Tourism in northern Thailand decimated: Worst in ten years say hoteliers

[Suradit69]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

oteliers all over Thailand have been saying that the situation is dire in recent weeks. Stories of doom and gloom about tourism going down the pan in Pattaya and Phuket have been all over the media.

I would think the record breaking heat waves in Europe and America have something to dowith it. If you're sweltering in 40 degree heat I doubt many people would think a holiday in Thailand was just the place to go for a few weeks of potentially more sun and higher temperatures.

[newnative]

5 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

I've looked more into the reasons why this kind of reporting is extremely misleading. They are quoting the Northern Chapter of the Thai Hotel Association. 
This is a club of 64 (!) hotels, most of them very long established. Places like the Orchid Hotel, Chiang Mai Gate, CM Plaza Hotel, Dusit Princess, Suriwongse, Holiday Inn, M Hotel (formerly Montri), Imperial Mae Ping, Lotus PSK, Phucome, Flora Creek (formerly Kritsada Doi Resort), Prince Hotel, etc. etc. So in short these are all hotels that were also around 20-30 years ago, (with some 5-Star newcomers like the Meridien and Anantara) For reference, the full list is here: http://www.thaihotels.org/16779806/northern-upper

It would be an understatement to say that Chiang Mai tourism is not the same as it was 20-30 years ago. No longer a couple dozen entrenched hotels dominate the market. A quick look on Agoda shows 5,274 hotels , hostels and other accommodation providers. Booking dot com: 2,084. 

So there are now THOUSANDS of options for tourists to stay in Chiang Mai. Most of these did not even exist '10 years ago' as stated by the old guard hotel operators. 
There is probably an interesting and relevant article / headline to be found in there, about the changing landscape of tourist accommodation in the North, but a whine about 'the worst for 10 years' on tourist numbers certainly isn't it. 

I wish fewer journalists let themselves be fooled so easily. One thing the Hotel Association does well is issue press releases and do seminars and interviews. So the laziest of journalists will have something to print.

   I agree.  Relying on a hotel association to determine the state of tourism is ridiculous.  I am in Pattaya and every new condo project is being overrun with tourists illegally booking into the condos rather than hotels.  Many of these condo projects have 500 to 1000 rooms or more and dozens of them have opened in the past few years.  Plus, new hotels have opened, as well, and others have expanded.  Bookings may be down because the tourist pie is being sliced into far more and smaller pieces than it was before.

[Lee65]

Friend who works at TAT in Isaan said they are not even trying for English-speaking foreign tourists when I asked why their promo materials were almost exclusively in Thai.

 

They are focusing on Domestic tourism.  There still seems to be quite a bit of that happening and it may even be on the rise.

[DavidM121]

A contributing factor to the low number of tourist arrivals in the North has to be the fact that Chiang Mai was named and shamed as the number one city in the world for air pollution earlier in the year.  People reading and seeing news stories about the extremely high levels of air pollution in February/March were likely put off from booking a holiday in Chiang Mai.  Failing to tackle the perennial problem of air pollution is another example of Thailand's political and commercial institutions shooting themselves in both feet.

 

[peter14]

Blame immigration ... it;s a big factor... 

[ronaldo0]

6 hours ago, Mikisteel said:

Vietnam for the family holiday this year. Suggestions welcome. Family friendly.

Hoi an. Stay in one of the beach hotels just outside the town and travel in at night for peanuts. Great place !

[dunroaming]

6 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

I live in Chiang Mai. You uses to see caravans of tour busses on the streets daily. Now you rarely see 3 - 4 in a month. 

I lived in Chiang Mai and was never happier when the tourist numbers dropped.  Easier to get around and get flights and rarely had to book to get a table at a good restaurant.  On the other hand I sympathise with the hoteliers who must be struggling.

[smudger1951]

I don't think things will change until the export industry buckles under the strong thai baht. It's a turnaround for the well off here but the less so will pay the price.

[Isaan sailor]

What did they expect?  Record bookings?  Polluted air and a sky high Baht.

Why?  Bank of Thailand’s intoxication with foreign bond sale inflows, aka hot money. BoT has sacrificed tourism, exports and farmers for their hot money addiction.

[ronaldo0]

And not a tear was shed !! Reap what you sow !!

Give it another year or two and it might sink in what’s happened !!

The golden goose has left the country !

[THE REVERAND]

Unfortunately Thailand has Killed the Hen that Laid The Golden Egg. The good old days are over for Thailand and will never return as all the Farangs Will Tell You. It is time for the expats to move on to greener pastures.    

[Netease]

4 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

 

Its the rainy season ... the smog/smoke is here in the hot season  .... and while we need more rain. The atmosphere has been outstanding,  since the heat broke last week. If you look out the window right now its raining. Like it was yesterday. You are in San Khampeng?

I'm giving my experience from arrival Friday its raining here now and slight rain last 2 days but this topic is about Tourist numbers down and why, I don't think all Tourist want to go on holidays when its raining

[malibukid]

2 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

The problem for Thailand is the same for a lot of countries.  For decades the low cost of visiting, the temples and the night life were the main draws for Thailand.  Thailand was geared to a young, single crowd made up of partiers from AUS the US and England as well as backpackers.

 

The cash cow was great and people enjoyed it without making any attempts to change the draw and to keep current with the changing times and demographics.

 

These same pariy makers and singles have gotten older and now have families,  the night life is starting to get stale and over done with everyone and anyone opening a massage shop of bar with girls and thinking that that is all they need.

 

Other countries are now offering more or the same.

