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

[stevenl]

23 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

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. 

No reasonable alternatives, open countries with everything they want in easy reach and affordable.

[Thian]

4 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

"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.?

Out of boredom in the goldshop many members of our group starting buying gold/gems.....so it works!

 

 

[arithai12]

13 hours 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. 

Or one could call it a much needed readjustment, as it happens occasionally on the stock market, on the housing market, on the commodities market, when there is a bubble which expands too much.

Sooner or later it will happen also to the tourist industry in Thailand.

 

There is something fundamentally wrong and risky, when almost every household is dependent on tourists as it happens say in Kata, Patong or downtown Chiang Mai. Be it small guesthouse, tours, scooters, driver, restaurant, laundry, you name it.

 

Trying to increase tourist numbers every year to support the bubble is short-sighted, and it comes at an enormous cost for the environment and the society.

 

Granted that there is a fraction of chinese tourists who are decent people and it would be nice to keep them, personally if there was a chinese boycott I would open the proverbial bottle but alas it won't happen.

[Happyman58]

well, you are right Money talks every language. But in this case, there is a lot at stake, If the Chinese go to many hotels will go down and lots of Thais will be looking for jobs

[Small Joke]

23 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.

Read about how this has been veiwed in China, it's major,  why wouldn't it Be?  I'magine this many westerners dying in one incident. .  

It is all of Thailand getting the blame, not just Phuket. 

It's astonishing how Sinophobia on here has the usual curmudgeons forgoing their swing at safety improvements, so long as it keeps the Chinese away!

I'd rather see everyone,  Including Chinese and locals, enjoy safer standards.

I happen to care very much about one particular local, and her well being in this crackpot Land of Slacker hubs and committees. 

[Lingba]

The collapse of Phuket!...Great..this will wake everyone up...Let the onslaught begin

[NamKangMan]

23 hours ago, stevenl said:

No reasonable alternatives, open countries with everything they want in easy reach and affordable.

 

"No reasonable alternatives" - wrong.  You have already been informed of several viable alternatives.

 

"open countries" - most countries in South East Asia are "open." 

 

"everything they want" - wrong.  No casinos / gambling in Thailand, which is a big draw card for Chinese tourists.

 

Below is an interesting article on what neighboring countries are doing to attract Chinese gamblers. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/this-cambodian-city-is-turning-into-a-chinese-enclave-and-not-everyone-is-happy/2018/03/28/6c8963b0-2d8e-11e8-911f-ca7f68bff0fc_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c8ceda59324a

 

"in easy reach" - most countries in the region are within "easy reach" and particularly so with well connected budget airlines such as Air Asia.

 

"affordable" - Phuket is the most expensive place in South East Asia to holiday, Singapore aside, which hardly makes it "affordable" when compared to other nearby tourist destinations.

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2018 by NamKangMan

[NamKangMan]

On 7/14/2018 at 4:18 AM, arithai12 said:

Or one could call it a much needed readjustment, as it happens occasionally on the stock market, on the housing market, on the commodities market, when there is a bubble which expands too much.

Sooner or later it will happen also to the tourist industry in Thailand.

 

There is something fundamentally wrong and risky, when almost every household is dependent on tourists as it happens say in Kata, Patong or downtown Chiang Mai. Be it small guesthouse, tours, scooters, driver, restaurant, laundry, you name it.

 

Trying to increase tourist numbers every year to support the bubble is short-sighted, and it comes at an enormous cost for the environment and the society.

 

Granted that there is a fraction of chinese tourists who are decent people and it would be nice to keep them, personally if there was a chinese boycott I would open the proverbial bottle but alas it won't happen.

 

Using the finance industry analogy.  One golden rule in finance is to "diversify" across asset bases. 

 

Phuket / Thailand seems to only be focusing on the Chinese market.  Whilst the big numbers are impressive, in my opinion, the bigger numbers from this market does not correspond with increased revenue from them. 

 

I would suggest that one western male, employed, middle aged, single, and classified as a "sex tourist" would spend more than possibly 30 Chinese package holiday makers, accommodation aside, for the same time spent on Phuket.

 

The problem is, with all your eggs in one basket, any problem with the Chinese market, and the Phuket tourism industry goes pear shaped, and the Chinese market is a fickle market.

 

Another problem with this cheap mass tourism model is Phuket does not have the infrastructure to support it.  We can already see the pressure it has put on the environment, when you read the various negative beach water quality articles. 

 

This thread, obviously related to safety, shows inspections and enforcement can not cope with this mass tourism, although I concede corruption plays a part.

 

Remember a few years ago when TAT's slogan was "High End Tourists."  They couldn't attract them, so they went for the opposite, "Low End Tourists" in such huge numbers that they hope will spend the same amount of money as the fewer "high end tourists" but it is clearly not working with many businesses struggling, and already many business for sale or closed. 

 

The TAT's policy makes it extremely risky to "invest" here, even if that business targets the Chinese market. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by NamKangMan