Thai tourism problems: 2020 visitors will be up but analysts find new scapegoat - the Euros football tournament!

 

Image: Thansettakij

 

Leading Thai analysts have come up with a new scapegoat to blame for the country's tourism problems.

 

This year's Euro 2020 football tournament. 

 

Kasikorn research institute said that the tournament was a fresh challenge facing Thai tourism, according to Thansettakij. 

 

It appears that Europeans will be shunning Thailand in favor of staying in Europe for the Euros that will be held across the continent midyear. 

 

Also those who think the Thais should lower their prices are set to be disappointed - the analysts advised against that strategy. 

 

Other problems detailed by the analysis was the world economy and the fact that people were generally travelling less. 

Then there was the unsettled situation in the middle east and the price of oil. 

 

They predicted that foreign visitors would be up 2-3% in 2020. This represents the slowest growth in 6 years.

 

The small increase would largely be because of Asian and Asean neighbors visiting Thailand.

 

They spend less than people like Europeans, those from Oceania and the Middle East, said the analysts, so this would mean less spending increases too. 

 

They predicted that most of the spending would go on new experiences rather than goods. 

 

Spending would be up 1.4% to 2.5% or 1.97 to 1.99 trillion baht. 

 

They advised the industry not to engage in a price war but rather to concentrate on quality, better technology and diversification.

 

Source: Thansettakij

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-01-04

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

so many excuses none of which are relevant!

football/soccer means nothing to me or anyone i know. Something about guys running around chasing a ball and slapping ass is a little too thai for me.

Thais have ripped off farang for too long so much so that the shoes on the other foot for i guess the 10% of people that actually have money in thailand and travel abroad to spend their money.

People are travelling more than ever from what i read and see but thailands just not good enough. Deal with it!! Stop convincing yourselves it aint your fault!

Yea, that’s the problem. 

These people live in Cloud Cuckoo Land !

1 minute ago, trainman34014 said:

These people live in Cloud Cuckoo Land !

Visa on Arrival in CC Land I believe.????

25 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

It appears that Europeans will be shunning Thailand in favor of staying in Europe for the Euros that will be held across the continent midyear. 

 

Yah so that's low season and they don't come anyway, best excuse ever.

Euros are shunning Thailand because everything is now better and cheaper in Europe. 

10 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

so many excuses none of which are relevant!

football/soccer means nothing to me or anyone i know. Something about guys running around chasing a ball and slapping ass is a little too thai for me.

Thais have ripped off farang for too long so much so that the shoes on the other foot for i guess the 10% of people that actually have money in thailand and travel abroad to spend their money.

People are travelling more than ever from what i read and see but thailands just not good enough. Deal with it!! Stop convincing yourselves it aint your fault!

Well unfortunately for you, it means plenty to the Europeans, so you must be living in an igloo up on the tundra with a bunch of Eskimo's. I don't know what your tastes in entertainment are but there is no element of 'slapping ass' in football.

 

There will be over a million people attending the tournament.

 

None of them 'slapping ass.'

34 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

They advised the industry not to engage in a price war but rather to concentrate on quality, better technology and diversification.

A slick, pithy 2020 talking point from this research institute.

 

SIT

They've missed an excuse...The Tokyo Olympics. Perhaps they're saving that one for later....doesn't do to overload us with correct information.

44 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

They advised the industry not to engage in a price war

Highest price wins.

Whatever the reason exactly is but for me it seems the blame for low tourism is always something unrelated and far away from Thailand.

Tradewar between China and USA , or Brexit, and euro football tournament etc. Couldn’t there be some issues responsible for slow tourism more nearby and fixable? 

4 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Whatever the reason exactly is but for me it seems the blame for low tourism is always something unrelated and far away from Thailand.

Tradewar between China and USA , or Brexit, and euro football tournament etc. Couldn’t there be some issues responsible for slow tourism more nearby and fixable? 

Always someone else's fault ! Never incompetent Thai lack of planning or ideas 

My friend in the UK has just booked an all inclusive 13 day holiday in Tenerife 4 - 5 hour flight

total cost a little more than the the cost of the flight to Thailand. Europeans do have alternatives

 

Thailand needs to be very attractive price wise for some, in order to encourage them to endure the 12 hour flight, currently it is not, alternatives closer to home are clearly being sought and found

If only I were a "leading analyst" attached to a "research institute" I could list off the cuff (and, incidentally, without engaging in much research and figure jockeying) a good dozen reasons why European tourists in particular are no longer coming in droves.

