The Indians are coming! Expect ten million in ten years say ATTA

[rooster59]

The Indians are coming! Expect ten million in ten years say ATTA

 

Image: Thai Rath

 

The head of the Association of Thai Travel Agents has said that he expects tourism from India to increase markedly over the next ten

years. 

 

By 2028 he expects 10 million visitors annually from the sub-continent.

 

While the increase in Chinese tourism is expected to slow from previous trends there will still be 20 million visitors from there in ten years. 

 

He has also called for the free visas on arrival to be extended from January to after Songkran and conditions made easy for tourists to visit neighboring countries of Thailand.

 

Wichit Prakorpkoson, the chief of ATTA, was speaking to Thai Rath. 

 

He said that he expected Chinese tourism to be back to normal by January 2019 after the downturn of the previous four months. He expects figures to show 10.5 million visitors from China this year among the 38 million total arrivals. 

 

He said that 20% growth in Chinese tourism year on year was no longer likely but he expected 11-11.5 million Chinese to come in 2019. 

 

Future rises are more likely to be between 5-10% meaning that 20 million Chinese could be coming by ten years time. 

 

What he really expected was a dramatic surge in Indian tourism that stands at 1.5 million visitors now. He expected this to go up 20% a year and be 3 million visitors annually in five years time and 10 million in ten years time. 

 

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat revealed in the same article that requests have been made and granted for an increase in flights from India into Phuket and Don Muang airports. 

 

Slots have been found but overnight parking for the aircraft remains a pressing issue, he said. 

 

He also wants to make renting vehicles easier for tourists by making temporary licences easier to get and doing away with fines levied on people renting to those without licences. 

 

ATTA's Wichit said that the government's waiver of fees for visa on arrival for twenty nations was having a positive effect - this includes Chinese nationals who do not have to pay 2,000 baht at the moment. 

 

He called on the scheme to be extended from the 13th of January to after Songkran in April. 

 

He also asked the government to consider the issue of re-entry permits and extend these to two months to enable visitors to Thailand to visit neighboring countries with more ease. 

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-12-01

[xylophone]

36 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

What he really expected was a dramatic surge in Indian tourism that stands at 1.5 million visitors now. He expected this to go up 20% a year and be 3 million visitors annually in five years time and 10 million in ten years time. 

Oh dear, better fence off the green spaces and forest areas as well as erect signs pointing to public toilets.

Edited December 1, 2018 by xylophone

[Phuketshrew]

11 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

He also wants to make renting vehicles easier for tourists by making temporary licences easier to get and doing away with fines levied on people renting to those without licences

Jeez. As if there isn't enough carnage on the roads now.

[BestB]

I suggest for the head of ATTA to get on Facebook and find a page dedicated to locals having experience with Indians. Yet to read a positive or at least a neutral.

 

[BestB]

4 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

Jeez. As if there isn't enough carnage on the roads now.

Having or not having DL will not ease the carnage????

[fruitman]

4 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

Jeez. As if there isn't enough carnage on the roads now.

Indians horn all the time, just like the pattaya bahtbuses....must be great to live in Pattaya 555.

[madmitch]

How many more departments are going to make announcements regarding tourist numbers? There must be some organisation that no one has ever heard of waiting in the wings to proclaim that the number of tourists from Bhutan will be exceeding the country's population within the next five years.

[darksidedog]

3 minutes ago, BestB said:

I suggest for the head of ATTA to get on Facebook and find a page dedicated to locals having experience with Indians. Yet to read a positive or at least a neutral.

 

I am going to have to disagree with you on that one. I lived in India for three years and the welcome was the best I have had in any of the places I have worked. I play badminton with a group of them here, and they are far more decent on the whole than my English mates. There are losers and cheap charlies from every nation. Thais especially are derogatory in their reporting of any foreigner behaving poorly. I would far rather have a bunch of Indians in town than the same number of Chinese.

[stanleycoin]

Thats a lot of suits to sell to tourists.

[ezzra]

This is jolly good news in deed, and in order to make these Indian tourists welcome here are some useful phrases:

 

1. I'm going out of station.

Please say i am travelling.

