailand, I imagine via the Bank of International Settlements? The Thai bank that owns the ATM is the agent of BOT and must report the transaction to BOT as part of its normal reporting. I don't see anywhere in that process that THB is directly purchased using USD, except possibly via the Visa settlement process and even that is questionable. Perhaps if anyone else understands the Visa settlement process in detail, it would be super helpful. EDIT TO ADD: Regardless of how the Mexican currency trade is settled, I can't see the Baht/Yuan trade being settled via USD, that doesn't seem likely to me.

Yes, I think so, it appears to be approx. opposite the Hug Hostel (or thereabouts) but I can't see it exactly. I just found the report, the report is in the name of a Bangkok company called Audimed Ltd. with a Bangkok address (I hadn't noticed that before). The email address is [email protected]. Perhaps email them and ask for the address of the CM shop?

If you really want to know, the budget is linked below:

Or maybe they lost the oar.....who knows!

GPS or similar I guess.

I suppose it depends on your risk appetite versus your age and available assets. I have to say that at age 73, if I was in your position, I might be inclined to enjoy the idyllic location and try not to worry about things. Even though I have a flat in the UK I couldn't imagine ever moving back there to live, for any reason, not after 20+ years here.

Perhaps you should go back and read my post again. I'm pretty sure that laborers from neighbouring countries wont have flown in and that they aren't chinese or Malay. So that leaves the 3% that are Burmese that might be laborers since I didn't count other nationals from Cambodia and Laos. I'm also pretty sure the TAT didn't count illegals or day pass holders but you guys might see it differently! So possibly, emotely, the answer to your question is 3% of 11.5 mill.

I'm sorry to hear that Simon, it must be a real worry for you at this stage. I think you are right, you don't seem to have another alternative except to return home. If that's what it is, best get a move on, you can be there by Spring which is not an unpleasant time. Onwards and upwards.

Can you remember the last time you read a police positive article in the mainstream media? No, me neither.

The article says 11.5 million tourists in 2022. The AOT Total Passenger movements report for 2022 says that over 6.87 million passengers disembarked from international flights at the AOT airports and that 6.62 million embarked and flew out. My take on those numbers (which do not include transit passengers) is that the difference between disembarked and embarked represents returning Thai nationals and that net international tourists via AOT airports was 6.62 mill. Of course, we have to adjust that number downwards for expatriates who live in Thailand and who travel and return, either for business or pleasure. I will be generous and say that every one of the 150,000 resident expats made one overseas trip each during the year hence the adjusted total is 6.62 - 150k = 6.47 million international visitors via the seven AOT airports. But then we have to add in the international visitors who arrived via charter flights at non-AOT airports and there are over 30 of them. Malaysians (11% of all tourists) often fly into Hat Yai which is not an AOT airport. And since there are no scheduled flights to or from Russia (4% of all tourists), by international airlines they must land somewhere. AND, we then have to add in the total number of foreigners who crossed the border by sea and by land, for the purpose of tourism, not day pass traders. Plus Chinese and Myanmar represented 31% of all tourists and they are capable of arrival by land, that is a big number also. I can't be bothered to confirm it by doing the math but I'm pretty sure the TAT number of 11.5 million tourists for the year is about right. But I have no doubt whatsoever that you won't agree! https://investor.airportthai.co.th/transport.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Thailand https://www.bot.or.th/English/MonetaryPolicy/EconomicConditions/PressRelease/DocPressRelease/Slide_eng_November2022_te72nv8.pdf

I don't know if his theory about FDI at the start of the year is correct but it sounds as good as anything I can come up with. January however, often marks the beginning of a new accounting period so there may be other reasons to explain the FDI flow, I dunno. I agree that all tourists are not alike but I don't believe that Chinese tourists are unique or more valuable. They typically exchange Yuan for Baht which has very little direct impact on the USD/Baht exchange rate, their local spending will help the overall economy and help bolster the Foreign Currency Reserves, But they wont do much for THB value, even if there is 1 billion a month. In fact, there aren't that many countries where citizens use USD and who visit Thailand as tourists, in any volume. And a quick note about Foreign Currency Reserves (FCR's) before I forget: The IMF recommends that FCR's should be equal to about 6 months exports value but no less than 3 months. That means that anything over that amount should be available for the country to use. If Thailand's GDP is currently USD 506 bill., that means FCR's should be no more than USD 253 bill., in December the FCR's were valued at nearly USD 246 bill. hence we're very close to the recommended ceiling.

Bump! Well? How about, 1am, you're a tourist and you get stopped by the police in Thailand. They inspect your passport and see you have a visa on arrival and they decide that's not good enough and that you need a different visa. They take you to the police station and decide to fine you 27k, you haven't done anything wrong. What do you do, ask if they prefer visa or Amex or do you ask if 27k is really enough and wouldn't they actually prefer more! Is that the correct approach, do tell?

"A quick witted policeman (if there is such a creature here)". Yes