Thailand Aims to Turn Away From Mass Tourism and Target the Wealthy

[morrobay]

So the high end visitors must choose a resort and stay for a minimum of 14 days before being "allowed " to travel elsewhere. 

Wonder how thats going to work out? 

[steven100]

On 6/20/2020 at 8:28 AM, GinBoy2 said:

I really don't think Western tourism will ever recover to anywhere close to previous levels

agree .....  impossible as most suffered financially in some way due to covid19 .... so a thai holiday is getting further from their mind. Even sexpats and p_ss heads will put the trip further down their list as rent and food first.

[SunsetT]

Come to our beautiful country which we are doing our best to ruin with mostly totally tasteless design and architecture surrounded by acres of concrete, illuminated with garish OTT  light pollution and advertising complemented by quite exceptional noise pollution enhanced with super bass.

Edited June 21, 2020 by SunsetT

[poskat]

how many times are they going to trot out this 'quality tourist" turkey?

 

the last thing thailand is is a "high end" destination

[Moo 2]

Is he getting paid to think of that?! Doesn't he know rich people don't give a damn about the value of the Baht

Only the lower middle class spend time looking at the exchange rates and they are the one flocking to Thailand. The Rich have better place to visit.

 

   "I drink to make other people more interesting".   Ernest Hemingway  

[sead]

If you are Rich, you for sure wont go to Thailand.

[DrTuner]

I guess some wealthy people like slumming. Maybe 1-2 per year.

[trainman34014]

If Thailand is such a Magnet for rich people how come their own Elite spend their holidays as far away from Thailand as possible ?

 

Anyway; this 'idea' has been around for at least a Decade and they are just too arrogant and/or dumb to realise it's never going to work !

[Trillian]

5 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

If Thailand is such a Magnet for rich people how come their own Elite spend their holidays as far away from Thailand as possible ?

 

Anyway; this 'idea' has been around for at least a Decade and they are just too arrogant and/or dumb to realise it's never going to work !

Talking of elite.....people paying for the privilege of visiting here:

 

Elite has sold 8, 600 cards for between 500,000 and 800,000 each, China accounted for 1,747 of Thai Elite holders, an 88% year-on-year increase, followed by Britain (479), Japan (443), the US (387) and France (348).

 

[DrTuner]

7 minutes ago, Trillian said:

Talking of elite.....people paying for the privilege of visiting here:

 

Elite has sold 8, 600 cards for between 500,000 and 800,000 each, China accounted for 1,747 of Thai Elite holders, an 88% year-on-year increase, followed by Britain (479), Japan (443), the US (387) and France (348).

I'm one of the members. Can't fault the services of the company itself, very nice to be escorted from the plane all the way to the transport, with bags picked up and a lounge to wait in. The PE visa attached to it is a joke though, not allowed to work or even get a 5y driving license. 

[Oziex1]

And if one single well heeled person was to be bumped off on Kho Tao or elsewhere in the LOS  it's game over for that plan. 

[Trillian]

6 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I'm one of the members. Can't fault the services of the company itself, very nice to be escorted from the plane all the way to the transport, with bags picked up and a lounge to wait in. The PE visa attached to it is a joke though, not allowed to work or even get a 5y driving license. 

And here we have proof that the government's strategy is already working....:))

[samsensam]

On 6/20/2020 at 2:30 AM, Thechook said:

the wealthy don't Holliday in places like Thailand

 

right, the thai perception of wealthy tourists differs to the western perception, what they are talking about are middle, upper middle class tourists

 

i wonder if the government has been in dialogue with those involved in the tourist business in thailand, and obtained their support and backing for this initiative...  

[stoutfella]

On 6/20/2020 at 8:50 AM, englishoak said:

Thailand has nothing special or unique to offer the wealthy, Angelina Jolie might have thought it cool to get a few tattoos and a few footballers et al but its got nothing to offer the real wealthy. 

 

True Wealthy arnt interested in second quality only the best. Thailands not got top class much of anything from what I could tell that isnt beaten hands down by dozens of other locations around the world for pretty much everything... Dont get me wrong i love Thailand but its not a place id bother with if totally loaded for tourism. 

Angelina Jolie got a few footballers along with her tattoos did she. I did not know that.

[lavezzi]

On 6/20/2020 at 3:25 AM, WhatsNext said:

Get wealthy tourists to thailand, ok then :

 

- Make clean beaches, streets, sewage systems that work, no floodings, get rid of air pollution, soi dogs, crazy dangerous traffic, overhead cables, make food safe, supply service on a western level, have flexibility for guests in hotels, increase english knowledge, have sidewalks bigger than 40cm, have clean public parks, boulevards without traffic, classy nightlife, quality all in hotels, and have a street appearance on 1st world level not somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. Put sex industry out of sight and then maybe MAYBE some high class tourists might come. 

 

I live here so for me the reasons to be here are entirely different than for a tourist. If i was an upper class tourist , thailand would not be in my list of goto desitnations.

think if they read your post and they do everything you said within two months.

