Thailand plans for even more tourists as numbers top 35 million

[webfact]

Thailand plans for even more tourists as numbers top 35 million

By Suphanida Thakral and Orathai Sriring

 

Tourists enjoy on a beach at the island of Koh Tao, Surat Thani Province, Thailand, September 19, 2014. Picture taken September 19, 2014. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom/Files

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand on Tuesday forecast a rise of 6 percent in tourist numbers this year, after a jump of 9 percent to 35 million in 2017, with little sign the strong baht is slowing growth that has lifted shares in hotels, malls and the airport operator.

 

Tourist receipts account for about 12 percent of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, making it one of the most important drivers of growth as Thailand has lagged regional peers since the army took power in 2014.

 

International tourist arrivals rose 8.8 percent in 2017 to a record 35.38 million, equivalent to more than half the Thai population, said government tourism and sports official Pongpanu Svetarundra.

 

The biggest factor was growth of 12 percent in the numbers of Chinese visitors, who are ever more evident at beaches, shopping malls and temples.

 

Tourist revenue had also risen nearly 12 percent to more than 1.8 trillion baht ($56 billion), the ministry said.

 

"The trend is moving to the higher-end market, for both Chinese and European tourists. The spending per tourist is increasing," Pongpanu told a news conference.

 

In 2018, Thailand expects 37.55 million visitors to spend 2.1 trillion baht.

 

Although the baht is near a 3-1/2-year high against the dollar and up more than 12 percent since the start of 2017, inflation is less than one percent.

 

The currency strength was having little impact, said Ittirit Kinglek, the president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, adding, "The overall trend looks positive."

 

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the tourism boom is majority state-owned airports operator Airports of Thailand, which recently said it planned to upgrade its 2018 earnings outlook.

 

Shares of AOT have risen 78 percent since the start of 2017, with its market capitalisation reaching 1 trillion baht ($31 billion), making it the largest airport operator in the world by market capitalization.

 

It trades at a valuation of 49 times earnings, compared to a price-to-earnings ratio of 22 times for the second largest airport operator, Spain's Aena SME SA.

 

Faced with stiff competition and higher fuel prices, however, Thai airlines have fallen short of a rise of 16 percent in the benchmark index.

Hotels and shopping malls are among other winners.

 

Central Plaza Hotel Pcl, whose shares have risen 40 percent since the start of 2017, forecasts 2018 revenue growth of 7 percent to 8 percent.

 

Mall operator Central Pattana Pcl aims for profit growth of 20 percent this year. Its shares have risen 53 percent since the start of 2017. 

 

Thailand's tour and leisure index rose 30 percent since 2017 and was trading at 37 times earnings.

 

There is still plenty of room for growth, said Douglas Martell, chief executive of ONYX Hospitality Group, the hotel arm of Italthai Group, which also owns a construction company, Italian-Thai Development Pcl.

 

"There is also potential for the industry to transition towards higher room pricing," he told Reuters.

 

($1=31.91 baht)

 

(Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-17

[mok199]

great photo....AMUSING THAILAND

Edited January 16, 2018 by mok199

[upena]

Arrivals are not necessarily tourists.

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

equivalent to more than half the Thai population

Does this mean that 1 in every 3 people you see will not be Thai. lol.

[peperobi]

I really do not know who is counting the tourists, but something is wrong, the most destination here said that the tourism is going already for years down, many of the Chinese tourists are not really welcome in many places...

[JAG]

"There is also potential for the industry to transition towards higher room pricing," he told Reuters.
Whilst continuing to stab wildly at the golden goose in front of him...

Sent from my KENNY using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[decca60]

"Thailand plans" This is The information. Should it be true it would be a great step up !!!!!

[alant]

Fantastic that tourism is so buoyant, really impressed.

Even more impressed that they don't seem to go out at night to the bars and restaurants, well not in Chiang Mai. The alcohol is wicked message must really be working and maybe it is being replaced by heroin as the use is on the up according to previous reports.

Interesting.

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by alant

[empireboy]

12% growth from China... Are these like so many that book and pay for their tour in China to Chinese, come and stay in Chinese-owned accommodation; Travel with Chinese Tour operators and spend 2/5 of <deleted>-all with local Thai people?

[Curmudgeon1]

1 hour ago, peperobi said:

I really do not know who is counting the tourists, but something is wrong, the most destination here said that the tourism is going already for years down, many of the Chinese tourists are not really welcome in many places...

