TAT chief blames high baht and lack of Europeans for drop in Thai tourism

[Lenny Jones]

KA-CHINNNNG !

 

Did somebody hit the TAT crew on the back of the head with a shovel?

 

It aint rocket science.  The baht gets too strong and savvy farang look for better deals.  Farangs.  They're the people with the money.

Not the Russians - they're in a big recession

Not the Chinese - Not known as "Zero-Dollar Tourists"for nothing.

Not the big list of poverty-stricken countries the Thai government waived visa fees for.

Not the North African or Eastern European religious fanatics.

 

Farang with money - - - - - That's who - - ANNND - don't forget the retirees who annually bring in far more money per head than most tourists - - - -

 

[BestB]

18 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Who assigns the stars?

OTA based on facilities offered ????

[Bugsy777]

Unfortunately, the Thai's are their own worst enemy.  If tourism is such a big part of a country's economy, then you can't afford to pick and choose by rejecting those that you previously encouraged. The affluent countries of the world are limited. If you continue to openly criticise and become difficult with erstwhile good friends, they won't come back no matter how contrite you may be.

 

Thailand has some hard lessons coming and in the end their ridiculous chopping and changing of rules will mean nothing but pain for Thailand. Time to grow up.

[Chelseafan]

Does anyone know if the figures that TAT give us every year include those passengers in Transit ?

[Tony125]

8 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Wake up Chip Butty.  Average Chinese length of stay 8.08 days. Average spend Chinese $192, Europe $125.

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

Wake up Marcus---don't care what the charts say for one thing my friends and I from USA spent 2 weeks or longer each time we came and spent min of $2,000 to a max of $4,000 . Maybe we did not buy a lot of junk in malls but we spent that much on girls, drinks ,restaurants, tours and flight/boat rides around Thailand and area. I came 2--3 times a year  have a friend who comes 4  sometimes as many as 5 times a year. Works a lot of OT and spends the money here.

[Kalasin Jo]

9 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

I do not see the relationship between the brexit and the overvaluation of the Thai baht, but if the head of the TAT sees one ... ....

 

Contrary to the information issued by the newspapers "to orders", do not forget that they belong for the most part to billionaires who have made their "mistress" .. Brexit will certainly be a great moment in Britain;the pound will probably fall in the first weeks or even months to rise again and cock a snook to the euro and the US dollar.

I really hope you are right, but don't see it myself

[TheFishman1]

They got to blame something because they are never wrong TIT

[Tony125]

8 hours ago, cmsally said:

In the present climate the best strategy, would be to make the visa situation easier for the long stay tourists / winter travelers etc. However that would take logic ........

Northern Europeans seem to be heading to Portugal and Croatia. Both seem popular at the moment. it is hard to,pull the genuine tourist here due to the economy , however it is easier to facilitate the return visitor and long stay tourist.

If they made it easier for long term tourists or expats to stay here they could get rid of the glut of unsold/rented condos that are all over Pattaya/ Jom Tien.

[DrTuner]

43 minutes ago, ocddave said:

Farang supports and spreads Democracy = Not Elite Approved

This is likely the root cause of the anti-West and pro-China push of the junta. You can keep your <deleted> country is the answer from the West.

[ExpatPH]

Thankful I came to Thailand early 90's, later moved to Thailand and had more than 10 years, with good old sanuk Thailand. The country we all fell in love with, was a living dream.

 

Everything was easy and sanuk, no stress with visa, or the locals. The women treated us like kings, no limit to what they did for us. An amazing time long time gone. Long time gone.

 

Move on last 10 years, sanuk no more, numerous changes, restrictions, and last 5 years, a immigration that became hostile to all categories of tourist, long stayers, and finally expats.

 

Land of smiles became Land of fake smiles. All about the money.

Use your money, and get out.

 

Thai baht overvaluated and protected by Central bank, buying all the gold reserves and Thai baht they could.

 

Most foreign currency lost value when exchanged to Thai baht. Thailand became expensive. Too expensive.

 

Gulf of Siam became polluted. Beach road got new 3 lane 'highway' next to it. Flood rain that couldn't drain anywhere, became and still is, a big problem.

