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

[JaiLai]

21 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

In the last year,

Double room with aircon is around $10-$15 in Vietnam.

Stayed in Vang Tau ($10 no tv), Saigon ($10 no tv & $20 tv+breakfast) and Da Nang ($15 with cable TV and shared kitchen).

Plenty of double room aircon with breakfast for two in Hoi An for $12.

 

You must be staying in very cheap Thai rooms.

Any photo's of the places in VN for that price?

[Inn Between]

46 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

  14 hours ago, Essecola said:

Accomodation is 1.5 - 2 times more expensive in Vn whilst getting less

 

46 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

In the last year,

Double room with aircon is around $10-$15 in Vietnam.

Stayed in Vang Tau ($10 no tv), Saigon ($10 no tv & $20 tv+breakfast) and Da Nang ($15 with cable TV and shared kitchen).

Plenty of double room aircon with breakfast for two in Hoi An for $12.

 

You must be staying in very cheap Thai rooms.

When I asked Essecola about this, information was returned saying, "I meant accomodation up to double prices in terms of apartment rentals of same quality and size. And the options you get for nearby shopping to such places a total fail compared to almost anywhere in Bangkok. Hotel prices not much higher."

 

I don't know how prices relate between hotels and apartments, but I was surprised that one situation would be the same as Thailand and the other as much as twice the price. I can only assume a short trip was involved, and with short trips, people can have very different experiences and leave with very different impressions.  

 

 

[lapswim]

Thailand has many selfish economic policies that are driving up the baht. Have a look at the excises and import duties on wine.  They want to make tourists to drink locally made beer. The same with cars about 250%. The same with any thing imported. There is the 51% capital you loose when you start a business to assist tourists from your country in Thailand. Then there are all the local ways that make it more difficult for Farangs like closing the independent little hotels with all the registration and tracking requirements as if people are serfs.  All of these selfish policies create aggravation and raise the price of a holiday and you can see the steep inflation in transportation especially in taxi fares.  Then all the Farangs have to cope with Chinese gawking at them and grinding down the facilities built with their money. Tourists are voting with their feet and rightly so. 

[wisperone]

12 minutes ago, lapswim said:

 All of these selfish policies create aggravation and raise the price of a holiday and you can see the steep inflation in transportation especially in taxi fares.

Don't forget the farang pricing at tourist attractions...double or more pricing at the sites tourists want to go to.

[jacko45k]

5 hours ago, lapswim said:

They want to make tourists to drink locally made beer.

That isn't a particularly cheap alternative. 

[JayBird]

That isn't a particularly cheap alternative. 

I think the goal is to encourage companies to manufacture here, thus create jobs.

I think heineken is made here for that reason.

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, JayBird said:

I think the goal is to encourage companies to manufacture here, thus create jobs.

I think heineken is made here for that reason.

And protectionism...

Singha Corporation leads the market with a 72 percent share and Thai Beverage seconds with 24 percent share. Heineken – the third largest brewer in the world – only holds 4 percent.

[Millcx]

On 7/29/2019 at 9:28 PM, marcusarelus said:

No factual information to back that up.  All of the Americans are going to Victoria Island or Quebec city.  The Canadians are going to Florida to buy used cars and the Brits are going to Spain.  The Australians are going to Bali.  

And Portugal... 150 euro for a 5 year visa that takes 25 mins start to finish ...then can apply to stay for ever

[Essecola]

On 7/31/2019 at 9:46 AM, Inn Between said:

 

I was talking about the price of apartments being near double priced. At least 1.5x priced for sure for the same thing and that is with the fact that the shopping is clearly inferior. Haven't been in a hotel for more than a few days in ages. I suspect the days of cheap hotels are dwindling, but it's not something I'm worried about.

[Ron jeremy]

26 minutes ago, Essecola said:

I was talking about the price of apartments being near double priced. At least 1.5x priced for sure for the same thing and that is with the fact that the shopping is clearly inferior. Haven't been in a hotel for more than a few days in ages. I suspect the days of cheap hotels are dwindling, but it's not something I'm worried about.

