‘Major infrastructure boost needed’ to cope with burgeoning tourism

[webfact]

‘Major infrastructure boost needed’ to cope with burgeoning tourism 

By   SOMLUCK SRIMALEE 
THE NATION 
SEOUL 

 

Pongpanu

 

THAILAND EXPECTS the number of international tourists to hit 60 million in 2030, forcing the country to expand its investment in developing the infrastructure needed to support them, up from an anticipated 38 million this year, Tourism and Sports Ministry permanent secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra said in an interview with The Nation. 

 

“Thailand has under-invested in facilities when considering the country’s aggressive growth in tourists,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Asean-Korea Tourism Investment Seminar 2018 in Seoul last weekend.

 

“If we continue to delay investment to develop the country’s infrastructure – such as investment for the third phase of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Laem Chabang Port phase three, high-speed trains, etc – the country will not have the capacity to serve the expanded number of tourists visiting the country,” he said.

 

To speed up infrastructure development, the country must open up investment in projects to the private sector under public-private partnerships, and also make it easier for foreign investors to expand their investments in infrastructure or tourist businesses by offering them incentives, Pongpanu said.

 

Thailand also needed to relax some of its rules that limit the opportunity for foreign investment in the country’s service sector, which now limits investment only to local investors, he said. This would help the country to improve services for foreign tourists. 

 

The country, meanwhile, needed to improve skills among service sector workers, particularly language skills, Pongpanu said, noting that many local people lack the ability to communicate with foreign tourists visiting Thailand.

 

As well, the expected strong growth of the tourism business called for developing the nation’s innovation-based industries and digital transformation to meet the demand from foreign tourists, he said.

 

“If we speed up improving the country’s capacity to serve a rising number of tourists, we are confident that Thailand will maintain its market leadership for international tourists in the Asean bloc,” he said.

 

International tourist visiting Asean nations in 2017 reached 120 million, with Thailand topping out at 35 million visits, followed by Malaysia at 25.9 million.

 

For 2018, Thailand expects the number of tourists to hit 38 million, up 8 per cent from last year. The tourist sector generates revenue of about 20 per cent of GDP.

 

To drive the target rise in the number of international tourists, the Tourism and Sports Ministry joined with the Asean-Korea Tourism Investment Seminar 2018 in Seoul, from June 8-10 to promote the country’s tourism.

 

There they invited South Korean investors to expand their investments in Thailand’s tourist business, Pongpanu said.

 

Expanded investment

 

“We proposed marine and cruise, health and sport, and theme park tourism for South Korean investors to expand their investment in Thailand, so that Thailand has the facilities to serve with these activities,” Pongpanu said.

 

Tourism investment seemingly entered a new era of collaboration, with Asean nations and Korea developing partnerships that began after the Asean Tourism Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand in January this year. At that event Asean’s tourist ministers agreed to a new approach to collaborate as “Asean+3” – which includes China, Japan, and South Korea – to invest in tourist businesses rather than simply promote tourist visits.

 

The Asean-Korea Tourism Investment 2018 was the first major get-together following the Chiang Mai meet. Next will come the Asean-China Tourism Investment event in 2019 and Asean-Japan in 2020.

 

The enlarged vision would support sustainable growth of Asean tourism, said Pongpanu.

 

“Our Asean strategy is one destination for 10 countries. We try to cooperate to reduce the problems for foreign tourists to visit 10 countries in Asean, especially the process to create one Asean visa for 10 countries that is underway,” said the permanent secretary.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Tourism/30347394

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-11

[ezzra]

Yeah, start with more immigration officers at the airport both going in and out, easing up on cumbersome and confusing visa procedures fix you sloppy and crooked taxi industry and you're halfway there...

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand has under-invested in facilities when considering the country’s aggressive growth in tourists,”

takes the Tourism God to highlight thailand's infrastructure problems, guess those of us that live here don't matter; lack of road maintenance where needed, bad highway design, lack of over and underpasses where logical, on and on...

[hansnl]

Investment needed in roads, railways and airports!

Not only for tourism, however.

But to combat the high transport costs for goods.

That is not something to leave to the private sector, but is a government's job.