 

For years, TAT presented new record numbers, month after month. Same time, expats noticed that former high season from november to april became shorter, now only december to february.

 

Finally, at last, someone in TAT came with possible real number. A decrease, finally admitted.

 

The writing has been on the wall a few years already. When travel fair was held in India few years ago, that was a clue about what was really going on, with actual arrival numbers. Not including transfer passengers, the arrival numbers was not so high after all ...

 

This is only the beginning.

 

Remain of this year will see higher drop in arrival numbers. Much higher than now.

This is just the beginning.

 

The Golden Goose, has left.

 

[Griffo63]

Another reason for the drop in European tourists might also be linked to the increase in Chinese tourists. Without being racist Europeans and Chinese have different standards and behavioral traits. Europeans will seek locations and vacations where Chinese are less likely to be present in oppressive numbers 

[CNXexpat]

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

Who assigns the stars?

I never asked them but compared to many 3 star hotels I have seen at trips through Thailand they are much better. I am always very satisfied with my stay. It´s not an advertising, I have no personal connections with this hotel. http://letadahotelbangkok.com/

[Caldera]

I've seen many European tourists in Vietnam and Cambodia lately. Thailand isn't the natural gateway it once was for those tourists anymore.

 

Two young German tourists I just met in Trat (after they had just come overland from Phnom Penh) were quite amused by Thailand's left-hand traffic. They had toured Vietnam and Cambodia, then wanted to relax on Koh Chang for a few days before flying back from Bangkok. Thailand was almost an afterthought for them and most of their holiday spent elsewhere - that would have been very unusual let's say 10 years ago.

[marcusarelus]

6 hours ago, Tatsujin said:

Have the morons at TAT finally realized it’s the “Europeans” that actually contribute most to the economy, and not the Chinese? And that “tourist numbers” mean nothing if the “tourists” aren’t spending locally? It’s not rocket science, and they have actual stats to work from, but seems they still have zero clue about what kind of people they actually want coming here.

Expenditures by day Chinese tourists, $192.84

                               Europe $125.47

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

Maybe they know and it's you that have zero clue.  Anecdotal evidence is not accurate if you have better information please feel free to link it.  

 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, justin case said:

why do these dudes not make a simple calculation:  how much is a farang that lives here 365/24/7 spending compared to zero baht spend chinese busloads

 

[madmen]

12 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I've seen many European tourists in Vietnam and Cambodia lately. Thailand isn't the natural gateway it once was for those tourists anymore.

 

Two young German tourists I just met in Trat (after they had just come overland from Phnom Penh) were quite amused by Thailand's left-hand traffic. They had toured Vietnam and Cambodia, then wanted to relax on Koh Chang for a few days before flying back from Bangkok. Thailand was almost an afterthought for them and most of their holiday spent elsewhere - that would have been very unusual let's say 10 years ago.

It would be unusual to formulate an opinion based on a conversation in a bar with a german couple. Its totally bizarre to actually believe  the world used to/still does spin around Thailand. I have close friends that always chose Vietnam from 20 years ago and would stop only in Bangkok for shopping and a flight back to OZ. It means nothing

[wisperone]

10 hours ago, keith101 said:

  10 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

It was the first time that anyone at the TAT had mentioned the Thai baht was having such a big effect on the tourism industry. 

Sounds like TAT has been lurking in TV. I'm sure they wouldn't have figured that out on their own.

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, justin case said:

why do these dudes not make a simple calculation:  how much is a farang that lives here 365/24/7 spending compared to zero baht spend chinese busloads

More then that, where is the money being spent. Is it in Chinese owned or controlled milking centers or spread among the general population? Are they buying imported luxury goods instead of Thai products (and claiming the taxes back at the airport) and so on. In short, how much is circulated into the larger Thai system.

[wisperone]

On NBC Nightly News two nights ago, there was a story on companies considering moving from China to Vietnam. No mention of them moving to Thailand. Story at 11:35

 

[mike787]

Bleeding hearts...here we go again...more high quality BS from Thailand....

[Traubert]

23 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Expenditures by day Chinese tourists, $192.84

                               Europe $125.47

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

Maybe they know and it's you that have zero clue.  Anecdotal evidence is not accurate if you have better information please feel free to link it.  

