Thai tourism in trouble: And competitor Vietnam is "scary" for Pattaya

[pookondee]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:00 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Don't know how long you've been coming to LOS, but that's wrong. They came, like me, because Thailand was brilliant in the 90s, and before. Alternatives like Vietnam didn't exist as a destination for most.

It's gone downhill because of greed, sadly, but every country I've been in has gone downhill this century, for one reason or another.

Let's face it, the world for most of us was way better last century than now.

I say most of us referencing the people likely to be on TVF, not the world at large. 

Ive not been coming quite as long as the 90s, but its still a significant time period.

Back when i first came Thais would ask you:

why you like Thailand?

Why you come Thailand?

 

A few of them would say

"i think everything very cheap..good for you"

giving away a hint of what pretty much all of them were thinking.

 

Well nowadays, they wont even talk to you in a pub/karaoke/restaurant, let alone ask you to come sit, chat and drink.

 

It is a sad change this..and politicians of every country have done this despicable thing

Running down/making the people hate and distrust foriegners so they can distract from their own failings and gain votes and the perceived confidence of the public.

thats ALL this is about.

 

I still stand by what i said about the cheap thing.

Maybe its more prelevant to the years from say 2005 onwards though.

 

People may have come for a holiday and for other reasons originally,

but the ones who stayed longer and kept coming back, probably did so mainly because they got a lot higher standard of living here than they would have for the same money back home.

 

 

[Melbun]

6 hours ago, mike787 said:

Tanking is more like it....

More like tonking - with the tonk :))

[sambum]

17 hours ago, sambum said:

"Long cues at the airport" Or maybe a sharp pointed sick might have the desired effect?

Or even "stick"  (My bad!)

[Melbun]

17 hours ago, chrissables said:

There is a lot more to Vietnam than those two cities, wonderful beaches and mountain ranges stretching along the whole country.

Whhhhhhat? beaches, mountain ranges - OMG - as if gentleman are going to SE Asia for those things !! You want beaches etc - stay at home and go to your local beaches. They are going for ??????

[DrTuner]

After a few weeks of reading the TVF comments my conclusion is Vietnam is being overrated by those that escaped from Thailand. Rose colored glasses syndrome. Some are just way over the top. Understandable as humans tend to perceive contrasts, but let's give it a few years and check again what the reality after honeymoon is. I don't think either will be my next destination. 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 12:45 PM, lkv said:

That's your opinion. My opinion is that, if you know the average price of the hotel, the average price of a meal, and you correlate it with real surveys, you can quite accurately extrapolate.

 

Vietnam is now saying for instance, that their spending of only 90 something dollars per tourist per day, is because of lack of infrastructure and development. Basically, they are saying that if they had Thailand's shopping malls, spending per tourist would increase. And it would.

I wasn't talking about hotels or food ????

Cost of the reason many go to LOS for varies from 500 to 5,000 or more a day, and every satang unreported. Extrapolate that.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, pookondee said:

People may have come for a holiday and for other reasons originally,

but the ones who stayed longer and kept coming back, probably did so mainly because they got a lot higher standard of living here than they would have for the same money back home.

True. I kept coming back for the beaches. I could stay on the sand's edge for 300 baht a night ( with ensuite bathroom ) and a lovely gurl to boot. Can't get that in western countries unless mega rich.

 

Even after the beaches went upmarket and expensive, and I was married, I could afford a way higher standard of living in LOS than I could even imagine back home.

My last year in LOS, divorced, I lived in a very nice hotel, with a most enjoyable lifestyle. Can't do that back home on a pension.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, chrissables said:

independent travelling...nowhere compared to travelling around Issan. Da nang deadly dull...But I like Vietnam. 

 

I suggest you have not done much independant travelling there,i have. Motorbike from Saigon to to the far north, north east and west and back....two times. The HCM road and the coast routes are both far better than anything thing i have seen in Issan, but maybe you can tell where i have missed? 