[jaltsc]

“If we speed up improving the country’s capacity to serve a rising number of tourists, we are confident that Thailand will maintain its market leadership for international tourists in the Asean bloc..."

And screw the citizens of Thailand, who will continue to have a low quality of education and health services, increased pollution (air and rubbish), auto deaths due to lack of law enforcement, and corruption at all levels of public office. But, hey, the rich will continue to line their pockets from tourists whose money never makes its way down to the common person. 

Edited June 11, 2018 by jaltsc

[AntDee]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Yeah, start with more immigration officers at the airport both going in and out, easing up on cumbersome and confusing visa procedures fix you sloppy and crooked taxi industry and you're halfway there...

Agree. It's really not rocket science is it. I suspect though the majority of extra tourists will be coming from our northern burgeoning superpower cousins. So, additional investment should include millions of ashtrays and spit buckets at restaurants. 

[mok199]

start with the locals then lets talk about brick and mortar...

[BEngBKK]

And Thailand need more tourists to help clean up the beaches....

[LoZth]

Hmmmmmmm... Major infrastructure boost.......

 

Does that mean maybe some public toilets in Pattaya?

 

Don't you just hate having to go in to a bar and buy a beer just to use their toilet, I do.  ?

 

[1337markus]

They keep telling us how many millions come here and how many billions of baht they spend here. So the collection of this money must be like the garbage piles we see daily, so much to spend. What is the problem?

[newnative]

They can start with Pattaya.  Lots of private improvements being done but not much from the public sector.

[spidermike007]

A major infrastructure boost is needed anyway. Regardless of tourism. The north south road from Hua Hin to Surat needs something. Perhaps a second level, with tolls? Something. The trucks hog the fast lane constantly, and on the country's major north south artery, traffic slows down to 40-50kph. It is primitive, bizarre, and there is nothing efficient about it. Something has to be done to improve the highways. And the trains? Major freight capacity needs to be added, to get some of these trucks off the roads. 

 

In the tourist cities public transportation drastically needs to be improved. Public transport is non existent on Samui. Natural gas, or electric trams should be added in all of the major tourist areas. It would be an inexpensive and efficient way to move tourists around, and could eliminate hundreds of the monster buses, taxis, tuk tuks, etc. Never mind the local mafias. Squash them like a bug. If they are serious, let us see some indication of that. Talk is cheap. Every day, or week this administration trots out new programs, and less than 1% ever get implemented. 

 

Action, not talk. Show me, do not tell me. All talk, and no action makes Prayuth and Kowsurat very dull boys.

[holy cow cm]

The last thing Thailand needs is making a bigger Gateway for the mass hordes of Chinese to a tune of 10 million. At 38 million tourists annually that means 1/4 of all tourists are from China and that is only going to increase double fold. . Situation is past the point of control and actually needs limitations on them coming in. Not Taiwan as this is not China. Furthermore, same as how in the USA is being overwhelmed from stupidity, if Thailand relaxes restrictions to buying or having businesses they might as well change the name to Child of China. Once here they are here like a pest. so a restriction needs to happen on Chinese not additional openings for all. 

[worgeordie]

They need to improve infrastructure Thailand wide,not only

in tourist centres,but they have blew the money on weapons

of war,Satellites, things that do not benefit the population at all. 

regards worgeordie

[neeray]

2030 !  I’m all for forward thinking but there’s many things that could hamper such optimistic growth in 12 years. 

Like a receding world economy, a war or two, tariffs that reduce buying power/travel budgets .......

But for now, this is only talk anyway. 

[bkk6060]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Yeah, start with more immigration officers at the airport both going in and out, easing up on cumbersome and confusing visa procedures fix you sloppy and crooked taxi industry and you're halfway there...

Never taken me more then 20 minutes at the airport come in and out 50 times.

Visa the easiest thing in the world less then an hour.  But one needs to have their paperwork and act together.

If it seems like a crooked Taxi, I get out.

 

Anything else?

[lespaulTV]

2 hours ago, LoZth said:

Hmmmmmmm... Major infrastructure boost.......

 

Does that mean maybe some public toilets in Pattaya?

 

Don't you just hate having to go in to a bar and buy a beer just to use their toilet, I do.  ?

