Post COVID-19 tourism in Thailand: Bargain travel deals and high quality tourists

[racket]

Thailand elite should take this opportunity to promote and issue a massive discount for their elite visa programs by at least 40-50% if they want people staying longer and spending their money that will help the local economy. 

[DrTuner]

8 minutes ago, racket said:

Thailand elite should take this opportunity to promote and issue a massive discount for their elite visa programs by at least 40-50% if they want people staying longer and spending their money that will help the local economy. 

Yeah and rename it Thailand Hoi Polloi. 

[Emdog]

"The pristine beaches."

Lost me at that point...

[phantomfiddler]

4 hours ago, Jessi said:

You must come & see the Pristine Beaches.????

 

 

 

The worst I ever saw was down in Ban Phae near where the ferry heads off to Samet, there was no visible sand ????

[notmyself]

Quality lol What they are aiming for is dullards with cash. Just got to look at the METV as an example... Need to leave 6k (GBP) in a bank account for 6 months. I'm financially secure because I wouldn't even think of doing such a stupid thing. Amazing Thailand. 

[new2here]

I think from a purely tourism basis, Thailand has a lot “going for it” and could very well be a top destination for the high(er) yielding tourists...

 

.... but....

 

I ALSO think that today’s tourists are and becoming: a) better educated, b) more knowledgeable/informed

about their destination choices, c) increasingly tech savvy, d) really value authentic experiences, value-for-money, personal safety and e) are more and more aware of environmental/social and other factors relative to their destinations.

 

so..., IF Thailand wants to position themselves as a top tier destination - which I think IS possible, there’s some work that will have to be done across many aspects of the Thai tourism infrastructure and related sectors.

 

Failing to address that, to me, opens the door to places like the Maldives, Bhutan and even parts of Indonesia, Malaysia or Vietnam, to really having a shot at gaining some of Thailand’s former tourism market share.   
 

At the end of the day, those long-held reports of Jet-Ski damage scams/cases, reports of rampantly overcrowded beaches, water/beaches that are unhealthy — those will all have to “go away”... with the speed and spread of the internet, you just can’t be on the defensive when it comes to your destinations public image/perception ... and all these issues only serve to either cast a negative light or further reinforce prior perception problems. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by new2here

[tifino]

 

let's go!!!

[madmitch]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Survanabhubi

Trying to attract the sex tourists again?

[tribalfusion001]

Come to Amazing Thailand for a longer holiday, ps there are no bars open, no beaches open, you have to sit separately on a table with a plastic screen around and have a tracking app on your phone.

Edited May 4, 2020 by tribalfusion001

[itsallmine68]

So , does this men the $100,000 prerequisite for Covid insurance is done with??? and a test for covid 72 hours prior to flying approved by the Thai Embassy?????

[Swimfan]

As a generalization Thailand is a magnet for cheap charlie holidays. Once airfares double post pandemic to keep to social distancing rules, probably 75% of Thailands regular tourist demographic will not be able to afford to travel. The pain will be real and it wont just be a short sharp shock but a long protracted slow climb back to any reasonable tourist numbers.  

[TKDfella]

Isn't that a bit contradictory? Bargain deals and quality tourists.

[Burma Bill]

Quote:-

"to attract “high quality” tourists"

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Burma Bill
additional information

[Tropposurfer]

Have to have rocks in ya head to pay for anything remotely connected to travel outside your own country down the track !

[DaRoadrunner]

3 hours ago, itsallmine68 said:

So , does this men the $100,000 prerequisite for Covid insurance is done with??? and a test for covid 72 hours prior to flying approved by the Thai Embassy?????

And of course we are all going to spend our entire 14 day holiday here in quarantine. That is assuming they give us a visa on arrival (you come Thailand too mutt... visa denied).

Edited May 4, 2020 by DaRoadrunner

[Blumpie]

You can expect more of this nonsense in the times to come - it will eventually soak in that this entire year is a 100 percent bust for tourism.  They are just starting to soften the blow to the lemmings running about.

