Phuket facing worst tourism crisis in three decades - half of hotel rooms empty in 2020

[gaikhao]

There is nothing wrong with a strong baht. Yes, one sector may suffer, but other sectors will prosper, and in the grand scheme of things it is a wash, usually with an overall benefit to the economy.  Blaming the baht is a means of avoiding responsibility. Why not be honest and recognize the fact that the product offered is  poor and of decreasing quality?

Customers will gladly pay for quality. Look at other locations like Hua Hin which is booming. Intercontinental is putting up its luxurious residence project, and there is growth in premium venues. All this done without an airport, without good transport links and with a high baht. The difference is that one emphasizes quality  and the other does not. We just had annual meetings in Hua Hin and I came away impressed. I left previous annual events in Phuket and Pattaya disgusted. 

The Phuket ripoffs start the minute you walk out the door at the airport with the  inflated taxi fare to Karon/Kata/Rawai/Patong. 1500 baht to get to Karon? Seriously? 1000 baht to patong? That's more than the airfare  from  DMK for some.

 

Everything in the tourist areas of Phuket says rip off and disrespect. Whether it is the poor quality service or the contempt shown by the locals, it is insulting.  The last time I was in Phuket, raw sewage was still going into Patong beach and karon Beach had black water events. We had a brown out at the hotel, and there was a water shortage. I recall, not being able to walk on Patong beach because much of the space was  taken over by paraglide operators. Jetskis were everywhere. It seemed there were 100+ and of course one could see the usual rip off of jet ski users with alleged damage claims.

My driver could not stop to pick us up from a restaurant because the illegal  bike and car rentals had seized all the legal parking spaces, all done in close proximity to the Patong police box. Meanwhile the  tuk tuks were demanding 400-500 baht to go from Patong to Karon.  I could go on, but what's the point? Until this nonsense changes, no quality visitor will want to go. 

So go ahead and blame the  strong baht, but it didn't cause people to be so dishonest and disrespectful.

 

[Captain Monday]

34 minutes ago, rembody said:

Would help if they could get rid of the taxi mafia, and make it more affordable to get around

20 years ago I decided to never come to Phuket again because of taxis.

 

 

[chrisandsu]

15 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Well who would have thought that poor customer service, high prices and awkward immigration policies would affect tourism? 

1st world prices for 3 rd world customer service never works ! How can anyone justify a 350 baht coffee when they are probably only paying the staff 3-400 baht a day . 

[noone223]

8 minutes ago, gaikhao said:

Look at other locations like Hua Hin which is booming

Booming because 90% of its tourism is based on old Scandinavians who are in and out within 2 weeks.

When you're 90 years old, after a long flight, you just want to get to a close beach town.

Without being harassed by sex workers (which means Pattaya is just not an option)

[RichardColeman]

Wish they would make their mind up

[CGW]

45 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Lets just work to our strengths here some of us are very inexplicably rich nothing else matters ????

Yep, the social divide continues to grow, no need for change!

[piewarmer]

on the bright side, less tourists in Phuket hotels might get them through the ongoing water crisis

[xylophone]

I think all of the posts on this thread are just about spot on, and it is not just one thing in particular which is ruining this place, as others have suggested it is a combination of things and the last post by "gaikho" just about nails them.

 

I was out on New Year's Eve, and Bangla was busy, very busy, in fact I would describe it as a moving sea of bodies all heading down Bangla towards the beach, crammed together with the usual crazies spraying stuff in people's eyes and faces, which annoyed the poop out of me and almost got me into a fight with one ignoramus.

 

The bars were not that busy, and because I was with friends, a couple of whom are out-of-towners, they decided they wanted to go to a go-go show, so we did and I was surprised as to how few customers there were in what was once a popular venue – – even discounted beers at 89 baht weren't doing the trick.

 

As others have said, the idea that budget tourists would make up for lost spent here is fanciful, because they don't.

 

Places like Big C had more people in them than of late, mostly Chinese with some Indians, but nowhere near enough to swell the coffers I wouldn't have thought.

