Immigration chief: Don't scare the tourists away by being too strict - we need them and their money

[kingdong]

Just now, Filipplenoir said:

Just last week a russian lady was bitten by a monkey in Phuket. Pharmacy sold her some pills. On way back from the hospital friendly police decided to check her passport. And also her bag. Found pills without prescription. She spent 2days in prison. Now on 10 k bail. Lawer wants 1.2 mil to speedify the case. Otherwise could take 3 months to return to st Petersburg. Read it on newsru.com

Insanity.  

If you can,t do the time,don,t do the crime.????

[dallen52]

1 hour ago, SmartyMarty said:

there's still well over 35 million coming here annually.

And the average length of stay is?

And the average spend per stay is ?

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, kelboy said:

It's all to late,all the tourist have heard and are going elsewhere. Also saving a lot of money. 

Tourism is doing fine

[moe666]

I doubt that regular tourist who have never been here before have any trouble getting in. It appears the ones with the problem are the long stay type living and working here without the proper visa are the culprits. These people appear here out of nowhere I have been denied entry after 10 visa exempt entries and 5 or 6 tourist visas and multiply extensions, O what do I do now.

[luckyluke]

T.i.T., one is never sure of anything here. 

 

The ones who encounter bad experiences may be confronted with worse ones. 

 

The ones with no problems, so far, may encounter some soon. 

 

I am 19 years permanently here, no problems so far.

 

I am Belgian, so no need to have any money parked in a Thai bankaccount, no need to transfer monthly at least 65000 Thb, if I don't want to. 

 

I can still obtain a Letter of Income at the Austrian Consulate in Pattaya, so far accepted with no questions at Immigration Jomtien, before in Pattaya. 

 

 

I do my 90 days online, TM30 is done by management where I stay. 

 

My initial visa was an O, so no need of insurance. 

 

But I know everything can change rapidly. 

 

I will find out already next month, when I renew my so called "Retirement Visa". 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, keith101 said:

What and expats living here do nothing for the economy , maybe you should look at ways of helping us instead of making it harder .

Sorry, but IMO they don't want retired expats in LOS. They only want tourists that come for a few days, spend lots of money and leave.

 

Wonder if he realises that the Chinese hordes only spend money in certain venues, and everyone else is missing out?

Wonder if he'll allow more than one visa exempt consecutively? Wonder if he'll allow more than tourist visa a year?

 

All the problems could have been avoided with some use of brain cells.

[SmartyMarty]

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

Tell that to the Tourism Minister! Oh, and give him a hug while you're at it!

 

TNA reported that the Minister for Tourism and Sports went to Koh Samui on a fact finding mission to hear local opinion as the tourism sector suffers a downtown in the number of visitors. 

 

I'm not claiming that tourist numbers are increasing, I'm merely pointing out to the moaners and complainers on this thread that the tourists haven't stopped coming, just that there's less of them. Tourism remains a major income stream for the kingdom.

[luckyluke]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but IMO they don't want retired expats in LOS...

Sorry, not agree,

if they wanted to do that, they would have changed the Immigration rules for everyone. 

 

See my previous post here above. 

 

But once again, I am conscious that everything can change. 

[newcomer71]

Did he just say the magic word "money"? One thing more, Mr. Puffedchest: look, also expats contribute to the economy and not in a marginal way. Remove that soil from your skull and try to think that maybe who have been living here regularly for a decade and more, maybe should be saved from the embarrassing harassment that your whole lot does every single year? Not to mention the TM idiocy... (I know, it's hard but at least you can try). 

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but IMO they don't want retired expats in LOS. They only want tourists that come for a few days, spend lots of money and leave.

I'm not convinced they discriminate between an expat and a tourist.

We're all tourists to them.

[somtumwrong]

3 minutes ago, SmartyMarty said:

I'm not claiming that tourist numbers are increasing, I'm merely pointing out to the moaners and complainers on this thread that the tourists haven't stopped coming, just that there's less of them. Tourism remains a major income stream for the kingdom.

They actually changed quality to quantity (hmm if you can call western backpackers and Pattaya sexpats quality), but they got neither. Well, they got the Chinese in Pattaya, as well as the Indians on the walking street I guess, but being such a self-proclaimed high level tourist (yes, I'm a tourist with Non-O and I don't want to live here), I avoid the places taken over by Chinese or Indians. And I recognize that in my country in the Nordics, people no longer fancy about Thailand, they consider other locations, and I am happy to tell of my "exotic" experiences here to contribute to their decisions.

[thaibeachlovers]

20 minutes ago, Filipplenoir said:

Just last week a russian lady was bitten by a monkey in Phuket. Pharmacy sold her some pills. On way back from the hospital friendly police decided to check her passport. And also her bag. Found pills without prescription. She spent 2days in prison. Now on 10 k bail. Lawer wants 1.2 mil to speedify the case. Otherwise could take 3 months to return to st Petersburg. Read it https://russian.rt.com/world/article/693830-tailand-lekarstvo-apteka-tyurma-rossiyanka

Insanity.  

Add that sort of thing to the list. <deleted> fake cops demanding 2,000 baht for a planted cigarette butt on Sukhumvit, jet ski scam. etc etc etc. LOS, land of scams.

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

Good thinking. Have you got Pat. Pending on that idea?

Never thought of that...is there a patent office in QUOTES?

 

Rooster

[somtumwrong]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Add that sort of thing to the list. <deleted> fake cops demanding 2,000 baht for a planted cigarette butt on Sukhumvit, jet ski scam. etc etc etc. LOS, land of scams.

No worries. A German TV channel just recently exposed those scams ("Achtung Abzocke" or smth like that), and Thailand immediately promised to sweep away those scams in the blink of an eye .. in 3.. 2 .. 1 .. zzzzzzz .. ????