 

Cat Ba Island and into Ha Long Bay, wonderful, no rip off at all.

 

The girl scene is not comparable with Pattaya, where is? For sure if girl hunting is your aim Pattaya is the place ???? 

 

Food i agree too except in major tourist cities, there is a good choice there.

 

Does Issan have views like this?

Give it 30 years and it'll be as bad a LOS is now.

[Melbun]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Give it 30 years and it'll be as bad a LOS is now.

Come on boys - stop winging about prices in LOS & Pattaya. Do you expect the prices of goods and services in your home land to remain the same forever?? Same, same for LOS. Can't afford to go ?? then put in a bit of overtime at work and save more dosh. Simple ?? right ?? If your exchange rate has changed by 30% - then save 30+% more and you will have a great time in LOS without this petulance.

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, chrissables said:

Please share photos or locations

Khao Yai, Korat.

[nursebob]

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 11:31 AM, Metapod said:

Exchange rate is bad, costs are going up, visas are getting a lot harder to get, and more competitive alternatives are arising.

 

it isn't really surprising stuff. Thailand ain't that cheap anymore. Aussie dollar is like 21.7 thb these days. A lot of things are cheaper back in Aus now,

same in UK also

[chrissables]

5 hours ago, Melbun said:

Whhhhhhat? beaches, mountain ranges - OMG - as if gentleman are going to SE Asia for those things !! You want beaches etc - stay at home and go to your local beaches. They are going for ??????

My quote was a reply to a statement. Sure if you look for the sex scene, and why not, stay in Pattaya.

 

Or try both!

[chrissables]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Give it 30 years and it'll be as bad a LOS is now.

Maybe, so go have a look now ????

 

How will it look here in 30 years?

[chrissables]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Khao Yai, Korat.

Besides being so small and charging too much i can't see it comparing with the views i sent you. Ok if you like pay per view i suppose.

[marcusarelus]

5 hours ago, Melbun said:

Whhhhhhat? beaches, mountain ranges - OMG - as if gentleman are going to SE Asia for those things !! You want beaches etc - stay at home and go to your local beaches. They are going for ??????

Where I worked during college.  

[marcusarelus]

I traveled all over Vietnam by helicopter and small slow aircraft.  Saw a lot.  None of which was impressive to my 22 year old American experience.  Lot of red mud.  At that age, Thailand women and Vietnam red mud.  I lived in the Rockies and San Fran and Seattle all before I got to SEA.  What was I going to be impressed by?  I was very glad to get back to America then.  Why would a young American be impressed by anything in South East Asia?  Now as an old guy I ooh and aah at the temples and quaint rituals and archaic methods of governing --  ha ha ha.  

[chrissables]

On 7/24/2019 at 5:17 PM, Traubert said:

Yeah, 349k up from 240k. Hardly a bank buster in tourism terms.

 

That same article cheerfully admits that there's little to see or do in Vietnam. After five visits, I can back that up. The country is boring, not too clean and at 28,500 dong to the pound, dual pricing is rife.

That same article cheerfully admits that there's little to see or do in Vietnam.

 

What do you do here that you can't in Vietnam? Where did you go?

[jacko45k]

12 minutes ago, chrissables said:

Besides being so small and charging too much i can't see it comparing with the views i sent you. Ok if you like pay per view i suppose.

Do a search... you will find some good pictures to compare to the two you sent. You also restricted Thailand to Issarn when comparing, rather a weighted comparison. Chiang Mai province, Mae Hong Son and many other areas compare favourably. The South offers great images in Phang Nga and Krabi. I also found Eastern Ubon attractive. 

Vietnam on my list though, the UK Top Gear team piqued my interest.

[chrissables]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Do a search... you will find some good pictures to compare to the two you sent. You also restricted Thailand to Issarn when comparing, rather a weighted comparison. Chiang Mai province, Mae Hong Son and many other areas compare favourably. The South offers great images in Phang Nga and Krabi. I also found Eastern Ubon attractive. 

