If Thais dislike tourists so much, why don't they try harder to cut their dependence on tourism?

[koimiloi]

I'm a frequent visitor to Thailand but there are some things I don't like or understand. Coming on thaivisa has helped me understand some of these things. However I am confused why some Thais act like they hate tourists when their country is heavily dependent on tourism.
 

To give an example, a month ago, I visited the south for a week. Since it's the low season, there were not many tourists, and the street where I was staying was like a ghost town in the evening. I was one of only two or three guests at the small hotel I stayed at, but the employees had a kind of false polite or mocking attitude. I guess sitting around for the whole day and night with no business is not fun, but they should have been grateful for our staying there, not disrespectful. And whenever I passed the larger hotels next door, which were also empty, in the evening to get dinner, there would be a few employees standing around and they would glare and say things that I'm sure were not pleasantries. Meanwhile in Bangkok, I saw shops filled with employees and with little or no customers, but they seemed to be having a good time just hanging out and joking around. You'd almost think that these Thais love when there are few tourists. I'm not saying I never encountered any polite service staff or that nobody was helpful, because I did, but that I experienced a lot of poor service as mentioned above. 

 

I can understand the country is flooded with tourists and many of us come here for not so wholesome reasons or behave badly, but if the Thais don't like this, why haven't they tried to reduce their dependency. Everyone knows Chinese tourists have caused a lot of problems but Thailand were the ones who were begging them to come. What prevents Thais from developing other industries and making more out of their natural resources? Compared to Malaysia and Singapore, Thailand is like a third world country, and even 'poorer' Vietnam is surging. China used to be compared with Thailand in having similar GDP per capita but I think China have passed Thailand already. Thailand is a middle-sized country with almost 70 million people and lots of space. And it's not like the country has developed as much as it can, like Japan. The difference between Bangkok and other places like the south or the north or Isaan is so huge so there is a lot of potential for the economy to grow. 
 

[OJAS]

Do you now feel better after making this long-winded Thai-bashing rant?

[South]

Couldn't find the 'yawn' emoji.

 

 

Instead of being a 'frequent visitor' become a permanent 'visitor' and you will see a big difference .... all depending where you go of course.

[BestB]

What are they going to do? What other options are there when most of the population could not care less about working. 

 

If there were no tourists, most be back in the village getting drunk and swinging in the hammocks waiting for hand outs .

[55Jay]

Believe your question suggests the answer. The key word is "dependency".  

 

I stand to be corrected but my sense of the "Chinese flood" was more about political agreements, not Thailand, as a whole, "begging" for the Chinese to come.  The people making these deals are far above the fray.

[Rhys]

WMS gone wild... CS 45..

 

[Nyezhov]

Many Thais are leery of Falang, after seeing them in public fights with ladyboys, drunken barfing in gutters, Buddha tatoos on ankles, bar fights, fat slobs slobbering over teenagers, Russians, scammers, shorts in temples, obnoxious loud rude annoying money  bags and thats just the falang girl tourists dont get me started on the guys......

[The manic]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

What are they going to do? What other options are there when most of the population could not care less about working. 

 

If there were no tourists, most be back in the village getting drunk and swinging in the hammocks waiting for hand outs .

Their is no welfare here unlike in the West.  The Thais  I know work very hard. Rice growing is back breaking work. You seem to have imported casual racism from whatever place you come from.

 

[koimiloi]

9 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Many Thais are leery of Falang, after seeing them in public fights with ladyboys, drunken barfing in gutters, Buddha tatoos on ankles, bar fights, fat slobs slobbering over teenagers, Russians, scammers, shorts in temples, obnoxious loud rude annoying money  bags and thats just the falang girl tourists dont get me started on the guys......

I get that. Many of us coming here don't behave ourselves too well. But tourists have been coming to Thailand in big numbers for a long, long time. If the Thais don't like it, why can't they develop other industries?

[koimiloi]

11 hours ago, South said:

Couldn't find the 'yawn' emoji.

 

 

Instead of being a 'frequent visitor' become a permanent 'visitor' and you will see a big difference .... all depending where you go of course.

Are you saying if I move here, I will find Thais are much better in customer service and treating tourists? This is a bit unconventional compared to a lot of what I've read here and elsewhere.

[Berkshire]

34 minutes ago, koimiloi said:

I get that. Many of us coming here don't behave ourselves too well. But tourists have been coming to Thailand in big numbers for a long, long time. If the Thais don't like it, why can't they develop other industries?

I think you're misunderstanding the situation.  It's not that Thais don't like tourists.  They just don't like YOU. 

[BestB]

9 hours ago, The manic said:

Their is no welfare here unlike in the West.  The Thais  I know work very hard. Rice growing is back breaking work. You seem to have imported casual racism from whatever place you come from.

 

Actually there is welfare and rice growing is 1 month work .