2. Would you like a cold drink?

3. What's your good name?
 I have a bad name, too?

4. Side, please.
 Say excuse me

5. Will you do fraandship with me? Plz...

6. Entry from back.
Don’t think something dirty. It's usually shop signage that proudly declares this. Entrance to the shop is in the back.

7. I have to tell you a non-veg joke!!!
 Means a dirty joke.

8. Your hairs are so long!
 Plurality in their looks, yes.

9. This is more better.
 More emphasizing.

10. God promise. Mummy promise.

11. Have you reduced?
 Means have you lost weight?

12. When will you give us good news?
 Means are you pregnant yet?

13. Shut the fan/light.
 You mean switch off, right?

14. This is nice, no?

No is used pretty much to all the questions.

15. It's raining outside.
 In my country it rains indoors.

16. I'm like that only! I'm here only.
 Only can be added to everything!

17. Let's do some timepass.

18. What's the program?
 They don't like asking about plans. They need a full program.

19. Nice goggles/glares, yaar.
 Sunglasses people

20. Cousin sister, cousin brother.
 Just cousin, people....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

12 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I am going to have to disagree with you on that one. I lived in India for three years and the welcome was the best I have had in any of the places I have worked. I play badminton with a group of them here, and they are far more decent on the whole than my English mates. There are losers and cheap charlies from every nation. Thais especially are derogatory in their reporting of any foreigner behaving poorly. I would far rather have a bunch of Indians in town than the same number of Chinese.

I do agree with this observation, the Indians I met and worked with in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore were nice to a tee. The odd smelly taxi driver and don't wander through the parks in Bangalore near sunrise or you'll see the rickshaw drivers taking a dump (and don't even mention the local version of ladyboys - a bloke in a saree, 6-o'clock shadow, the lot) but mostly good people.

BUT

Indian tourists are a whole different kettle of curry. The ones (tour groups) I had the misfortune to share a hotel in Singapore with were infinitely worse than the Chinese when it came to buffet etiquette. Paying for the "club" membership (private dinning room) was definitely required.

 

[Thaiwrath]

I bet the manufacturers and sellers of drinking straws are over the moon !

[fruitman]

6 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

I bet the manufacturers and sellers of drinking straws are over the moon !

The menthol-stick vendors as well.

[Just1Voice]

I see a bad moon a-rising
I see trouble on the way

[marcusarelus]

39 minutes ago, BestB said:

I suggest for the head of ATTA to get on Facebook and find a page dedicated to locals having experience with Indians. Yet to read a positive or at least a neutral.

Get the white hoods out and start burning bobble head dolls on lawns.  That'l show em. 

[Seismic]

39 minutes ago, BestB said:

I suggest for the head of ATTA to get on Facebook and find a page dedicated to locals having experience with Indians. Yet to read a positive or at least a neutral.

 

I have a large number of Indian friends, several of them have holidayed in Thailand and without exception they have a negative image of Thai's due to the racism and xenophobia they experienced. Perhaps instead the Head of ATTA should address that problem first.

[Misterwhisper]

Thailand in 2050:

 

100 million inhabitants and 400 million foreign tourists per year, all of them frolicking on the vast rubbish fields that replaced former beaches and have considerably enlarged the country out into the Gulf, enjoying relaxing picnics on landfills where forests once stood, and taking leisurely morning swims in brownish syrup that at one time had passed for reasonably clean waters and due to its chemical composition now comes with the added therapeutic benefit of gently burning off any unsightly moles including the skin itself. 

 

When will this number madness finally end? How many more tourists can Thailand actually handle before its already compromised ecosystem is going to collapse entirely? 

[neeray]

 

54 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

What he really expected was a dramatic surge in Indian tourism that stands at 1.5 million visitors now. He expected this to go up 20% a year and be 3 million visitors annually in five years time and 10 million in ten years time.

