Pattaya business leaders bemoan strong baht

[Rimmer]

Pattaya business leaders bemoan strong baht

PATTAYA:--The strong baht is taking its toll on Pattaya tourism as fewer foreign tourists come to Thailand and more Thais flex their spending power overseas instead of on the Eastern Seaboard.

 

Ekasit Ngampichet, president of the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association, July 1 blamed the beefy baht – which appreciated more than 5 percent against the U.S. dollar in the first half – on the decline in Chinese tour groups.

 

Ekasit said the strong currency has also made it cheaper for Thais to travel overseas so many domestic tourists who might come to Pattaya are instead heading aboard.

 

The baht has been Asia’s best performing currency in 2019, supported mainly by the opposing monetary policies of the Thai and American central banks.

 

The Bank of Thailand hiked its benchmark policy rate in December and has remained neutral throughout the year. The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is leaning toward cutting interest rates, which is pushing down the dollar.

 

Read more: https://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya-business-leaders-bemoan-strong-baht-258746

-- PATTAYA MAIL 2019-07-05—

[darksidedog]

7 minutes ago, Rimmer said:

Pattaya business leaders bemoan strong baht

They are not alone. Pretty much every farang I know here is unhappy about it also. Thais aren't the only ones looking at overseas travel, as for those with foreign income, other places are becoming more attractive to them too.

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, Rimmer said:

so many domestic tourists who might come to Pattaya are instead heading aboard.

and abroad as well.

[Dexlowe]

Never mind. There are Indian tourists on every corner and Chinese tour buses are rushing around like crazy.

[carstenp]

Quote

Ekasit said hoteliers need to reduce room rates to offset the rise in the baht and create more interesting tour packages.

But he warned that long-term room-rate cuts will damage the industry and suggested the government should step in with subsidies.

interesting????????

[legend49]

Their country, their government, their problem.

[Bob12345]

2 minutes ago, carstenp said:

interesting????????

Surprising they now want subsidies because when the baht was weak and they were making a killing none of them came with a plan to share their profits by paying more taxes.

[jmccarty]

Heading toward a 2010-13 era?

 

[Guderian]

31 minutes ago, legend49 said:

Their country, their an illegitimate, self-serving government, their problem.

Fixed it for you.

[Dogbarker]

The baht has strength yes BUT the currencies being compared with are weak .  GBP Brexit USD trade wars and some comments about the President. AUD issues with economy? .. So it is OK to say a strong baht while forgetting the decline of others .....  

[miamiman123]

The Thai Baht is on fire....and the BOT is suggesting that they don’t know how to cool it down.

a result of prior manipulation which they strongly deny?

its not looking good for anyone. 
Tourists Long stay Farangs or exports, but but but some are enjoying those new Ferrari’s and long vacations overseas? 

[Inepto Cracy]

I have watched some of my Thai friends bemoan the fact that they could not go to Chumporn nor Chiang Mai for a holiday, too expensive for thai, over the last 4 years... Mmmmm ?

Now they can take their families to Japan, Hong Kong and UK.

Somehow I don't think they saved the money to go on holiday.

No none of them won any jackpot either. So.....

[mehrdad]

Importers are very happy with cheap dollar! Everywhere is too much goods from aboard and thai products are in Competition with foreign products hardly ! 

Just a bit looking to 7 /11 or big C  or Tesco Lotus and other and find too much unnecessary good coming with cheap dollar 

wait and see future ????

[hobobo]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

and abroad as well.

They go aboard to go abroad?

[jlwilliamsjr18]

There's  a lot of funny business going on.  First, the baht's value can be dictated. Why, cheap dollars for the elite which means they can buy more in the US, like property etc. Unlike Thailand, foreigners can own land and homes in the US, and yes, even rent them out.  The savings on the dollar, should have a trickle down effect, but from where I sit, prices are just rising. So, how long can this last, and is Thailand facing a financial downfall.  Stay tuned...

[Naamblar2014]

1 hour ago, jmccarty said:

Heading toward a 2010-13 era?

 

 

Edited July 5, 2019 by Naamblar2014
please delete

[charmonman]

1 hour ago, Dogbarker said:

The baht has strength yes BUT the currencies being compared with are weak .  GBP Brexit USD trade wars and some comments about the President. AUD issues with economy? .. So it is OK to say a strong baht while forgetting the decline of others .....  

The Baht is up substantially against every other currency in the world, not just a handful of countries that are former sources of tourists.

 

At some point tourism and other forms of trade has got to suffer.

[garzhe]

2 hours ago, carstenp said:

interesting????????

Not a chance. Half the bookings so double the price. Thai logic !

[bronzedude]

I hope that more Indians and Chinese keep coming. Spending less, making more rubbish. Walking around in dense packs and making this World class family resort more uninviting. Less money for those brown envelopes, less money for the tourism operators. Hopefully, the word will get around and more and more--less and less will start coming. Less traffic, more competitive prices. The TAT will be ecstatic and of course claim this is good for Thailand.

[MartinKal]

You would think the strong pollution in the North, the strong safety risks in the South, and the strong Baht overall are enough to explain the current malaise in the tourist industry.

 

Of the total value added to the economy every year, the tourist sector contributes 15%. Some goes to the big hotel chains and civil aviation, but a great deal goes straight to the ordinary people. So tourism makes a significant contribution and if it fails the ordinary people, they could well take to the streets, this is the normal response to be expected.

 

The three factors above are within the government's immediate control.

 

Of course this sector has its ups and downs, but many remark how severe is the low season this year. Those with longer memories think a secular decline is setting in. Why could this be?

 

The decline of the West is one reason. Chinese numbers are increasing but is their spend to the benefit of ordinary Thais and does it make up for fewer falang?

