I'm just back from Railey (Krabi), Koh Gnai (Trang) and Koh Lipe (Satun) and apart from the odd Thai girlfriend and employee it was full of Caucasian. I won't go back to Railey it was way too overcrowded to my taste. 

 

We'll see a big drop when the daily flights from Wuhan are curtailed.

 

I've said many thimes that I don't disbelieve the arrival figures. These can be quantified. What I don't believe are the spending figures, which require very creative calculations. Yes, there are big spending Chinese but the vast majority spend very little, as do Indians and Russians, compared to the Wetserners they have replaceed.

Edited January 25, 20206 yr by madmitch

How many of my out and back into Thailand trips do they count.  I left and returned over all 4 weekends in December, am on an O-A Multi entry.  If they counted me all 4 times and yet I live here long stay, how does that skew their stats.......

In another statement, it was revealed that lying was up by 14% on the previous 12 months.

18 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

 

So more tourists spent less money? That'll be the Indians I expect.

But it used to be somewhere between 18% - 20%

"As Mark Twain famously popularized in the public consciousness, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” 

555 on monday, start of the week, we had a similar post called the Monday joke now, end of the week,  we have the Saturday joke... and yesterday TAT hit the panic button offering free visa for Chinese and Indians, really pathetic

18 hours ago, yokat said:

It's in line with the 4.5% increase in international arrivals. Where are they going though ? According to many TV posters koh samui, pukhet and pattaya are half empty

Page 152: https://corporate.airportthai.co.th/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AnnualReport2019en.pdf

Every number, especially from TAT is fake and everyone staying here knows it. The TAT boss is the worst. 

It’s amazing how they come up with these figures especially the amount of money that they spent one things for sure few of them came to Koh Phangan during the festive season

If you look at the graphs all the peaks are in the Summer months. In Thailand? Really? Alternative truths that D. Trump would be proud of.

First it’s down then it’s up like a yo-yo can’t they just tell the truth all Hotel and Business are down O I forgot Government reports all BS TIT

So in Phuket they reported half hotels and airbnb are empty. Pattaya is a ghost town. When will they stop to blatantly lie? 

19 hours ago, yokat said:

It's in line with the 4.5% increase in international arrivals. Where are they going though ? According to many TV posters koh samui, pukhet and pattaya are half empty

Page 152: https://corporate.airportthai.co.th/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AnnualReport2019en.pdf

As far as Phuket is concerned, it really depends on where you are located and what sort of tourists your business is targeting. Tourism to Patong Beach is down quite a bit for sure but it’s still very crowded in January. Tourism in Northwest and Centralwest Phuket like Laguna, Kamala, Naithon is way up. Try to book a 5 star hotel right now in one of these areas. Many of the top hotels in this part of Phuket are sold out. 

 

Patong Beach attracts a cheap, lower class type of tourist that doesn’t spend a lot of money. The cheaper backpacker tourist is disappearing in Phuket, simply because they have been priced out. It’s too expensive for them to stay in Phuket.

 

For example, Phuket, due to the fact that it’s run by the Thai mafia, has the most expensive taxis in the world. More expensive than Tokyo, Japan ( This is why you own a car if you live in Phuket ). This is because the mafia beats up any competitors like Grab Taxi drivers. There are a few Grab Taxi drivers in Phuket but they all work for the mafia now so they’re able to control the price. So yeah, you’re looking at 500 baht to drive 6 minutes in a taxi in Phuket. If you’re a backpacker tourist, the cost of taxis alone is enough to scare you away from Phuket. 
 

In other parts of Phuket, it’s a different story. Tourism is way up and it’s mostly the wealthy family crowd. Lots of families are coming to Phuket. These tourists spend big money and have stupid amounts of wealth. These are the kinds of tourists that can afford $18k usd / night at Amanpuri or Trisara.

 

I would argue that luxury tourism is way up in Phuket but that backpacker tourism is way down. A luxury tourist probably === 100 cheap tourists so....

 

I could imagine tourism being down in Samui though. Samui never really caught on in my opinion and never will. We were looking to open a clinic there but opted not to do so after doing our research. It’s a poor long term real estate and business investment. The reason Phuket took off and is still the best place in Thailand to invest your money is because it has an international airport. I mean heck, I can be in downtown Bangkok from my house in Phuket in under 2.5 hours. It takes some people that long to get to work in Bangkok traffic, and they live in Bangkok. I personally couldn’t live in Samui because they simply they don’t have all amazing “developed country” perks that Phuket has. Phuket has everything that most developed countries in the world have so that’s part of its appeal, especially for the wealthy retirement crowd.

