Pattaya is Dead - Lowest Foreigner Visits This Winter

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, dabhand said:

Those continually stating that Pattaya is dead really need  to expand their horizons.

I don't know how anyone who tries to drive here can remotely think that.

[brokenbone]

the sois are every bit as packed as ever,

and instead of white foreigners,

its full of arabs & chinese,

you just havnt learn to tell the difference

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, brokenbone said:

 

its full of arabs & chinese,

you just havnt learn to tell the difference

Not Indians and Chinese?

[Leaver]

2 hours ago, lapd said:

This town looks as busy as I have ever seen it this time of year.  The new beach is awesome, lots of beach goers enjoying it.  They are fixing the drainage.  There are new shopping and food options with the new mall.  People are still buying condos.  But don't let that stop you all from starting yet another "Pattaya is dying" thread.

Your observations are not what I see.  I've never seen it so quiet.  Beer bar complexes are devoid of customers, and you can practically walk across 2nd Road without even looking to the left or right. 

 

Even nice and well established businesses have next to no customers in them.  This is why I started the thread about one's favorite restaurant or bar closing. 

 

Even if the tourist numbers were up, do you think their "spend" is up?  I don't think so. 

 

Not a doom and gloom post, just my observations. 

[DannyCarlton]

3 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Not Indians and Chinese?

Could be Indians, could be Arabs. Could be Chinese, could be Koreans. I can't tell the difference.

 

Off topic. I was in a bar the other day when a girl came up to me and started talking as if she knew me. When I pointed out that I'd definately never met her before she replied, "Sorry, all farangs look the same to me".

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, DannyCarlton said:

Off topic. I was in a bar the other day when a girl came up to me and started talking as if she knew me. When I pointed out that I'd definately never met her before she replied, "Sorry, all farangs look the same to me".

I ride down soi pothole on my bike in helmet and smog mask, and they still yell my name!

[shy coconut]

1 hour ago, Chivas said:

@Banana7

 

"Thai baht is too high against European currencies plus Thai prices have increased quickly, far above inflation."

 

No lol yet again someone not understanding how foreign exchange works. Contrary to what so many believe there is no direct exchange rate between Sterling/Baht, Euro/Baht, Aussie Dollar/Baht etc etc....only the USD has that priviledge

For everyone else the bottom line number crunch is the sum of 2 pairings.

 

Now the OP is partially right in that the Thai baht is strong against European currencies but 80% of that is down to Sterling and Euros weakness against the Dollar. 20% down to the all important Dollar/Baht ratio (would be nice if it weakened out to 33 as would help everyone)

 

Until major currencies increase in value against the USD we'll continue to see these horrific rates but its NOT repeat NOT all down to the strength of the Baht against the USD

That may all be true to a pedant and super economist, but the fact remains that the 

pound and euro buys less baht these days, the average guy exchanging money only

looks at the bottom line.

 

So, lol all you like matey!!

[DannyCarlton]

5 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I ride down soi pothole on my bike in helmet and smog mask, and they still yell my name!

What's your name? Handsome man? Yes, I heard them shout your name when I was sat in Triangle Bar.

[marin]

3 hours ago, Lone Ranger said:

Beware of Koh Samat!

Never found that at all. Please at least be able to spell the island if you are going to pan it..

[Leaver]

11 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

What's your name? Handsome man? Yes, I heard them shout your name when I was sat in Triangle Bar.

I called into Triangle Bar a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't even have to share a table with people unknown to me.  I had a table to myself, that how quiet it was. 

[DannyCarlton]

3 minutes ago, Leaver said:

I called into Triangle Bar a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't even have to share a table with people unknown to me.  I had a table to myself, that how quiet it was. 

I go into Central Pattaya a couple of times per week, was there yesterday. It's true that there are quite a lot fo people around but not farangs. Businesses that rely on farang trade, bars and farang restaurants are really struggling.

[Vacuum]

36 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I ride down soi pothole on my bike in helmet and smog mask, and they still yell my name!

What is it - Hans Sum?

[Chivas]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Don't be a bore. You can directly change Sterling, Oz Dollar, NZ Dollar, Euro, Philippine Peso, Chinese Yuan etc etc, in any of dozens of TT kiosks in Pattaya, any bank, any etc etc, directly into Thai Baht, and never even see a US dollar.  Rates are up on big TVs. 

lol I actually think you're being serious !!

 

Just on the very off chance you're not (1%) I will spell it out for you how exchange rates work (briefly)

There is NO direct exchange rate between Sterling/Baht (as an example)....nobody sits in the Thai Finance ministry and thinks old Boris is being a tosser this week so we'll drop it to 37 or whatever

 

Its the sum of Dollar/Baht multiplied by Sterling/Dollar which gives interbank and the subsequent resultant tourist rates we see on Exchange boards

ONLY the USD has a direct exchange rate with the Baht and every other currency

 

If either of those currency pairings in the example move in whatever direction it affects the bottom line....

 

(seriously I hope you were joking lol)

[emptypockets]

And when the grace period for monthly deposits for retirement extensions is over there will be even less whiners on the bar stools. Hopefully Pattaya will return to a tourist town and not a ghetto for the down and out farang retirees. Might even become family friendly when the old mongers are gone!

Bliss!!

[dimitriv]

1 hour ago, DannyCarlton said:

I go into Central Pattaya a couple of times per week, was there yesterday. It's true that there are quite a lot fo people around but not farangs. Businesses that rely on farang trade, bars and farang restaurants are really struggling.

 

A lot of Chinese tourists are "zero-dollar" tourists.  It works like this:

 

 

Back in China, would-be tourists are offered heavily discounted, all-inclusive package tours that include accommodation as well as flights, transport, meals and translators. The trade-off is that, along with the usual trips to the beach and fine restaurants, tourists are also taken to overpriced shops and urged – in some cases, reportedly even intimidated – into buying marked-up goods.

