Thailand fights to revive reputation as top tourist destination

COVID-19 tracing measures and troubled Thai Airways' cloud tourism revival

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

 

Travelers wearing face masks are seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thailand wants to create "travel corridors" or "travel bubbles" with certain countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)

 

BANGKOK -- A leading business hotel in Bangkok is sprucing up rooms, restaurants and hallways to meet new hygiene and safety standards as it prepares to welcome the first trickle of regular customers -- foreign airline crews -- in August.

 

"This is now a priority, including deep cleaning of our ventilator and air conditioning systems," said Marisa Sukosol, executive vice president of Sukosol hotels, which owns five properties in the Thai capital and in Pattaya, a seaside resort southeast of the city. "We have a loyal market, like airline crews from South Korea, and we need to be ready for them."

 

The government has encouraged the preparations after warming to "tourism bubbles" between Bangkok and select Asian cities to revive a travel industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Countries on an emerging shortlist for these new air bridges are China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, all of which have largely contained the spread of COVID-19, just as Thailand has.

 

 

Full story: https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Thailand-fights-to-revive-reputation-as-top-tourist-destination

 

-- © Copyright Nikkei Asian Review 2020-06-16

 

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I fear this picky

"WE will decide who is allowed to come and when"

will not work.
This is not the way how you invite someone to spend his money in your country.

16 minutes ago, Berti said:

I fear this picky

"WE will decide who is allowed to come and when"

will not work.
This is not the way how you invite someone to spend his money in your country.

I think Thailand is under the impression that other national airlines will start operating taking only 25% full planes of Thais around the world and coming back with only Thais later. Sort of a thai worldwide taxi service

China? the very same country where it all started from with millions dead and affected? the country that hidden and fudged it's real numbers and figures of the dead and sick from WHO and the rest of the world? the same country that according to latest news the pandemic is still very much active there?

Why China? because Thailand will not dare exclude China out, of fear of economic reprisals and bulling just like they do to Australia now and any other country that doesn't agree with them...

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 20206 yr by Liverpoolfan

Just hope Australia stands up to them and others follow.

????❤????????

I guess this doesn´t sit well with Mr. Abutin and his team of !choosy" friends. Gonna take  some time to get him onboard the ship.

Years ago Britain had an empire, now thats gone, in the past.

Just the same as the Thai tourist industry, gone, a thing of the past.

Another news website, Thailand has stated they are not going to have "Chinese tourism" until Chinese New Years 2021, which is in February. Bubble-ators be dammad that is what TAT is ALSO saying out of the other side of their mouth. 

I imagine the new outbreak in Beijing puts the double wammy on anything this year.

27 minutes ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

it's still a cheap destination if you don't drink alcohol or eat out, and share everything you do between 5-6 people

 

I think we already know who will be replacing falang, and the arrival figures will still look good

30 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

it's still a cheap destination if you don't drink alcohol or eat out, and share everything you do between 5-6 people

 

I think we already know who will be replacing falang, and the arrival figures will still look good

Travel thousands of miles to go on holiday and dont drink or eat out..

you sound like a hoot, 

no flies on you eh la ????

11 minutes ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Travel thousands of miles to go on holiday and dont drink or eat out..

you sound like a hoot, 

no flies on you eh la ????

I think Cyril forgot to push the SARCASM button, or you, being a L'pool fan have no sense of humour.   PML

4 minutes ago, stouricks said:

I think Cyril forgot to push the SARCASM button, or you, being a L'pool fan have no sense of humour.   PML

Was he being sarcastic then??

cos he sounded deadly serious to me ????

Just don't travel by bus or try to visit Wat Pho....Problem solved, right? 

1 hour ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know how much beer costs in a bar in Thailand but it seems cheap enough in a supermarket, not the same ambience as a bar I grant you but if needs absolutely must.

 

And anyone who comes to Thailand to eat hot dogs must surely have missed the point and deserves to pay however much they are charged. Thai food in food courts, some surprisingly high quality food, is certainly cheap enough, even here in Bangkok.

 

And if cost effective riding is your thing, bring a bike with you, many people do!!

1 hour ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

Mallorca has 28 million tourist arrivals every year....and is a small island only with 1 airport....

 

It's cheap and beautifull there, just look on youtube...

1 hour ago, Liverpoolfan said:

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 

not everyone who comes to Thailand goes to bangala road Phukut, beer is 60 baht in Pattaya & 70 in Bangkok, however Chinese don't drink anyway. Foreigners will still come for sex & beer although I expect the numbers to be alot less than the previous norms. Thailand is still cheap, accom is cheap, food can be cheap or international prices. Tourists will still come but less. imo

1 hour ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

Phuket and Patong in particular has always been an overpriced <expletive> and Thailand has never been geared to those kinds of British 'lager lout' tourists that frequent Benidorm, thankfully.