Again, I don't know where you are staying, ocean view, apartments with balcony from $3-400 everything included. I had a beUtiful room, queen bed, tv, air, western washroom, fridge in my room stocked with 2 brands of beer at 50cents a can, floor below me had a full kitchen for guests, top floor had washing machine, free detergent, drying racks etc, free of charge, and a huge balcony overlooking the beach.all for $17 Canadian, it was great value.

Edited August 1, 2019 by Ron jeremy

[Essecola]

So you like it in Vietnam. Great. Enjoy it. I guess. It's not as good as Thailand and Bkk by far.

(Make sure you don't get sick while ur there ????  )

[Inn Between]

7 hours ago, Essecola said:

I was talking about the price of apartments being near double priced. At least 1.5x priced for sure for the same thing and that is with the fact that the shopping is clearly inferior. Haven't been in a hotel for more than a few days in ages. I suspect the days of cheap hotels are dwindling, but it's not something I'm worried about.

Yes, if you look back, you'll see that's what I explained in a post. 

 

Thanks again for you info and impressions. 

[Inn Between]

7 hours ago, Ron jeremy said:

Again, I don't know where you are staying, ocean view, apartments with balcony from $3-400 everything included. I had a beUtiful room, queen bed, tv, air, western washroom, fridge in my room stocked with 2 brands of beer at 50cents a can, floor below me had a full kitchen for guests, top floor had washing machine, free detergent, drying racks etc, free of charge, and a huge balcony overlooking the beach.all for $17 Canadian, it was great value.

Since posting in this thread, I've watched a couple of videos of people giving little tours of their accommodation in parts of Vietnam, and they had some nice clean and modern-looking places with ocean views and reasonable prices, so it seems like they are available with the right luck. 

 

I've also seen some info about apartment sharing, and that seems like a possibility for a first place to stay, rather than a hotel. It's usually no more than a few hundred dollars all in, but you also have the advantage of knowing some other expats immediately and gaining the benefit of their experience in the area.

 

Any info about people's experiences renting accommodation in Vietnam would be very welcome -- all areas, especially out of HCMC and Hanoi as I'm not a big city kind of person and will probably end up on a smaller city or even a town if Vietnam is agreeable with me. 

[KhunHeineken]

22 hours ago, Inn Between said:

 

I think some people would disagree and say that they very much realize the effect of their visa requirements, and they hope the mission of repelling such farang will be accomplished before too long. Don't forget that in the eyes of many Thais, we are the sole cause of all and any problems the country has. 

Well, it's been said many times, "They want our money here, but not us here." 

 

You would think they have realized by now that you can't have one without the other. 

[neeray]

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 3:43 AM, Jim walker said:

Was talking last week to one of my friends in Scotland he normally went out to Pattaya after every second trip off shore, he said that its cheaper now to sit about all day in the pubs at home rather than getting  a long haul flight to do the same in Thailand he also said his brother is just back from a one month holiday in the Philippines and loved it, Thailand is just getting to expensive now for long lazy breaks.

" he said that its cheaper now to sit about all day in the pubs at home " 

This holiday activity sounds way too exciting to me !!!

But I see another advantage to being a bar steward in your home country. When your liver becomes pickled and premature Alzheimer's disease sets in from all that cheap alcohol, you're probably best to be as close as possible to family and hospitals who can care for you in a language that you understand.

To each their own. Happy holidays (at the bar).

[lust]

Can someone please explain the connection between tourism and sports?! Seems so random. Why not tourism and hospitality?

[Ron jeremy]

2 hours ago, Inn Between said:

Since posting in this thread, I've watched a couple of videos of people giving little tours of their accommodation in parts of Vietnam, and they had some nice clean and modern-looking places with ocean views and reasonable prices, so it seems like they are available with the right luck. 

 

I've also seen some info about apartment sharing, and that seems like a possibility for a first place to stay, rather than a hotel. It's usually no more than a few hundred dollars all in, but you also have the advantage of knowing some other expats immediately and gaining the benefit of their experience in the area.