I'm guessing the growth is mostly Chinese who only shop and stay where they're told. If course that would be Chinese or Thai Chinese business. Never get to the people. 

[worgeordie]

Wonder how many "tourists" come here just to see

if if things are as really bad as Thailand is reported 

in their home countries,with reports of ripoffs,scams,

prostitutes on every corner,Farangs been murdered or

disappearing.and they still keep coming in greater numbers

if you believe T.A.T.

regards Worgeordie

[spidermike007]

What is really incredible, is that everyone I talk to in the tourism industry, says tourism is down. If you count the Chinese arrivals it may be up. But, in terms of actual money spent, it is way down.

 

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

 

I think perhaps a few decades from now, they will have tourism classes at university, where they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $2,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, many in this region, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine service and selection at fair prices, which rich tourists demand), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

 So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. They came in droves. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. Have you ever been in a high end restaurant here, and asked a question about a wine on the list? I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

 

What are they going to do, to mitigate these additional arrivals? Whenever immigration takes more than 60 minutes, they should issue some kind of credit voucher, for food at the airport. It is a very small way of saying we are not capable of taking care of this task, and therefore we would like to show some humility to our valuable, incoming guests. That would be a reasonable reply, or response, and might make those stranded tourists feel as if they were not completely abused, and treated like dogs, by the country that so adamantly claims how much it welcomes them.

 

Since the tourism numbers are going up so dramatically, why don't they make provisions for this? If tourism is expanding exponentially, why isn't the immigration department expanding in line with this? There is plenty of revenue to make this happen. It makes one wonder where that revenue is going. The entire situation smells foul. And reeks of incompetence and indifference. The neighboring countries are doing better. Thailand continues to lag way behind the curve. 

 

 It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. I am sure many feel the same way. But, unfortunately they are cursed with a government that is incompetent, myopic, non-visionary, indifferent, and reckless beyond imagination.

 

Little P. Leading Thailand backwards at an astonishing and alarming pace.

 

Edited January 17, 2018 by spidermike007

[robsamui]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

What is really incredible, is that everyone I talk to in the tourism industry, says tourism is down. If you count the Chinese arrivals it may be up. But, in terms of actual money spent, it is way down.

 

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

 

I think perhaps a few decades from now, they will have tourism classes at university, where they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $2,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, many in this region, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine service and selection at fair prices, which rich tourists demand), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

 So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. They came in droves. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. Have you ever been in a high end restaurant here, and asked a question about a wine on the list? I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

 

What are they going to do, to mitigate these additional arrivals? Whenever immigration takes more than 60 minutes, they should issue some kind of credit voucher, for food at the airport. It is a very small way of saying we are not capable of taking care of this task, and therefore we would like to show some humility to our valuable, incoming guests. That would be a reasonable reply, or response, and might make those stranded tourists feel as if they were not completely abused, and treated like dogs, by the country that so adamantly claims how much it welcomes them.

 

Since the tourism numbers are going up so dramatically, why don't they make provisions for this? If tourism is expanding exponentially, why isn't the immigration department expanding in line with this? There is plenty of revenue to make this happen. It makes one wonder where that revenue is going. The entire situation smells foul. And reeks of incompetence and indifference. The neighboring countries are doing better. Thailand continues to lag way behind the curve. 

 

 It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. I am sure many feel the same way. But, unfortunately they are cursed with a government that is incompetent, myopic, non-visionary, indifferent, and reckless beyond imagination.

 

Little P. Leading Thailand backwards at an astonishing and alarming pace.

 

You could have easily editied this  shambolic rant down to 6 or 7 short, to-the-point paragraphs  and people would have bothered to read it. You are totally spot on in all you say. But zero marks for style.

Edited January 17, 2018 by robsamui

[laocowboy2]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

What is really incredible, is that everyone I talk to in the tourism industry, says tourism is down. If you count the Chinese arrivals it may be up. But, in terms of actual money spent, it is way down.

 

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

 

I think perhaps a few decades from now, they will have tourism classes at university, where they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $2,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, many in this region, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine service and selection at fair prices, which rich tourists demand), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

 So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. They came in droves. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. Have you ever been in a high end restaurant here, and asked a question about a wine on the list? I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

 

What are they going to do, to mitigate these additional arrivals? Whenever immigration takes more than 60 minutes, they should issue some kind of credit voucher, for food at the airport. It is a very small way of saying we are not capable of taking care of this task, and therefore we would like to show some humility to our valuable, incoming guests. That would be a reasonable reply, or response, and might make those stranded tourists feel as if they were not completely abused, and treated like dogs, by the country that so adamantly claims how much it welcomes them.