 

"Quality tourists" will be a buzzword.  As others have said, pretty hard to attract quality tourists when the country itself isn't necessarily the quality that attracts high quality tourism per se.  

[holy cow cm]

You would think they need a high quality government first. And that ain’t gonna happen any time soon. 

[Caldera]

I would do many things, but I wouldn't prepay any holiday in the distant future - too much has happened in the last two months, who knows what will happen until February 2021!

 

[Blumpie]

3 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

You would think they need a high quality government first. And that ain’t gonna happen any time soon. 

Probably not.  Depends how long it takes for people to realize this.

 

Also just read an interesting article that clearly states that tourism won't truly be buzzing again until 2023.  

I really think that people are living in an illusion right now - this is a pandemic and when these things happen they are very disruptive.  We have a record number of people on the earth, and all these people crowded together spells big trouble.  

There really is just no way that any civilized or uncivilized country would let their citizens out to get infected while on vacation to have them come back and slam shut an entire country again.  Having an economy's GDP of 15 or 16 percent based on tourism is positively ridiculous.  

[Blumpie]

6 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I would do many things, but I wouldn't prepay any holiday in the distant future - too much has happened in the last two months, who knows what will happen until February 2021!

 

You pretty much would have to had to be dropped on your head to book a tour in the fall right now.  I mean please, LOL!  Nobody truly knows what is going to happen by then.  

Let's hope that its better news than it seems.

[BritManToo]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

The pristine beaches. The fabulous food. The mass cancellations and travel disruption.

Don't think I've ever been to a Thai beach that was anything but 'dirty'.

[DaRoadrunner]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Don't think I've ever been to a Thai beach that was anything but 'dirty'.

They should take this opportunity to clean up both the beaches and their much prized image. Though the whole world knows what Thailand has become so it would be a bit like putting lipstick on a pig.

 

High quality tourists? Were we ever treated as such?

 

You cannot pimp an entire country and expect tourists to return.

 

One thing the Thais appear to have done better than others is suppress the Covid virus, (if one believes the figures). However, open the door to tourism too soon and they risk a second wave of infection as the rest of the world is behind on recovery and still infected.

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

One thing the Thais appear to have done better than others is suppress the Covid virus, (if one believes the figures).

What SEA countries have worse COVID stats then Thailand? 

As far as I can see, the more Shopping malls a country has, the higher the infection rate.

(works for almost everywhere in the world)

Edited May 4, 2020 by BritManToo

[mlmcleod]

Quality tourists defined:  Those tourists that arrive at the airport,  give away all their money in tips to immigration and then re-board and fly home!

 

Of course they will still be required to have Insurance.

Edited May 4, 2020 by mlmcleod
spelling

[Boomer6969]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

The outbreak allows Thai tourism to shift its focus to quality tourists rather than quantity,” added Ratchakitprakarn.

Classic Thai business approach: raise your prices when you get fewer customers.

[DaRoadrunner]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What SEA countries have worse COVID stats then Thailand? 

As far as I can see, the more Shopping malls a country has, the higher the infection rate.

(works for almost everywhere in the world)

Measure the spread by the number of soapy establishments and one can easily see how the Thais massaged the figures.

[IAMHERE]

I'll return but I'm not the same as before. Now on I am a cheap charlie because I'm there for one reason and being liked isn't in the cards.

[Krataiboy]

13 hours ago, smedly said:

question on online visa application for Thailand

 

- How many times do you shower in one week

Once, but only if I really need it (to bowdlerise QE1).

[Redline]

Here we go again-well, it was nice while it lasted.  TAT has raised its weary head ????

[GinBoy2]

17 hours ago, ChipButty said:

That would be nasty pay for your ticket 12 months in advance and the airline goes bust!

You have a good point there.

 

I wouldn't put my money on any given airline being around, at least in their current form, 6-12 months from now.

 

I'd be keeping that credit card safely in my wallet for now, and watch how things pan out over the next few months