11 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 ... ....

The £ lost considerable strength the moment the brexit vote was confirmed and has slowly trickled downward since. 52 baht per £1 the day before brexit vote, 45 baht immediately after brexit vote, 39 baht today. 

 

A tourist could have got 26,000 thb for £500 the day before brexit, now they get 19,500 thb. Not at all insignificant. 

52 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

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

Quite.

 

Having owned three bars in China, it's always the whiteys that query the bill and try to pay down to the 'fen' what they consumed.

 

'Yah, but I didn't eat any peanuts so I shouldn't pay 2 yuan towards them.'

2 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Quite.

 

Having owned three bars in China, it's always the whiteys that query the bill and try to pay down to the 'fen' what they consumed.

 

'Yah, but I didn't eat any peanuts so I shouldn't pay 2 yuan towards them.'

 

you charged for peanuts in your bars?!!

 

jeez margins that slim then?

 

 

Well well well. TAT cannot think of any more B/S to blame, they had to come out with the truth and tell the government it is their fault for keeping and buying the Baht. Even us Idiots knew this and been saying it since last year.

The Thai Bank will still support the baht and not let the world economies regulate it by value. 

2 hours ago, wisperone said:

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. 

Vietnam is the upcoming West-"friendly" country in SEA, after the others are aligning with China or succumbing to dictatorships. Also the likely spot for proxy wars in the future, as it was before.

 

And since the word is now out it's probably too late to go there. SEA as a whole is a gnawed bone, with the possible exception of Myanmar if they ever would happen to get rid of their own juntas.

 

The former East bloc countries especially on the Mediterranean side are the likely winners of Euro tourists. Too cold in winter though. Maybe some African countries can sort themselves out and become a destination. Been sort of a positive vibe coming from there lately. 

5 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

you charged for peanuts in your bars?!!

 

jeez margins that slim then?

 

 

Yeah. We roast our own with chili salt and turmeric.

 

You want everything for nowt? You must be white.

7 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

you charged for peanuts in your bars?!!

 

jeez margins that slim then?

 

 

When one has vivid imagination, One does not always think things through prior to opening mouth ????

4 minutes ago, BestB said:

When one has vivid imagination, One does not always think things through prior to opening mouth ????

Yeah, I've noticed you do that. Take a breath sometimes. Come out of your bubble. There's other lives besides yours.

7 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Yeah. We roast our own with chili salt and turmeric.

 

You want everything for nowt? You must be white.

You use turmeric on your nuts? You must be yellow. Or orange. That stuff stains.

12 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

Hey why not tone down the anti western (farang) bias in the media

uhu...need another election then...????

1 minute ago, DrTuner said:

You use turmeric on your nuts? You must be yellow. Or orange. That stuff stains.

As i said, with vivid imagination, one does not always think though prior to speaking.

 

Unless of course he wanted for people to have stained fingers so he can charge them????????????

32 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Yeah. We roast our own with chili salt and turmeric.

 

You want everything for nowt? You must be white.

 

so do half the bars in thailand, they don't charge for them though 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by GeorgeCross

35 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

so do half the bars in thailand, they don't charge for them though 

 

 

 

 

And 7-11 in Taiwan charges for plastic bags 1-2 TWD, whereas 7-11 in Thailand doesn't.

 

Apples and oranges.

Thailand is no longer the "hidden gem" of SEA, where western tourists, sick of the typical tourist trap, once fled to for a unique experience. It's now become all-too-commonplace. While some of the mystique certainly remains--depending on where you go--it is rapidly losing its luster. A lot of contributing factors to this. 1. The busloads after busloads of Chinese tourists who, by and large, are only interested in the tourist experience, not in the local culture, or "mingling" with the Thai natives. (Westerners don't want to come to Thailand for the privilege of being inundated by the Chinese) 2. The inability of Thailand infrastructure to keep apace with the rise in tourism, resulting in massive congestion, dangerous road conditions, and environmental degradation 3. The ever-increasing Bhat vs. western currencies, with no end in sight 4. The rapid development of good alternatives like Vietnam 5. The inhospitable and often outright hostile attitude and practices of Thai officialdom to westerners, principally its immigration department. 6. The gross commercialization of the entire tourist experience (perhaps inevitable). 

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by OtinPattaya

6 hours ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

TAT showing its incompetence again.

High season is in July - August and from November till April!

Even that they cannot understand , totally useless

July-August is considered low season. Though I'm not sure there are really any hi/low season anymore outside Xmas and New Year.

 

5 hours 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.  

 

Please explain to me how they get to these figures...

 

4 hours ago, JAG said:

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.

Please take tomorrow off ????

45 minutes ago, OtinPattaya said:

Thailand is no longer the "hidden gem" of SEA, where western tourists, sick of the typical tourist trap, once fled to for a unique experience. It's now become all-too-commonplace. While some of the mystique certainly remains--depending on where you go--it is rapidly losing its luster. A lot of contributing factors to this. 1. The busloads after busloads of Chinese tourists who, by and large, are only interested in the tourist experience, not in the local culture, or "mingling" with the Thai natives. (Westerners don't want to come to Thailand for the privilege of being inundated by the Chinese) 2. The inability of Thailand infrastructure to keep apace with the rise in tourism, resulting in massive congestion, dangerous road conditions, and environmental degradation 3. The ever-increasing Bhat vs. western currencies, with no end in sight 4. The rapid development of good alternatives like Vietnam 5. The inhospitable and often outright hostile attitude and practices of Thai officialdom to westerners, principally its immigration department. 6. The gross commercialization of the entire tourist experience (perhaps inevitable). 