 

It's almost self-understood that the vast majority of these reasons are located in Thailand. No need to look abroad and concoct ridiculous excuses. 

If the baht was 50-60 to the £ tourism would be booming

 

12 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Also those who think the Thais should lower their prices are set to be disappointed - the analysts advised against that strategy. 

 

None of that nonsense!   

Having scored an own goal and somehow wrecking tourism the optimistic player of the year award go's to ?????

It seem one of the major attractions of Thailand was the once free and easy visa situation which allowed you with a few border runs or whatever to stay as along as you liked. Also Thailand was cheap enough and had enough "attractions" that people wanted to stay longer. It is clear to me that many came here to stay a few weeks/months even years and it is very clear by the state of farang tourist areas that these people made up a MATERIAL number of the western tourists.

 

 

12 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Highest price wins.

Message to Thai analysts: Highest price only wins at auction sales!

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Also those who think the Thais should lower their prices are set to be disappointed - the analysts advised against that strategy. 

 

if this is the type of <deleted> the "smartest people in the room" can come up with, Thailand really is doomed.

 

 

13 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

football/soccer means nothing to me or anyone i know. Something about guys running around chasing a ball and slapping ass is a little too thai for me.

Only an Ozzy can say something ridiculous like that....do you know what the europeans say about the socceroo's or the american soccerteams?? Even 5 year old girls can play better!

How is Vietnam tourism able to grow at over 15% to 20million tourists in 2020?

 

Look in your rear-view mirror Thailand...Vietnam is coming faster than you think.

 

Thailand, you had your time. Your tourism areas are tired, dirty, unsafe and underwhelming cesspools. You have ringed every last baht you can out of it and given nothing back. You deserve to fail and hopefully learn from your greedy mistakes. Tourism today is probably as good as it will ever get, so enjoy the few brave fools that come here...it's over.

14 hours ago, BRUFC said:

They've missed an excuse...The Tokyo Olympics. Perhaps they're saving that one for later....doesn't do to overload us with correct information.

That was mentioned in the article published yesterday, where they stated the Japanese would be "siphonng" tourism money!

 

Can't wait for tomorrow's excuse.

15 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

so many excuses none of which are relevant!

football/soccer means nothing to me or anyone i know. Something about guys running around chasing a ball and slapping ass is a little too thai for me.

Thais have ripped off farang for too long so much so that the shoes on the other foot for i guess the 10% of people that actually have money in thailand and travel abroad to spend their money.

People are travelling more than ever from what i read and see but thailands just not good enough. Deal with it!! Stop convincing yourselves it aint your fault!

Yeah, well, the Siberian mountains don't have enough flat bits for football pitches. You ARE Siberian . . . ?

40 minutes ago, DLock said:

How is Vietnam tourism able to grow at over 15% to 20million tourists in 2020?

 

and they have F1 this year too!!

 

remember when Thailand proposed that? oh, how we laughed.. 

 

 

21 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Can't wait for tomorrow's excuse.

Decades ago, a professor, using the analogy of sausages, said: "Don't come to me with your excuses. An excuse is just the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie." 

These excuses are for Thais.

They can't just tell people...
-Listen Somchai,we signed you up to the club 'Asia for Asians'
and that's why you, Comrade Somchai, are poorer.

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

Only an Ozzy can say something ridiculous like that....do you know what the europeans say about the socceroo's or the american soccerteams?? Even 5 year old girls can play better!

Hmmm, didn't the USA over 5's girls win the World Cup last year? I know they beat the English but not sure about any other European teams. 

Here's a suggestion for the TAT, or better yet an independent market research organisation:

 

Conduct a short questionnaire to 500,000 foreign visitors to Thailand in 2019, properly selected to represent a cross section by country, age and socio-economic profile. Ask them if they plan to return to Thailand for another holiday and whether they'd recommend holidays in Thailand to their friends. Why and why not.

 

Now you'll know the answer without all the fanciful speculation.

 

But do you really want to know?