My home country has welcomed many East Indians and Pakistanis to adopt it as their 'new' home country. I supply products to upstart and expanding businesses. The majority of my business in the last couple years has been to these two groups. Not bad to deal with; they have money to spend, they're just not big spenders (but a hell of a lot better than no business).

I once ask one of my East Indian customers, "how come if India is such a poor country, why do so many East Indians seem to have the money to start businesses, buy big houses, expensive cars etc ?". His answer, "because you are seeing the cream of the crop".

So, since travel and vacations are not cheap, I guess the Indians that can afford to vacation in Thailand are the "cream of the crop".

If the projections predicted in the OP are correct (I don't believe they are), Thailand businesses had better figure out how to capitalize off this Indian "cream of the crop".

 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Misterwhisper said:

Thailand in 2050:

 

100 million inhabitants and 400 million foreign tourists per year, all of them frolicking on the vast rubbish fields that replaced former beaches and have considerably enlarged the country out into the Gulf, enjoying relaxing picnics on landfills where forests once stood, and taking leisurely morning swims in brownish syrup that at one time had passed for reasonably clean waters and due to its chemical composition now comes with the added therapeutic benefit of gently burning off any unsightly moles including the skin itself. 

 

When will this number madness finally end? How many more tourists can Thailand actually handle before its already compromised ecosystem is going to collapse entirely? 

A lot actually.  One only has to build theme parks and turn rice paddies into Micky Mouse land like the orange groves were done to in Florida.  When I was a kid growing up in the citrus groves in central Florida I never dreamed a multi billion dollar industry would arise where I picked fruit. 

[fruitman]

2 minutes ago, neeray said:

 

My home country has welcomed many East Indians and Pakistanis to adopt it as their 'new' home country. I supply products to upstart and expanding businesses. The majority of my business in the last couple years has been to these two groups. Not bad to deal with; they have money to spend, they're just not big spenders (but a hell of a lot better than no business).

I once ask one of my East Indian customers, "how come if India is such a poor country, why do so many East Indians seem to have the money to start businesses, buy big houses, expensive cars etc ?". His answer, "because you are seeing the cream of the crop".

So, since travel and vacations are not cheap, I guess the Indians that can afford to vacation in Thailand are the "cream of the crop".

If the projections predicted in the OP are correct (I don't believe they are), Thailand businesses had better figure out how to capitalize off this Indian "cream of the crop".

 

Around chistmastime you'll see loads of rich indians in the Siam area....they book the 5* hotels and go shopping all day.

[neeray]

11 minutes ago, Seismic said:

I have a large number of Indian friends, several of them have holidayed in Thailand and without exception they have a negative image of Thai's due to the racism and xenophobia they experienced. Perhaps instead the Head of ATTA should address that problem first.

Serious question. I'm curious.

If "they have a negative image of Thai's", why do they vacation in Thailand? There are a thousand other places to vacation!

[madmen]

The working girls are in for a treat when the deal is done only to find 6 more back at the room

[pastprime]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

I am going to have to disagree with you on that one. I lived in India for three years and the welcome was the best I have had in any of the places I have worked. I play badminton with a group of them here, and they are far more decent on the whole than my English mates. There are losers and cheap charlies from every nation. Thais especially are derogatory in their reporting of any foreigner behaving poorly. I would far rather have a bunch of Indians in town than the same number of Chinese.

This is true. Lived there for years,Indians are not the threat as appears,look closer to home for that one

 

[overherebc]

46 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

Thailand in 2050:

 

100 million inhabitants and 400 million foreign tourists per year, all of them frolicking on the vast rubbish fields that replaced former beaches and have considerably enlarged the country out into the Gulf, enjoying relaxing picnics on landfills where forests once stood, and taking leisurely morning swims in brownish syrup that at one time had passed for reasonably clean waters and due to its chemical composition now comes with the added therapeutic benefit of gently burning off any unsightly moles including the skin itself. 

 

When will this number madness finally end? How many more tourists can Thailand actually handle before its already compromised ecosystem is going to collapse entirely? 

4?

