Thai Tourism Minister to seek free visas for Chinese, Indian tourists; floats ‘Eat, Shop, Spend’ scheme for foreigners

[miamiman123]

Yeah...that will do it!!

Free visas and face masks. 
Cognitive dissonance at work here....

[bkkgriz]

Wow. Talk about not reading the room. Hey, minister, have you heard that letting in thousands of Chinese may not be the best idea right now? Ignorant doesn't even begin to describe this moron.

[spetersen]

2 hours ago, spiekerjozef said:

‘Eat, Shop, Spend’

 

That sounds like a science-fiction novel.

How would that be possible ‘Eat, Shop, Spend' with a balloon currency that sooner or later will explode, no one with sane mindset will go to destinations where you will get ripped off, people don't afford Thailand anymore and it's not only tourists and expats even Thai people suffering. The only way would be that BOT devaluate the currency 15-20 %, and the tourist will be back...

[MikeN]

14 minutes ago, falankuk said:

Why to extend it only to Chinese and Indian people? when the most amount of money from tourists comes from western countries, it sounds to me like a form of discrimination against western countries if there is a similar application should be extended to everybody particularly to western countries......

Well perhaps the Chinese and Indians will be used to the smog and pollution so it will not be turn off for them, won’t discourage them from coming ( or coming back).

[RichardColeman]

I doubt anyone is going to run off on a Thai holiday for a £20 or 1000 baht voucher !

[malibukid]

27 minutes ago, FinChin67 said:

Maybe they go to visit the locked down cities in China to see if they can free some big spender Chinese to come over...? Should be easy now as they have already sold Thailand to China as a southern most province.

CM has now become a shopping mall for Chinese tourist. 

[spidermike007]

They will continue to get more Indian tourists. But, as with the vast majority of Chinese, it will be lower class, and lower middle class tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher end tourists anymore. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax. Instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane. 

 

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all.

 

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. And places like Pattaya, Phuket and Samui will continue to go downhill. So, the goons at the TAT continue to pursue ever higher numbers, regardless of the noxious air, unbelievable congestion on the roads, and woeful service at the airports, that this policy only exacerbates. 

 

You really want to boost tourism? Convince Prayuth to resign, and take his hapless army with him. Then you at least have a chance at getting competent people to deal with tourism. Until then? Prepare for the situation to get much worse. It is only downhill from here, with the incompetents running the show. 

[Mark17AA]

I'm in Kuta Bali, right now, its crowded with Chinese and Indians, which does not make it to pleasant.

The beach and the beach road area is absolutely spotless, the water is clear and blue in colour.

 

The cost of a beer and meal is a LOT lower than Thailand, the wife has been shopping as the prices here are a lot lower than she would pay in BKK.

 

TH has lost it to all its neighbouring countries.. time they faced the facts and realised what people actually want from a holiday.

[KenKadz]

Acts of Desperation!

[DrTuner]

16 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

They will continue to get more Indian tourists. But, as with the vast majority of Chinese, it will be lower class, and lower middle class tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher end tourists anymore. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. 

One of those would be what the European cities fed up with tourists are doing: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/overtourism-europe-2020-destination-measures/index.html

 

Mass tourism is evil. It destroys everything on it's path.

[samsensam]

 

as a marketing slogan 'eat, shop, spend' does smack of self interest, not to mention 'shop' and 'spend' being synonymous. 

 

i'm no marketeer but surely 'eat, shop, relax' or 'eat, shop, enjoy' or 'eat, shop, unwind' would be more effective?

 

or even 'eat, shop, be amazed!'

 

 

[peter14]

LOL more LOL.. next...

[Jimbo2014]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

‘Eat, Shop, Spend

Just dont breath!

[Chongalulu]

4 hours ago, zydeco said:

Free quarantine facilities, too?

His initiative is not to be sneezed ???? at... ???? 

[HHTel]

What perfect timing for such an announcement.

