Thailand’s tourism – stormy weather ahead

[sunnyboy2018]

11 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

European tourists crowding out the beer bars of Pattaya have come to an end. 

 

Try handing the Chinese a bogus beer tab and see what happens!

Bogus beer tabs are rarer than Chinese buying multiple drinks.

[emptypockets]

37 minutes ago, lkv said:

Makes sense. It means they learned how to use the machines finally.

 

That, combined with no tourists must indeed create a smoother experience at Suvarnabhumi.

 

"The finger print scanner has not added any time at all to the process either entering or leaving. "

 

Not my experience at the beginning of May, but maybe you queued up instead of me in May, I don't know.

 

Been queueing up every month for the last give years. The only likely delay will be if someone can't follow simple pictorial instructions or don't know their left hand from right for the scanner. Fortunately that happened in a line next to not in my line. 

In my experience the biggest hold ups used to be people not completing the immi form TM6 either on the way in or out but the immi staff seem to be onto that now and usually everyone has the paperwork complete by the time the front the IO. 

[Mike2300]

Ah a punch of old guys with no money ...., look Thailand or any other country: you don't have money **** off! ???? 

[DrTuner]

1 minute ago, Traubert said:

And there we have the first assertion that the UN is an incompetent liar, without any referenced riposte.

Never said UN's compilation was false, however the source of their figures for Thailand is likely TAT, which must be handled with extreme prejudice, i.e. never believe a single thing unless it's been audited by a non-Thai trusted 3rd party.

 

Still, it said nothing about the distribution of spenditure by Chinese tourists. Again I'll just pull something out of my arse and estimate 90% of the lowest spending tourists come to Thailand and 90% of the highest spending go to Europe. As valid as any.

[MUSICMAN16]

thailand has a very big and serious problem with soi dogs!!

 

last time i was in thailand february and march 2019

i was repeatedly attacked by packs of soi dogs, this was in pattaya

i had to swing my bag and other things to get them to back off from me and not tear me to shreads!

these dogs attack thai people too, even in vehicles and on motorbikes/mopeds

but they especially love to attack foreigners

 

so who will pay to go to a country to be bitten to death by packs of wild dogs`?

 

[Andy Rawai]

Logistics plays it's part. Many Australians that frequented Thailand one or twice a year now going to Bali instead. Cheaper and shorter flights, similar weather, cheaper on the ground.

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[emptypockets]

Can't talk for Pattaya or Phuket but Suk Soi 4 BKK was packed on Thursday night.  They even closed off the entrance from Suk for quite a while turning it into a one way street. The bars were full. 

[Nowisee]

 

3 hours ago, orchidfan said:

Two comments;

Immigration. ..all trips back to Australia with my Thai wife over the past 2 decades we have been greeted by cheery, smiling IOs with a little banter of welcome to (or back to) Australia ...how was your flight, have a nice stay etc.

NEVER here in the LOS.

 

When my gf (with her fresh new B2 visa) and I went through immigration in LAX the younger IO guy was asking her the standard questions, gave her a nice smile and said welcome to the United States, enjoy your stay.   A week later coming through immigration at the Mexico boarder an IO started chatting to her about her trip to Chiang Mai and Mae Taeng.  
My return to Thailand was met with long faced, no eye contact, hand waving, masked, unhappy looking people.  Better to just have a machine there with robotic voice telling me what to do.    

 

2 hours ago, Andy Rawai said:

I'm in Koh Samui, I have been here many times but never have I seen a lack of tourists like now. Resort I'm in is running at 10% capacity. Sad

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The Thai logic is raise the prices to make up of the loss, guaranteeing shuttering the business... 555

 

 

[sunnyboy2018]

The Junta has caused terrible publicity around the world from its coup which saw democracy activists, shot, nurses shot dead and foreign journalists killed. The destruction of food stalls, street vendors and hawkers made international news. The lockdown of CM, the destruction of BKK night life and meddling in the KSR compounded with cruel drug laws plus the sight of swaggering uniformed bullies carrying guns around the street at night with police in tourist areas is terrible.  The destruction of tourism is instigated by those who will remain untouched by the poverty it causes.

[lkv]

12 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Can't talk for Pattaya or Phuket but Suk Soi 4 BKK was packed on Thursday night.  They even closed off the entrance from Suk for quite a while turning it into a one way street. The bars were full. 

I understand.

 

In that case, these tourist numbers dropping must just be fake news. Hotels empty and all that. Airport arrivals. They must be digging underground tunnels when they come.