[Spidey]

45 minutes ago, neeray said:

 

My home country has welcomed many East Indians and Pakistanis to adopt it as their 'new' home country. I supply products to upstart and expanding businesses. The majority of my business in the last couple years has been to these two groups. Not bad to deal with; they have money to spend, they're just not big spenders (but a hell of a lot better than no business).

I once ask one of my East Indian customers, "how come if India is such a poor country, why do so many East Indians seem to have the money to start businesses, buy big houses, expensive cars etc ?". His answer, "because you are seeing the cream of the crop".

So, since travel and vacations are not cheap, I guess the Indians that can afford to vacation in Thailand are the "cream of the crop".

If the projections predicted in the OP are correct (I don't believe they are), Thailand businesses had better figure out how to capitalize off this Indian "cream of the crop".

 

Actually, Thailand is one of the cheapest destinations for Indian tourists. The biggest single group we see in Pattaya are "traders", recognised by their cheap attire, unkempt appearance and roaming in groups of 4 or 5. They come to Thailand to buy stock for their market stalls back in India and have a lads holiday at the same time.

 

These are the guys you see getting into the face of a girl on Beech Road and seriously intimidating them for group sex at a discount price.

 

I was once sat in a bar in Drinking Street when a group of 5 of them came up to the bar and their leader asked to talk to a girl stood at the back of the bar. They repeatedly refused to buy a drink and berated the girl for a good 5 minutes before being shooed away by the mamasan. I later asked the girl what they had wanted. She told me that they wanted to have sex with her, in turn, whilst the others watched and included anal sex. The most that they would offer her was 500 baht each.

 

Absolutely disgusting creatures, with zero respect for women.

 

A second group are large families. Noted by the fact that you will see the family head wandering down the street openly letching at the girls in bars with the family trailing behind. Harmless enough but spend very little money.

 

A third group are the single male travellers. Have money and behave very little differently to farang mongers here on holiday. Tend to inhabit the gogos and clubs on Walking Street.

 

The final group are corporate groups, sent here by their companies on the auspices of coming for a conference/jolly. Big spenders who will sit in a bar trying to outdo each other with their generosity. Not the done thing for them to be seen with the local girls so tend to break off from the group at the end of the evening for a bit of solo fun.

 

 

[the guest]

Out with the old, in with the new !

 

Thailand is very fortunate, to be sandwiched between 2 of the biggest economies in the world. I can predict that other foreigners will become history, just fodder at the bottom of the pecking order. 

 

Thailand always adapted to challenges, and of course favored those that benefit the country.

[marko kok prong]

Indian women,usually very voluptous in the main.

[car720]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

This is jolly good news in deed, and in order to make these Indian tourists welcome here are some useful phrases:

 

1. I'm going out of station.

Please say i am travelling.

2. Would you like a cold drink?

3. What's your good name?
 I have a bad name, too?

4. Side, please.
 Say excuse me

5. Will you do fraandship with me? Plz...

6. Entry from back.
Don’t think something dirty. It's usually shop signage that proudly declares this. Entrance to the shop is in the back.

7. I have to tell you a non-veg joke!!!
 Means a dirty joke.

8. Your hairs are so long!
 Plurality in their looks, yes.

9. This is more better.
 More emphasizing.

10. God promise. Mummy promise.

11. Have you reduced?
 Means have you lost weight?

12. When will you give us good news?
 Means are you pregnant yet?

13. Shut the fan/light.
 You mean switch off, right?

14. This is nice, no?

No is used pretty much to all the questions.

15. It's raining outside.
 In my country it rains indoors.

16. I'm like that only! I'm here only.
 Only can be added to everything!

17. Let's do some timepass.

18. What's the program?
 They don't like asking about plans. They need a full program.

19. Nice goggles/glares, yaar.
 Sunglasses people

20. Cousin sister, cousin brother.
 Just cousin, people....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my golly golly gosh, dear friends.

[car720]

44 minutes ago, marko kok prong said:

Indian women,usually very voluptous in the main.

Even more so in the rain. 

[ZeVonderBearz]

They've already been and left religion, culture, dance, language and food. The Chinese on the other hand, they're just about taking.