Coronavirus = no more china tours in Pattaya next week?

[kingofthemountain]

4 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

Well a pizza is about 360 baht

It's very cheap considering it is the Hilton restaurant

a small pizza in a decent random restaurant in the city is around

180\250 bahts (Depend of the pizza topping) so not a big difference.

I am very surprised because for example the cocktails at the Hilton bar on the rooftop

are around 500 bahts. so here the difference with a random bar is huge.

[kingofthemountain]

3 hours ago, fhickson said:

whats up with the vids. just saw one with doctor collapsing in hospital and dead bodies in hallway.

 

faked, or??

At the moment it's impossible to know the exact situation on the ground.

 

But for sure it's a very serious one, you don't put in quarantine 50 millions

of citizens for nothing. 

 

I  hope they can manage it. 

Here in Pattaya i have noticed a lot of Thais have now a face mask

few tourists, particularly the chinese, have one also.

And of course Big C is already out of stock of cheap face masks

i hope Thailand has enough stock of them somewhere, they will be

 very useful in the next weeks

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by kingofthemountain

[White Christmas13]

12 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

It's very cheap considering it is the Hilton restaurant

a small pizza in a decent random restaurant in the city is around

180\250 bahts (Depend of the pizza topping) so not a big difference.

I am very surprised because for example the cocktails at the Hilton bar on the rooftop

are around 500 bahts. so here the difference with a random bar is huge.

Beer at the roof top is around 180 baht if you consider going in to a (what you call bar)

it is not that expansive and no need for a bar fine either. The buffet was about 450 baht 

but not a lot to choose from. But the point I was making Chinese people do spend money

they just don't socialize in the bar scene at walking street.

[kingofthemountain]

1 minute ago, White Christmas13 said:

Beer at the roof top is around 180 baht if you consider going in to a (what you call bar)

it is not that expansive and no need for a bar fine either. The buffet was about 450 baht 

but not a lot to choose from. But the point I was making Chinese people do spend money

they just don't socialize in the bar scene at walking street.

Yes indeed the price for a beer isn't expensive considering the standing

(The bar and the view are really nice)

 

i get your point but still imo it's a very small number of the chineses tourists

probably some young couples with a medium salary in China can afford 1 night or 2

in the Hilton Pattaya (You can have a room around 5000 bahts\night here) and enjoy

the pleasure to be in an international brand name luxury hotel (Even if the Pattaya Hilton

is far from the standarts of others Hilton in USA or Europe)

 

200 or 300 Hilton customers are hardly representatives of the millions of chineses tourists.

 

There are some with decent money, i am sure of this and i agree with you, but they are not

the most important group in numbers.

imo i think it's 20\30 % medium big spenders \  70\80 % low or no spenders

(Of course i have no numbers or statistics to put here so it's just my observation on the ground

i could be totaly wrong in a way or another)

[mike787]

YEP, the funds are going to dry up.  This virus is already hitting the global GDP hard, and it's just getting started. It's Darwin executing on his theory, that's all. 

[Nyezhov]

40 minutes ago, mike787 said:

YEP, the funds are going to dry up.  This virus is already hitting the global GDP hard, and it's just getting started. It's Darwin executing on his theory, that's all. 

Buddy messaged me to say  chinese origin planes cant land at Siem Reap Airport

[jacko45k]

20 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

So basically, rather than Thailand saying don't come we cannot risk out country tourism, they still want the Chinese to come and potentially infect their citizens and it's only the Chinese saying no ? 

I would say  that is a good evaluation.... poor old TAT guys are already pondering how they can fudge the figures to maintain their bonus!

[DannyCarlton]

13 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

Well a pizza is about 360 baht

The best pizza I have found in Pattaya is from a stall at my local market. Always queues of farangs at his stall waiting to be served. 120 baht.

[bert bloggs]

9 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

At the moment it's impossible to know the exact situation on the ground.

 

But for sure it's a very serious one, you don't put in quarantine 50 millions

of citizens for nothing. 

 

I  hope they can manage it. 

Here in Pattaya i have noticed a lot of Thais have now a face mask

few tourists, particularly the chinese, have one also.

