Chinese cruise ships bringing big business to Koh Samui

[LaoPo]

On 23-10-2017 at 12:15 PM, impulse said:

 

I often wait in airport check in lines with Chinese tourists and am gobsmacked by how much they have purchased to bring home with them.  They spend a lot of time juggling goodies between their checked bag(s), their one allowed carry on and the 3-4 luxury store bags they can often get away with.   I also have Chinese friends who fund their travels by buying selected luxury goods and smuggling them back into China to sell off the radar. 

 

If the cruise lines don't limit their free luggage to 20kg like the airlines do, I can assure you they'll be feeding the local economy like very few western tourists do- or ever did.  In fact, I can envision quite a boom for people who know how to cater to them.

 

You're correct!

 

Chinese tourists buy a lot more items than the average farang and they also spend a lot more on their average holiday p.p. than their farang counterpart.

 

Next to that Chinese tourists more and more travel individually (in small groups up to 4 or 5) rather than the large tourist group although the latter is still by far the major part of outbound China tourism.

A friend of my wife has a large outbound tourist agency and their business is dropping versus individual tourism.

[LaoPo]

I'm kind of amused by some of the comments about Chinese which is going on for years now.

 

Many Farang still do not get it that Thai inbound tourism is for the largest part (some 60%+ ) Asian tourism of which the Chinese share the largest percentage and not only that: they're the largest spenders also.

 

Farang still think they "own" Thailand but there are a few things changing rapidly.

The average Chinese is also not a yearly returning tourist, coming to the same spot like a farang who comes to Pattaya, Samui, Phuket but is eager to learn about new destinations in the world and Asia in particular.

 

That the Chinese group of tourists to Thailand is still growing and growing is because the majority of Chinese still never visited another country and we're talking hundreds of millions of Chinese individuals, also wanting to taste a piece of our farang cake which we were grown up with; TOURISM...

 

In Chiang Mai and Pai for instance, many shops and restaurants next to scooter rentals and hotels have signs and menus in Chinese.

They're here to stay and spend lots of money.

The difference is that you don't always see them since they have different interests than the average farang.

They're not into laying on a beach whole day or spend lots of money in (girlie) bars...they're a different kind of tourist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[impulse]

54 minutes ago, LaoPo said:

Next to that Chinese tourists more and more travel individually (in small groups up to 4 or 5) rather than the large tourist group although the latter is still by far the major part of outbound China tourism.

A friend of my wife has a large outbound tourist agency and their business is dropping versus individual tourism.

 

I'd also add that most of those individual Chinese travelers won't even be noticed by the average westerner who sees them.     I've lived in China for 10 years (typing this from China) and I can often tell Chinese tourists from Korean, Japanese or other Asian tourists only when I'm close enough to hear Mandarin being spoken.  And even that leaves some doubt.

 

That wasn't always the case.  When I moved to China in 1999, it was easy to tell from the clothing and especially the hair styles.  But nowadays, many of them fit right in while they're stocking up on gifts for the folks back home. 

 

In any case, smart vendors can cash in.  Clueless ones will get left in the dust, griping about zero dollar tourists while their competitors make a killing on them.

 

Edited November 1, 2017 by impulse

[LaoPo]

45 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I'd also add that most of those individual Chinese travelers won't even be noticed by the average westerner who sees them.     I've lived in China for 10 years (typing this from China) and I can often tell Chinese tourists from Korean, Japanese or other Asian tourists only when I'm close enough to hear Mandarin being spoken.  And even that leaves some doubt.

 

That wasn't always the case.  When I moved to China in 1999, it was easy to tell from the clothing and especially the hair styles.  But nowadays, many of them fit right in while they're stocking up on gifts for the folks back home. 

 

In any case, smart vendors can cash in.  Clueless ones will get left in the dust, griping about zero dollar tourists while their competitors make a killing on them.

 

Good post and very good observations.

 

Many farang can't tell the difference between all the Asian nations or where the Chinese come from...Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan or oversees , let alone the other countries.

 

What counts is that individual tourist numbers will grow very fast and they go to the local restaurants, shops, 7/11 stores and the like; they buy bananas and other fruit on the small local market stalls, thus increasing the turnover of these small vendors which is good!

We were eating last night in a smal perfect local restaurant yesterday and the place was filled with a mixture of farang and Chinese, all on different tables and mostly very young tourists and all behaving decent and quiet.

 

I see them everywhere in shops, markets, restaurants and airports and driving scooters (helmets..) and they do NOT travel with travel guides; they all have translating apps on their mobiles and iPads mini, finding their way around and telling the locals with hand and feet what they want.

 

We live in a different world than 10 years ago..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, LaoPo said:

We live in a different world than 10 years ago..

 

That's true, but a lot of guys aren't ready to move on...  They've too much invested in being the Bwana.

 

 

[LaoPo]

Just now, impulse said:

 

That's true, but a lot of guys aren't ready to move on...  They've too much invested in being the Bwana.

 

 

 

True also!

 

I just read an ancient Roman quote:

 

" If you must break the law, do it to seize power in all other cases observe it" . 

Julius Caesar

 

Maybe the past and present junta's read about Roman history?

 

And the Roman Empire went down on it's knees also and so it will in Thailand, but faster than the Roman Empire but they didn't have computers, airplanes and guns & tanks and there were just a few million people, spread out all over Europe and Egypt.