 

Marcus me old mate, I fear you are wasting your time. I appreciate what you are saying but If I was still teaching English, very few on here would get a higher mark than a 7 year old in English comprehension.

 

What the above article says is that tourism is UP. With me so far? Right? Ok? It's not on track to be up as much as they projected. Got that? Say it back to me. Good.

 

It also says that the proportion of Europeans has shrunk. Big deal. The number is still up. Who cares if your wallet has more 20 bht notes than 100bht notes as long as it has more money in it than yesterday. And it has.

 

Vietnam was where all the Chinese went before they got VOA from Thailand. Vietnam is a shithole. A tin pot, third world dump. Apart from Halong Bay, where they will have your eyes out for a can of coke and maybe Vinpearl which is eye-wateringly expensive, the whole country is stinking, scruffy pile. Corruption? Vietnam will laugh at the amateurs in Thailand. How much does that smile cost you at immigration? Tons. Cleanliness? Dont make me laugh. Infrastructure? Practically non-existant. Food? Meh. The Chinese openly mock the place, even though they own most of it.

 

The coffee is quite good though. ????

[JAG]

7 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

but you bit off more than you could chew..

Which reminds me, off topic but apropos of your post: Peter Sellers had his first heart attack shortly after he married Britt Eckland.

 

He Britt off more than he could screw...

 

My taxi awaits.

[Number 6]

Because what an active adventurous German family of 5 (3 kids, mom, dad) is the same as a skint, sedentary Indian family (2 elderly, 2 marrieds and a creepy uncle).

 

German family 5m baht a year. Indian family 5m baht total for all 5 adults over their lifetimes.

 

Thailand - just can't stop winning.

[ocddave]

52 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I've seen many European tourists in Vietnam and Cambodia lately. Thailand isn't the natural gateway it once was for those tourists anymore.

 

Two young German tourists I just met in Trat (after they had just come overland from Phnom Penh) were quite amused by Thailand's left-hand traffic. They had toured Vietnam and Cambodia, then wanted to relax on Koh Chang for a few days before flying back from Bangkok. Thailand was almost an afterthought for them and most of their holiday spent elsewhere - that would have been very unusual let's say 10 years ago.

Dang, I learn something new every day, I looked up a bundle of countries in the area and they are mainly right-hand drive countries....I would have expected left-hand.

[GeorgeCross]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Again, tell me of any 4-5 star hotels you know for 1200. Thanks. We would all love to know. As Bangkok is not the only city in Thailand I'll let you pick any city you like. I guess you must have some experience of them to quote such a figure. The late booking thing is largely a myth, as the Late Rooms dot com website proves. Rarely any bargains there, just normal prices. Again, tell us of any 4-5 star hotel you've booked into that quotes 1200 on the day of check in.

When you re-visit reality, yes, 3500-5000 is a good price for such properties. But you claimed there are such rooms for 1200, not 3500-5000.

 

here's 111 choices for you in Bangkok 4 star for 1200 or less:

 

https://www.agoda.com/pages/agoda/default/DestinationSearchResult.aspx?asq=JpBqzKfyp1VO859FXXPr7UAXliAn3pVicobeM5oOB5Lpu%2FkHTZ8bidJkAafXyw%2BeGqKI1BOaN53Vz0if59rn3aGG7El8owN8ccDLQqubOjxu5iynIB1hOAChfwP2Y3iqY72HwZahr%2Fz%2F2J35oVOD75%2FxCKAHNCciTQbqzt%2BSj0IwZcyy51AlH%2BNHt2gz3a2xbS3dzzacn%2Bn7QZeTArmFD8PSDzITsjmxLRNaEuNpzeA%3D&city=9395&cid=1587502&tick=636971777648&languageId=1&userId=7ad119b6-677c-4e88-9173-560d048b3aa6&sessionId=a2wz1st4mo5r5pia5xymrcou&pageTypeId=103&origin=TH&locale=en-US&tag=hid%2CpidXRNwpgokMDMAAepKtyIAAAFy&aid=85174&currencyCode=THB&htmlLanguage=en-us&cultureInfoName=en-US&ckuid=7ad119b6-677c-4e88-9173-560d048b3aa6&prid=0&checkIn=2019-06-29&checkOut=2019-06-30&rooms=1&adults=2&children=0&priceCur=THB&los=1&textToSearch=Bangkok&travellerType=1&familyMode=off&productType=-1&hotelStarRating=4&PriceFrom=0&PriceTo=1200&sort=agodaRecommended