And of course Big C is already out of stock of cheap face masks

i hope Thailand has enough stock of them somewhere, they will be

 very useful in the next weeks

 

They say you can only use face mask once ,then you need a new one. 

[kingofthemountain]

47 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

They say you can only use face mask once ,then you need a new one. 

I don't know

but most of the thais here have a basic mask

(Of course it's the cheapest) wich protect very little 

the 3M one on my photo, N95 (It has several layer, one with charcoal) cost only 17 bahts in Big C

unfortunately they are already out of stock

(By chance i buyed mine some days ago, because of the pollution)

 

[Rimmer]

Off topic removed

[adammike]

On 1/26/2020 at 4:33 AM, DannyCarlton said:

I do look at them and see them being carted to prepaid activities or free activities like clogging Walking Street up without spending 1 sentang.

All those parachutes and speed boats you see in the bay are catering to Chinese tour groups,and I see groups of older Thai ladies flogging photos in cheap plastic frames sorting out bundles of cash at the north end of beach road.

[DannyCarlton]

11 minutes ago, adammike said:

All those parachutes and speed boats you see in the bay are catering to Chinese tour groups,and I see groups of older Thai ladies flogging photos in cheap plastic frames sorting out bundles of cash at the north end of beach road.

How cute.

[gk10002000]

On 1/25/2020 at 2:43 PM, AlexRich said:

If you see someone with a soft toy on a pole run for your life!!

Was amazed as I sat in BKK airport July August waiting for my bus to Pattaya and all the dozens and dozens of tour groups getting rounded up and being led off.  And all going off to stay in pre paid tour hotels, prepaid and arranged eating places, etc.  Then in Pattaya totally clogging up Walking street just lookie loos.  Nobody going into the clubs or gogos. 

[gk10002000]

On 1/26/2020 at 12:02 PM, kingofthemountain said:

At the moment it's impossible to know the exact situation on the ground.

 

But for sure it's a very serious one, you don't put in quarantine 50 millions

of citizens for nothing. 

 

I  hope they can manage it. 

Here in Pattaya i have noticed a lot of Thais have now a face mask

few tourists, particularly the chinese, have one also.

And of course Big C is already out of stock of cheap face masks

i hope Thailand has enough stock of them somewhere, they will be

 very useful in the next weeks

 

Face masks sound like a good idea, but are often not effective against viruses.  Viruses are really really small!  Sure the mask may block some fluids, and things like that on which the virus may be embedded, but anything air borne pretty much they don't stop. 

[kingofthemountain]

2 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

Was amazed as I sat in BKK airport July August waiting for my bus to Pattaya and all the dozens and dozens of tour groups getting rounded up and being led off.  And all going off to stay in pre paid tour hotels, prepaid and arranged eating places, etc.  Then in Pattaya totally clogging up Walking street just lookie loos.  Nobody going into the clubs or gogos. 

Yes very few selected venues have done money with them

but the pollution and now the virus was for everyone.

Privatise the profit but share the risks

we don't say thank you

[jacko45k]

10 hours ago, adammike said:

I see groups of older Thai ladies flogging photos in cheap plastic frames

Aren't they actually just styrofoam  food trays? 

[bartender100]

I have delayed booking my May trip until we see how it all pans out, who know what the outcome of all this will be, I suppose insurance will pay for cancelled trips once a travel advisory has been announced

 

Just not going to risk it right now

[adammike]

23 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Aren't they actually just styrofoam  food trays? 

No I think everybody gets a photo taken when they go out in the bay,parachutes and whatever else they do out there.just a little souvenir.

[Leaver]

On 1/26/2020 at 4:07 PM, DannyCarlton said:

They don't stay in pattaya for more than a couple of days. The zero baht tours are a tour of Thailand which takes a week. The Chinese tourists in Pattaya are the same tourists you see in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Again the TAT figures are a nonsense. It's all about the number of tourist days in Thailand not TAT's numbers through the airport.

Does it matter if a bus load of 60 Chinese leave Pattaya for Chiang Mai, whilst another busload of 60 Chinese replace the ones that just left?  It's all the same.