 

Although, after being milked nowadays for Western prices in Bangkok/Phuket, one may end up sleeping on the street. Maybe that's why the low occupancy.

 

In reality, there are more tourists now than ever, and whoever is not willing to pay 200-300 baht for a beer is a cheap Charlie and has been priced out of Thailand.

 

????????????????????

[sunnyboy2018]

12 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Can't talk for Pattaya or Phuket but Suk Soi 4 BKK was packed on Thursday night.  They even closed off the entrance from Suk for quite a while turning it into a one way street. The bars were full. 

I agree. Pattaya is very busy too.

[Number 6]

11 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Perhaps their wives and kids who depend on them do? The income requirement for a UK expat is now 7-8 times the minimum wage here. Fall below this, and you're a desparado? I'll never understand the apologists...

I was just thinking about this the other day. The TV board often decries cheap charlies but some guy consistently spending 40k a month and using the airport 2x a year. That's like three or four Thai spending.

 

No, it's not a lot but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

Thailand's tourism income has always been done the hard way, through low cost packages and budget travel. I mean why would people with real money come here especially more than once?

[sunnyboy2018]

32 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Brit government pension is 20k/month.

Smallest pension in the western world.

State pension but many people have private and company pensions. Government rules not with standing: 20 k is not enough to live in Thailand. 

[Number 6]

The airport is full. That means people are using BKK as a hub and then traveling onward using discount carriers.

[lkv]

2 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

The airport is full. That means people are using BKK as a hub and then traveling onward using discount carriers.

They should not have cracked down on visa runners. One visa runner counted as 4-6 tourists over the course of 1 year.

[Blue bruce]

If the officals would stop treating Westerners as aliens and lower the baht maybe more Westerners would come back. Who wants to go to a place where you are not welcome. We can spend our money in other more friendly places with a better exchange rate

[metisdead]

Some more troll posts have been removed. 

[madmen]

Logistics plays it's part. Many Australians that frequented Thailand one or twice a year now going to Bali instead. Cheaper and shorter flights, similar weather, cheaper on the ground.

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But your still basically in oz,. May as well go to the gold coast save even more and a ton of Asian hookers

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, madmitch said:

I think you'll find the backpack market is well down.

I am not saying otherwise - I'm just saying that Thailand still seems fashionable with young females. Fashionable but less are going - hopefully the spate of murdered/attacked tourists is now putting them off. That was the point - that despite the pathetic/childish press releases by the Thai police et al, people don't believe there claims and this is now most likely having an effect on tourism.

[madmen]

Can't talk for Pattaya or Phuket but Suk Soi 4 BKK was packed on Thursday night.  They even closed off the entrance from Suk for quite a while turning it into a one way street. The bars were full. 

Most of the guys on here are in some God forsaken little town in the sticks and have never even seen soi 4

I live 5 minutes away and that's the case most nights even in the low season right now

[marcusarelus]

42 minutes ago, Nowisee said:

 The Thai logic is raise the prices to make up of the loss, guaranteeing shuttering the business... 555

Of course not.  Get out and look.

 

Thailand's best low-season travel deals
The wetter months offer massive discounts on rooms and flights. Here are the best reasons to start packing.  https://bk.asia-city.com/travel/news/thailands-best-low-season-flights-hotel-deals

 

May – the time most hotels in Pattaya start charging low season rates.

https://www.pattayaunlimited.com/pattaya-high-and-low-seasons/

 

1. Better Hotel Prices

The very first time I came to Thailand was during the busy time, around end of November… but the next time I came was in July. I could not believe how cheap some of the hotels where, it was incredible.

https://thailandamigo.com/top-3-reasons-to-travel-in-low-season-in-thailand/

 

 

[JAG]

6 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Let's face it Thailand could be a really pleasant place if it weren't run by a bunch of idiots only concerned with 'face'.

I say, that is a bit unfair Pedrogaz old chap. They are not only concerned with face, they are also concerned with extracting the absolute maximum amount of money from their tourists, whether it be by dual pricing, scamming (usually in collusion with various uniformed agencies}, and good old fashioned gouging. All of course without any thought to investing or maintaining the infrastructure, or managing the environmental impact of their activities.

 

You're right about the idiot bit though...

[JAG]

6 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Sure. On an English language survey site which only a few dozen western expats have put their likely inflated figures in. 

