Holy Hubs Batman I have only ever seen increases over many years!!!!! Is this a new diverse reporting approach from AOT????? Does AOT adhere to international reporting standards? Are their figures reviewed and publicly reported by an independent body? Since 2006 to 2015 there were far less Europeans coming to Phuket and far more Asians. Phuket is getting more damaged so fast it is a shame. 

Just now, Small Joke said:

Chiang Mai is getting quieter and quieter every year. 

Its Also that way for two big islands; one in the Andaman Sea, one in the gulf of Siam. 

Perhaps it has something to do with not allowing so many of them from entering the country once they arrive at the airport only to tell them they've been denied entry for coming here so much to spend those hard earned euros. Everyone is talking about it and it's probably scaring them away. As they say in Thai Som-nam-naa (Serves your right!)

3 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

Its Also that way for two big islands; one in the Andaman Sea, one in the gulf of Siam. 

The global financial media are increasingly warning that the next crash will be horrendous due to the first GFC not punishing or even regulating the banksters, plus there's no mire money left to bail out their cronies. Many people and places have never recovered,  hence the wobbly figures here at best,  that few believe. What will happen to the tourist industry when the avocado dip hits the fan this time? 

China will be one of the hardest to fall, let alone the financial bloodbath the west will see. And soon... 

Europe has many fine, affordable, clean, beach friendly destinations for summer.

 

The Spanish riviera on the Costa Blanca area from Denia to southbound Torreveija has many fine affordable pristine water beach resorts. Food, booze and pussy are very much affordable, fresh and with variety. And the coastline is large so not overcrowded. Not to mention the south coastline in the Malaga area (but never been there so cannot say)

 

Even south of France, that many consider overpriced, has lots of lovely affordable places in the Côte d'Azur area, St Maxime, Juan les Pins, Menton....offering cheap food, decent supply of young pussy and beaches on which one could almost drink the water However the south of France get's a bit crowded in july-august.

 

The Canary Islands, Tenerife, great budget lodging, clubs with a majority of holiday gals looking for wiener (then male mongers).. bars, decent food, cheap cost of living, sunshine all the year long...etc etc...

 

And in all these places named above, without exception, you will never feel that you are just a farang walking ATM...

 

Thailand better wake up...fast...or if not, accept to loose the tourism game that has gone global with very affordable airfares for many destinatinations. And don't forget...the Chinese or the Indians who start to visit Thailand today, will get richer tomorrow and aim for more upscale areas of Europe....

 

 

Many other places to choose from, and Thailand no longer as attractive as it once was. Silly restrictions re opening hours, alcohol purchase, censorship and rising costs all part of the problem.

I would imagine the Phuket boat incident would not have made much difference to UK travellers because it hardly made the news here. The media were much more interested in the Cave story. I would not expect the marvellous weather here to make much difference either, as I would ask how many people book an air ticket the same month that they fly? Not many, I suspect. 

 

My guess is that money is getting tighter for most Europeans and Thailand is getting more expensive. A staycation or a short hop nearby is a much cheaper option.

4 hours ago, Mickmouse1 said:

Thai expectation of foreigners is always HIGH???

Tourism might suffer if other countries near by develop fast. Therefore ,Thailand must have a back up plan?

Prayut??

48 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Really, where are they doing this?

 

Yes, i was also wondering.

 

That regime sounds more like UK ages ago.

 

23 minutes ago, Paul944 said:

 Thailand has become expensive, hotel prices are up, food prices are up, beer price is...

 

Also the conservative junta is spoiling all the fun, no beer bar pretties for dad and no happy pills for the kids on koh Phangan anymore.

Expensive yes.  And many currencies  are falling relative to the baht as well. 