 

Hands down, if I had to pick between Hawaii and Phuket for retirement, I would pick Phuket. I have properties in both places so I would know. Hawaii is really nice but it’s extremely boring. Besides surfing and beach volleyball and quality wacky tabaccy, there is nothing to do there and you can’t just quickly fly to a major city like Bangkok, or Kuala Lampur or Hong Kong for a fun night out, dinner, or shopping.

Edited January 25, 20206 yr by Duck J Butters

59 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

 

So more tourists spent less money? That'll be the Indians I expect.

 

Sure arrivals are up but less revenue: The important unit here is   (tourist arrivals x tourist days). eg.  100 arrivals x 5 days is less than 60 arrivals x 12 days. Given equal daily spending.

Edited January 25, 20206 yr by morrobay

Would love to see the breakdown of this by country of origin. That will enable an extrapolation of the size of their wallets.

18 minutes ago, Duck J Butters said:

As far as Phuket is concerned, it really depends on where you are located and what sort of tourists your business is targeting. Tourism to Patong Beach is down quite a bit for sure but it’s still very crowded in January. Tourism in Northwest and Centralwest Phuket like Laguna, Kamala, Naithon is way up. Try to book a 5 star hotel right now in one of these areas. Many of the top hotels in this part of Phuket are sold out. 

 

Patong Beach attracts a cheap, lower class type of tourist that doesn’t spend a lot of money. The cheaper backpacker tourist is disappearing in Phuket, simply because they have been priced out. It’s too expensive for them to stay in Phuket.

 

For example, Phuket, due to the fact that it’s run by the Thai mafia, has the most expensive taxis in the world. More expensive than Tokyo, Japan ( This is why you own a car if you live in Phuket ). This is because the mafia beats up any competitors like Grab Taxi drivers. There are a few Grab Taxi drivers in Phuket but they all work for the mafia now so they’re able to control the price. So yeah, you’re looking at 500 baht to drive 6 minutes in a taxi in Phuket. If you’re a backpacker tourist, the cost of taxis alone is enough to scare you away from Phuket. 
 

In other parts of Phuket, it’s a different story. Tourism is way up and it’s mostly the wealthy family crowd. Lots of families are coming to Phuket. These tourists spend big money and have stupid amounts of wealth. These are the kinds of tourists that can afford $18k usd / night at Amanpuri or Trisara.

 

I would argue that luxury tourism is way up in Phuket but that backpacker tourism is way down. A luxury tourist probably === 100 cheap tourists so....

 

I could imagine tourism being down in Samui though. Samui never really caught on in my opinion and never will. We were looking to open a clinic there but opted not to do so after doing our research. It’s a poor long term real estate and business investment. The reason Phuket took off and is still the best place in Thailand to invest your money is because it has an international airport. I mean heck, I can be in downtown Bangkok from my house in Phuket in under 2.5 hours. It takes some people that long to get to work in Bangkok traffic, and they live in Bangkok. I personally couldn’t live in Samui because they simply they don’t have all amazing “developed country” perks that Phuket has. Phuket has everything that most developed countries in the world have so that’s part of its appeal, especially for the wealthy retirement crowd.

 

Hands down, if I had to pick between Hawaii and Phuket for retirement, I would pick Phuket. I have properties in both places so I would know. Hawaii is really nice but it’s extremely boring. Besides surfing and beach volleyball and quality wacky tabaccy, there is nothing to do there and you can’t just quickly fly to a major city like Bangkok, or Kuala Lampur or Hong Kong for a fun night out, dinner, or shopping.

I dunno I found Honolulu had a lot to offer, a very expensive place to live though, crazy high. I spent two years living in Haleiwa.

So the tourism has gone up, but their spending has gone down. I guess that has something to do with the quality tourism from China and India.

Welcome the Lunar New (Chinese) Year!

Are you happy to have so many Chinese tourists setting foot on your sovereign soil?

 

Their New Year gift to you is the virus that will usher in a Zombie Apocalypse because it is a global pandemic. Millions will be infected. So you hotel, restaurant, mall and tour owners just keep inviting them to come...well, at least until your families start dying from the Wuhan virus.

In just a few short weeks China moved from locking down Wuhan were the virus originated to now locking down 4 more cities. That fact alone should send a wake up call to the powers that be. Reports coming from China's news media are sketchy because they are controlled by the Communist Party. China doesn't report the truth because they are concerned about their status in the global community. I mean, who wants to be remembered for creating a global viral outbreak or for eating rats, bats, dogs, snakes, monkeys and badgers...which are openly sold and consumed in many Chinese markets.  

Fake news. No freedom of press so not true

3 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Yes, yes, of course they are................and the earth is flat, the moon is made of cheese,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

....and the majority of TVF posters are a wise and knowledgeable bunch.

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

The mystery remains unsolved, where the hell are all these tourists????

Maybe in Udon Thani. There did seem to be alot more farangs about over Christmas and the New year. More than last year.