[AsianAtHeart]

Westerners living in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar are now limited to two free land entries per year.  Because of this rule, Thailand is foregoing millions of baht in purchases that these foreigners would have made if able, as before, to conveniently shop in Thailand.  (Flying in, or paying 1000 baht per entry, with the loss of two business days' time to visit the embassy for each such entry, is decidedly not convenient.)  When will a new visa category be made to accommodate these non-resident guests?  I personally know many who have been adversely affected by the rule change, some who now go to other countries instead of to Thailand, despite the longer journey to do so.  I wonder if anyone in Thailand has been tracking the numbers on this to see how much they have lost.

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

 

Maybe not for tourists, but as replacements for the single-use plastic bags. now that really would be win-win ????

 

Neil Wraggs is your man.

Fair idea. But would there be enough vinyl to supply the entire retail sector in Thailand?

 

I suspect not unless Big Joke's secret stash could be plundered. 

 

Rooster

[jackdd]

The OP is a bit missleading.

Big Oud said this to the immigration officers in Mae Hong Son, he didn't address the immigration officers country wide.

Mae Hong Son doesn't have a real(*) border crossing, so the question is: About which situations exactly was he talking? It was probably not related to foreigners entering Thailand.

 

(*) There are crossings where people do some border trade, but afaik there is no crossing where a non-Thai and non-Myanmar citizen could officially enter the other country.

Edited December 9, 2019 by jackdd

[jackdd]

4 minutes ago, AsianAtHeart said:

Westerners living in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar are now limited to two free land entries per year.  Because of this rule, Thailand is foregoing millions of baht in purchases that these foreigners would have made if able, as before, to conveniently shop in Thailand.  (Flying in, or paying 1000 baht per entry, with the loss of two business days' time to visit the embassy for each such entry, is decidedly not convenient.)  When will a new visa category be made to accommodate these non-resident guests?  I personally know many who have been adversely affected by the rule change, some who now go to other countries instead of to Thailand, despite the longer journey to do so.  I wonder if anyone in Thailand has been tracking the numbers on this to see how much they have lost.

Vietnam isn't connected to Thailand by land ????

The foreigners could get a METV if they really visit Thailand often through land borders, of course the price for a METV could put some off

Edited December 9, 2019 by jackdd

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

Good thinking. Have you got Pat. Pending on that idea?

Never thought of that...is there a patent office in QUOTES?

 

Rooster

No, only in capital letters.

I think you'd have a better idea than me. Doesn't it probably come under IPR, if at all?

It's a hard life being a wit. Pity I'm only halfway there.

 

[zydeco]

Maybe start with getting rid of that informant hotline for Thais to rat out expats and other tourists, like that German guy who was turned in for a 5 day overstay.

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

 

From here https://www.espressoenglish.net/countable-and-uncountable-nouns-why-10-items-or-less-is-grammatically-incorrect/

But it does sound less stuck up with the less.

[thaibeachlovers]

16 minutes ago, luckyluke said:

Sorry, not agree,

if they wanted to do that, they would have changed the Immigration rules for everyone. 

 

See my previous post here above. 

 

But once again, I am conscious that everything can change. 

They have changed the rules. Used to be easy, but last time I extended I used an agent as it's become so barking with invented new rules that are not nation wide. I miss LOS, but immigration not a jot.

[Jane Dough]

5 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

No, only in capital letters.

I think you'd have a better idea than me. Doesn't it probably come under IPR, if at all?

It's a hard life being a wit. Pity I'm only halfway there.

 

Half way if you are a DIMWIT or a NITWIT but three quarters if just a TWIT.

 

regards,

 

Rooster

[SmartyMarty]

1 hour ago, Saint Nick said:

Ah...the classic "I personally have no problems. so naturally there are no problems"!

Please don't forget to ad the "If you don't like it, go home"- BS!

Can you read? I never said there are no problems, I merely provided a counterpoint plus asked in what way Immigration could ease up on expats. And don't ever assume you can read into my inner thoughts with your "don't forget to ad, etc". Mind you, I note you are a "senior member" so perhaps your faculties are failing.

[NCC1701A]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"please come back to Thailand we need you"

"who said that?"

[ExpatOilWorker]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Perhaps I should try forwarding the article to the Big C management - unless your you're on the case already?

If you do so, please also mention that they should re-name their "Big C mini" outlets to "Just C".

 

 

[luckyluke]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

They have changed the rules. Used to be easy... 

I am conscious that the Australia, Great Britain, U.S.A. citizens represent the biggest % of the expats here.

 

However we, the rest of the world, are still a great number.

 

They haven't changed the rules for us;

so still "easy". 

 

So far. 

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

Half way if you are a DIMWIT or a NITWIT but three quarters if just a TWIT.

 

regards,

 

Rooster

But not a halfwit though?

You could probably tell me in less than two seconds which of those words has the higher scrabble score too.

[worgeordie]

He says this at Mae Hong Son immigration,one of the smaller backwater

offices, would have given it more weight if he had of said it while at either

Chiang Mai,Pattaya or Bangkok offices.

regards worgeordie

[tifino]

 geez, my ex must have his DNA? 

 

the topic for me is a de javu, minus the dress!

 

 

I recall at one point, one of her GF confidantes' came and told me (after the Ex split and long gone) 

- one of the Ex's secrets...

 

 

Ex had threatened each of her friends, to not tell me that she was cheating badly!

- the baby not his etc etc

 She end that sequence by ordering them to not tell me, because...

well the words were:

 

"... don't tell him; for he will jump out the window!

 - I want all his money first!..."