 

Other tourist destinations are opening up. Vietnam is cited as just as interesting, but noticeably cheaper.

 

Thailand's tourist industry was one of three great new expansions in the Thai economy in the glory days of the 1980s, pushed off by the Vietnam war and the need of American soldiers for comfort ladies.

 

But the infrastructure developed is now nearing its sell-by date. New investment is needed in transport, climate, the environment, restauration, hospitality. 

 

At a time of crisis, it is no good regulating bars and nightclubs unless other work can be found for the ladies involved (est. to be half to 1 million persons).

 

The Tourist Authority appears to be an efficiently run body, but does it evolve its strategy for tourism as circumstances change? Does it have an accurate, up to date and unchallenged hand on the big-data used to manage the industry?

 

Much to think about, especially where political sensibilities are concerned, in the North.

Edited July 5, 2019 by MartinKal
Update

[marcusarelus]

9 minutes ago, garzhe said:

Not a chance. Half the bookings so double the price. Thai logic !

That's really nonsense a myth propagated on Thai Visa for years but not true.  If that were the case think of where the bar fines and ..... would be today.  

[randy723]

I do not know if it will happen again but in 1997 when the baht was at 25 against the US dollar and should have been higher and they had all this talk about how strong the baht was then over night the baht went from 25 to 56 and the went up to 58 before it started come back down and even in 2004 to about 2008 the baht stayed at about 45 to 48 per US dollar

[MartinKal]

3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

That's really nonsense a myth propagated on Thai Visa for years but not true.  If that were the case think of where the bar fines and ..... would be today.  

It is true you know.

 

The logic is not supply-and-demand (if you want to pick up customers in a downturn, you must lower your prices).

 

It is I-need-this-much-to-live-on (if I have fewer customers, I must increase my prices to maintain my revenue).

[randy723]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

They are not alone. Pretty much every farang I know here is unhappy about it also. Thais aren't the only ones looking at overseas travel, as for those with foreign income, other places are becoming more attractive to them too.

and I am one of the expats looking at other places

[THE REVERAND]

The Thai business will fix this without any problem. They will increase the price to all farangs.

 

[randy723]

2 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

Never mind. There are Indian tourists on every corner and Chinese tour buses are rushing around like crazy.

true but neither one of them spend much money

[MartinKal]

3 minutes ago, randy723 said:

I do not know if it will happen again but in 1997 when the baht was at 25 against the US dollar and should have been higher and they had all this talk about how strong the baht was then over night the baht went from 25 to 56 and the went up to 58 before it started come back down and even in 2004 to about 2008 the baht stayed at about 45 to 48 per US dollar

The Tom Yum Goong crisis of 1997 was the result of Rhai borrowing in dollars and when rates went up, they could not find enough dollars, so they sold baht to buy dollars. In the face of such a rush for rhe exits, the baht plummeted.

[marcusarelus]

5 minutes ago, MartinKal said:

You would think the strong pollution in the north, the strong safety risks in the South, and the strong Baht overall are enough to explain the current malaise in the tourist industry.

 

Of the total value added to the economy every year, the tourist sector contributes 15%. Some goes to the big hotel chains and civil aviation, but a great deal goes straight to the ordinary people. So tourism makes a significant contribution and if it fails the ordinary people, they could well take to the streets, this is the normal response to be expected.

 

The three factors above are within the government's immediate control.

 

Of course this sector has its ups and downs, but many remark how severe is the low season this year. Thise with longer memories think a secular decline is setting in. Why could this be?

 

The decline of the West is one reason. Chinese numbers are increasing but is their spend to the benefit of ordinary Thais?

 

Other tourist destinations are opening up. Vietnam is cited as just as interesting, but noticeably cheaper.

 

Thailand's tourist industry was one of three great new expansions in the Thai economy in the glory days of the 1980s, pushed off by the Vietnam war and the need of American soldiers for comfort ladies.

 

But the infrastructure developed is now nearing its sell-by date. New investment is needed in transport, climate, the environment, restauration, hospitality. 

 

At a time of crisis, it is no good regulating bars and nightclubs unless other work can be found for the ladies involved (est. to be half to 1 million persons).

 

The Tourist Authority appears to be an efficiently run body, but does it evolve its strategy for tourism as circumstances change? Does it have an accurate, up to date and unchallenged hand on the big-data used to manage the industry?

 

Much to think about, especially where political sensibilities are concerned, in the North.

Just so wrong on so many facts difficult where to start.

 

1.  1960 - 1975 (not 1980) Thailand made a ton of money on the Vietnam war because it was America's gas station and communications and bombing hub.  Minor R&R gain.  Thais developed a middle class and learned skills that were used all over the world especially the ME after the war. 

2.  Check hotel prices Thailand vs Vietnam.  For instance, one night in a 52-square-metre studio in Bangkok’s five-star Fraser Suites Sukhumvit during the month of September will set you back $83. Meanwhile, a single night in a 40-square-metre Fraser Suites Hanoi studio will rack up a tab of $181.

 

https://travel.nine.com.au/destinations/vietnam-is-not-the-new-thailand/31dbd341-a664-48b7-87f1-9dbc4172ea2d

[ExpatPH]

Time for a big adjustment ?

 

[finnishmen]

2 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

and abroad as well.

i hope baht drop fast and deep and tourims stop one year, then thais understand how lot he need foreign money, whitout foreign investication thailand have only many little village in jungle, only foreign has make up thailand economy and manufactory, thai not can do this ewer.if thai has need build country up good, we have today same than 5000 year before, thai not can build good anythink. all good this country has made at foreign money and know how and investication.