In CM, a favourite whipping boy of the junta because of it's un-Siamese history and political alliances, the bar opening hour has unofficially crept up to 1am,  and the big, police moonlight security employer, the Mandalay,  which is mainly young Thai clubbers,  still goes till dawn. But things like the coup and the extended mourning period when major events like Loy Khratong and Songkran were cancelled,  or watered down, the wierd murder cover ups on Koh Death, and sporadic, mostly hypocritical, and but widely publicised crackdowns on various forms of sin have filtered overseas, and the message people get is of a tourist destination in decline and disarray.  Neither the family man,  nor the party animals, can rely on Consistency be that law and order,  or wet n wild!  Don't even think about safety, for years Thailand was Teflon,  but reputations, once lost,  take billions,  and generations, to regain.  Look at Spains Costa Del Debacles for one. 

1 hour ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

And to Vietnam: Foreign tourists to Vietnam in the first six months of 2018 surged 27.2%

 

 

I've been tripping over foreign tourists in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, day and night. 

 

 

One of them is probably me.  I spent 2 months in Thailand, took a trip to Vietnam, and quickly decided to relocate to Saigon.  I’ve been here for a year and have no regrets.

1 hour ago, dave moir said:

Not T.A.T it's A.O.T that says there's less European tourists! What do they expect when bars have to close between 2-5pm and close at 12 midnight then close on buddha days and any other days the junta feels like!!! Over the last 3 years I've seen a big decline in European tourists around Chiang Mai.

I quite often see young tourists wandering the streets at midnight , trying to find some bar or club to go to and them looking disappointed after being told that theres nowhere to go .

   Yesterday evening at 7 PM , I saw a Western family (Mum, Dad & two 5-10 year olds) being asked to leave a bar by the Police , assumingly because they were underaged in a bar

For sure there will be less Bŕits due to the state of the Brexit exchange rate

1 hour ago, dave moir said:

Not T.A.T it's A.O.T that says there's less European tourists! What do they expect when bars have to close between 2-5pm and close at 12 midnight then close on buddha days and any other days the junta feels like!!! Over the last 3 years I've seen a big decline in European tourists around Chiang Mai.

T.A.T. they always say the tourist numbers are rising,no disaster,negative news,anything

will have an effect on the number of tourists coming to Teflon Thailand,according to T.A.T,

they will most likely dispute what A.O.T.has to say as well. 

 

regards worgeordie

 

1 minute ago, MaxYakov said:

If they screw up the title, how are they going to write a coherent OP? In fact, I found this particular OP undecipherable. Looking are the replies, I'm not alone.

OK, the OP is about there are not as many European tourists coming to Thailand this year , although there has been an increase in European tourists coming this year , it isnt as big as expected

5 hours ago, Lodestone said:

Grammar error: It should be *fewer* rather than *less* Europeans. Few/fewer for countable nouns, less for uncountables.

Fewer nitpickers would mean less nitpicking.

8 minutes ago, sanemax said:

OK, the OP is about there are not as many European tourists coming to Thailand this year , although there has been an increase in European tourists coming this year , it isnt as big as expected

Thanks! Actually, I screwed up. I was referring to the "Sharing Economy" thread., which I had on my mind as inscrutable. Just the title on this OP is enough for me not even read the article. The fewer tourists, the better, AFAIC. Maybe the "Sharing Economy" will save Thailand's cash flow. 

Edited July 31, 20187 yr by MaxYakov

2 hours ago, ravip said:

This could be a blessing in disguise, on the long run.

Ya think?

 

Btw, If there are less Europeans, the ladyboys will have a problem drumming up business...

4 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Ya think?

 

Btw, If there are less Europeans, the ladyboys will have a problem drumming up business...

Hopefully they will lower their prices even more .

2 hours ago, ravip said:

This could be a blessing in disguise, on the long run.

It could be? I hope so - But they have been on a unstoppable roll for the past thirty years, despite all sorts of weird and wonderful events, don't see it slowing down now ?

2 hours ago, BEngBKK said:

I many times tease Thais with:

1. First the Europeans stopped comming to Thailand
2. Soon the Chineese will stop comming to Thailand 
3. Then the Africans will start to come to Thailand.....

