An Onslaught of Tourists Is Stressing Out Thailand

By Sunil Jagtiani and Natnicha Chuwiruch

 

FILE photo

 

>> Boat accident off coast of Phuket raises safety concerns

>> Thailand braces for a record 40 million visitors in 2019

 

Back in early June, a small pilot whale gained global attention after it ingested plastic bags and packaging, and then died in southern Thailand. It wasn’t a good look for the nation’s tourism industry.

 

A month later, Thailand’s Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat holds up a picture frame containing pieces of an instant-noodle packet recovered from the stomach of the whale. For him, it’s emblematic of the environmental and other stresses of a record tourism boom that could see 40 million foreign arrivals -- equivalent to over half the nation’s population -- in 2019.

 

"Tourism can create, and at the same time, tourism can disrupt," said Weerasak, 52, in an interview in his office in the Thai capital. "Congestion is no good for anyone, including the hosts and the guests."

 

Full story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-11/thai-tourist-boom-a-dead-whale-boat-tragedy-and-rising-worries

 

-- Bloomberg 2018-2018-07-12

NO...The Onslaught of ''Budget Tourists'',lawless disrespectful thais and Poorly run ,corrupt tour groups is stressing out Thailand..but we can always go to the new mall

Instant noodles?

 

Rather a poor example to choose if you wish to blame tourists for the excess of garbage.

Its all very well saying too many tourists are bad, but at the end of the day, they will ignore all the warnings and opt to take the money, while destroying as much natural habitat as they can get away with, and then wonder how things went wrong.

Slaughter of Tourists

An onslaught of greed by tour operators is stressing Thailand out would be more accurate.

There are some magnificent places in the world where the density of tourists is significantly higher than Thailand, yet they remain in great shape.

 

The difference is the policies (and enforcement) to keep tourism from thrashing the resource, and the amount of the tourist money that's re-invested to maintain the resource.

 

Be careful what you wish for...…………………...but they got it!

Tax the tourists with increased scams, visa crackdowns, rip-offs and "processing fees" in order to keep their numbers down. Very lucrative.

An onslaught of Tourists?

Is that a collective like -

A murder of crows?

 

4 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

An onslaught of Tourists?

Is that a collective like -

A murder of crows?

 

A clump of Chinese?

A slew of sunken diving vessels?

An incompetence of captains?

True I have seen Chinese just throw trash directly in the water, but there are no tourists where I live, and there is trash in every available open space.  So, let’s be honest here.  Maybe placing trash cans everywhere might help some.  I always have to search for somewhere to throw my trash.  Time for some sanitary training, including washing hands with soap

1 minute ago, Redline said:

True I have seen Chinese just throw trash directly in the water, but there are no tourists where I live, and there is trash in every available open space.  So, let’s be honest here.  Maybe placing trash cans everywhere might help some.  I always have to search for somewhere to throw my trash.  Time for some sanitary training, including washing hands with soap

The village installed blue bins which are collected weekly..

They look very pretty with the piles of rotting garbage strewn everywhere but the bins.

 

No Chinese within a million miles.

 

A well educated young Thai man once said to me.."I like China-it's clean"

 

'nuff said about the complete lack of care of the environment.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

 

"Tourism can create, and at the same time, tourism can disrupt," said Weerasak,

With all the drugs in the country, I'm now convinced the use of the consciousness-expanding ones lead to unexpected inside knowledge, expertise, and wisdom. What I don't understand is, in a country with more than 60 million people they chose him for the job?

My Wife (Thai Lady) and I often walk through the plantations near our house with our dogs, where the tourists tend not to wander.  The areas are strewn with plastic bags, old flip flops, bits of cloth, discarded containers et al.  We normally take a plastic bag with us and fill it up and then dump it at the nearest refuse point, but to be honest, it is a never ending job and it is very much down to the locals who are indiscriminantly throwing their junk on the ground, without thought of the consequences.  Very sad and clearly an education programme is needed both to stop this littering and to stop them burning their rubbish with the adverse affects on the environment, people and animals.