 

 

[GeorgeCross]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Expenditures by day Chinese tourists, $192.84

                               Europe $125.47

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

Maybe they know and it's you that have zero clue.  Anecdotal evidence is not accurate if you have better information please feel free to link it.  

 

these are per day figures?

 

just asking because westerners stay longer due to the flight times and dont come on tours like a portion of asians do so naturally they spread their budget around as they dont need to cram it all in, can take rest/chill days, stay in condos rather than hotels, cook own food etc..

 

do you have data on total spend per tourist per visit that would be a better barometer?

 

bit like the old "2 week millionaires" that used to hit pattaya. spend money like water but still far less than the average snowbird per entry.

 

 

[marcusarelus]

41 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Marcus me old mate, I fear you are wasting your time. I appreciate what you are saying but If I was still teaching English, very few on here would get a higher mark than a 7 year old in English comprehension.

 

What the above article says is that tourism is UP. With me so far? Right? Ok? It's not on track to be up as much as they projected. Got that? Say it back to me. Good.

 

It also says that the proportion of Europeans has shrunk. Big deal. The number is still up. Who cares if your wallet has more 20 bht notes than 100bht notes as long as it has more money in it than yesterday. And it has.

 

Vietnam was where all the Chinese went before they got VOA from Thailand. Vietnam is a shithole. A tin pot, third world dump. Apart from Halong Bay, where they will have your eyes out for a can of coke and maybe Vinpearl which is eye-wateringly expensive, the whole country is stinking, scruffy pile. Corruption? Vietnam will laugh at the amateurs in Thailand. How much does that smile cost you at immigration? Tons. Cleanliness? Dont make me laugh. Infrastructure? Practically non-existant. Food? Meh. The Chinese openly mock the place, even though they own most of it.

 

The coffee is quite good though. ????

How much do visitors from different countries spend per day. Interestingly this varies very little, though Europeans appear to be more 'stingy'.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

It would be unusual to formulate an opinion based on a conversation in a bar with a german couple. Its totally bizarre to actually believe  the world used to/still does spin around Thailand. I have close friends that always chose Vietnam from 20 years ago and would stop only in Bangkok for shopping and a flight back to OZ. It means nothing.

My opinion, of course, was formed long before meeting them and based on trends in visitor numbers. Another good indicator are more flights from outside the region to those countries. From a numbers point of view, a European visitor coming to Southeast Asia who didn't use Thailand as their gateway and who didn't spend much of their time in Thailand was much rarer 10 years ago than nowadays. Of course they've always existed.

[marcusarelus]

20 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

these are per day figures?

 

just asking because westerners stay longer due to the flight times and dont come on tours like a portion of asians do so naturally they spread their budget around as they dont need to cram it all in, can take rest/chill days, stay in condos rather than hotels, cook own food etc..

 

do you have data on total spend per tourist per visit that would be a better barometer?

 

bit like the old "2 week millionaires" that used to hit pattaya. spend money like water but still far less than the average snowbird per entry.

21 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

these are per day figures?

 

just asking because westerners stay longer due to the flight times and dont come on tours like a portion of asians do so naturally they spread their budget around as they dont need to cram it all in, can take rest/chill days, stay in condos rather than hotels, cook own food etc..

 

do you have data on total spend per tourist per visit that would be a better barometer?

 

bit like the old "2 week millionaires" that used to hit pattaya. spend money like water but still far less than the average snowbird per entry.

 

 

 

 

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

 

Might want to give the source too.. http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

 

and

 

 

And then the real meat:

 

Quote

How are these data gathered?
We honestly do not know, but they have been reported for many years.

 

 I think I know. Somebody at TAT squatted and let one rip.