 

'Visa free' and 'Scan free' for Chinese tourists!!

[Zack61]

I know  How about a giant mango with sticky rice. 

[sambum]

4 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Try cleaning up the beaches and roadside first, the whole country is drowning in garbage, people don’t want to spend their vacation looking at it.

They could always spend their holiday cleaning the beaches, as some have done in the past - and "work permit" rules wouldn't apply as this job is not normally done by Thais!

[maprao]

Clean up the sea. I remember swimming at the beach in Pattaya (back in 2000) and my girlfriend telling me not to because of "poop" I laughed because I imagined the occasional poop from a toilet on the pier. Not the 4 huge pipes chucking black water into Pattaya bay 24/7. (Next to the Beer Garden Pier)

The Thais dont care or look after a thing. It's all about money today.

Edited January 24, 2020 by maprao

[30la]

Pipat and TAT are on the same wavelength, dreamers with no real idea, excuse them, because they don't know what they are doing!

[Magenta408]

I suppose it's not easy to come up with quick fix solutions. Those who can't afford entry visas for tourism don't spend a heck of a lot. This requires a long-term solution and not bandaids. It is something that must be started now and measures kept in place while ditching others that are not practical and outdated - even a tad silly. 

[yokat]

I find the way chinese tourists are handled in Thailand to be degrading. Sure nobody wants to queue at immigration sandwiched between two groups but independent chinese tourists must not feel very welcome in this country. I remember arriving in Don Mueang on an evening, three chinese guys were queuing normally with other "normal" foreigners and the IO sent them to queue at the crowded chinese only queue.

[PEE TEE]

4 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Try cleaning up the beaches and roadside first, the whole country is drowning in garbage, people don’t want to spend their vacation looking at it.

100% correct . once new visitors come ..will never come back the whole country has gone hill rapid after the last 5 years 

[Xonax]

4 hours ago, HeyHeyHey said:

Government: Economy is booming!

 

The same Government: We need stimulus to revive economy

 

Government: Tourist numbers are setting new records!

 

The same Government: We need stimulus to increase tourism

It almost sounds like, if some members of the government have invested in some of the new hotels.

[PEE TEE]

To keep expats they will life all the requirements for the retirement visa and just hope they decide to stay  to enable them to spend money here   

[Salerno]

2 hours ago, falankuk said:

Why to extend it only to Chinese and Indian people? when the most amount of money from tourists comes from western countries, it sounds to me like a form of discrimination against western countries if there is a similar application should be extended to everybody particularly to western countries......

I think you're somewhat confused. The current situation is a form of discrimination towards people other than westerners as per ...

 

2 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

Free visas for Chinese and Indians? Why not. Then they are on the same level than Europeans, Americans and Australians. I have no problem with it.

 

[Destiny1990]

Luring Chinese travelers with some gift coupons while that country is nearly in a lock down doesn’t seem well thought through !

How about first time Norwegians instead?

[SupermarineS6B]

I know !  We'll give em a free bar fine in Cowboy and a Pad Thai from the 7/11........    I was in a bar last night and a few of the said darker skinned Asian gentlemen came in and the whole atmosphere changed, and i must say it didn't feel good........ Bad move boys....... Sort the bht out before the goose dies.........

[Salerno]

@Xonax Why does the truth make you sad?

[DrTuner]

13 minutes ago, yokat said:

 I remember arriving in Don Mueang on an evening, three chinese guys were queuing normally with other "normal" foreigners and the IO sent them to queue at the crowded chinese only queue.

It's orders from the top. Hongkongers, Taiwanese and other assorted well behaving folks are to be assimilated with the mainland hoi polloi.

Edited January 24, 2020 by DrTuner

[rossco1]

Well do  other countries not visit here 

If going to do for One or more then why not for everyone 

I can see why people I know are choosing to go to other places 

they are not special 

has anyone bothered to look at Chinese come here spend at Chinese shops and where does the money go well lets see back home to China