Rich Indians to the Rescue as Chinese Tourists Shun Thailand

[OtinPattaya]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

6 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

The American embassy has done more harm to Americans than Thailand ever thought of doing.  The Thais kicked us out in 1975.  Been fine since then as far as I can tell.

The American embassy has done more harm to Americans than Thailand ever thought of doing.  The Thais kicked us out in 1975.  Been fine since then as far as I can tell.

Okay, the American embassy is woefully inadequate. If you don't believe me, good luck on that. Really. I'd love to hear your history.

 

 

[johng50]

Do the Indians make fast rail trains and submarines also ????

[lemonjelly]

3 minutes ago, johng50 said:

Do the Indians make fast rail trains and submarines also ????

No, but they’re knocking out the new Royal Enfield 650, designed in the UK (thank god), expect to see a lot of them on the streets soon.

[OtinPattaya]

The Indians do the exact same things that the Thai do. And yet it is the farang under Thai scrutiny.

 

 

[murraynz]

5 hours ago, bkkbudddy said:

Greetings, 

In Pattaya, 3 out of 5 tourists are middle class Indians!  In other words, too many Indians, majority of my friends from USA will not be visiting Thailand this year due to strength of Thai bhat!

many many indians in pattaya now.. i think they are very small spenders, like chinese...

very strange and dangerous how indians always walk on the road--dont use footpath/sidewalk..

[OtinPattaya]

Walk on Breach Road on Pattaya.,a,huge percentage of the beach road merchants are not Thai. They are Eastern Indian. Am I wrong?

 

[Jester69]

Thailand is alienating every society outside of their own. They are ceasing to be rational with the growth going to faster thinking and more respectful countries. Thailand's tourism bubble is bursting.

[madmitch]

2 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

So now we may possibly see "eat as much as you can" curry buffets!!

Great. Bring it on. I'll be there!

[dunroaming]

5 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Beats me why Indians would come to Thailand, the rupee has been losing steadily against the baht (15% loss in 2 years and growing) like all western currencies. They have enough elephants, tuk-tuks, beaches (that they don't like anyway), tropical fruits, spicy food, cheating taxi drivers and unsafe roads in their country. Shopping? Nah. Wild nights? Perhaps, that would explain why they seem to be mostly in Pattaya and Phuket - although there is no prostitution there as we know.
I think this Indian wave will be short-lived, even more than the Chinese. And those with real money aren't coming to Thailand anyway.

I think you will find that Pattaya and Phuket are high on the marketing sites when it comes to advertising Thailand resorts.  Last time I was in China I saw posters advertising Pattaya.  In Chinese of course so I couldn't read them but with a beach picture, a Wat and a cabaret show.  Next time I will take a picture.

 

There is a rise in richer Indian tourists in Europe as well along with the hoards of Chinese ones.  It's where the new wealth is but that brings it's problems as well.  I remember back in the UK in the seventies when there was a massive influx of Middle Eastern Arabs, buying up property in Prime areas.  We wanted their money but turned our noses up at their behaviour. The Brits tend to be very priggish when it comes to foreigners in general and look on with disdain if the tourists don't behave in a restrained and courteous way.  After all Brits abroad are always restrained and courteous, as we know!  ????

[DJ54]

I reckon I better keep my big yap closedon this subject....

[Petchou]

2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

You know my wife is the same....she says doesn't like their smell. Although she doesn't like muslims either but never really gave a reason.

It sounds bigoted to my ears but what's strange is that she is a very loving, well-travelled and open minded woman and doesn't seem to harbour any other grudges or prejudices against other groupings of people, and rarely says a bad word about anyone.

Oh she have just more than 2 billion people.  Very open minded.  While millions of them have probably better education and are cleaner than those who think like her.   It's called ignorance.  

[arithai12]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

People need to wake up and stop spewing the same old rhetoric. There are, and always has been, more Indian, Chinese,  tourists and ex-pats here than <insert home country here>.

You just look stupid quoting one coke and four straws.

There are millions and millions of middle class Indians who travel, make and spend more than your average western expat/tourist.

They are not staying in a guest-house in soi sexpat, chowing down on the 99 baht breakfast special. Chances are an Indian expat owns the guest-house and the restaurant.

 

My wife does some work for a couple of Indian guys in Pattaya, they are filthy rich, they own hotels, restaurants. I have met and socialised with these people and their visiting friends. The friends stay at 5 star hotels, hire a minivan and driver, a nanny for the kids, they probably spend in a day what a fan room expat spends in a week. You wont see them at 7/11 or on a baht bus or nursing the happy hour beer.

 

 

 

 

No doubt there are some very rich Indians, the likes of what you are describing. However, we are discussing here the "rescue of the Thai economy" by a new wave of indian tourists, and that is the other 99%. I hope you don't see me as racist or using old rethoric, but please take a walk in the arrival/transfer corridors of Suvarnabhumi at 6am and answer honestly if all those Indians filling visa on arrival forms under a tour group flag are the same as those that you describe.

[Destiny1990]

Chinese always i see them shopping in Thailand buying stuff.

Then Indians i never see them consume anything. Even one beer bottle they share with 4-5 guys same as the ladyboy they negotiating.

Are these Indians the high  quality money spending tourists Thailand wants?

 

[harrycallahan]

Good time to be in the drinking straw trade.

[Sonhia]

No surprise, just look at the place, and as for Indian tourist saving the day, think again! Like Thai, they too have inflated ego's, penny pinch are brash, aggresive and could not careless.

 

The bubble has burst. The downfall of tourism to Thailand has happend and has been happening for the past few years regarless of what rubbish is posted in the media.

 

For an individual to be attacked in public, almost killed then told that if he does not stop his involment with what is right, he will not be granted Police protection. Unreal! T.I.T.  