Tourist arrivals are increasing, but the average length of stay for tourists has decreased.
All the owners who are in the tourist business (hotel, resort, restaurant, motorcycle rental, tours, diving schools, party organizers),
that I know (southern islands), say that their business is worse than ever.

7 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

Tourist arrivals are increasing, but the average length of stay for tourists has decreased.

This is something that TAT never take into account. Both Chinese and indian visitors have very short stays. often a week or less. Farangs stay for much longer probably an average of 2 weeks. When I holidayed in S.E. Asia, I always came for 1 month, partly due to the cost and length of the flight to get here.

 

The figures would be far more relevant if they indicated number of tourist/days spent in Thailand rather than a blanket figure of number of foreigners in/out.

If they stop all flights from china , the nr will drop dramaticly for the next few months .

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

How many of my out and back into Thailand trips do they count.  I left and returned over all 4 weekends in December, am on an O-A Multi entry.  If they counted me all 4 times and yet I live here long stay, how does that skew their stats.......

Exactly, plus endless visa runs and of course the plane stopovers with no transit lounge so in out add another plane full!!5555

Every last one of these tourism officials and coupsters should be jailed for destroying the country with these fake Chinese misfits and lying to the Thai people. Thais have had there lives destroyed by this racist and incompetant bunch of losers.

Edited January 25, 20206 yr by tomauasia

3 hours ago, Duck J Butters said:

As far as Phuket is concerned, it really depends on where you are located and what sort of tourists your business is targeting. Tourism to Patong Beach is down quite a bit for sure but it’s still very crowded in January. Tourism in Northwest and Centralwest Phuket like Laguna, Kamala, Naithon is way up. Try to book a 5 star hotel right now in one of these areas. Many of the top hotels in this part of Phuket are sold out. 

 

Patong Beach attracts a cheap, lower class type of tourist that doesn’t spend a lot of money. The cheaper backpacker tourist is disappearing in Phuket, simply because they have been priced out. It’s too expensive for them to stay in Phuket.

 

For example, Phuket, due to the fact that it’s run by the Thai mafia, has the most expensive taxis in the world. More expensive than Tokyo, Japan ( This is why you own a car if you live in Phuket ). This is because the mafia beats up any competitors like Grab Taxi drivers. There are a few Grab Taxi drivers in Phuket but they all work for the mafia now so they’re able to control the price. So yeah, you’re looking at 500 baht to drive 6 minutes in a taxi in Phuket. If you’re a backpacker tourist, the cost of taxis alone is enough to scare you away from Phuket. 
 

In other parts of Phuket, it’s a different story. Tourism is way up and it’s mostly the wealthy family crowd. Lots of families are coming to Phuket. These tourists spend big money and have stupid amounts of wealth. These are the kinds of tourists that can afford $18k usd / night at Amanpuri or Trisara.

 

I would argue that luxury tourism is way up in Phuket but that backpacker tourism is way down. A luxury tourist probably === 100 cheap tourists so....

 

I could imagine tourism being down in Samui though. Samui never really caught on in my opinion and never will. We were looking to open a clinic there but opted not to do so after doing our research. It’s a poor long term real estate and business investment. The reason Phuket took off and is still the best place in Thailand to invest your money is because it has an international airport. I mean heck, I can be in downtown Bangkok from my house in Phuket in under 2.5 hours. It takes some people that long to get to work in Bangkok traffic, and they live in Bangkok. I personally couldn’t live in Samui because they simply they don’t have all amazing “developed country” perks that Phuket has. Phuket has everything that most developed countries in the world have so that’s part of its appeal, especially for the wealthy retirement crowd.

 

Hands down, if I had to pick between Hawaii and Phuket for retirement, I would pick Phuket. I have properties in both places so I would know. Hawaii is really nice but it’s extremely boring. Besides surfing and beach volleyball and quality wacky tabaccy, there is nothing to do there and you can’t just quickly fly to a major city like Bangkok, or Kuala Lampur or Hong Kong for a fun night out, dinner, or shopping.

Just checked Laguna offering. They have plenty of options available as well as full-booked/one room only left seem to have available rooms through different sites or asking directly from hotel. Therefore I wouldn't say how much more customers they have compared last year. 

HARK! I can hear the violins in the background playing wonderful music.It must be dream time.

Please dictator ministers stop lie. It was the worst December in years, January same. 

This government daily comes with new lies, about tourism no's, air quality, bringing bath down, .....

Nothing is done, only filling their own pockets.

 

It’s like a game of pinball. These figures being quoted are up and down like a honeymooners bum. From one hour to the next they change their stories making it impossible to pick bullsh@t from horsesh#t. 

It’s the one thing they do well. 

This begs the question: has anything good in Thailand ever come from the ChiComs?