 

 

[lungbing]

4 hours ago, SunsetT said:

Come to our beautiful country which we are doing our best to ruin with mostly totally tasteless design and architecture surrounded by acres of concrete, illuminated with garish OTT  light pollution and advertising complemented by quite exceptional noise pollution enhanced with super bass.

 

And that's just the temples.

[metisdead]

A troll post and a reply has been removed. 

[Cali farong]

Isn’t it getting a little ridiculous that everyday they have a new plan to bring back tourist.  There’s not much about Thailand that wealthy people desire.

[Trujillo]

It would be interesting to know what the government agency that came up with this concept thinks is "wealthy." 

 

Let's say, for sake of argument, that I am very well off financially. However, I don't like to stay in upscale hotels, for example. Instead, I prefer comfortable, clean and less "high-so" places. I enjoy eating street food and have been known to buy beer at a local shop and sit in a park or by the waterfront and drink there. Flip-flops are my shoe of choice; T-shirts my comfortable go-to and I have almost never gone on an organized tour, preferring instead to always make my own way. 

 

So although I am "wealthy," I don't fit the government's profile very well. 

Who does? Upmarket package tourists? How many of those do you see? Intimidated first-time tourists from China? Do I have to go only to the kao soi restaurants that charge 220 baht for this dish to qualify? 

What's the deal here? 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Trujillo

[Acrylic]

15 hours ago, Trillian said:

I love this post because it really does bring some reality to the comments being made in this thread. Posters trashing Thailand as a destination but claiming to understand what the rich people need and where they go, whilst living here....oh no, Thailand is a sh*t hole and the wealthy would never come here, never mind the fact that I live here and know what rich people want.......the irony of it all.

 

It also magnifies the extent to which many farangs play up the poverty side of Thailand yet never balance it with the the other sides....the poor, the hungry, unemployed and down trodden. Is this a reflection of where they spend a majority of their time and who they hang out with, is that all they ever see  and how come they never see the other side? Whilst there is a segment of poor people in Thailand, just as there is in every country, there is also a very large middle class and an ever growing upper class and there is a lot of wealth inside both those groups and a lot of normal also.

 

Perhaps this is a case of foreigners projecting, they look at them and realise their own circumstances are not as secure as they'd like. Just like the arguments about the strength of the Baht, posters tell us they fear for exports and the tourist trade if the Baht stays strong when really they're saying, jeeze, I wish the Baht would weaken because my lifestyle is getting stretched!

I agree with what you said. Sometimes I don't understand westerners who live in Thailand for retirement or have family here but at the same time keep trashing Thailand. If they don't like Thailand that much, they can live in another country. It's not like they cannot move into another cheaper destination like Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, etc (of course for Singapore it's not cheaper but I think it's better country for western expat). All these countries are very beautiful, even Australian like visit Bali so much. I don't like some Thai government policy either but I don't think it's appropriate to keep trashing Thailand this much. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Acrylic

[Archcan]

I'm afraid this man's ascendance above his level of incompetence occurred some time ago.

[DrTuner]

5 hours ago, Trillian said:

And here we have proof that the government's strategy is already working....:))

The reason I got the elite is I couldn't stand looking at the sour face behind desk 6 at Jomthien immigration and getting useless A4 copies for the umpteenth time. So yeah that immigration strategy worked - until I get out of here permanently.

[utalkin2me]

The first thing they need to do if they were serious about this is learn how to build hotels properly. 

[geriatrickid]

It seems to me that almost all of the negative comments are coming from people of limited financial means, who are opining from their biased, and perhaps resentful perspective. However, for those who have been reading TVF for  at least the past decade, the suggested strategy is one that many TVFers have long suggested. 

 

There will always be affordable options and the government  strategy suggestion will not eliminate such facilities. Many visitors to Thailand will not need nor want the high end resorts and that's ok. They will still have those options. However, the days of making it easy for the  marginal people who take up space and do not cover more than their immediate cost of being in the country are coming to an end. Thailand is following the  strategy established by mature Tourism destinations. The USA, Canada, Australia, Japan et al do not encourage the entry of financially marginal  visitors and when that demographic shows up with insufficient funds or visa issues, they are denied entry. Thailand is moving towards a similar strategy. It's going to force many Thais to up their game and to focus on quality and value, and that's not a bad outcome, is it?

