Big Change in Penang

[KiChakayan]

On 7/17/2018 at 11:18 AM, vinegarbase said:

I went back in the beginning of June and made a post about it on Thai Visa. They almost denied me a tourist visa in Penang because I did not have tickets going back to the USA. For those who don't seem to get this, yes, they are going way beyond their own laws and not just requiring an onward ticket outside of Thailand but are now requesting you have tickets to your home country.  I told them I have to go to China on business after I leave Thailand and they still gave me trouble saying next time I need to have tickets back to my country of origin. Knowing Thailand this is the way it starts and it's probably only a matter of time before people start getting denied visa's over this and Penang becomes an unusable consulate, maybe they want it that way so they can Sanook, Sabay all day.

 

As I have mentioned before to people traditional western tourists need to wake up to the fact that we are not welcome or perceived as needed anymore. Thailand has their sites set on the millions of Chinese tourists that come for 2 weeks, spend a bunch of money, then go back home. Let them have their Chinese, we need to start going elsewhere and stop supporting them treating us like garbage.

But why would a "genuine tourist", someone planning a holiday, apply for a tourist visa, from outside his/her country of residence?

[lopburi3]

2 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

But why would a "genuine tourist", someone planning a holiday, apply for a tourist visa, from outside his/her country of residence?

Why wouldn't they?  People travel, make friends, change plans all the time.  That is why tourist visas are normally available to all and not restricted to residents or citizens of country the Consulate is located in.