dunroaming

"Tourism" is a massive subject and incredibly subjective. I can certainly nod along to many of the comments here. I first passed through Thailand when I was a student on my gap year, although I can't remember it being called that at the time. In those days my travelling companions (who tended to change from country to country) and I certainly fell into the one coke and five straws category. But that was part of what made Thailand an attractive destination. Easy to get drugs, cheap booze and food and (at that time) a truly exotic location. It soon became an absolute must as part of the whole gap year scene. It was many years later that I returned to Thailand and by then I was wearing a very different hat. It was a business trip with five star hotels with marble floors and courtesy hotel cars. It couldn't have been more different from my earlier adventure there. My next trip was a holiday with my then wife and again a different experience. Beaches played a part, a couple of "cultural" trips and a lot of pampering by attentive resort staff. Eventually when my business meant spending many months of the year in South East Asia, I moved there permanently. Initially in Hong Kong and then Thailand which was more affordable and very user friendly. At that point I became an expat and that gives a very different view of Thailand. You become very defensive about life there (or at least your justification for living there) whilst also moaning and complaining about all the irritating things that make up life in the "Land of Smiles". I also enjoyed many holidays in Europe although I would find it hard to compare that to Thailand. Living in the UK made holidays in Spain, Italy and Greece an easy call. Short, cheap flights, good beaches, guaranteed sunshine and inexpensive hotels. Plus the advantage of just about everyone speaking English. Admittedly those things can also be found in Thailand (apart from the short flights) but somehow, the 11 hour flight and the fact it offers a very different culture , makes Thailand seem more like an adventure. At least for the first couple of trips. And I think that is really relevant here. After those first couple of trips, people will start to wonder if it is worth the more expensive, long flights and associated jet lag. If you are going to put up with that, do you want to just re-visit what you have already experienced? It's a big world and pretty much all of it is accessible these days. Thailand isn't really exotic anymore and let's face it, there is a Thai restaurant on almost every street in Europe these days so you don't need to go there for the food! So given that Thailand has been the top Asian holiday destination in the west for many decades, it is understandable that the Thai Tourist Board will have to look to new markets and with India and China being the new rising economies, that is a no brainer!

Problem is with Johnson's government, nobody keeps their job for more than a few weeks before being moved on to another post that they have no experience in. Hunt and Raab being a couple of examples. They all screw up but instead of them being dumped (as they should be) they just continue in the same game of musical chairs. Johnson has to do this because he is seriously short of people he can keep on side. Truss is one of them....for now anyway.

I suspect Liz is absolutely delighted to escape to S.E Asia for a few days to avoid the sh*t storm going on in Parliament at the moment. An easy call for her. Just promise lots of financial help that will all come to nothing as it always does.

Chiang Mai has always attracted a lot of domestic tourists. Before I moved there and lived in Bangkok, the locals would rave about Chiang Mai with it's cooler climate and clean air. Not sure that still is the attraction concerning the air ????. I do know that many of them head for places like Doi Inthanon when the temperature drops and there is hint of frost on the ground. My in-laws do it every year.

At last! A serious answer to a serious question. Thank you!

I know this has been raised in the past but do we know if arrival figures quoted include passengers in transit?

That's fair enough as much of the time in Thailand they try to talk down the amount of cases, so a law forcing them to be truthful would be good but as we all know, is never going to happen!

It is the same old story. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Plus the right hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing and the left hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Best for the right hand to stick to the up and down movement that they seem to do so well!

For many poorer families in Thailand (or anywhere else for that matter) choices are very limited. The motorcycle is often the only form of transport they have and as we know in most of Thailand, bus services are pretty much non existent. Whilst we can all get very stuffy about children riding motorcycles, you only have to get into close proximity with any school in Thailand to find hundreds of young teens (and younger), with two or three other kids on board, weaving their way through traffic trying to get to their classes. Truth is it is the only way they can get there. Of course in other countries there are all the school buses to do the job but in rural Thailand it doesn't exist, unless it is a private school for the rich kids. I know, we did that with our boy in Chiang Mai when he was young. So as in this case you can blame the parents and shout "Lock them up!" After all they have only lost their child and have to deal with all the guilt that comes with. And surprisingly in the west we don't tend to lock up parents when their children are killed in road accidents. Strange that.

As would anyone exposed that sort of threat! Guilty or not.

Not correct. 44,370 new cases in the UK and yesterday 223 deaths. Many people being admitted to hospital have already been vaccinated. They are also from all age groups. Booster jabs are being administered as fast as they can and hospitals are reporting that they are struggling already. I very much doubt there will be another lockdown, but compulsory wearing of masks again is very likely.

We have friends who have booked to go Thailand from the UK at Christmas based on them lifting the restrictions, as from 1st November. I did suggest that they just double check with the Thai Embassy in London. When they did this they were told that as far as they know Quarantine was still in place in Thailand. When asked if this applied to people double vaccinated they were told nothing had been decided officially yet and they should check again nearer to their departure date, which is mid December. In other words.....clueless!

Not too many I would imagine. No Karaoke, no strippers or bar girls so I doubt it would attract that many cops.

I have been doing business in China for since the early 90's and I can confidently say (????), that the majority of Chinese citizens consider the Chinese to be superior to most (if not all) other races. Whilst we are welcomed with open arms for the trade we bring them, that is as far as it goes. And yes, Thai's also look down on many foreigners, especially the older population. Then again who are we, as westerners to point the finger when it comes to racism.

Thailand is still an easy call for most Europeans when it comes to vacations. The more adventurous will head for other South east Asian destinations but anyone with younger kids may think twice about that. If you go into any pub in the UK and say "Anyone here been to Thailand?" , at least 50% of the people will raise their hands. It's a safe bet for most people who will put up with the long flights. And Thailand has always been a good starting point for long haul travelers. Cheap flights and a good infrastructure with hotels coming in all budgets with different levels of comfort. And of course tourists and travelers are not the same thing. For a family with kids looking at their annual holiday, they will have different priorities to travelers looking for adventures.

But it all ends up as Baht in the end.

It's always about the money. However now the news is that they will open up to 27 countries including New Zealand, Macao and China!

There was a news report on the BBC about Thailand re-opening to ten "safe" countries on November 1st. They included Britain and the USA which raised an eyebrow or two! Clearly the Thai authorities are desperate for tourist dollars at any cost.

All this really confirms is that when it comes to it, nothing anyone says in these situations can be taken at face value. Lie after lie after lie and rarely ever a glimpse of the truth.

I think you do the ex-pats down. Most are savvy enough to see things for what they are. Of course there are still some naive enough to believe all the bull manure.

Fair comment Lou. Should have said most of us know.

Probably get stamped out of Thailand when you leave and that will flag up on arrival in UK. Might be better to simply fly to a European country and then overland and get a ferry to the UK. But is it really worth all the hassle?

How would you like me to phrase it?

As we all know, the truth has little or no value in Thailand.

Good and logical post and I agree on all of your points. The problem is that there has been a decline in western tourists for some time now and it is usually them that use the facilities you mention. Whether it is possible to get those tourists back in the same sort of numbers as before is doubtful. Certainly in the foreseeable future. It is certainly going to be tough for many ordinary Thais who rely upon tourism for their living. However, many young Chinese and Indians are getting westernized in their views and outlook so maybe they will fill the gap! I truly hope so.