 

Try this one for a better picture: https://adecco.co.th/salary-guide

I looked at it. Interesting, when I tried to find information on some "run of the mill" jobs which require a degree: teaching, junior (or any in fact) doctors, nurses and so on, there was none.

 

At the risk of being pooh-poohed for providing "anecdotal" evidence, i number teachers, doctors and nurses amongst my friends and acquaintances here. I really doubt that any of them are on more than say B40,000 a month, most rather less. B84,000, ha ha ha!

[JAG]

5 hours ago, Odisan said:

I look forward to telling my teacher wife that they're going to double her salary soon...

Looking at the lower part of this table, the difference between Bangkok and Udon Thami and Korat is amazing. I'm no statistician, can't even spell it, however it must have a real impact upon the figures in the upper part of the table. Moreover, many of these figures are entirely dependant on location and the employer: the manager of a medium sized hotel here in Chiang Rai is only going to be on a fraction of what the manager of a gleaming high rise hotel in Bangkok is going to be on. In a country with such huge disparities in wealth, both geographically and socially it is very hard to arrive at a reliable figure.

 

Maybe "anecdotal" evidence is more accurate? Anecdotally, I can vouch that ateacher here (in Chiang Rai) is doing well to be getting B24,000 a month, let alone the B42,700 a month this survey reports. If they teach in a private school they will be lucky to be getting B20,000.

 

I take all Thai statistics with several pinches of salt. Especially any  to do with tourism!

[marcusarelus]

9 minutes ago, JAG said:

Looking at the lower part of this table, the difference between Bangkok and Udon Thami and Korat is amazing. I'm no statistician, can't even spell it, however it must have a real impact upon the figures in the upper part of the table. Moreover, many of these figures are entirely dependant on location and the employer: the manager of a medium sized hotel here in Chiang Rai is only going to be on a fraction of what the manager of a gleaming high rise hotel in Bangkok is going to be on. In a country with such huge disparities in wealth, both geographically and socially it is very hard to arrive at a reliable figure. Maybe "anecdotal" evidence is more accurate?

We were talking about hospital tests and one poster in Nakon Nowhere paid 2100 when I in Rayong paid 5999.  My doctor just got back from a vacation in Europe and my wife's mother's doctor just got back from a vacation in Laos.  I know engineers who work for Samsung and PTT they would not be the same as up country house builders.  

 

However anecdotal evidence is only more valid for your small sample of 2 or 3.  I used to date the same three girls in Pattaya who had degrees in marketing and made rent payments in Bangkok by going to a particular (fruit name) club on weekends.  If they had degrees in Electrical/chemical Engineering and worked for Dow (14 facilities) at Maptaphut they could have tripled their salary.  If you want a mickey mouse degree like elementary education or marketing or personnel management you are going to make peanuts.  

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

State pension but many people have private and company pensions. Government rules not with standing: 20 k is not enough to live in Thailand. 

I know many that manage to live on less than 20k, almost all the Thai population, and some foreigners.

There are several VISAs available that have no financial requirements including Elite.

I could easily live on 20k if I were single, or had a partner that contributed rather than took.

 

All the 7-11/Tesco/Makro/BigC/KFC (et al) menial staff are on 9k/month nationwide.

[Louis Cypher]

17 hours ago, LongTang said:

The storm is already here and the boat is SINKING !

 

 

Aptly named Thaitanic I presume.

 

iirc a farcical "intervention" to baht strengthening in 2006 or 2007 which was pulled after one day when SET nosedived. I hope some thought will go into exchange rate and interventions this time... and that pigs can fly...

[KMartinHandyman]

Exact, the only thing they have got right "Hope". Because thats all they will
get from Aussies, Hope. With 20Bht for 1Aud, then you have to endure being treated like
crap from smiling thais, all the rip offs, scams, prices etc etc, we all know, its all on
other posts time and time again, thailand have put too many nails in
the tourist coffin lid, now its time to bury the coffin and thailand tourism
with it.

Actually I think they will cremate the coffin.

[choff56]

8 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Tourism is 20% of Thailand's GDP.  Most is industry.  

It's main income is corruption money. That's what keeps the machine well oiled.

[CaptainJack]

Just finished my usual chat with my old girlfriend.  I mentioned she has been in the tourism and travel industry for years. She told me her company is sending her to learn basic Chinese,  classes start next Monday.   Interesting that what we hear in the media never seems to quite line up with what the Thai people say and read in their local newspapers.   The ones we don't even know about. 

 

Oh! On similar note,  she was quite adamant that the ones I usually refer to are trash. Lol