 

Paradise fall...  

 

 

[Traubert]

Three things:

 

1. 'Thailands struggling tourist industry..........' Oh yeah? 38m visitors?

 

2. 8.65m Chinese just graduated from university. There is no student debt in China. Today is the first day of summer recess.

 

3. Bloomberg.

[Peterw42]

6 minutes ago, Sonhia said:

No surprise, just look at the place, and as for Indian tourist saving the day, think again! Like Thai, they too have inflated ego's, penny pinch are brash, aggresive and could not careless.

 

The bubble has burst. The downfall of tourism to Thailand has happend and has been happening for the past few years regarless of what rubbish is posted in the media.

 

For an individual to be attacked in public, almost killed then told that if he does not stop his involment with what is right, he will not be granted Police protection. Unreal! T.I.T.  

 

Paradise fall...  

 

 

Who was attacked in public and almost killed ? Am I missing something ?

[anexpat]

7 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

I have seen extraordinary racism in thailand towards Indians.  I don't know if it's justified or not, I have little experience with Indians in Thailand.  The ones I meet here in the US seem alright. 

Thailand & The US are two different places. It was often said Indian people were denied admittance to WS bars, I often heard the ‘4 Indians- one draught beer and 4 straws per hour’ story. 

 

Now the Chinese are no longer interested in Thailand- and Lo and Behold! Indians are now most welcome! 

 

How long before the Indians ‘extraordinary racism in Thailand towards Indian people’ makes them want to go elsewhere? It’s not hard to find better places in Southeast Asia.

[Thaifriends]

All the bagpackers are majority Westerners, spend less and stay more. Buy 1 beer and sit on it for an hour or more 

[petemoss]

6 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Like Britain colonised India you mean?

Correct. We did it out of the goodness of our hearts in order to improve their lot. Who do you think introduced soap to the Indian sub-continent? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

[dunroaming]

13 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Chinese always i see them shopping in Thailand buying stuff.

Then Indians i never see them consume anything. Even one beer bottle they share with 4-5 guys same as the ladyboy they negotiating.

Are these Indians the high  quality money spending tourists Thailand wants?

 

We all tend to base our opinions on personal experience or observations. Inevitably it gives one a blinkered view. I am sure that any Spaniard over the age of 40 living in Ibiza will have a very definite view of British people from observing them throwing up in a drunken stupor on their two weeks of debauchery.  I understand that, as back in the day I could well have been one of them.  But that no more represents Brits in general than the socialites on Ladies Day at Ascot.

 

My business life involved dealing with people in India and China and it would be very easy to base my opinions on those particular groups alone.  But in reality I met many people in both countries that I would be happy to never meet again and some I would embrace with great enthusiasm.  I believe the more you travel and the different people you meet makes you realise that all countries have their fair share of heroes and villains.

[sawadee1947]

7 hours ago, alfalfa19 said:

I have seen extraordinary racism in thailand towards Indians.  I don't know if it's justified or not, I have little experience with Indians in Thailand.  The ones I meet here in the US seem alright. 

Indians are said to be dirty. The lack of hygiene at toilets and streets might be the reason. The skin color too. Anyway they are related to Buddhism. 

But acceptance is different. 

[sambum]

6 hours ago, Grandpa Cool said:

It's not going to happen. I lived and traveled in India for 4 years. If one is polite and steps aside to allow someone on the bus before oneself you won't be able to break back into the queue. I've had to pay railway porters  to lift and push me through the widow of the train in Agra...and the passengers inside the train were trying to push me out. It was very crowded! It's a dog eat dog world!

And what did the "widow" make of all this? ???? 

[Thaifriends]

Plenty of filthy toilets left by the "quality West tourist" in hostels, my goodness, should have taken photos

[bluesofa]

30 minutes ago, petemoss said:

Correct. We did it out of the goodness of our hearts in order to improve their lot. Who do you think introduced soap to the Indian sub-continent? You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

Or as Stan Laurel said, "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead."

 

[zydeco]

4 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Just a couple of photos of the big Indian nightclubs in Pattaya. Makes you wonder how they make money being full of 4 guys sharing one drink.

"OR", just maybe its just a myth.

I'm trying to imagine the eau de Inde

[Jimdandy]

4 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

They are not obliged to accept customers who they don't want. 

Absolutely. There is something called tact and couth . In Nevada in America where there are legal brothels and they turn away customers they don't want to deal with all day. There you would never know they didn't like you. They simply say things like this other brothel specializes in guys from the Middleast, or guys who are bisexual or something like that. Nothing as moronic and uncouthed as the way some women on TF deal with you. And Yes, I have stopped dealing with them long ago.

 

Finally if you read what I wrote I said tell them to stop posting, I Never said anything about who they should or should not deal with.

[dallen52]

It's not what these tour groups put into the national economy, it's what the average thai on the street gets from it all.

Answer is squat... sweet FA.

 

The Indian groups eat in Indian food shops.

Want discounts for everything. 

The Chinese groups are met at the airport and guided every where.

Basically one free night on a 10 day group tour. 

And one baht is a tip to them.

 

GDP means nothing to the locals. 

It's the punters on the street and the ones who stand in the bars, and eat in the local food shop that count.

 

You certainly don't see any Indian or Chinese tourists picking up a thai woman and moving to the village, building homes, supporting the kids and family. 

 

Maybe we are the silly ones?

[JemJem]

Somehow I find it difficult to believe that Chinese tourists will continue to shun Thailand in significant numbers. Chinese tourists will continue to be at the top of the list of visitors, for many more years at least, me thinks.

[observer90210]

The rich indians will come once and get their own idea on how they are treated, or if there are to many western drunks or rude cheap jacks around or not....and will turn over to the usual European escapes...