Comment: Will the Blame Game result in a Chinese Phuket tourism boycott?

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Comment: Will the Blame Game result in a Chinese Phuket tourism boycott?

By Bill Barnett

 

 

As the death toll climbs past a reported 40 from the recent sinking of a tourist boat in Phang Nga Bay, social media in Mainland China is creating a hailstorm of negative criticism about Phuket.

 

While there is a general perception in Thailand that the tourism market dodged a bullet, with the Chiang Rai cave story dominating mainstream international media, effectively marginalising the Phuket incident, the reality is that out of sight is not necessarily out of mind.

 

The reality of the power of social media and decline of legacy traditional news sources is clearly an issue. Despite back slapping about Phuket not drawing large attention on CNN, BBC and similar outlets, it would be ignorant to not understand that the parallel universe of Baidu (the Chinese Twitter) and highly influential bloggers is having a field day at tourism Thailand’s expense.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/comment-will-the-blame-game-result-in-a-chinese-phuket-tourism-boycott

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2018-07-13

[keith101]

If the Chinese tourism dropped it may be a good thing as they are amongst the rudest people who come here and tend to only buy from tour organised stores and told not to buy from anywhere else and strictly controlled by tour operators no matter where they go . They don't have respect for other people or countries only to themselves .

Edited July 13, 2018 by keith101

[schlog]

Phuket was a better place without the chinese hordes. Phuket don't need them. 

[steelepulse]

Would love to see the Chinese boycott Phuket.  Roads, traffic and parking would sure be a lot better.

 

If all of these Chinese are " zero baht tourists" then local businesses wouldn't really see any difference, except for the favoured 7's that all the busses stop at.

[Oziex1]

Disappointing posts missing the point, this is about safety for all tourists, not about your dislike of the Chinese. 

 

The Chinese are not to blame, the so called zero baht tours are a Thai scam. where a few make a lot at the expense of the Thai tourism industry as a whole.

[upu2]

It would send a message that Thailand has to stop taking tings for granted and tighten up the safety and security of the services

[NamKangMan]

1 hour ago, steelepulse said:

Would love to see the Chinese boycott Phuket.  Roads, traffic and parking would sure be a lot better.

 

If all of these Chinese are " zero baht tourists" then local businesses wouldn't really see any difference, except for the favoured 7's that all the busses stop at.

 

"Would love to see the Chinese boycott Phuket." - if there was a boycott, the Phuket economy would collapse, virtually overnight.

 

Think tsunami, but without the tsunami. 

[mok199]

livng in pattaya soi and beach rd..I am around Chinese all day ,most are great and so so happy to come on a holiday as many are retired and first time out of china,yes they are loud ,but they usually just follow the flag..the noise is frm the thais working with the tour groups ,herding and screaming at them like cattle,i have never seen such disrespect it is shamfull how the thais treat tourists....don't blame the chinses they just follow the flag...

[steelepulse]

23 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"Would love to see the Chinese boycott Phuket." - if there was a boycott, the Phuket economy would collapse, virtually overnight.

 

Think tsunami, but without the tsunami. 

Not if they are zero baht tourists as so often claimed.  Those that say these are zero baht tourists are saying that the hotels, restaurants and tours are all owned by Chinese and the money stays in China.  Aren't you a zero baht tourist advocate NKM?

[LivinginKata]

News report claims advance bookings down 15%

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, Oziex1 said:

Disappointing posts missing the point, this is about safety for all tourists, not about your dislike of the Chinese. 

 

The Chinese are not to blame, the so called zero baht tours are a Thai scam. where a few make a lot at the expense of the Thai tourism industry as a whole.

Header says "Will the Blame Game result in a Chinese Phuket tourism boycott?".

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

News report claims advance bookings down 15%

No surprise there, I would expect that to happen in the short term.

 

There are no reasonable alternatives but Thailand to the Chinese, so I see it picking up again very soon. That is for Thailand as a whole, but there are also no comparable alternatives for Phuket within Thailand, so I also see it picking up for Phuket very soon. I could do without the Chinese, but alas.