 

Comments from other folk here also come into the equation and one long-time bar owner has remarked that they cannot see themselves lasting much longer on just a few good days a year, whereas a visitor from overseas commented on how aggressive the restaurant staff were in trying to tout for business outside of their restaurants, and he didn't like it much at all, and did note that the restaurants were all but empty.

 

The lack of spend is noticeable and none more so than on the top floor of Jungceylon, which I visited yesterday, and much to my surprise found that there were 10 more booths which were empty, many more so than the last time I looked, and also one large shop which sold everything from guitars to drones to plugs has closed down (and not before time because it was well overpriced and a lot of the stuff it sold was rubbish).

 

So just to round it up, it is a combination of things and sure the Thai baht is high against other currencies, but if tourists saw value for money in what they were getting here, they would still come.
 

[madmitch]

32 minutes ago, neeray said:

I still disagree with you. It's called making the best of a bad situation. Take business from the competition. Get them in on price if you have to. Them make them happy with drop-dead quality service. Repeats and referrals will abound (if Government and Immi. don't kill tourism altogether).

I get what you are saying and you are right; those hotels that offer the best value in terms of price, quality, service and ancilliaries will be the ones that prosper in both the short and long term.

 

What I'm stating, however, is that across the board rate reductions are not in the best interests of the hotel business in general. same places can't afford to reduce prices as they have high rents to pay. Last year was a struggle for many, the indications are that 2020 will be harder. I suppose the survival of the fittest law will apply, but for every closure there's a new hotel opening, and onwards the cycle goes.

 

 

[Dcheech]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Experts said that the root cause was the strong baht that showed no signs of weakening any time soon. 

 

Now that they and (some) TV punters have settled on “It’s the Baht stupid”.  Phuket tour operators and Thailand, need not look any farther, regards tourist declines in Phuket (and by extension Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.) That in itself is a win.

 

Quote

 

Meanwhile If Polish tourist Mateusz Juszkiewicz, 26, and Thai national Werakan Sirirakon, 23, who disappeared while while kayaking with friends off Yanui Beach, off Phuket’s southwest coast, last Saturday afternoon (Dec 7), are not miraculously found alive, the tally of tourists killed by the waters around Phuket will rise to 12 in the past seven weeks – eight of those in just one month.

Worse, all of the deaths were preventable. At face value, this all seems too much for local operators and officials to comprehend. If that is not the case, the only logical presumption to be made is that tour operators just don’t care enough to take any further action.

 

Phuket Opinion: Gasping for marine safety - The Phuket News

 

The above statement was made before the boat collision which killed a couple more, including Surat Mat-osod, the driver, who was in a previous fatal boat accident, which he served jail time. Once out, back to work on tourist boats.

 

How unsafe it all is, has become too well known to hide anymore. Add the scams, the general unpleasantness, blowback from ‘ethno nationalism’ that has been pumped to the populace. Can it recover? The baht exchange surely, tourism like it was, maybe never.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Dcheech

[French mate]

10 years ago Phuket was "the must see place" everyone visiting thailand was talking about in my country, now its have slowly turn in the "must avoid place" even for first time visitor.
I was loving the place, but i dont go there anymore because of the greedy behaviour / mentality growing out of proportion in too many Thai there.

My brother who visited Thailand for the first time last year (the one where everything look super shiny) disliked alot phuket because of the local people behaviour, he stated that he will never go back there.
In comparaison Pattaya and Bangkok seemend to him as place where people are all very nice and honest...

I dont think behaviour with tourist will change anytime soon there and even then, its will take years to rebuild a reputation.

[spidermike007]

There is no cure. The quality of tourism will continue to decline, while the arrival numbers continue to rise. Terrible policy. Diminishes the experience for everyone. The authorities have skinned the golden goose of tourism alive. It is only downhill from here. 