To seize Europe was an easy job for those Romans; they walked limited distances per day and camped every night and where the camps were, the cities rose.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 1:55 AM, khunPer said:

Thanks for your comments.

 

I only said what my eyes sees, when I almost daily walking the beach. Of course some of the many guests staying at 5-star Santibury can be part of a package, but I also know of, and had friends, staying there as individuals – and paying the full list-price   (I could stay one year in my rented bungalow, 80 m. from beach, instead of one night beachfront there) – however last time was a few years ago: and at that time it was difficult to get space when my friends wanted it, in end of February, as Santibury was fully booked, so the first few days they had to spend at another, also higher-end, resort up the hills. The didn't mind the price (too much), as "they wanted to pamper themselves".

 

Before the more affordable 1500 to 1900 baht bungalows used to be full during high season, but this year they seemed almost empty – counting on what looked inhabited at first beach row, some days down to one occupied out of some 20 bungalows. I had friends staying a few days in one of that price-level resorts in this year's first high season (before the drop in May-June), but after three days they moved to another place at little more than double the price – but not beachfront, which was 9,000 baht a night – because they wanted better quality; didn't mind to pay either, just the bungalow-quality and service were Okay.

 

I see the previous backpacker style huts disappear and being rebuild to higher level, where the space of two-three bungalows become one; and some of those backpacker level resort still in business had special discount offers at 450-750 baht baht, even some times down to 400-600 baht. At the same time bungalows in level around 2500 baht and up – and we talk about same beach, same sand, and same sea to swim in, just a few hundred meters apart – seemed heavily inhabited (cannot say if the guest however stays on a cheap discount package).

 

Therefore my conclusion, from what I see, and from my friends coming to island – including some 30+ years regulars, previous always travelling on backpacker-budget, but now need both aircon and pool, and fly in instead of express-sleeper and boat – is that today's tourists and regular visitors wants better quality, and they don't mind paying for it either.

 

The real young backpacker party-kids seem now-on-days to stay in the eye of the hurricane, for example at Ark Bar in nice newer aircon rooms for some 1200 baht a night, where they get both pool and party included, and the place usually appear like well (if not heavy) occupied. And the, often little up-priced, trendy cafés at Beach Road also seem to be quite full. 

 

If I compare prices from past, with prices now, using an average inflation model calculator, the 350 baht level bungalow I stayed in during my first visit at Samui in 2001, shall be 450 baht now – which is still possible to find (but presumably not beachfront) – whilst the stories we hear about a few hundred baht (or less) in the late 1980'ies and beginning 1990'ies, then should be around 350 baht now, if it was 200 baht in 1990; taking quality into consideration, that might fit with the 290 baht a night places in Bang Por (I don't know them, only seen signs, and heard about them).

 

That's why I quoted that: apparently there must still be "many rich people that are prepared to pay large to have a massage by a ruined beach"...
–which may look like that in summer of 2017, the beach I walk, and talk about:

 

And you can still find, if not cheap, then affordable accommodation at Samui, if you so wish, and cheaper than 450 baht. Just about little less than 100 meters from the (same as above mentioned) beach, you can long-term rent a bungalow in level of 8,000 baht a month – i.e. less than 300 baht a night for 1-bed, plus living room, covered terrasse, bath w/hot water, and a little kitchen – and another option is Bang Por's 290 baht a night list price...

Thanks.

The disconnect is that I don't think anything over 800 baht is "affordable", and they used to be around 300 to 500 ON the beach.

I appreciate that there are places behind the beach for 8,000 a month, but if I'm going to stay at the beach I want it no more than 1 minute walk away, otherwise what is the point?

Luckily, Phangan still offers under 800 near the beach and on some beaches beside the sand.

[khunPer]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Thanks.

The disconnect is that I don't think anything over 800 baht is "affordable", and they used to be around 300 to 500 ON the beach.

I appreciate that there are places behind the beach for 8,000 a month, but if I'm going to stay at the beach I want it no more than 1 minute walk away, otherwise what is the point?

Luckily, Phangan still offers under 800 near the beach and on some beaches beside the sand.

2nd row fan for 800 baht is available many places, or in more "good old time" backpacker-style bungalows for around 400-500 baht – at least on "my" beach – if you walk slowly, it's about 15 seconds walk, but you can often, if not normally, see the beach from the room's porch. Perhaps you can even get a small discount when staying long-time and prepaying? The 8000 baht a month I know is 80 meter from the beach, I stayer there for 5 years – but it was about 7,000 at that time – so I'm extremely familiar with the distance, which is between 1½ and 2 minutes walk in normal speed...
Oops, I should have said that "Samui beaches are spoiled and unaffordable for plain folks"...

[PoorSucker]

On 01/11/2017 at 1:11 PM, LaoPo said:

What counts is that individual tourist numbers will grow very fast and they go to the local restaurants, shops, 7/11 stores and the like; they buy bananas and other fruit on the small local market stalls

 

Yes, I noticed that my local family mart start to sell one banana in plastic for seven baht. ?

 

Never bought a banana on Samui, get them for free, or you can go to the market a by a 20 for 10 baht, seven for one, tourists ?

[LaoPo]

10 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

Yes, I noticed that my local family mart start to sell one banana in plastic for seven baht. ?

 

Never bought a banana on Samui, get them for free, or you can go to the market a by a 20 for 10 baht, seven for one, tourists ?

 

Hahahaha...love it! Shows the Papa and Mama shops are inventive and make more money out of tourism.

 

Good for them !