 

then of course no one put a gun to their head to grow rice.

 

as for Thai you know comment , rather a silly one to make assuming a few you know is how all Thai are.

Edited July 31, 2018 by BestB

[billd766]

1 hour ago, koimiloi said:

Are you saying if I move here, I will find Thais are much better in customer service and treating tourists? This is a bit unconventional compared to a lot of what I've read here and elsewhere.

 

A lot will depend on where you choose to live.

 

Many expats live well away from tourist areas so our relationships with local Thais are different than being a tourist.

[OJAS]

13 hours ago, koimiloi said:

And whenever I passed the larger hotels next door, which were also empty, in the evening to get dinner, there would be a few employees standing around and they would glare and say things that I'm sure were not pleasantries.

Upon what basis are you so sure that they weren't exchanging pleasantries? They could simply have been attempting to strike up a conversation with you about the weather!

[Berkshire]

39 minutes ago, BestB said:

as for Thai you know comment , rather a silly one to make assuming a few you know is how all Thai are.

Hmmm, the OP is making broad generalizations about all Thais and it's pretty obvious he knows a tiny few....same as you.  Yet, you're agreeing with him.  Hypocritical much?     

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, koimiloi said:

Are you saying if I move here, I will find Thais are much better in customer service and treating tourists?

All I can say is that they are, in my experience, a darned sight better than most of my fellow Brits in this regard!

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, koimiloi said:

If the Thais don't like it, why can't they develop other industries?

So what would you call this little tract of land not a million miles away from where I live, then?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_Ta_Phut_Industrial_Estate

 

[koimiloi]

29 minutes ago, OJAS said:

So what would you call this little tract of land not a million miles away from where I live, then?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_Ta_Phut_Industrial_Estate

 

I know the Thais make things like hard drives, cars, and electronic parts, and produce a lot of rice, but they still rely heavily on tourism. Almost 20 percent according to some estimates. None of the above is cutting edge stuff. Thailand isn't poor but it's in the middle of Southeast Asia. It seems like Thailand has been like this for a long time so either they don't mind or they can't break their reliance on tourism.

[Berkshire]

38 minutes ago, koimiloi said:

I know the Thais make things like hard drives, cars, and electronic parts, and produce a lot of rice, but they still rely heavily on tourism. Almost 20 percent according to some estimates. None of the above is cutting edge stuff. Thailand isn't poor but it's in the middle of Southeast Asia. It seems like Thailand has been like this for a long time so either they don't mind or they can't break their reliance on tourism.

You actually have a point regarding Thailand's over-reliance on tourism.  I tend to agree as I think Thailand can do with less tourists and more investments in infrastructure and education to attract more FDI, as well as better taxation and law enforcement to improve its revenue base and rule of law.  Many more things can be improved upon. 

 

But your opening rant was pretty pointless and is just basically drivel meant to stir up the haters.  Even your thread title.  Do you really think all Thais dislike tourists? 

[gaff]

16 hours ago, OJAS said:

Do you now feel better after making this long-winded Thai-bashing rant?

 

Telling the truth is not bashing ! oh sorry, I forgot on which forum we are...

 

 

[gaff]

2 hours ago, koimiloi said:

I know the Thais make things like hard drives, cars, and electronic parts, and produce a lot of rice, but they still rely heavily on tourism. Almost 20 percent according to some estimates. None of the above is cutting edge stuff. Thailand isn't poor but it's in the middle of Southeast Asia. It seems like Thailand has been like this for a long time so either they don't mind or they can't break their reliance on tourism.

 

Luckily Thai are not going to promote anything soon if even factory workers expect 15000 thb salary...

Wishing them 10% unemployment.

 

 

 

 

[gaff]

13 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Many Thais are leery of Falang, after seeing them in public fights with ladyboys, drunken barfing in gutters, Buddha tatoos on ankles, bar fights, fat slobs slobbering over teenagers, Russians, scammers, shorts in temples, obnoxious loud rude annoying money  bags and thats just the falang girl tourists dont get me started on the guys......

 

The more I know Thai the more I feel bad about them. Unfortunately this is their country and they cannot leave as nobody in the world would want them.

 

 

 

 

[morrobay]

2 hours ago, koimiloi said:

I know the Thais make things like hard drives, cars, and electronic parts, and produce a lot of rice, but they still rely heavily on tourism. Almost 20 percent according to some estimates. None of the above is cutting edge stuff. Thailand isn't poor but it's in the middle of Southeast Asia. It seems like Thailand has been like this for a long time so either they don't mind or they can't break their reliance on tourism.

Sure Thais make things  , that is from foreigners setting up manufacturing and production for export. Without FDI and tourism in Thailand take a look at Laos. And by the way even Stevie Wonder could see that Thais dislike foreigners. 