 

The dreadful aspect of this is that the common Thais are the ones who will suffer, while the guys at the top continue to make a fortune. Millions are involved in the industry. Nearly everyone I talk to complains about how dire the situation is. 

[baansgr]

Numbers in Thailand/phuket are up supposedly, however traditional tourists are down....what idiot is gonna pay 6 bucks for a <deleted> small bottle of beer and 150 bucks for a nights entertainment with an over the hill farm girl.....reap what you seed....Thailand snuffed their noses at the moneyed up Westerners in exchange for Indians, Eastern Europeans and Chinese....sorry matey, the boat has sailed and everyone is now visiting pastures new that appreciate their hard earned money

[metisdead]

A post with a link to Bangkok Post has been removed as per forum rules, the reply was removed as well. 

 

A post with an irrelevant photo has been removed. 

[baansgr]

1 hour ago, gaikhao said:

There is nothing wrong with a strong baht. Yes, one sector may suffer, but other sectors will prosper, and in the grand scheme of things it is a wash, usually with an overall benefit to the economy.  Blaming the baht is a means of avoiding responsibility. Why not be honest and recognize the fact that the product offered is  poor and of decreasing quality?

Customers will gladly pay for quality. Look at other locations like Hua Hin which is booming. Intercontinental is putting up its luxurious residence project, and there is growth in premium venues. All this done without an airport, without good transport links and with a high baht. The difference is that one emphasizes quality  and the other does not. We just had annual meetings in Hua Hin and I came away impressed. I left previous annual events in Phuket and Pattaya disgusted. 

The Phuket ripoffs start the minute you walk out the door at the airport with the  inflated taxi fare to Karon/Kata/Rawai/Patong. 1500 baht to get to Karon? Seriously? 1000 baht to patong? That's more than the airfare  from  DMK for some.

 

Everything in the tourist areas of Phuket says rip off and disrespect. Whether it is the poor quality service or the contempt shown by the locals, it is insulting.  The last time I was in Phuket, raw sewage was still going into Patong beach and karon Beach had black water events. We had a brown out at the hotel, and there was a water shortage. I recall, not being able to walk on Patong beach because much of the space was  taken over by paraglide operators. Jetskis were everywhere. It seemed there were 100+ and of course one could see the usual rip off of jet ski users with alleged damage claims.

My driver could not stop to pick us up from a restaurant because the illegal  bike and car rentals had seized all the legal parking spaces, all done in close proximity to the Patong police box. Meanwhile the  tuk tuks were demanding 400-500 baht to go from Patong to Karon.  I could go on, but what's the point? Until this nonsense changes, no quality visitor will want to go. 

So go ahead and blame the  strong baht, but it didn't cause people to be so dishonest and disrespectful.

 

Well said....Thailand and especially BKK, Phuket, Samui etc just don't offer an enjoyable holiday or retirement destination anymore...problem is, from the top echalons down to dirt farmers, this face thing won't allow anyone to admit its all their fault...instead its Brexit, China US trade war, high baht etc.......Thais need to change now be for they return to the days of only farming rice

[CNXexpat]

1 hour ago, gaikhao said:

There is nothing wrong with a strong baht. Yes, one sector may suffer, but other sectors will prosper,

One sector my suffer? Many. The tourism, what is 20% of the Thai economy. The exports, because the goods become too expensive on the world market, what effects the farmers too, the real estate market because less foreigners buy condos and so on. Perhaps a few sectors will benefit, but more are suffering.

[KhunKenAP]

Simple solution used by business across the world. Lower all prices, hotels, food, drinks, etc. Also stop the tourist rip-offs.

 

Of course in Thailand they will do the exact opposite and raise prices and have more rip-offs to try and correct the lower numbers.

[bloodyholly]

Yes the exchange rate hasn’t helped & yes the transport mafia doesn’t help. The root cause of the high cost of running any sort of business in Phuket for a long, long time, and one that no one ever mentions is the very few Extremely rich who own the land in, say, Patong. 
 