 

Zero baht + Zero baht = Zero baht.

[champers]

7 hours ago, adammike said:

No I think everybody gets a photo taken when they go out in the bay,parachutes and whatever else they do out there.just a little souvenir.

Only if they buy.

[Leaver]

On 1/26/2020 at 7:34 PM, Traubert said:

Around 60% of Chinese tourists are now FIT. Free Independent Travellers.

Where does this statistic come from? 

 

From what I have seen, a young Chinese FIT couple are slightly about the old western backpackers for spend here. 

 

On 1/26/2020 at 7:34 PM, Traubert said:

Every other country in Asia, and a few others have the Chinese as their No1 tourist target.

That's because there is over 1 billion Chinese living in the region.

 

On 1/26/2020 at 7:34 PM, Traubert said:

That's not because they dont spend money. They do. Lots of it.

Sure, as a collective figure.  I have no doubt the Chinese going to Europe, USA, UK, Australia etc spend up big, but not the Chinese budget travelers Thailand attracts.

[Leaver]

On 1/27/2020 at 12:59 AM, Vascoda said:

I see them all over Terminal 21 and expensive Chinese restuarants. I see them in VAT refund queue in airports. 

The T21 debate has been discussed previously, with numerous photos.  The food court is busy, the shops are dead. 

 

I see a few in the VAT line at the airport.  Would you care to put a percentage of those Chinese at the VAT line, to those just about to depart?  A very small percentage have bought something where they can claim a VAT refund. 

[JAFO]

On 1/26/2020 at 10:23 AM, Leaver said:

Where do you see them spending their money? 

I see them at every tourist spot possible, bus loads of them. Buying up <deleted>. Most seafood restaurants are packed at night with Chinese. They aren't at malls in Pattaya, Its a beach destination. They take boat rides, snorkeling trips you name it. I witness tour boats heading out every day after their bus's drop them off.

 

I am glad they are stopping the tours. I hate the traffic. 

[Leaver]

20 minutes ago, JAFO said:

I see them at every tourist spot possible

Like Walking Street, right?  It's free to look and take photos there.  How many do you see in a bar or gogo show on Walking Street? 

 

20 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Most seafood restaurants are packed at night with Chinese.

Did you think about who owns these seafood restaurants?  Did you consider a Chinese entity is in control of it?

 

20 minutes ago, JAFO said:

They aren't at malls in Pattaya

Yes, I know.

 

20 minutes ago, JAFO said:

They take boat rides, snorkeling trips you name it.

Some do, many don't.  For the ones that include it in their package, they get the activity at the rock bottom price the Chinese tour company got the Thai operators down to, or it's not included in the tour, or they take their group elsewhere.  Very small margins for the Thai's from the Chinese tour groups.

 

Buses, hotels, restaurants, bars etc, many are Thai company / Chinese owned.  They only create some minimum salary employment, and a lot of that is probably Burmese, Lao or Vietnamese labor. 

 

Here's a raid on a dodgy Thai / Chinese company from the first page of Google.  It's from Phuket.  It gives you an insight into how deep the Chinese are into the Thai tourism industry.

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-zero-baht-tour-company-bosses-sentenced-to-over-7-years-in-jail-face-fresh-charges-66181.php

 

Quote from the article:  "Tranlee's assets, including over 100 buses and more than 30 boats."

 

There have been no raids in recent times.  I can only think they are paying big tea money to be left alone, at the demise of Thai's in the tourism industry, or, the Thai's now realize it's out of control and if they did shut all these companies down, all Chinese package holidays to Thailand would stop, near decimating Thailand's tourism industry, virtually overnight.

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by Leaver

[Leaver]

On 1/28/2020 at 11:02 AM, bartender100 said:

I have delayed booking my May trip until we see how it all pans out, who know what the outcome of all this will be, I suppose insurance will pay for cancelled trips once a travel advisory has been announced

 

Just not going to risk it right now

You might be waiting quite a while for your trip to Thailand.  Maybe start looking at another destination. 

[DrTuner]

Nice and quiet outside. May the Chinese stay away forever.