[quadperfect]

It should. We will see if it does. One can only hope it will.

[yellowboat]

It would sadly take a boycott to get government, and the golden circle to wise up.  Cutting off the money supply is all that they understand. 

[NamKangMan]

1 hour ago, steelepulse said:

Not if they are zero baht tourists as so often claimed.  Those that say these are zero baht tourists are saying that the hotels, restaurants and tours are all owned by Chinese and the money stays in China.  Aren't you a zero baht tourist advocate NKM?

 

Yes, I am a "zero baht tourist advocate" SP.

 

Some of the money stays in China, but also some of the money is sent back to China, but yes, either way, a lot of the money starts and / or ends in China.

 

A quick look at the Chinese "owned" dive company in question shows this.

 

The hordes of Chinese tourists do provide employment for Thai's, albeit, in general, your low paid 300 baht a day Thai's.  They have to eat and pay their bills, so their money is injected into the Phuklet economy. 

 

Just on this point, I know a Vietnamese and a Burmese room cleaner, who work in different hotels.  Yes, they are working illegally, but directly employed by Thai's.  Both have told me they send money back home to their families, so it's not just Chinese dive instructors.  The extent of this loss of employment for Thai's is unknown, but as things get tighter here, and Thai owners look to save every baht, they may resort to cheaper foreign labor, so this is more money leaving the Phuket economy.

 

If the Chinese were to stop coming, a lot of jobs would dry up for Thai's, and so does their money into the Phuket economy.  Now, extend this onto the agriculture sector, for example, much of which is off the island of Phuket, and you can also see it can effect jobs and profits in other provinces.  

 

Interesting times for Phuket ahead. 

[NamKangMan]

38 minutes ago, stevenl said:

No surprise there, I would expect that to happen in the short term.

 

There are no reasonable alternatives but Thailand to the Chinese, so I see it picking up again very soon. That is for Thailand as a whole, but there are also no comparable alternatives for Phuket within Thailand, so I also see it picking up for Phuket very soon. I could do without the Chinese, but alas.

 

"There are no reasonable alternatives but Thailand to the Chinese" - WRONG!

 

I did a visa run to Nha Trang in Vietnam a while ago.  Packed with Chinese, but what I also noticed, a lot more Russians there than on Phuket. 

 

At the airport, I noticed the Vietnamese budget airline, Vietjet, running several flights to China.  A look at their website confirms several Chinese destinations to Nha Trang, and also Da Nang.

 

"Comparable" is debatable, but in my opinion, Phuket / Thailand faces threatening direct competition from Vietnam, and the loss of 40 lives from a marine accident, not to mention the never ending road deaths here, may just shift Chinese customer's focus towards a package holiday to Nha Trang or Da Nang in Vietnam, rather than to Phuklet in Thailand, not to mention, the affordability comparison. 

[Classic Ray]

Ten years ago when visiting Vietnam I found the drivers even crazier than Thai drivers, so I suspect it's not much safer on the roads there today.

 

We already welcome many Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, who may face (and cause) danger on the roads but at least face less in the water, as we are far from the sea. I expect volumes will rise now and the roads will become even more hazardous.

[Happyman58]

Funny if this happens watch the Thai government swing into action then. The only language that these Thai government officials  listen to is Money

[robsamui]

Once again he excitable and grab-the-moment Thai policy-makers have shot themselves in the foot.

Over the last four or five years the regulations and red tape for long-stay farangs (as in Americans, Australians, Europeans etc) have been getting tighter, more complex and generally nastier. It appears that the Thai Gov are doing all they can to deter and discourage Caucasians.

 

On the other hand, the opposite is true for Asian visitors, particularly the Chinese. Instantly, almost overnight, the TAT can brag about the millions of extra visitors to Thailand.

