Video: Pattaya ghost town...Coronavirus decimates tourism as staff go home for high season

[madmen]

2 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

The tales of the extreme difficulties now getting a simple tourist visa for only a couple of months in a year from my usual friends that come here from England do not support that. Many were not able to get them in London this year, despite an extraordinary effort trying. Although some own properties here in Patts, they can only stay a short while now, requiring one allowed border run. One is even married to a Thai. They are all talking about finding somewhere else to go, and are heading to Vietnam and Cambodia for a while shortly to check them out as alternate winter escapes. I'm staying put here, with my retirement visa extensions, but my experience has been that Westerners are simply no longer made welcome here anymore. It is worse and more difficult every year.

Your not aware of the visa changes to foreigners starting in July in Vietnam? 

good luck staying longer than a month. 

[Nanaplaza666]

2 hours ago, chiman said:

Serves them right, they were too afraid to make it safe by blocking tourist who were potentially going to carry the virus.  

 

If they had done the smart thing at more or less the right time, making Thailand a safe zone for people, then people would be coming and out spending money.  

I think your wrong , it was already a lot more quiet before the outbrake due to the strong baht and visa rules , ok the virus is a big reason why it's even more quiet but not the main reason .

[Gweiloman]

3 minutes ago, Gold Star said:

The tales of the extreme difficulties now getting a simple tourist visa for only a couple of months in a year from my usual friends that come here from England do not support that. Many were not able to get them in London this year, despite an extraordinary effort trying. Although some own properties here in Patts, they can only stay a short while now, requiring one allowed border run. One is even married to a Thai. They are all talking about finding somewhere else to go, and are heading to Vietnam and Cambodia for a while shortly to check them out as alternate winter escapes. I'm staying put here, with my retirement visa extensions, but my experience has been that Westerners are simply no longer made welcome here anymore. It is worse and more difficult every year.

+1

Posters should make clear their situation and gripe before universally launching into a criticism. 
The average tourist goes on holiday to another country for a few days or weeks. For those wanting to stay longer, there are bigger hoops to jump over but not impossible by any means. Thai immigration has stated clearly that they don’t welcome long stayers on tourist visas. This is not unreasonable. 

[SupermarineS6B]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

I have heard some of you on TVF making this claim, about putting all the eggs in one basket. I don’t understand how you all came to this decision. 
All nationalities are welcome to Thailand. In fact, many Western tourists are able to come in, visa exempt, unlike mainland Chinese and Indians. Yes, there are certain rules for longer staying tourists (90day reporting, TM30 etc)but these apply to all foreigners, regardless of nationality. 
Free visa on arrival is merely a marketing promotion, undertaken by many countries around the world at various times, in order to generate more revenue for the economy. If I’m not mistaken, the free VOA for Chinese is only for a 14 day stay - not exactly a world changing measure. 
The Chinese are arguably the the largest group of tourists in the world today. It makes perfect economic sense for any country that relies on tourism to try to attract them. Try opening a bar or restaurant and having a sign that says for eg ‘only Americans are allowed’ or ‘only Brits allowed’ and see how long you can survive. 

Being a Gweilo myself and spending many a night in Lan Kwai Fong back in the good old days i can remember when the Chinese took over many of the bars and up went the signs..... "Chinese Only"....... The same signs you see in Taniya plaza off Silom...... "Japanese only"...........  I think i might go down the Thermae and stick one on the door......... No Granary Baps !     Ps, Thailand's done exactly that but hasn't the minerals to put the sign up....... Chinese welcome, Farangs not..........

[Gweiloman]

8 minutes ago, Leaver said:

So, you have a conflict of interest.

 

What has trade shows got to do with "zero baht tourist?" 

I’m retired, doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. 
 

We were discussing, I believe, zero baht tourism, which is a tourism related matter. I’m a retired travel professional. What are your credentials vis a vis travel and tourism?

[uncleeagle]

1 hour ago, Gweiloman said:

I don’t think any Thai person cares about what you think or say. 

 

i doubt anyone cares much what you think either

[alzack]

6 hours ago, khwaibah said:

No BF and ST&LT at rock bottom.????

Rubbish place, sounds nice now people are the problem ? Yes?

[Gold Star]

22 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Might finally be time to move to Pattaya... ah yes, they gotta do something with air quality first...

Not much can be done about air quality in Pattaya. Most of the time we get a nice clean fresh sea breeze. There are some industrial areas nearby along the coastal areas, Leam Chabang's port refineries, and Rayong's industrial areas, but apart from normal city type pollutants, its not all that bad. Fires from agricultural activities and garbage burning, is rampant everywhere in SE Asia. My biggest air problem is when I'm riding motorcycles with all the smoke belching vehicles on the roadways. 

[Brunolem]

6 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i hope all my girlfriends are OK on Soi 6.

 

 

Are these the fine ladies wearing T-shirts saying

 

Do Not Touch

Sponsored by NCC1701A

 

I have always wondered what this was all about...

[SupermarineS6B]

38 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

 

i can confidently say if you said that to the average Thai male you'd better run, and fast

 

 

Well that little gem just shows what you know about Thai males......... One your ok, but they don't fight in ones........ Ten's usually their fighting strength.........Ten-one........ Mind you i did see a Japanese lad once bounce eight Thais at once outside the Thermae........ Bruce Lee style......... It was a pleasure.......   Som nam naa....

[Gweiloman]

5 minutes ago, SupermarineS6B said:

Being a Gweilo myself and spending many a night in Lan Kwai Fong back in the good old days i can remember when the Chinese took over many of the bars and up went the signs..... "Chinese Only"....... The same signs you see in Taniya plaza off Silom...... "Japanese only"...........  I think i might go down the Thermae and stick one on the door......... No Granary Baps !     Ps, Thailand's done exactly that but hasn't the minerals to put the sign up....... Chinese welcome, Farangs not..........