7. Police all over the place.

 

If i was a tourist and went to a country for the first time, seeing police everywhere would create anxiety. As in..."where the hell did i just land".

 

Thai logic, when tourist numbers are down: to send even more police at the airport (Don Mueang last year), to "reassure" Chinese tourists they are safe.

 

You can't make this sh#t up.

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by lkv

They will wonder where it all went wrong when Vietnam, and later Burma, gets a proper slice. Then again, the current lot with snouts in trough probably couldn't give a monkeys.

1 hour ago, OtinPattaya said:

Thailand is no longer the "hidden gem" of SEA, where western tourists, sick of the typical tourist trap, once fled to for a unique experience. It's now become all-too-commonplace. While some of the mystique certainly remains--depending on where you go--it is rapidly losing its luster. A lot of contributing factors to this. 1. The busloads after busloads of Chinese tourists who, by and large, are only interested in the tourist experience, not in the local culture, or "mingling" with the Thai natives. (Westerners don't want to come to Thailand for the privilege of being inundated by the Chinese) 2. The inability of Thailand infrastructure to keep apace with the rise in tourism, resulting in massive congestion, dangerous road conditions, and environmental degradation 3. The ever-increasing Bhat vs. western currencies, with no end in sight 4. The rapid development of good alternatives like Vietnam 5. The inhospitable and often outright hostile attitude and practices of Thai officialdom to westerners, principally its immigration department. 6. The gross commercialization of the entire tourist experience (perhaps inevitable). 

And that is only the start.

nothing to do with safety, crime, 2 tier pricing, pollution, etc

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

 

"TAT chief Yuthasak Suphasorn was speaking to Daily News as figures showed that tourist arrivals in the first half of the year were 20 million that was less fewer than expected." (see Ref, below)

 

"And he admitted that those who are coming to Thailand are being more careful about their spending as they are receiving less fewer baht for their money."  (see Ref, below)

 

Ref: Oxford Dictionary - Less or Fewer?

9 hours ago, BestB said:

OTA based on facilities offered ????

Exactly.

It's been very long since I've been in France, but there the government awards stars and the star(s) are shown on the hotel's plaque.

 

In Thailand, Online Travel Agencies judge how many stars based on amenities/facilities, and different OTA's give different ratings.

 

So  4 star hotel on one OTA can be 3.5 or 3 on another.

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by JimmyJ

5 hours ago, Traubert said:

Quite.

 

Having owned three bars in China, it's always the whiteys that query the bill and try to pay down to the 'fen' what they consumed.

 

'Yah, but I didn't eat any peanuts so I shouldn't pay 2 yuan towards them.'

Outrageous indeed.

 

Looking at the bill and not wanting to be charged for things they apparently didn't order nor consume.

 

 

The Lack of europeans ie tourists,could be due to the absurd immigration policys and growing nationalisum thats bordering on facisum ... the world could do with a few less isum's ...  

The TAT needs to wake up and smell the coffee. It is not the numbers of tourists who come, or their daily spend. It is the total amount each person spends/leaves behind in Thailand. That would make retired expats spending 400,000-800,000 baht a year (and yes, many, very much more) the most valuable foreigner in Thailand. The Western tourist spending an average 3-4 weeks in Thailand the second most valuable tourist, a distant third are the Chinese who according to TAT, have the highest daily spend (by a little) but stay an average 4 days. (also much of their spend remains at home in China courtesy of zero baht tourism). As for the Indians I am unsure. They have a reputation for being very very frugal. Four in a room, and I have seen four men split a thirty baht bottle of Fanta Orange asking for four glasses and ice. That was their total order. So I am not so sure they will be leaving too many baht behind in Thailand no matter how many arrive in Thailand. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if most guys here are infect Indians !

This is what they want: 

 

 

This is what they get: 

 

 

Fiction versus reality.

 

Now they want high quality travellers from India. Watch what they will get. Coming up next on Youtube ????

Edited June 26, 20197 yr by lkv

6 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

July-August is considered low season. Though I'm not sure there are really any hi/low season anymore outside Xmas and New Year.

 

July - August is European summer holiday season , high season for Thailand if they come and/or come back.

Quote

 

In Thailand, Online Travel Agencies judge how many stars based on amenities/facilities, and different OTA's give different ratings.

 

So  4 star hotel on one OTA can be 3.5 or 3 on another.
 

 

 

It's even more 'fluid' than that.  When I used to add my small hotels to be listed on websites such as booking.com, agoda.com etc, there was a drop-down list in my administration panel to select what star rating I wanted to state for my hotel....

 

As they say in Thailand, 'up to you' ????

Edited June 27, 20197 yr by simon43