wensiensheng

Well this is interesting. In some ways it’s better for me that the old rule, of which it is a complete 180 degree U turn. Speaking for myself, I hope this comes into being. I’ll need to segregate out any income earned, but not remitted to Thailand in the year it’s earned, but that’s not hard to do. Meantime I can send in what I need from the current years income, tax free. Those who live off rental income from property abroad and/or pension income and send all of it to Thailand as it’s received, should also be delighted. Back to the old favorable tax regime for them.

Of course it does. The guy isn’t totally blameless. But that doesn’t remove the responsibility of the construction company to follow safety regulations. The tourist paid the price for his idiotic behavior by taking a gash to the head. What penalty will the construction company face.? No comment from them in the article and no indication that they were requested for comment, in fact they were not even named! Probably the writer was concerned about defamation laws.

“”In response to the incident, thoughtful locals tied a brightly coloured plastic bag to the steel plate as a cautionary measure to protect other pedestrians. “ There you go, problem solved. Just like when a bamboo with a rag tied at the top solves open manhole covers. No need for the construction company or authorities to do anything….which is precise what they mostly do.

Mostly bought on finance though and many get repossessed when payments aren’t maintained

And sex sells. What to do 🤷‍♂️

Not really. I responded to 4 different posts making different points, as well as making a couple of posts of my own. Wouldn’t be appropriate to respond to multiple people saying different things, in only one post and would be a bit of a faff. Also not sure how I respond to someone who is yet to post, when making an earlier post? Unless of course there is a forum limit on how many posts can be made on a subject. All in all, not sure what you are going on about. Oops, now here is another one, which presumably makes 6.

I don’t have a link but I did read about a U.K.female back packer getting stopped at the Canadian border and held in an immigration camp. And then the story in the UK newspapers about a guy with a tattoo which apparently could be construed as a gang tattoo, worried that he would be accused of being a gang banger. Stories don’t have to be true to put people off, but these two were high profile news in UK papers. Cant say that I would visit USA now, or allow my half Thai daughter to visit. The chance of being killed as a result of gun crime, or police action, is minute, but it is exponentially higher than in any other developed country. Plenty of stats to back that up, just a simple google on gun deaths says it all. So yes, I would say by gut feel that fewer Europeans are visiting USA and maybe Thailand is a beneficiary of that. Although the increases TAT has touted seem far fetched, other than the Russian one. Don’t forget, people like me who returned to Thailand after a European holiday last month, get counted as a tourist.

“Pichai highlighted the fluctuating Thai stock market, which has dipped from 1,700 to 1,200 points over two years. He urged stability, noting the government's reluctance to introduce further capital market stimulus amidst existing, effective measures.” I suspect the real driver for doing something, anything, is here. Lots of politicians and other wealthy Thais own stocks. They must be feeling the pinch

Well that would be very attractive indeed. Add in the ability to own land on a 99 year lease and you have something every retiree would covet. But for some reason the government seems to always want to bastardize a tourist visa into something that a retiree can use, rather than develop a bespoke retirement visa.

Or casinos…

A ten year visa has nothing to do with the average well to do family that want to come for a three week holiday,ie tourists. They are either talking about a retirement visa for those who want to live here without working, or a work permit/visa that allows people to live and work here. Neither are “tourists”. Its hard to see how they will come up with something decent that people actually want, when they can’t even get the title right.

Congratulations on your first post. But tbh, I personally could do without the fantasy type prose that even TAT would be proud of. After 20 years of living here, I know it’s not reality.

It seems suspicious to me. Further investigation as a result of that suspicion will hopefully reveal whether it is outright murder and if so, catch the murderer. i don’t think any police force comes out off the bat and says whether a death is murder or not.

Since I decided to call it that. Use the moniker Spiritual mumbo jumbo if you feel that religion is too restrictive. But there is this :

Answer: they dont

Doesn’t look so good for him then.

Well the tax thing isn’t really a tourist issue. That’s applicable to residents, not tourists

Yep, the beaches used to be the big draw and Bangkok was a bit of a blast for a few days. But the average provincial city has nothing much to see, certainly no more than all the other average provincial cities in Thailand. Having ruined most beach areas through over building and allowing nearby sleaze night life, there isn’t really much that Thailand has to sell. Changmai was the big alternative to the beaches, but that has long since been ruined. i’d be happy to do a short break trip to Hua Hin with a group of friends to play on the various golf courses, but aside from that, I’m not sure what else I could recommend. It’s a great shame, but there it is. All that’s left is the sex pat business and those tourists who want a week ensconced in a 5 star resort with a spa.

Maybe it’s true but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ages were reported incorrectly.

I lived in Udon for 5 years so I know the real Thailand and not just the tourist areas. The question is, where in Udon would a high end tourist wish to visit? Or Issan in general? Where in Thailand WOULD a high end tourist want to visit? Chang Mai and Pai? Sure 20 years ago, but now, meh. Down south? Plenty of nice beaches there, Trang and so on, Koh Lanta maybe. But where is the infrastructure to support large numbers of tourists? And if they go there, they’d don’t just want a beach, they want upper class dining and entertainment in the evening. Not a lot of that around unless you’re talking of a guy strumming a guitar. Hua Hin, Prachup khiri kan, maybe. Hua Hin certainly has golf courses that would be appealing for some. But to offset the stuff you describe, there are also negatives. Walking? Pretty dangerous actually if it’s anywhere near a road. There is hiking in national parks but trails are not well marked as they are in a lot of areas in the west ( I go hiking every year in places like Georgia, Armenia, Romania, etc) and….its darn hot. Sea sport places? Outside of the sleazy tourist areas, where are those? Sorry, in my view the sleazy tourist areas are beyond redemption. They are what they are and describing them as Thailands vibrant night life doesn’t change what they are in reality….sleazy. Some of the other areas I mention above can be interesting to visit if people want to know what it’s like to live in Thailand. But that is not high end tourism, that is back packer style experiencing what another country is like. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, backpackers aren’t all cheap Charlie’s, some are 50/60 years old and venturing out to experience new things. But let’s face it, the Patong, Patpong, Pattaya style is what Thailand has been branded as because THATS what is on offer and what attracts 90% of Thailands tourists. 90% is just my opinion, I have no source for that other than gut feel having lived here for 19 years.

Talking your own book?

Didn’t that happen in previous years also? So not an explanation for a fall in tourist numbers that typically arrive at this time of year

“The emphasis lies on transitioning from a demand-driven to a supply-driven approach, crafting high-value tourism products” what a fool. Doesn’t he realize that the Thai tourist industry is already a supply driven one. They supply huge amounts of hookers and booze on every street corner in tourist areas and they get the tourists who want that kind of thing. Sexpats in other words. If Thailand truly wanted to upgrade its tourist offering and attract upgraded tourists from what they currently get, they’d need to eliminate sleaze and improve the infrastructure and environment so that tourists don’t get continually injured, maimed and murdered. The alternative is to be honest about what you’ve got to offer and market the heck out of that. Neither is happening at the moment, hence the handwringing. On a plus note maybe the Central bank will now massage the baht downward 😃

And more Russian. They are the only people here in numbers

Probably least said about the finances of certain temples and the activities of monks within them, the better. It’s not a subject for farang to comment on imho. And in any case, can it be said that other religions such as the Roman Catholic Church or Church of England are hard up and many of its clergy living simple lives? Ostentatious opulence more like.