My only claim to fame in LKF was going the whole night, starting 10 pm till 6 am drinking only at happy hour prices by bar hopping. Also the one time I was up on the bar in Joe Bananas on Luard Road during a wet T-shirt night. 
But I haven’t seen any establishment (yet) in Thailand with a Chinese welcome, farangs not sign on its front door. If that were to ever happen, it will be because of the attitude shown by a lot of farangs here on TVF. 

[newnative]

Well, we expats are still here, contributing to the local economy year-round.  Maybe we'll be appreciated more.  

[Gweiloman]

6 minutes ago, uncleeagle said:

 

i doubt anyone cares much what you think either

You cared enough to respond to my post. 

[hobobo]

6 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i hope all my girlfriends are OK on Soi 6.

 

 

Yours are still there, but the young and pretty ones all went home

[natway09]

Put all your eggs in one basket ???

[kingstonkid]

This may be a time where things are worse than normal but Pattaya will survive in some sort.  The problem with Pattaya is that it does not have any real tourism or family activities.  While I feel sorry for the businesses that will fail and the people that will lose their jobs this is a good thing if it brings in people with fresh ideas that can boost the market in a different direction.

 

 

[Leaver]

13 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I’m retired, doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. 
 

We were discussing, I believe, zero baht tourism, which is a tourism related matter. I’m a retired travel professional. What are your credentials vis a vis travel and tourism?

I am in the SAS, so I know everything.  ????

 

"Travel professional."  Give me a break. 

 

Since when has Thailand ever had a normal tourist industry?

[Tony125]

2 hours ago, Leaver said:

Don't you mean they stopped the sinking ship from sinking quicker?

 

I disagree.  Chinese tourists do not buy property, cars, motorbikes, TV's, white good etc.  They don't do week shops at Big C, for example.  They don't have a Thai partner, which is usually supported by the expat, which in turn supports a family in Issan.  They don't have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank, or bring in 65,000 baht a month, every month. 

 

An expat is a 24/7/365 part of the Thai economy, not a 2 week part of the tourism industry. 

 

Recover to what benchmark?  2010, 2012, 2014? 

 

Even the ones that can survive, are selling.  The "time will not be right" in the future because Thailand has out priced itself in the South East Asia tourism market.

 

Yes, the Chinese and Indian package holiday market will bounce back, but for westerners, the writing is on the wall here.

Don't know where you get  " Chinese tourists don't buy property"  When I bought a condo in Jomtien last year to rent out I (an wife) were taken around to check out some others available and being built.  Thai realtor came in with 5---6 Chinese couples who opened a briefcase full of US Dollars and bought 6 condo's cash. What do you think they are doing with all those suitcases they are rolling around? They go into malls buy stuff on sale  (or not) fill all that luggage and take back home to sell.

They rent alot of the condo's to other Chinese who come over later.

[Tops]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Pattaya ghost town..

Halloween was over 3 months ago. 
For Halloween 2020 we still have to wait another 270 days. Is Pattaya becoming the first one this year celebrating Halloween ????

[JHolmesJr]

Hope normalcy returns.

Those jet skis aren't going to damage themselves....neither are farangs going to beat themselves into a coma.

 

[baansgr]

6 hours ago, JomtienRay said:

There are plenty of farang tourists in Jomtien.. 

Has been for the past two weeks, beaches where no deckchairs are heaving, deckchairs all empty...restaurants in evening full but bars all but empty...families and young couples, would assume predomitaly Russian...south Jomtien is great now without all the tour buses pumping out black smoke

[Tops]

1 hour ago, Lacrimas said:

This is what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket

The Chinese chickens won't lay eggs for some time, now the H5N1 virus has also broken out in China...

Murphy's law at it's finest.

[Max69xl]

6 hours ago, JomtienRay said:

There are plenty of farang tourists in Jomtien.. 

I agree, and I wonder what time that photo was taken. 

[Knocker33]

7 hours ago, shadowofacloud said:

They should try promoting it as an adventure tourism destination, sorta like trips to Chernobyl.

 

Dress the bar girls as mutants, the ladyboys as giant coronaviruses and ferry tourists around in armored cars.

Sounds like a normal night

[Christie Paul]

Thailand rid itself of tens of thousands of people of people who didn't fit the conventional demographic of a short term tourist - people under fifty who can afford to (economically) stay for extended periods, small business people and long terms travellers etc. These people (mostly harmless along with a few bad apples) put up with visa runs, contributed as good will ambassadors and spent money here from abroad.

 

Then they made life difficult for many retirees and many of those have left or are leaving. The income generated from these people is obviously less than a booming tourism sector - but now that so much of that is gone and given that tourism has turned down, will be missed.

 

Interesting how things turn out. 

[mrfill]

Competition time!!

 

What %age increase in tourist numbers will be announced soon?

[justin case]

so almost a descent holiday destination FOR NOW ????

 

would be nice to see if thailand gave 1 YEAR FREE VISA without paper hastle

Edited February 3, 2020 by justin case

[nauseus]

pristine sand??

[PEE TEE]

2 hours ago, Leaver said:

Have you noticed a difference in the western tourist numbers in recent times, particularly before the virus outbreak? 

 

Would you say western tourist numbers were up, down, or equal, to last season, and would yo then say they are up, down, or equal, to 3 years ago?   

Down why come here with the strong thb  and get low exchange rates better going to spain 

[PEE TEE]

36 minutes ago, Leaver said:

I am in the SAS, so I know everything.  ????

 

"Travel professional."  Give me a break. 

 

Since when has Thailand ever had a normal tourist industry?

I’m retired, doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. .selfish person