I would just like to know where these record number of tourists go.

I have lived in a beachside tourist town since 2008 and the numbers

of tourists have decreased year on year. Now the high season is shorter

with less tourists. Now during low season, it is like a ghost town.

It's always the foreigners' fault. 

1 minute ago, Fex Bluse said:

It's always the foreigners' fault. 

Very true.

 

It is a bit Jekyll and Hyde-ish, is'nt it?

Onslaught of tourists . . . as well as low income, low quality expats scrounging out a life in bars???

Thailand used to be beautiful but that was a long time ago. 

They are taught from a young age to litter. Nothing is ever said about littering in Thai society. Kids going to kindergarten in a bus throw the empty milk cartons out the windows as if its nothing. To throw away has no connection with a trash or rubbish bin here.  Its really just unbelievable they have no love or care for the environment at all. 

The Thai wife and I chose Nan province to live. A key reason was we found Nan and Nan province to be remarkably clean of litter. In discussing it with several locals we understand it has been a focus of the provincial government and other local authorities for a long period. 

The northern end of Pattaya beach road is busy with 

thais on Sundays. Sitting on mats, having a good time with lots of food.

walk past when they have gone, rubbish everywhere, never a thought to pack it up and take it home for disposal. This is the mindset here and will unlikely chane. Start with the young ones in schoo

yup blame the tourists instead of your own management? Its not tourist throwing rubbish out, its the thais not disposing them properly.

">> Boat accident off coast of Phuket raises safety concerns

>> Thailand braces for a record 40 million visitors in 2019"

 

In this age of social media and connectedness, seems the former will take care of the later. Once Thailand loses it's perceived luster, it will be near impossible to get back. Problem solved, except for the litter, degradation of environment and on and on

5 hours ago, impulse said:

There are some magnificent places in the world where the density of tourists is significantly higher than Thailand, yet they remain in great shape.

 

The difference is the policies (and enforcement) to keep tourism from thrashing the resource, and the amount of the tourist money that's re-invested to maintain the resource.

 

Yeah like Bhutan but most people cannot afford to go there.

6 hours ago, SkyNets said:

Slaughter of Tourists

Then eat them!  No plastic packaging required!  ?!

Thais have perfected environmental destruction  through the stupidity of the native population which takes such glee in throwing trash and cigarettes everywhere.

And nothing is ever their problem; it's foreigners.

1 hour ago, robertson468 said:

My Wife (Thai Lady) and I often walk through the plantations near our house with our dogs, where the tourists tend not to wander.  The areas are strewn with plastic bags, old flip flops, bits of cloth, discarded containers et al.  We normally take a plastic bag with us and fill it up and then dump it at the nearest refuse point, but to be honest, it is a never ending job and it is very much down to the locals who are indiscriminantly throwing their junk on the ground, without thought of the consequences.  Very sad and clearly an education programme is needed both to stop this littering and to stop them burning their rubbish with the adverse affects on the environment, people and animals.

Sadly I think it is their genes from when in pre-plastic days they lived in houses on stilts and the living room/kitchen was the dirt-floored area under the house. Food waste and all other garbage was just dropped to the floor for the pets, pigs and chickens to eat and what was left was soon broken down by the hot tropical activity of insects and microbes. House cleaning would be sweeping it out of the living area once or twice a day and this is exactly what my Thai family used to do in our 1st rented house. No waste bins, they just dropped everything unwanted onto the floor and when it became too much to ignore they'd sweep it out of the door and just leave it there! Evolution takes time.

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Its all very well saying too many tourists are bad, but at the end of the day, they will ignore all the warnings and opt to take the money, while destroying as much natural habitat as they can get away with, and then wonder how things went wrong.

No, they won't wonder how things went wrong they will simply blame the tourists/foreigners as witnessed by the recent Phuket boat tragedy.

Blamed the Chinese, swooped on the Chinese tour boat business claiming it was illegal, but of course it was sanctioned by Thais making money in the background.

There can be no remorse from people who take no responsibility for their actions, or more correctly lack of action.