Thai agents: Half-year travel dips

[Traubert]

16 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

You must not know very much about Chinese to quote such utter nonsense. Chinese women literally think one orgasm is more than enough and any man who can sex her long enough to make her cum more than that, is a barbarian who will make her worn out and unable to work. Also, their men don't really care to make an effort to give a woman an orgasm. Then there is your other line about penis enlargement haha.. Just the hint that a Chinese man has a small pecker and is needing it enlarged would put more shame and loss of face than if he was caught lying. Also because most Chinese women are fairly frigid and don't have casual sex, they are scared a big pecker would hurt them. 

All of which my comments have been said by many many Chinese single and married within the past few years. 

Maybe 30 years ago.

 

Not nowadays.

[Chriss77]

I've got the Moto GP booked in on Oct 4-6.

When that finishes, i will give Thailand the big swerve.

My wife lives in rural Thailand, but anything close to a tourist destination is on par in price with Australia if not more,  for my opinion.

We will be going to Vietnam, Burma etc, and she agrees.

Its sad, because i am a regular visitor, but the Australian dollar is woeful at the moment.

Hopefully it will come back

[Destiny1990]

Thailand visitors number down Vietnam visitors number up how surprisingly !!

[soalbundy]

18 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

what?

It's too short for the time allotted?

[dcnx]

22 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

wish I had 10 baht for every 'the sky is falling in Thailand' story I've read in the last 17 yrs...

Tell that that to some of the EU countries who thought the same thing and literally decimated their tourism industry.

 

One day the sky actually does fall.

[Brigand]

Economist talk about large capital inflows to Thailand ... but never say where from really. I bet it is Chinese money being poured in (with Beijing looking the other way) as Thailand is probably, if scrutinized properly, in danger of becoming a huge cash laundering machine. This will contribute to the Baht's teflon nature and will certainly keep their foreign reserves (Yuan especially) at high levels. I'd be surprised if Thailand isn't on the international watch-lists for laundering money tbh.  

Edited July 6, 2019 by Brigand
Typos

[laocowboy2]

Note everyone - this is just NUMBERS USING SERVICES OF THAI TRAVEL AGENTS ON ARRIVAL. So it is some of those on package tours, not individual travelers (like most of us I would guess).

[DrTuner]

25 minutes ago, Brigand said:

Economist talk about large capital inflows to Thailand ... but never say where from really. I bet it is Chinese money being poured in (with Beijing looking the other way) as Thailand is probably, if scrutinized properly, in danger of becoming a huge cash laundering machine. This will contribute to the Baht's teflon nature and will certainly keep their foreign reserves (Yuan especially) at high levels. I'd be surprised if Thailand isn't on the international watch-lists for laundering money tbh.  

Thailand is also not a member of the OECD CRS. Every time I open a bank account overseas or get a new card the banks do a heavy KYC round. It's on the AML risk list alright.

[marcusarelus]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Thailand visitors number down Vietnam visitors number up how surprisingly !!

Vietnam 15 million Thailand 38 million at that rate of growth if Thailand stops growth Vietnam will catch up in 23 years.  

[marcusarelus]

18 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Thailand is also not a member of the OECD CRS. Every time I open a bank account overseas or get a new card the banks do a heavy KYC round. It's on the AML risk list alright.

Germany is also on the Basel AML Index 2018.  Different scores.  https://www.baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/basel_aml_index_10_09_2018.pdf

[DrTuner]

47 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Germany is also on the Basel AML Index 2018.  Different scores.  https://www.baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/basel_aml_index_10_09_2018.pdf

Every country is. FATF requires banks do a risk profile on their customers. Same principle as passports: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/henley-index-world-best-passport-2019-intl/index.html

 

Thailand is in the mud series, for a reason.

Edited July 6, 2019 by DrTuner

[superal]

14 hours ago, Brigand said:

Economist talk about large capital inflows to Thailand ... but never say where from really. I bet it is Chinese money being poured in (with Beijing looking the other way) as Thailand is probably, if scrutinized properly, in danger of becoming a huge cash laundering machine. This will contribute to the Baht's teflon nature and will certainly keep their foreign reserves (Yuan especially) at high levels. I'd be surprised if Thailand isn't on the international watch-lists for laundering money tbh.  

The continuing strength of the Thai baht is not sustainable . The BOT need to grab the reigns quickly before there is a total loss of control . China's association with Thailand has / is having a big say on the strong Baht but with Trump taking on China things may change .  You cannot continually blow air non stop into a balloon .  

 An Analogy , weather forecasting is a science but also relies on historical events / trends . I would think that there would be a parallel link to global financial forecasts ?  2019 may be an eventful year for many countries .      

[LazySlipper]

On 7/5/2019 at 7:18 PM, Brigand said:

like procurement power of certain foreign goods for import or investment for a select few overseas.  

 

Sounds like North Korea, doesn't it?

[PatOngo]

16 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Not for me.

 

I'm a resident and get paid in Baht.