Vietnam on my list though, the UK Top Gear team piqued my interest.

It was you who said better sites in Issan 5555555555 I have ridden my motorbike all around Thailand too ????

 

Had you said Thailand i would agree there are equally nice places, but in Vietnam, more of them, less well known for sure and better for that. Also not being charged to ride/drive along looking at them.

[madmen]

Just the beginning wait until you see their housing bubble its gigantic one of the largest bubbles i have ever studied - its literally out of control with driver sleep at the wheel 

When this goes down they will beg IMF for bail out

A bubble studier.. Only on TV [emoji23]

[chrissables]

39 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I traveled all over Vietnam by helicopter and small slow aircraft.  Saw a lot.  None of which was impressive to my 22 year old American experience.  Lot of red mud.  At that age, Thailand women and Vietnam red mud.  I lived in the Rockies and San Fran and Seattle all before I got to SEA.  What was I going to be impressed by?  I was very glad to get back to America then.  Why would a young American be impressed by anything in South East Asia?  Now as an old guy I ooh and aah at the temples and quaint rituals and archaic methods of governing --  ha ha ha.  

So why are you here?

[madmen]

Thailand IS OVER AND finished with drastic immigration  law....  people can''t come and it;s too expensive...   The  good days are over 

What's drastic about a free 30 days extendable visa.?

[marcusarelus]

21 minutes ago, chrissables said:

So why are you here?

Got bored with all the magnificent scenery and posh lifestyle in North America and Europe.  Of all of the women in the world - yes I have tried them all even Eskimos and African tribal Princesses, Thai women smell the best.  Maybe not the prettiest or the smartest or nicest but the best smelling.  Plus I've never been bored.  In 20 years never bored one day.  Thais are fun to watch.  It is like a constant movie.   

[Melbun]

11 hours ago, chrissables said:

My quote was a reply to a statement. Sure if you look for the sex scene, and why not, stay in Pattaya.

 

Or try both!

Yes quite right. But the beaches & and mountains ranges are there if your want fill in things to do, after you have satisfied other needs. They are most probably not a fellows  primary interest.

[Melbun]

10 hours ago, madmen said:

What's drastic about a free 30 days extendable visa.?

You are living up to your name. Madman. To make such bold sweeping statement about a country finished is quite silly mate. Not everyone is interested in long extendable visa's and millions are happy to visit regularly and partake of the goodies on offer.

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, chrissables said:

It was you who said better sites in Issan 5555555555 I have ridden my motorbike all around Thailand too ????

Actually YOU posted the question...

Quote

Does Issan have views like this?

I felt the whole of Thailand was a better comparison to Vietnam. 

 

 

[BritManToo]

14 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Chiang Mai province, Mae Hong Son and many other areas compare favourably. The South offers great images in Phang Nga and Krabi. I also found Eastern Ubon attractive. 

Vietnam on my list though, the UK Top Gear team piqued my interest.

I live in Chiang Mai and holiday in Vietnam, generally the scenery is much more impressive in Vietnam.

(and it's not obscured by smog most of the year)

[chrissables]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Actually YOU posted the question...

I felt the whole of Thailand was a better comparison to Vietnam. 

 

 

Really, take a look at what you posted, i replied about Issan because you said there are better sites in Issan than Vietnam.

[jacko45k]

7 minutes ago, chrissables said:

Really, take a look at what you posted, i replied about Issan because you said there are better sites in Issan than Vietnam.

Your post was not even a reply to me, it was 2 pictures and the question I have already posted (specifying Issarn) and answered, get real and be honest.

 

 

[Laughing Gravy]

3 minutes ago, chrissables said:

 

It is an interesting thread and as much I love Thailand and call it home, when will Thais ever learn and realise that Thailand is not the centre of the universe, other countries have nicer beaches are pleasant and have lots to offer. until they do then I believe nothing will ever change.

 

They also IMO, need to question and challenge what happens to them with regards to those who make decisions on their lives in politics etc.