 

Money from shopping then flows back to the tour operator from the shop owners, to make up for the money lost from the discounted travel package.

 

The shops in Thailand are Chinese-owned and run by Thai proxies. And much of the revenue from the shopping component of the tours flows straight back to China. 

 

 

[bkk6060]

3 hours ago, lapd said:

This town looks as busy as I have ever seen it this time of year.  The new beach is awesome, lots of beach goers enjoying it.  They are fixing the drainage.  There are new shopping and food options with the new mall.  People are still buying condos.  But don't let that stop you all from starting yet another "Pattaya is dying" thread.

Yes packed.

As is the Terminal 21 food court had to wait for a seat the other day.

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

Visits up 5.6% this year. If you don't see that maybe you don't get out much or need to get your eyes checked.  I've never seen it so busy this time of year overall.  Some areas may be quieter but others more busy.  One thing I have noticed is that Central Festival is not as busy.  But that is because their food court is closed for renovation and because of T21 mall.  So people and traffic seem more spread out now between the 2 malls.

 

Of course restaurant/bar owners will always complain that it's not busy enough.  And options are ever changing/expanding so some businesses are doing better than others.

 

No one I know goes to Pattaya to visit malls and food courts.

 

They go for the girls and the bars. My friend who lives in Pattaya says the bars are dead, there's little of the traditional party atmosphere and lots of girls have called it a day and gone elsewhere or back to their homes and families.

 

His immediate words were 'it's dead' when I asked him on the phone 'how is it out there'.

[CGW]

4 hours ago, Banana7 said:

Never before in the past 25 years, has this time of year seen so few foreigners in Pattaya.

Nonsense! I lived in Pattaya from 1997 on-wards, there were very few foreigners back then, the town was less than a quarter of the size it is now, far busier today than it was years back, quieter than in recent years maybe, but not the quietest for 25 years for sure!

[bkk6060]

1 minute ago, yogi100 said:

 

No one I know goes to Pattaya to visit malls and food courts.

 

 

So they are drinkers and mongerers.

Many more people visiting here then them.

[jacko45k]

21 minutes ago, Chivas said:

 

Just on the very off chance you're not (1%)

I just lost the will to live.....

[bkk6060]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

Nonsense! I lived in Pattaya from 1997 on-wards, there were very few foreigners back then, the town was less than a quarter of the size it is now, far busier today than it was years back, quieter than in recent years maybe, but not the quietest for 25 years for sure!

Yes.

Cruised yesterday on my motorbike the main bar areas were full.

7 and 8, 2nd road, Buakhow crowded.

 

But sure, some obscure bar away from the city or in the Darkside have no customers.

Duh..

[Destiny1990]

Imho there isn’t a recession in Europe going on but Europe travelers seem to be avoiding Thailand due too strict visa requirements and strong baht. 

Look at the Song teaws driving by do they have passengers??

Ask the driver how is his season is He making money?? Look at his face.

Then you know what’s up.

[shdmn]

1 hour ago, Leaver said:

I called into Triangle Bar a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't even have to share a table with people unknown to me.  I had a table to myself, that how quiet it was. 

You found a table in a bar all to yourself.  Quite a convincing argument that Pattaya is dead.

[LivinLOS]

4 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

#2 does not apply to real tourists. first time visitors or once every few years with a very long return to home country not affected.

No more multiple entries given non imms, requiring proof of salaries, and many many other clampdowns make even perfectly eligible over 50 or married folks, looking to come for a long winter vacation, which was not unusual for many europeans previously, much harder. 

 

Its false to say tourists have not been effected by these issues. 

[kevinmartyn]

If you want to get true numbers about foreign tourist just ask the bars, restaurants and not forgetting the female cuties that can no longer send money back to family 

[Chivas]

1 minute ago, LivinLOS said:

Utter nonsense.. 

Lol so after 34 years in finance I dont know how to calculate interbank for any given currency (calculate it NOT look at an app lol)

Right oh.

It is seriously disturbing (and expats seem to be the worst of the lot) who genuinely have no idea how the folding in their hand was calculated

[ukrules]

It's September, it's always very quiet in September as it's the lowest point of the low season in many places.

 

Some places experience this in May but over the years I've noticed that September is the low point around these parts.

[yogi100]

36 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

So they are drinkers and mongerers.

Many more people visiting here then them.

That's why I wrote 'no one I know'. I don't know any Russians, Arabs or Chinese etc.

 

Those i refer to belong to the general falang community and consists of holiday makers, ex pats and long termers. 

 

They are practically all punters and drinkers who patronise the bars and girls.

 

The Arabs tend do the same while the Indians do it on a more limited scale.

 

The Russians rarely do it.

 

I've never been aware of a Chinaman in a bar nor chasing the women.

[emptypockets]

1 hour ago, dimitriv said:

 

A lot of Chinese tourists are "zero-dollar" tourists.  It works like this:

 

 

Back in China, would-be tourists are offered heavily discounted, all-inclusive package tours that include accommodation as well as flights, transport, meals and translators. The trade-off is that, along with the usual trips to the beach and fine restaurants, tourists are also taken to overpriced shops and urged – in some cases, reportedly even intimidated – into buying marked-up goods.

 

Money from shopping then flows back to the tour operator from the shop owners, to make up for the money lost from the discounted travel package.

 

The shops in Thailand are Chinese-owned and run by Thai proxies. And much of the revenue from the shopping component of the tours flows straight back to China. 

 

 

Which was apparently stamped out in the crackdown a couple of years ago.

[Rimmer]

Some off topic stuff removed