I acknowledge there are businessmen that own small properties and successfully run hotels/guesthouses, but the majority of the smaller ‘entertainment’ venues are rented. And continually rents go up. It doesn’t matter that all businesses are recording weaker business, the (greedy) landlords will continue to increase rents. Of course their cause is assisted by the imposition of the dubious ‘key money’ charges.

 

It will only be a matter of time before the reservoir of poor souls that have ambitions of running a business in the likes of Phuket dries up.

 

Luxury hotels on this once glorious tropical island will Also soon find out that wealthy customers will seek pastures new. 
 

I worry about the future of Phuket. My wife says “why you worry, it’s not your problem?” Someone has to start worrying because unfortunately the local populace are embedded with the ‘Mai pen rai’ syndrome and I don’t see any of the leaders doing anything about it.

 

And before any of the “well if you don’t like it leave” brigade jump in, I’m not moving. 
 

i personally Can’t  do anything about the future of Phuket, but I hope to god someone has the vision to attempt to stop the rot... it’s not yet too late but there’s not much time left.

 

sawasdee pi mai 

[noone223]

4 minutes ago, bloodyholly said:

I worry about the future of Phuket.

If Thanatorn can't do @#$$ for the entire country, even though he's a local millionaire.

You or any other farang worrying about a small detail as "phuket" won't matter.

Lots of Upper & Middle-class Thais have already fled the country in the past years.

Many are leaving on a daily basis, not that they'll ever publish the numbers.

The "Kingdom" of smiles has turned its back on its own people, and on its tourists.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by noone223

[mike787]

Perhaps Thailand could ease up on their visa immigration xenophobia may help...also stop the 90 day reporting along with ridiculous deposits required all year long.

[Naturesway]

Try to get back that missing amount on the visa fees....the visa issue which shows zero flexibility to attract people at least at this part they could improve because the other is hard for them to picture. 

[Oziex1]

Why worry about all this the 1.5billion baht cable car will bring them in.

[keithkarmann]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The cure is going to be very painful and largely needs to come at grass roots level. The whole basis of a market economy is about supply and demand. When demand is low you need to reduce prices, especially when the local currency is strong. Of course, lowering prices is anathema to Thais, who normally just keep putting them up, thus further driving away customers. Then of course we get into the realms of the rip offs and treating your customers like dirt, none of which leads to repeat business, but a fast few baht now has always been more appealing here than taking a long term view.

For Thais there is no tomorrow.

[Oziex1]

Is this a crisis based on a belief that there would always be positive growth in the tourism industry?

 

[laocowboy2]

2 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

Thailand was known as the Mecca of cheap holidays . Parts  of Thailand are still reasonable Phuket is not ! He has learned and will be another non returning holiday maker  . Once bitten twice shy and all that ????

And will warn all his friends when he gets home

[Cut the Crab]

The Thai Baht might be considered (too) strong, but what about the very poorly performing Western countries in Europe ?

I agree Thailand is getting expensive. It would be nice if Thailand could quit charging too much for products imported from outside the ASEAN countries, and stop the over-pricing of alcoholic drinks, imported or not. It’s cheaper to have a night out in Europe than it is here, and I bet a lot of tourists spend more on a night out than they are on their hotel room.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Cut the Crab

[khunpa]

Surely this must be fake news???

 

Because tomorrow, there will be another news article saying tourism is booming.

[Ozybear]

Reputation,  petty violence and crime, scammers and pricing has nothing to do with the exodus.  

[laocowboy2]

2 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

20 years ago I decided to never come to Phuket again because of taxis.

 

 

Same period for me but not just the taxis. Overpriced, inferior hotels. Overpriced restaurants with average food, filthy beaches etc etc. I still holiday in Thailand several times a year but not in Phuket - and regularly tell other not to either. So sad - when I first visited in 1978 I though #t that I had found paradise.

[Oziex1]

2 minutes ago, Ozybear said:

Reputation,  petty violence and crime, scammers and pricing has nothing to do with the exodus.  

Please tell us the reason.