 

All you have to do is walk along Patpong, NANA, waling street and you can see it.  Every 5 feet you have someone shoving a sign in your face to go into the bar for ping pong show  or you can go sit in a bar buy a beer and watch girls stand on a stage.  Then you can buy them inflated drinks and or pay a large fee to take them home.

 

The old Brits and Aussies that come here do not have the large amounts of cash needed to sustain things.  People now are looking for family entertainment as well.  This is the big loss as really there is absolutely nothing for a family to do at any other the tourist areas.

 

For proof of what I am saying Americans can look no further than Vegas.  Sin City has gone through a major change in order to bring in the families with their money.  

 

Eventually someone may notice but i am not going to hold my breath.

 

 

 

 

i loved the old Vegas of the 70's, it had an edge to it, and as long as you brought a nice bank roll with you and never burned the locals they would leave you along.  

[Isaan sailor]

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

yeah breathing is really important when you are on vacation.

Best one-liner. Thx

[Mikisteel]

Ok so let's speculate.

 

What happens if Thailand has a 15% reduction in tourism revenues in a year?

 

What destinations have had to force change after such a loss of revenue and how long did it take to reinvent the wheel?

 

I hear Mexico suffered and Cancun fell. Maybe not as touristic dependent but at one time Cancun was on everyone's lips. 

[Ajvat37]

7 hours ago, Mikisteel said:

Vietnam for the family holiday this year. Suggestions welcome. Family friendly.

Check out Nha Trang.  It has great fishing, good snorkeling, a beautiful beach, good food, and Vinpearl land which is like a Disneyland type island you take a sky tram to.  They have animals, water park, arcade and rides.  It’s an amazing city

[Netease]

3 hours ago, cerox said:

Netease, you should close your windows during night time when it is dark / you sleep.

People will not stop burning their trash for you. I always use aircon at night, no matter what time of the year, just because I know someone is going to burn some plastic next to me, more often than not.

Year I close all the windows and doors but doors don't seal well and my health is normally good, But the article is about Tourist numbers down and I believe what happens to me could be one of the reasons

[wolf81]

7 hours ago, Mikisteel said:

Vietnam for the family holiday this year. Suggestions welcome. Family friendly.

Da Nang seemed nice when I read about it in the in-flight magazine of Vietjet Air. Certainly a place I plan to visit in the future with my GF and daughter.

[justin case]

thailand, were airbnb is almost as expensive as a hotel

 

where grab car are taxis and cost more than regular taxi's

 

where you need to report if you just farted in another city

 

etc...

[Darkside Gray]

Man up TAT speak the truth!

[soalbundy]

They still have some though, the IO hasn't threatened them enough

[0815]

And they are still building new hotels...
How many will be co owned by Chinese ?
How many half finished ruins will be around Chiang Mai soon ?

In the same time the Thai consulate denies to give Tourist Visas if travellers can't show 20.000 THB in cash.
Better ask for travel insurances to fix a big problem...

1+1=2 (In the rest of the world)

[Centra]

7 hours ago, Mikisteel said:

Vietnam for the family holiday this year. Suggestions welcome. Family friendly.

Da nang or Hoi an or both also Halong Bay is a bucket list place.

[Dnyy]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

boost tourism by 6.02%

Wow, they are able to calculate the boost by 2 decimals. What a BS!

[ChasingTheSun]

I have been to CM twice for business. 

 

Based on what I’ve experienced in CM, it does not appear to offer any significant distinct value proposition(DVP) for tourism. 

 

IMHO, Phuket(or perhaps even Pattaya or Hua Hin) seem to offer a greater variety of varied attractions. 

 

Putting aside the horrendous air pollution problems currently facing CM, perhaps the lack of any real DVP is why CM tourism has finally been “decimated”?

 

Please correct me if I am wrong. Am I missing a really significant DVP that would make tourists want to make the journey to CM?

 

[Cake Monster]

7 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

I have friends who normally come to Thailand once or twice a year, quite a few of whom are not coming this year. The strength of the baht is the number one reason, while comments about the Chinese in their hotels, and especially about the way they behave where there is a buffet breakfast also ranks up there. Thailand put its eggs in the Chinese basket, despite as was proved in Sihanoukville, that when the Chinese arrive in numbers, everyone else leaves and don't come back. There is no easy solution to getting tourists back, and I suspect things are going to get a whole lot worse, before they (if ever), start to improve.

Those who rely on the tourism market for their livelihoods, must also take a big chunk of the blame, for very poor behaviour across the board.

Very poor behaviour indeed.

From the very top to the bottom

[Proboscis]

In addition to the Thai Baht issue, tourists are much more savvy these days. The repeat visitors would know about the terrible air quality problems earlier this year. There is also a feeling that the country has changed - not so welcoming with two waivers on land borders per year and all the stuff about having to register if you stay overnight somewhere. Not very conducive to the sort of folks who like to travel independently and spontaneously.

[Razek]

If you go to USA for one week you need only 700 dollsrs to spend if you go to Thailand you neef 7000 dollars .....don ' t ask why

[Andycoops]

What goes around comes around.

A friend last week booked a taxi.

No greeting upon arriving at his hotel, no loading bags into taxi, no off loading bags from taxi. 

Driver complaining he has no customers.

My friend said you just lost another and all my friends because I will give them your taxi number and say don't use this guy he's lazy whingeing s***.

He told him in Thai as well. 

My friend said his face was priceless.

[Andycoops]

5 years of military rule and now more to come, what do they expect. 

Any country run by Generals fails.

They just don't understand economics.