 

Haha, I understand!

[bkk6060]

56 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

The last thing Thailand needs is making a bigger Gateway for the mass hordes of Chinese to a tune of 10 million. At 38 million tourists annually that means 1/4 of all tourists are from China and that is only going to increase double fold. . Situation is past the point of control and actually needs limitations on them coming in. Not Taiwan as this is not China. Furthermore, same as how in the USA is being overwhelmed from stupidity, if Thailand relaxes restrictions to buying or having businesses they might as well change the name to Child of China. Once here they are here like a pest. so a restriction needs to happen on Chinese not additional openings for all. 

Yes.  In 10 years this place will change a lot.

The Chinese love this place so much you ain't seen nothing yet.

They will eventually own just about everything.

Thailand will have to adjust to them, not the other way.

Just wait.. 

[holy cow cm]

Not happy to say glad you agree. Sad times are a coming here. Chinese time bomb is just like the plastic problem. Too late as cosmetics won't help anything. It might get to the point like Vietnam a few years back when China ran the oil rig into their territory for drilling samples and sent hundreds of boats in mass numbers to push and effectively blockade the VN Navy out of the way. Severe Riots and the Chinese picked up and ran for the hills. But now they are back as they are relentless like a certain undesirable pest. I am there in VN about 5 times a year. 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Would it be impertinent to enquire what has happened to the hundreds of buses seized a couple of years ago at the port and originally destined for the capital's streets? Are they still caught up in the judicial system, even as the poor continue to be unable to afford the BTS and must struggle to work and back on forty-year-old rust buckets?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Meanwhile, the BTS system, as well as being unaffordable for a large section of Thai society, is looking increasingly inadequate in the face of burgeoning passenger numbers. Already, even at 10pm, it is at sardine level. What price in a couple of years, when more condos and apartments are completed along the extended route, and the Chinese and Indians begin to exert their full tourism potential? This is the legacy of sabai sabai.

[sjaak327]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Never taken me more then 20 minutes at the airport come in and out 50 times.

Visa the easiest thing in the world less then an hour.  But one needs to have their paperwork and act together.

If it seems like a crooked Taxi, I get out.

 

Anything else?

Hmm you must be extremely lucky, or haven't really came in 50 times. 20 minutes is possible in the very early morning (before 6am) come around 11 and it will certainly take you an hour, if not more. My last arrival was around 11 am, maybe 11.15, and I timed it, the queues weren't all that bad, it still took me over one hour to get from the end of the queue to the point where I could proceed to collect my bags. And,,, I skipped the first immigration hall, as there the queues were a lot worse than in the second immigration hall. I suspect queue in the first would have probably taken over 1,5 hour. 

 

I never understood why those immigration officers take so long to process a single person, on average they need two full minutes, yet all the need to do is scan the passport, stamp it and collect the tm whatever form. Something that could easily be done in 30 seconds. 

Edited June 11, 2018 by sjaak327

[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, sjaak327 said:

Hmm you must be extremely lucky, or haven't really came in 50 times. 20 minutes is possible in the very early morning (before 6am) come around 11 and it will certainly take you an hour, if not more. My last arrival was around 11 am, maybe 11.15, and I timed it, the queues weren't all that bad, it still took me over one hour to get from the end of the queue to the point where I could proceed to collect my bags. And,,, I skipped the first immigration hall, as there the queues were a lot worse than in the second immigration hall. I suspect queue in the first would have probably taken over 1,5 hour. 

 

I never understood why those immigration officers take so long to process a single person, on average they need two full minutes, yet all the need to do is scan the passport, stamp it and collect the tm whatever form. Something that could easily be done in 30 seconds. 

I guess I come in at good times.  Seriously, I have never waited much.

With this, business class a few times so I know that helps.

Nobody likes lines or to wait I understand, but I am glad if they take longer because they are conducting a brief investigation into that persons history/history of entries and exits.  I have seen them pull people out of line for why, I do not know.  They are mostly not sitting there playing on Facebook believe it or not, they are actually doing their job.  Also, it is about the same in my country when I enter.

[sjaak327]

4 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I guess I come in at good times.  Seriously, I have never waited much.