 

Any info about people's experiences renting accommodation in Vietnam would be very welcome -- all areas, especially out of HCMC and Hanoi as I'm not a big city kind of person and will probably end up on a smaller city or even a town if Vietnam is agreeable with me. 

These units are not available with the right luck, they are everywhere outside the main cities. Not a problem at all finding them.

[morrobay]

10 hours ago, neeray said:

" he said that its cheaper now to sit about all day in the pubs at home " 

This holiday activity sounds way too exciting to me !!!

But I see another advantage to being a bar steward in your home country. 

Another advantage is that you don't have to put up with these types in Pattaya. I can avoid them when they are in the bars but these are the same types that smoke on the songkows. I have had more problems with this type (no description necessary)  than any of the Asian males. As far as these bar people go the less the better.

[KhunHeineken]

On 7/26/2019 at 12:30 AM, Seligne2 said:

I am just back from Cambodia. I was stunned to learn that there are now 80k Chinese expats living in Sihanoukville and 200 flights from there every week to China. So that is where some of the Chinese are going. Cambodia starting to look like a Chinese province.

There are about 70 casinos now in Sihanoukville, all catering for the Chinese.  They are turning it into a Macau in Cambodia. 

 

I started a thread on the Cambodia Travel Forum.  I posted many photos from a trip I did there late last year.  

 

Check out the thread, you will be shocked by the size of the construction taking place there.  

[DrTuner]

20 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

There are about 70 casinos now in Sihanoukville, all catering for the Chinese.  They are turning it into a Macau in Cambodia. 

The Crimea method: Slowly get your own people in and then claim they are the majority, follow up with military invasion, et voila, Chinese province. Rinse & repeat.

[DPKANKAN]

17 hours ago, DrTuner said:

The Crimea method: Slowly get your own people in and then claim they are the majority, follow up with military invasion, et voila, Chinese province. Rinse & repeat.

I have stopped learning Thai language now and started Chinese for the future here to!! ????????????????

[bert bloggs]

23 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

I have stopped learning Thai language now and started Chinese for the future here to!! ????????????????

The other week we were with my wifes Nephew in BKK ,he is an airline steward , two Chinese were looking lost so he started to speak to them in Chinese ,to say i was suprised was an understatement , said he learnt it as they get so many Chinese tourists on board ,,seems its the coming language to learn.

[simon43]

Yep - I'm brushing up on my Mandarin again.  I learn conversational Mandarin about 8 years ago in Phuket because of the influx of Chinese tourists.  Stopped my Chinese lessons when I went to work in Myanmar. 

 

Now I'm moving to north Laos and want to revise my Mandarin because of possible business opportunities with the influx of Chinese tourists that the new railway line will bring.

 

Hen Hao!

 

[KhunFred]

Vietnam is not just a competitor to Thailand for tourism. They are an acceptable alternative for retirees. Vietnam actually WELCOMES retirees, while Thailand does everything to drive us out.

[ThomasThBKK]

38 minutes ago, KhunFred said:

Vietnam is not just a competitor to Thailand for tourism. They are an acceptable alternative for retirees. Vietnam actually WELCOMES retirees, while Thailand does everything to drive us out.

That's why they have no retirment visa?

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, ThomasThBKK said:

That's why they have no retirment visa?

Not really retirement visa in Thailand either. All you need is to be is over 50 and have 800k. In the west most retire in their 60's. It's just a temporary stay category they made up to get the money from the older geezers.

Edited August 4, 2019 by DrTuner

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

That's why they have no retirment visa?

Well of course Thailand offers a 12 month extension or a Visa that can give 2 years, but I really don't feel that is too much of an offering, something longer term would be better. The Elite is a bit out of range for retirees. They certainly have not made it easy or easier, beyond making the accommodations for loss of Embassy letters. 

[marcusarelus]

16 hours ago, KhunFred said:

Vietnam is not just a competitor to Thailand for tourism. They are an acceptable alternative for retirees. Vietnam actually WELCOMES retirees, while Thailand does everything to drive us out.

Does Vietnam offer a 2 year visa for 1900 baht?  

[falangUK]

Has anyone actually moved from Thailand due to these issues? 

[Scott]

Off-topic post reported and removed.