 

Since the tourism numbers are going up so dramatically, why don't they make provisions for this? If tourism is expanding exponentially, why isn't the immigration department expanding in line with this? There is plenty of revenue to make this happen. It makes one wonder where that revenue is going. The entire situation smells foul. And reeks of incompetence and indifference. The neighboring countries are doing better. Thailand continues to lag way behind the curve. 

 

 It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. I am sure many feel the same way. But, unfortunately they are cursed with a government that is incompetent, myopic, non-visionary, indifferent, and reckless beyond imagination.

 

Little P. Leading Thailand backwards at an astonishing and alarming pace.

 

Spot on, sadly. Especially about the wine. It is why most of my friends now go to Cambodia and/or Vietnam.

[Colabamumbai]

I have never met a Thai who makes plans.

[sambum]

Whoopee! Lots more rubbish and garbage to make mountains of!

[Pesche]

Indeed, spidermike007, spot on.

 

I do remember well the scandalous tax raises on wine in the 90s! Before that I could offer a decent selection in my restaurant and guest were delighted to drink "wine by the glass" of nice selected wines. After the repeated increases the wine became unpayable since the price was even higher than in Europe! They did destroy the market and many restaurateurs know how bad decision it was.

 

Specially the immigration procedures at arrival are since ages snail-slow and it is acute when tourists travel for so long and have to cue for hours to get in.

I was blown away when I arrived at Hong Kong Airport last year for a brief visit: I was from the plane to out of the airport within 15 minutes!

Including a smiling and welcoming immigration officer!!

It was a really amazing positive experience!!

 

However, when back in Thailand, arriving at 05.00 at Krabi International I was squeezed by hundreds of pushing and loud Chineses (sorry! I like Chinese, BUT...).

The Lobby was as crowded as a can of sardines...

And there was 1 (one) officer checking the passports, with a grumpy face and friendly like a bulldozer...

I could finally get out within 1.45 h.

The flight from Hong Kong took 1.15 h.

 

If Thailand wants to become a leading destination, they definitely have to improve communication (finally speak English) and Service skills (professionalism).

I recall, Thailand had the Boom starting in 1988. If you compare then and now, it changed to get worse and worse and, with an attitude...

The "give me money" Mentality

 

Xenophobic behavior is nowadays also a norm we experience every single day, specially if you live in the Land of Smiles which doesn't smile anymore...

My humble Salt & Pepper

[flexomike]

6 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

I have never met a Thai who makes plans.

 

6 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

I have never met a Thai who makes plans.

They have lots of ideas, but absolutely no plans

[StayinThailand2much]

8 hours ago, laocowboy2 said:

Spot on, sadly. Especially about the wine. It is why most of my friends now go to Cambodia and/or Vietnam.

Absolutely true! On my recent travels to neighbouring countries I saw plenty of tourists Thailand is vying for: families. couples, high-spenders; all having a good time in HCMC, Phnom Penh, Yangon... Even I take my girlfriend on holiday away from Thailand, rather than Thai beaches, while spending 10 times per day what I usually spend in Thailand!

 

The locals in these places are extraordinarily friendly, with no scams or theft. 

 

All those tens of millions of Chinese tourists, of which, as someone already mentioned, only PRC travel agencies, the AOT, King Power, Central Department Store, and a handful of other bigwigs profit, have made the majority of Thais bitter towards tourists, as hardly any money trickles down to the people who should benefit from tourism.

Edited January 17, 2018 by StayinThailand2much

[natway09]

Pure Greed...... .Just wait until the little infrastructure in place gets so overloaded with sheer numbers

that it crumbles leaving Thailand as a shit  hole rather than 50% of the present arrivals coming & spending some real money in the country & getting looked after properly instead of getting ripped off.

Non sustainable tourism at it's finest

[evadgib]

On 1/17/2018 at 5:45 AM, webfact said:

Picture taken September 19, 2014

Given what happened there that same month i'm surprised they didn't do a little more due diligence before pushing this in the direction of any serious players in the tourist industry 

 

(Photo says Koh Tao!)

 

[StayinThailand2much]

7 minutes ago, evadgib said:

Given what happened there that same month i'm surprised they didn't do a little more due diligence before pushing this in the direction of any serious players in the tourist industry 

 

(Photo says Koh Tao!)

 

Slogan: "Travel to Koh Tao - An Experience You May Never Get Again!" 