With this, business class a few times so I know that helps.

Nobody likes lines or to wait I understand, but I am glad if they take longer because they are conducting a brief investigation into that persons history/history of entries and exits.  I have seen them pull people out of line for why, I do not know.  They are mostly not sitting there playing on Facebook believe it or not, they are actually doing their job.  Also, it is about the same in my country when I enter.

I have entered quite a few countries, and the immigration officers in Thailand are amongst the slowest I have seen. In my country, I just hold my passport against some screen and the barrier opens, takes all but 20 seconds. 

 

Even if it really takes them so long to process a single person, maybe making sure more immigration officers are on duty would help the situation. Yes no-one likes to wait, but queueing at BKK airport for an hour or more is not an exception, and It really should be. 

[VBF]

45 minutes ago, sjaak327 said:

I have entered quite a few countries, and the immigration officers in Thailand are amongst the slowest I have seen. In my country, I just hold my passport against some screen and the barrier opens, takes all but 20 seconds. 

 

Even if it really takes them so long to process a single person, maybe making sure more immigration officers are on duty would help the situation. Yes no-one likes to wait, but queueing at BKK airport for an hour or more is not an exception, and It really should be. 

I get what you're saying, but the emphasis there is on "my country."  That's what I do in UK, but British and EU passport holders are allowed to go through the "fast track". "Visa Nationals" have to queue up and be stamped in by an IO and are subject to interrogation - in Thailand WE are the Visa Nationals.

[VBF]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Never taken me more then 20 minutes at the airport come in and out 50 times.

Visa the easiest thing in the world less then an hour.  But one needs to have their paperwork and act together.

If it seems like a crooked Taxi, I get out.

 

Anything else?

Like it! ?

Nice to read a post from someone who doesn't want his/her life wrapped in tissue paper and everything done for them!

Having said that, I have seen immigration queues snaking back and forth especially when a flight from China or South Asia has just landed. 

 

Last time I came in. there was a uniformed person checking landing cards and telling people to have them filled in before getting to the desk.

And....my favourite moan......these totally useless f***ing a***holes who travel without a pen!  Clueless! 

[mrmicbkktxl]

2030 60mio tourists,oho.I don't think so.By 2030 Thailand will be sooo dirty swimming in ocean will be impossible,and if prayuth can follow his long term plan then there won't be any bars or similar.So Pattaya or Patong tourists maybe will change to The Philippines or who knows where.

[sjaak327]

I get what you're saying, but the emphasis there is on "my country."  That's what I do in UK, but British and EU passport holders are allowed to go through the "fast track". "Visa Nationals" have to queue up and be stamped in by an IO and are subject to interrogation - in Thailand WE are the Visa Nationals.

Yes of course. Yet in quite a few countries I had to be stamped in, and in Thailand it takes a long time. I personally think improving the turn out time to be something that makes an immediate impact on perception and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

Sent from my SM-J730GM using Tapatalk

[newnative]

2 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Meanwhile, the BTS system, as well as being unaffordable for a large section of Thai society, is looking increasingly inadequate in the face of burgeoning passenger numbers. Already, even at 10pm, it is at sardine level. What price in a couple of years, when more condos and apartments are completed along the extended route, and the Chinese and Indians begin to exert their full tourism potential? This is the legacy of sabai sabai.

Yes. All these huge, new condo projects going up close to the metro stations because Bangkok people are tired of 2 hour auto commutes.  But, apparently nobody running the trains is giving any thought to all the new passengers these condos are bringing and will be bringing.  The time to order new rail cars was 3 or 4 years ago.  Get moving already.

[AntDee]

3 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Meanwhile, the BTS system, as well as being unaffordable for a large section of Thai society, is looking increasingly inadequate in the face of burgeoning passenger numbers. Already, even at 10pm, it is at sardine level. What price in a couple of years, when more condos and apartments are completed along the extended route, and the Chinese and Indians begin to exert their full tourism potential? This is the legacy of sabai sabai.

The BTS's amateur station design doesn't help either. Took them like 7 years to put in a handful of lifts for handicapped access. Still have not integrated new stations properly with the fare/card system after years. How long will it be before they add capacity and redesign the stations? 20 years?