Then they look scared ....

 

"Soon the Chineese will stop comming to Thailand".  Good, then some more "all you can eat" buffets will open up. 

6 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

And 61.2 million arrival/departure cards. What a monumental waste. 

Even the poorest countries in West Africa got rid of these wasteful cards. Everyone is happy no more looking for a biro or your glasses and its a quicker transition through immigration about 2 minutes. Unlike here where the Immigration officer must examine every used page???????????????????????????????????????????????

1 hour ago, Canuckabroad said:

One of them is probably me.  I spent 2 months in Thailand, took a trip to Vietnam, and quickly decided to relocate to Saigon.  I’ve been here for a year and have no regrets.

 

I moved to Vietnam last year after most of the past eight years in Thailand. Am 2 hours southeast of Saigon. I love it here. I admit I did return to Thailand for a couple of months but that was a big mistake. I found 1000-baht notes were disappearing so fast I was going to the ATM every day compared to every other day a few years ago.

Edited July 31, 20187 yr by Kaoboi Bebobp

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

I quite often see young tourists wandering the streets at midnight , trying to find some bar or club to go to and them looking disappointed after being told that theres nowhere to go .

   Yesterday evening at 7 PM , I saw a Western family (Mum, Dad & two 5-10 year olds) being asked to leave a bar by the Police , assumingly because they were underaged in a bar

 Yesterday evening at 7 PM , I saw a Western family (Mum, Dad & two 5-10 year olds) being asked to leave a bar by the Police , assumingly because they were underaged in a bar

 

Is that a good thing or bad?

(Two 5-10 year olds enjoying life at a bar? With their parents? Did it need the THAI Police to teach the parents that a bar is NOT the place for such young children? Just askin' as I dont know) 

Could non Thai, sorry 'farang'  be more aware of places like death island? The  two tear pricing? Extortion?  Lawlessness? Racism? Lack of health and safety. Filth? Dangerous roads and so on....

 

The internet is a power tool.

 

 

 

Or London Types, ignorant as Chinese.!.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

When social media and other methods of getting the thoughts of people returning from holiday expand and are viewed by future travelers information about price gouging (taxis, sights, and other tiered pricing locations), pollution, mandatory insurance (rather than safety regulation), sinking ships, and other negatives discourage new visitors. Some repeat travelers who fell in love with the Kingdom in the past are getting older and not traveling as much, uncertainty about the political leadership, and the increasing appeal of other travel destinations all all having an impact. 

 

On the other hand a serious effort to offset those factors could easily turn things around to the degree the infrastructure would crumble trying to accommodate the numbers of tourist so damned if they do, damned if the don't. There are definitely more foreign faces walking the streets than there were thirty years ago. Has interest peaked?

TAT just made an announcement yesterday of 13% increase.

 

i guess the difference in numbers because TAT increases came by boats or buses ???

36 minutes ago, Sonhia said:

Could non Thai, sorry 'farang'  be more aware of places like death island? The  two tear pricing? Extortion?  Lawlessness? Racism? Lack of health and safety. Filth? Dangerous roads and so on....

 

The internet is a power tool.

 

 

 

Even with all that it seems there are 61.2 million ignorant foreigners visiting Thailand.

Strange, but true.

What kind of entry clicks

'one '  on the computer system at points of entry. I really don't know.

If someone is on say a multi enty 0 and does 4 out ins per year does that register as a tourist entry?

I can see SETV, MUTV and VOA or VE as a tourist arrival,  but go further, say arrive on an METV and within the visas validity do a trip to Cambo' a trip to Vietnam a trip to Laos and one more trip to Burma. For me that is in reality one tourist arrival or is each return to Thailand a new tourist 'click' on the arrival count? In fact all the above trips could be done on VE entry and a second VE entry.

I have no idea, does anyone out there have an idea?

Forget the chinese, they arrive, follow the wee flag for two weeks then go home, one click each.

 

Edited July 31, 20187 yr by overherebc