Edited January 18, 2018 by StayinThailand2much

[Lingba]

Boy the way these numbers are increasing ..Thailand will soon see a billion tourists over a 3 month period!...

[toughlove]

Pure Greed...... .Just wait until the little infrastructure in place gets so overloaded with sheer numbers

that it crumbles leaving Thailand as a shit  hole rather than 50% of the present arrivals coming & spending some real money in the country & getting looked after properly instead of getting ripped off.

Non sustainable tourism at it's finest

If the baht drops then the shit will hit the fan when the numbers go ballistic and no forward planning

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Ironic that they should use a photo of Tao in this thread. A once beautiful island completely ruined by overdevelopment.

 

The Thais already lost the smile due to mass tourism. They don't need more tourists.

What they need is better value to encourage less tourists to spend more. At the moment, the value has not improved in 20 years- getting worse, if anything.

[Oziex1]

So the the story never changes, just the tourism ministers.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 8:19 AM, JAG said:

"There is also potential for the industry to transition towards higher room pricing," he told Reuters.
Whilst continuing to stab wildly at the golden goose in front of him...

Sent from my KENNY using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

In all my beach going days I paid little ( about 300 baht ) for a room. They were not worth more. I could have paid 4 times the price for a room in the same resort just to have a tv, AC and hot water, but the resort they were in wasn't worth the price they asked.

Since those days, seems they have just gone for the big concrete buildings with a swimming pool, and charge even more, but the environment they provide is the same as what I got for 300. Package tourists will continue to come because the place looks nice in the travel agent brochure, and it's still cheap because of travel agency discounts the hotels give, but the value of the holiday has improved by not an iota.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Absolutely true! On my recent travels to neighbouring countries I saw plenty of tourists Thailand is vying for: families. couples, high-spenders; all having a good time in HCMC, Phnom Penh, Yangon... Even I take my girlfriend on holiday away from Thailand, rather than Thai beaches, while spending 10 times per day what I usually spend in Thailand!

 

The locals in these places are extraordinarily friendly, with no scams or theft. 

 

All those tens of millions of Chinese tourists, of which, as someone already mentioned, only PRC travel agencies, the AOT, King Power, Central Department Store, and a handful of other bigwigs profit, have made the majority of Thais bitter towards tourists, as hardly any money trickles down to the people who should benefit from tourism.

LOL.

The locals in these places are extraordinarily friendly, with no scams or theft. 

Wait till they have as many tourists as Thailand and I guarantee the friendliness will have gone and the crimes will equal that in LOS.

 

Thailand was like that 20 years ago, when the smile was real.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, Pesche said:

 

 

I do remember well the scandalous tax raises on wine in the 90s! Before that I could offer a decent selection in my restaurant and guest were delighted to drink "wine by the glass" of nice selected wines. After the repeated increases the wine became unpayable since the price was even higher than in Europe! They did destroy the market and many restaurateurs know how bad decision it was.

 

 

Hmmmm. Does any tourist make the decision to holiday in LOS dependent on the wine here?

I understand that you like the stuff, but I doubt anyone visits your restaurant because of the wine selection, or not.

After all, it's the same for everyone, isn't it?

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 11:18 AM, spidermike007 said:

What is really incredible, is that everyone I talk to in the tourism industry, says tourism is down. If you count the Chinese arrivals it may be up. But, in terms of actual money spent, it is way down.

 

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

 

I think perhaps a few decades from now, they will have tourism classes at university, where they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism. 

While I will not comment on your obvious bent for the richer tourist, as I hold them responsible for the destruction of Thai beaches, I agree with the part I have kept of your post, except perhaps the last paragraph, as I doubt they will ever admit what they did.

Yes indeed, the Thais killed the golden goose, all by themselves. I can't think of anything they have done in the past 20 years to improve the holiday experience. Even the new Bkk airport is a badly designed shambolic travesty of corruption meets greed ( remember who was PM when it was built ), and totally inadequate to meet the needs of the number of passengers arriving. Remember how they didn't even build the airport rail service till years later, and even then they built a shambles that is badly designed, and doesn't have lifts or down escalators for passengers with heavy luggage?

Frankly, I can't think of anything they have done to make in country travel better, starting from the airport itself. It's all a shambles.

 

The only reason, that I can see for families holidaying here, now, is that the parents may have visited back in the good 'ol days before it all turned to the mess it is now, and are wanting to revisit those days. Otherwise it's the inexhaustible supply of new tourist fodder that only know what they see in the fancy tourist brochure.