9 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Mallorca has 28 million tourist arrivals every year....and is a small island only with 1 airport....

 

It's cheap and beautifull there, just look on youtube...

can I get a beer & a pizza there  ... ?

24 minutes ago, Trillian said:

 

 

And anyone who comes to Thailand to eat hot dogs must surely have missed the point and deserves to pay however much they are charged.

 

 

Trillian,

 

No one come to Thailand for a hotdog, but he's putting it in perspective. It's the big picture. Do you not get that?

1 minute ago, Skip Tracer said:

Trillian,

 

No one come to Thailand for a hotdog, but he's putting it in perspective. It's the big picture. Do you not get that?

Yes sure, but the pricing analogy is not right. If you have to make international price comparisons use PPP, the Big Mac Index, average hotel cost or some thing that can actually sensibly be compared.

33 minutes ago, Trillian said:

I don't know how much beer costs in a bar in Thailand but it seems cheap enough in a supermarket, not the same ambience as a bar I grant you but if needs absolutely must.

 

And anyone who comes to Thailand to eat hot dogs must surely have missed the point and deserves to pay however much they are charged. Thai food in food courts, some surprisingly high quality food, is certainly cheap enough, even here in Bangkok.

 

And if cost effective riding is your thing, bring a bike with you, many people do!!

Do you often go on holiday and buy beer from the supermarket?

 

I see Thais eating hotdogs all the time. They even have them chopped and bagged up ready on the counter at 7/11 and Jiffy mart at the petrol stations.

2 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Do you often go on holiday and buy beer from the supermarket?

 

I see Thais eating hotdogs all the time. They even have them chopped and bagged up ready on the counter at 7/11 and Jiffy mart at the petrol stations.

I don't drink but if I did I guess I might.

 

I'm not sure the cut up bagged hotdogs was what that poster had in mind, not quite the same thing as a coney island, whatever.

1 hour ago, cyril sneer said:

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 

Good reasons not to go to Soi Bangla - you pay for your surroundings, the better they are the more you get ripped off.

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

Years ago Britain had an empire, now thats gone, in the past.

When an Empire it was ruled by an emperor.

It then became a kingdom ruled by a King.

Now it is a country run by Boris.

Prefer any of the above to the clowns running the show here though, who show here once again how totally out of touch with reality they are.

2 hours ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find places in Patong where a beer is 50 baht. You can probably find places in Benidorm where a beer is 7 Euros. The only places where a beer is 280 baht are the commission-paying bars that touts take you to and I've never seen a 320 baht hot dog, though I've never looked, and a 4,000 baht ride? Were you travelling to Krabi?

51 minutes ago, Skip Tracer said:

Trillian,

 

No one come to Thailand for a hotdog, but he's putting it in perspective. It's the big picture. Do you not get that?

I bring my own "hotdog" with me.....the ladies "relish" it...I like to keep it in a warm set buns..hot n spicy!

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

China? the very same country where it all started from with millions dead and affected? the country that hidden and fudged it's real numbers and figures of the dead and sick from WHO and the rest of the world? the same country that according to latest news the pandemic is still very much active there?

Why China? because Thailand will not dare exclude China out, of fear of economic reprisals and bulling just like they do to Australia now and any other country that doesn't agree with them...

You forgot to mention China’s selfish Mekong waters grab.  One of the worlds great river systems sucked down and away.

3 hours ago, Liverpoolfan said:

Who in their right mind would want to come here on holiday? Seriously?

 

last I checked it was 280 baht for a beer on bangala road in phuket, 320 baht for a hotdog and 4,000 baht for a ride. 
 

in benidorm you get 2 beers for 1 euro 50,  a hot dog for a euro and if you cant get a free ride on the square there is no hope for you anywhere.. not to mention the 70 quid return flights..

 

its a no brainer, Thailand has gone down the pan big time! 

 

 

 

 

 

You make very good points and I agree that European destinations offer far better value for money, also considering that vacationers don't have to sit crammed together on a 11-hour flight just to get here. Thailand - in her typical short-sighted greed - has priced herself out of competition in many aspects; and at least as far as European holidaymakers are concerned.

 

But then again: Everybody knows that everybody visiting Bangla and its cultural attractions are high-quality tourists with fat, fat wallets. They can easily afford paying almost 10 euros for a measly beer. Uhm... I mean, isn't that what TAT keeps trumpeting all the time?

 

Meanwhile, the coveted quality tourists from China trod down Bangla Road like a cattle herd, taking pictures here and there before retiring to their hotels at 8pm. But of course not before they've stocked up on bottled water and instant noodles from a nearby convenience store.