But just talk to any hotel or resort owner. Their F&B income has dropped to almost zero, and they are tearing their hair out.

 

Unable to see beyond the next day, the Thai policy-makers just can't grasp that the millions more Chinese visitors coming here for just a few days each don't produce anything like the income of the thousands of solid-spending Aussies, Americans or Europeans that they have already chased away - and that's not to mention the long-stay farang residents who have been leaving in droves, heading to the welcoming nations of Cambodia or Vietnam - in some cases even Mexico!

 

Just one more example of upside-down thinking  - well done Thailand, you've done it again.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2018 by robsamui

[Thian]

7 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

Disappointing posts missing the point, this is about safety for all tourists, not about your dislike of the Chinese. 

 

The Chinese are not to blame, the so called zero baht tours are a Thai scam. where a few make a lot at the expense of the Thai tourism industry as a whole.

On the other hand the Chinese are also not stupid....if those groups see everything for sale on the streets for a much lower price than the shops they are told to go they will stand up as well i assume.

 

When i took a citytour in Hongkong they also dumped us in a goldshop without chairs where we had to stay for 2 hours.....it's just how it works there, it's all corruption but as long as the tourists don't stand up it will go on.

[Oziex1]

43 minutes ago, Thian said:

On the other hand the Chinese are also not stupid....if those groups see everything for sale on the streets for a much lower price than the shops they are told to go they will stand up as well i assume.

 

When i took a citytour in Hongkong they also dumped us in a goldshop without chairs where we had to stay for 2 hours.....it's just how it works there, it's all corruption but as long as the tourists don't stand up it will go on.

"but as long as the tourists don't stand up it will go on."

 

Well in your example Thian, apparently the tourists did stand up, for 2 hours.?

[travelling wilbury]

12 hours ago, keith101 said:

If the Chinese tourism dropped it may be a good thing as they are amongst the rudest people who come here and tend to only buy from tour organised stores and told not to buy from anywhere else and strictly controlled by tour operators no matter where they go . They don't have respect for other people or countries only to themselves .

Clearly you have never been to china

[travelling wilbury]

12 hours ago, keith101 said:

tour organised stores and told not to buy from anywhere else and strictly controlled by tour operators no matter where they go . 

That is because the couriers get pocket money from the stores  silly man

And it is clear you have never been to china so less of the general insults to people bringing money into the country

[travelling wilbury]

7 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

not to mention the never ending road deaths here,

Driving standards in thailand are among the worst in the world on a par with india  and why  no one is taught to drive at all and as a 7 day police checkpoint outside my home revealed almost 50%of cars stopped have no licence at all    nice new truck and no licence   that is thailand and you wonder why chinese visitors are going elsewhere  wake up people

[ChrisY1]

5 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Ten years ago when visiting Vietnam I found the drivers even crazier than Thai drivers, so I suspect it's not much safer on the roads there today.

 

We already welcome many Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai, who may face (and cause) danger on the roads but at least face less in the water, as we are far from the sea. I expect volumes will rise now and the roads will become even more hazardous.

A lot has happened in Vietnam over those past 10 years.....road rules are enforced...fines are expensive and collected...motorcyclists all wear helmets...tourist regions are thriving and tourists are treated well....and appreciated.

[madmitch]

Interesting that many people are adopting the good riddance approach. Finding myself agreeing with NKM isn't a common event but in this case I do.

 

Even so-called zero baht Chinese tourists put money into the local economy. I can only speak about Karon and Kata and in the evening the street food stalls and certain restaurants are packed with Chinese tourists. They don't have lunch and dinner included on every day of their tour and they have rest days as well.

 

Many businesses have set up just to market to the Chinese, many small-time entrepreneurs that would lose everything if the Chinese market diminished. Jobs would be lost and the Phuket economy would be hit badly. Certain parts of Phuket were almost dead in low season but are now thriving, solely because of the Chinese. 

 

Without them so many hotels would get into a price-cutting war and this could drive smaller operators out of business. Why would anyone stay at a guesthouse when you can stay at a three star hotel with a pool for a not much more.