 

It's great.

Same for me, I'm lovin' it! Onward and upward!

[Uptooyoo]

21 hours ago, THE REVERAND said:

Prices go UP .  Visitors go Down . At present The Thai Government is pushing the Baht Up And the Farang OUT. Restaurants ,Accomodation and Food are all increasing.

I doubt the Thai government is behind the strengthening baht. Lately foreign investors have seen Thailand as a safe-haven to park their money, increasing demand for the baht. Thailand has a stable currency because of a huge surplus of foreign reserves, unlike during the last financial crisis in the 90s. Global interest rates matter too. The recent rise in the baht occured when the US central bank unexpectedly signaled a possible reduction in US interest rates. The politics of Brexit and the uncertainty in Europe have been terrible for the pound and euro. Also, global supply chains are readjusting because of the US-China trade war, some manufacturing is predicted to move to Thailand, increasing foreign investment and demand for the baht. None of the aforementioned is controllable by the Thai government, other than creating a war chest of foreign reserves to support and stabilize the baht. 

[leeroy221]

Maybe people are now fed up with all the cr*p. The insane rules they keep bringing in, the saga of vaping (why have they not legalized these yet??), the constant scams, the strong baht, dirty water and beaches.

People have had enough now, more better places to visit and now cheaper too.

[Daveyh]

On 7/5/2019 at 7:30 PM, Lenny Jones said:

Only one reason.

 

Thai baht too strong

 

It's not rocket science General - - - - - The tourists are getting better value in your cheaper neighbour's holiday spots.

Agreed ............ won't be long now before the expats here are a distant memory. Many are already leaving from the dark side. The tourists will stop coming albeit the Chinese hordes will continue along with more corruption. It's the "fat cats" making the money here, not the John Doe on the street .... fact. It's always been a con here, but as long as you knew your way around it was fun ....... now it's ruthless & the little businesses have no chance. Gotta be mafia involvement or the top dogs doing it ....... just look where all the buses go! Go figure ;-)

 

[elliss]

On 7/5/2019 at 7:30 PM, Lenny Jones said:

Only one reason.

 

Thai baht too strong

 

It's not rocket science General - - - - - The tourists are getting better value in your cheaper neighbour's holiday spots.

 

       Fyi , Generals , dont give a toss about tourists , small fry ..

        Farang money , important no more ..

        

 

[ChipButty]

 I guess the question is could Thailand survive without tourism?

[marcusarelus]

12 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

 I guess the question is could Thailand survive without tourism?

Sure but in recession.  No tourists and a big hit on foreign exchange and the value of the baht goes down till the Chinese come back. 

[marcusarelus]

7 hours ago, elliss said:

 

       Fyi , Generals , dont give a toss about tourists , small fry ..

        Farang money , important no more ..

       

Without the foreign exchange they can't buy submarines.  This will eventually occur to them. 

[ChipButty]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Sure but in recession.  No tourists and a big hit on foreign exchange and the value of the baht goes down till the Chinese come back. 

From the Chinese I have met over the last couple of years they ain't coming back they know Thai's don't like them

[simon43]

I made a rare visit to central BKK at the weekend.  Quite a few Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) tourists, but very few 'Westerners' - certainly an eye-opener when compared to say 10 years ago.

[marcusarelus]

22 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

From the Chinese I have met over the last couple of years they ain't coming back they know Thai's don't like them

For accurate numbers subtract the ones you know from 40 million and you'll have a good estimation of the numbers next year. 

[Davedub]

I have to throw it out there. From friends at home - if making a choice between, say, a holiday in Thailand or Malaysia and you have made the personal choice to use a vaporiser there is no competition. Countries that do not persecute vapers are obviously a better choice for the 3 million vapers^[1] in the UK alone.

 

Of course vaping is just another cause alongside the strong Baht, visa hassles, etc, but I suspect the grey legal situation in Thailand is playing a larger part in the story than many realise.

 

[1] https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-vapers-tops-million-britain.html

[Moo 2]

Ah, the good old days, when planes coming to Thailand were full to the rafters, the Baht was steady

at around 30 to the aud, freedom of expression was part of the Thai culture, only a year and a half ago

a 10 liter cask of wine 1500 baht, today it's 3000 plus, etc., etc...

[Moo 2]

Just now, Moo 2 said:

Ah, the good old days, when planes coming to Thailand were full to the rafters, the Baht was steady

at around 30 to the aud, freedom of expression was part of the Thai culture, only a year and a half ago

a 10 liter cask of wine 1500 baht, today it's 3000 plus, etc., etc...

 

Wine can make you fat, what will it be, red or white?

[elliss]

13 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Without the foreign exchange they can't buy submarines.  This will eventually occur to them. 

 

 However that said , they can buy Rolex watches , waterproof . 

 

 

 

[elliss]

9 hours ago, Moo 2 said:

 

Wine can make you fat, what will it be, red or white?

 

  Would you mind sharing a class , with a brit ,  no offence intended. 555