[koimiloi]

3 hours ago, morrobay said:

Sure Thais make things  , that is from foreigners setting up manufacturing and production for export. Without FDI and tourism in Thailand take a look at Laos. And by the way even Stevie Wonder could see that Thais dislike foreigners. 

But according to one or two posters here, apparently I'm the only visitor who Thais have problems with and vice versa.

[KhunFred]

Raw and unbridled GREED would explain any apparent conflict. The unrelenting lust for money here overrules nation, religion and any other institution that obstructs that goal. "The nicest people money can buy."

[koimiloi]

5 hours ago, Berkshire said:

You actually have a point regarding Thailand's over-reliance on tourism.  I tend to agree as I think Thailand can do with less tourists and more investments in infrastructure and education to attract more FDI, as well as better taxation and law enforcement to improve its revenue base and rule of law.  Many more things can be improved upon. 

 

But your opening rant was pretty pointless and is just basically drivel meant to stir up the haters.  Even your thread title.  Do you really think all Thais dislike tourists? 

And the reason I asked what I did is why Thailand doesn't do things like that like invest in infrastructure outside of Bangkok and improve its education system. I mean parts of Bangkok look very, very impressive but towns outside of Bangkok seem third world. Everytime I go somewhere else in Thailand besides Bangkok like the south or up north, it's like a whole different world and I'm not talking about the natural environment.

The experiences in my "opening rant" were what inspired me to think about this problem. If I just wanted to rant about bad experiences and stir up the "haters," I could have written up a long list. Tuktuk scams, getting wrong change, shoddy, slow and inept customer service, lazy customs officials, hotel front-desk workers and airport employees who can't even speak a proper sentence of English, and so on. 

This time, I happened to be visiting Thailand during low season so the lack of visitors made me more aware of the behavior of Thai workers.
I found it puzzling that even with barely any tourists, workers at my hotel and other hotels on the street would be so openly rude to the few guests they had such as myself.
I heard something a while ago that the tourism or local authorities wanted to attract more visitors during the low season. It seems that some Thais probably don't care. That's fine if that's what they want, but then stop trying to attract tourists. They seem to have problems with backpackers, bar and gogo bar patrons, Chinese, South Asians, so who exactly do they welcome?    

[The manic]

5 hours ago, Berkshire said:

You actually have a point regarding Thailand's over-reliance on tourism.  I tend to agree as I think Thailand can do with less tourists and more investments in infrastructure and education to attract more FDI, as well as better taxation and law enforcement to improve its revenue base and rule of law.  Many more things can be improved upon. 

 

But your opening rant was pretty pointless and is just basically drivel meant to stir up the haters.  Even your thread title.  Do you really think all Thais dislike tourists? 

I don't think any but a tiny minority of Thais hate tourists. Most are indifferent to them, bemused by them, a little bit overwhelmed by them  some even fascinated. I can't say I have  felt hated. So I believe the presumption this thread is based on is false.

[The manic]

8 hours ago, BestB said:

Actually there is welfare and rice growing is 1 month work .

 

then of course no one put a gun to their head to grow rice.

 

as for Thai you know comment , rather a silly one to make assuming a few you know is how all Thai are.

There is no welfare. Rice growing has a planting season-,uncomfortably, back breaking work,  a maintenance and growth period and the final harvesting period, again back breaking strenuous labour. All farming all over the world is difficult buy rice farming is particularly hard.

Your crass comment regarding their chosen career reflects your lack of knowledge and also suggest a cruel streak. The rest of your comment is unintelligible nonesene. So I cant respond to it. In my 29 years of visiting , travelling and working here I have seen and know a many very hard working Thais including,  farmers, kincluding  rice, rubber and other fruits, restaurant owners and managers, drivers, mechanics, reception staff, nurses, bar staff, cooks, boxers etc. 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, koimiloi said:

But according to one or two posters here, apparently I'm the only visitor who Thais have problems with and vice versa.

 

Just ignore them.

[BestB]

10 hours ago, The manic said:

There is no welfare. Rice growing has a planting season-,uncomfortably, back breaking work,  a maintenance and growth period and the final harvesting period, again back breaking strenuous labour. All farming all over the world is difficult buy rice farming is particularly hard.

Your crass comment regarding their chosen career reflects your lack of knowledge and also suggest a cruel streak. The rest of your comment is unintelligible nonesene. So I cant respond to it. In my 29 years of visiting , travelling and working here I have seen and know a many very hard working Thais including,  farmers, kincluding  rice, rubber and other fruits, restaurant owners and managers, drivers, mechanics, reception staff, nurses, bar staff, cooks, boxers etc. 

Will not bother responding after reading “ 29 years of visiting”?

 

so after 29 years of visiting you became a expert on Thailand.

 

and for the second time yes there is welfare system, and no no one put a gun to their head to grow rice. Could freely go to work in factory , but once again you have been visiting so you know better???

Edited August 1, 2018 by BestB