 

Do I like the fact that Chinese tourism has increased exponentially in the past few years? No.

Would I be happy to see a quieter Phuket with reduced traffic, especially big buses? Yes.

As a business owner, would I be happy to see a major decline in the Chinese market? No. Even though we have very few Chinese customers the knock-on effect would be bad for us and many other small businesses, probably the only exception being the bars.

 

What I'd like to see is tourist safety being taken seriously. Another major accident and we really could see the end.

[tryasimight]

9 hours ago, stevenl said:

No surprise there, I would expect that to happen in the short term.

 

There are no reasonable alternatives but Thailand to the Chinese, so I see it picking up again very soon. That is for Thailand as a whole, but there are also no comparable alternatives for Phuket within Thailand, so I also see it picking up for Phuket very soon. I could do without the Chinese, but alas.

Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia Australia, New Zealand..... All viable options Obviously not within Thailand but the Chinese are getting around a lot more these days.  I was at a casino in Cairns,  North Queensland 10years ago and it was catering to the Chinese back then. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by tryasimight

[tryasimight]

8 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"There are no reasonable alternatives but Thailand to the Chinese" - WRONG!

 

I did a visa run to Nha Trang in Vietnam a while ago.  Packed with Chinese, but what I also noticed, a lot more Russians there than on Phuket. 

 

At the airport, I noticed the Vietnamese budget airline, Vietjet, running several flights to China.  A look at their website confirms several Chinese destinations to Nha Trang, and also Da Nang.

 

"Comparable" is debatable, but in my opinion, Phuket / Thailand faces threatening direct competition from Vietnam, and the loss of 40 lives from a marine accident, not to mention the never ending road deaths here, may just shift Chinese customer's focus towards a package holiday to Nha Trang or Da Nang in Vietnam, rather than to Phuklet in Thailand, not to mention, the affordability comparison. 

Many direct flights from Mandalay to China. I expect the same goes for Yangon.

[tryasimight]

6 hours ago, Happyman58 said:

Funny if this happens watch the Thai government swing into action then. The only language that these Thai government officials  listen to is Money

And how is that different to any other government anywhere? 

[tryasimight]

37 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Interesting that many people are adopting the good riddance approach. Finding myself agreeing with NKM isn't a common event but in this case I do.

 

Even so-called zero baht Chinese tourists put money into the local economy. I can only speak about Karon and Kata and in the evening the street food stalls and certain restaurants are packed with Chinese tourists. They don't have lunch and dinner included on every day of their tour and they have rest days as well.

 

Many businesses have set up just to market to the Chinese, many small-time entrepreneurs that would lose everything if the Chinese market diminished. Jobs would be lost and the Phuket economy would be hit badly. Certain parts of Phuket were almost dead in low season but are now thriving, solely because of the Chinese. 

 

Without them so many hotels would get into a price-cutting war and this could drive smaller operators out of business. Why would anyone stay at a guesthouse when you can stay at a three star hotel with a pool for a not much more.

 

Do I like the fact that Chinese tourism has increased exponentially in the past few years? No.

Would I be happy to see a quieter Phuket with reduced traffic, especially big buses? Yes.

As a business owner, would I be happy to see a major decline in the Chinese market? No. Even though we have very few Chinese customers the knock-on effect would be bad for us and many other small businesses, probably the only exception being the bars.

 

What I'd like to see is tourist safety being taken seriously. Another major accident and we really could see the end.

Totally agree with your sentiments.  Unfortunately this forum seems to be infested with UK expats who for some unfathomable reason have decided Thailand is " theirs" and simply will not accept other foreigners coming onto their " patch".

They seem convinced that the only thing propping up the Thai economy is their old aged pension cheque and that without them and their 30 year younger bride and primary school aged children the country would collapse.

Praise the Lord for the Chinese tourists..... They are contributing big time. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by tryasimight