 

On 6/19/2020 at 8:40 PM, baansgr said:

Although they may spend 5 times the amount of sexpats..it doesn't create 5 times as many jobs which is what's needed most

How do you know that? Have you ever stayed at one of the higher end resorts? The staffing ratios and the pay scales are better than the small budget hotels. Take the Hua Hin Intercontinetal, a solid 4 star facility. There are uniformed  beach and pool staff for both support and catering duties,  the kitchens hire quality F&B personnel, there are trained service personnel at a ratio typically 3-5X that of the typical Thai mid market facility, the quality of furnishings, catering/F&B, is significantly better  than the 3* and less facilities, room cleaning and upkeep is more intense and has more  personnel etc. When these visitors go out, they are more likely to purchase the expensive outings and they are more likely to eat at the more expensive restaurants, and more likely to shop at Bluport, not the bargain aisle at Tescos. (And no I am not elitist, because I can shop at Tesco, and like Daiso.) They are also more likely to stay out of trouble because they are coming with their families or as a couple.  As an illustration; Russians in Hua Hin tend to be  family types; and the nordic country retirees consisting of Ma and Pa Norquist  just spend and   keep a low profile.  It is a significant contrast to the decling number of louts/chavs and assorted low lifes found in the bintabaht district.

 

On 6/19/2020 at 8:57 PM, mr mr said:

please do explain how they will get to said destination with *minimal risk* driving on any road in this country ? 

wealthy people post wuwu will also be making strategic decisions. 

\derp derp.

 

They will get to their destination just as they do now; Direct flights with private driver/bus to destination. The Bangkok Airport - Hua Hin bus is filled with them. Others just pay 3000 baht and have a driver take them to Hua Hin from BKK. The same applies at HKT or CNX.

In high season, HKT is over flowing with private aircraft.  The last thing a person with a bit of dosh wants to do is to take on the hassles of driving in a foreign land and finding parking. Do you now how difficult is to find parking in Patong or Karon Beach or Kata on Phuket? It's just not worth the hassle especially if one will be consuming alcohol. welll heeled visitors do not rent a vehicle, instead they have hired transport.

 

On 6/19/2020 at 9:17 PM, ThailandRyan said:

The Tropical 5 Star Island of Phuket will be the crown jewel for their wealthy visitors and only the 5 star all inclusive Hotels will be in Play.  No room at the trough for those normal hotels, shops or restaurants.  I can see where the money is going. Straight into someone's pockets who has invested in the 5 star resorts... 

It isn't any different than the situation now. 

 

On 6/19/2020 at 9:25 PM, WhatsNext said:

Get wealthy tourists to thailand, ok then :

- Make clean beaches, streets, sewage systems that work, no floodings, get rid of air pollution, soi dogs, crazy dangerous traffic, overhead cables, make food safe, supply service on a western level, have flexibility for guests in hotels, increase english knowledge, have sidewalks bigger than 40cm, have clean public parks, boulevards without traffic, classy nightlife, quality all in hotels, and have a street appearance on 1st world level not somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. Put sex industry out of sight and then maybe MAYBE some high class tourists might come. 

 

I live here so for me the reasons to be here are entirely different than for a tourist. If i was an upper class tourist , thailand would not be in my list of goto desitnations.

 

I don't know if you have been to some of the nicer resorts in Thailand, but they don't suffer from these problems. Take the high end part of Phuket, around Laguna. The beach is clean because the hotels subsidize the cleaning and deploy their own staff to clean the beach areas in front of the hotels. As well, the hotels enforce a no touts policy.

Yes, air pollution can be bad, but it isn't an issue for some high end visitors who are coming from cities where pollution is worse. And the reality is that the air quality during key travel periods is fairly good in much of Thailand, excluding Chiang Mai and sadly Hua Hin. There are no soi dog or beggers or  petty crime problems at the high end resorts and  the high end guests will most likely never encounter such issues as they live in a bubble.

 

 

 

 

[bristolgeoff]

To be fair they can have both,i don,t  see the rich going to bars in paptpong  or other places and sluming it with the normal people.cocktails in high end hotels is not everyones cup of tea.they hope  that the rich will want to come  and pay over priced drinks and tourist trap prices.

[Jalasko]

This absurd man obviously wants rolls royse meter taxis at Suvarnabhumi !

[Trillian]

3 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

It seems to me that almost all of the negative comments are coming from people of limited financial means, who are opining from their biased, and perhaps resentful perspective.

Exactly. When Thailand was cheap they didn't buy in and invest because they thought it would always be that way, now that it's expensive for them they're angry so they badmouth all things Thai.

[ttrd]

On 6/20/2020 at 3:17 AM, ThailandRyan said:

The Tropical 5 Star Island of Phuket will be the crown jewel for their wealthy visitors and only the 5 star all inclusive Hotels will be in Play.  No room at the trough for those normal hotels, shops or restaurants.  I can see where the money is going. Straight into someone's pockets who has invested in the 5 star resorts... 

Looks like an over-optimistic strategic move from the elite to stifle the smaller ones including airbnb ...  

[MobileContent]

Those loaded with cash go to places to be seen. St. Moritz, Nice, Monaco, Marbella, Singapore, Whistler, Macau and a few rounds of black jack and poker at the casino's.

 

Thailand should attract the Middle Class spenders but if I have to chose between Phuket and Bali I would pick Bali.

[sezze]

As awanting to attract " more wealthy persons " , they should think about how many people they are targeting . I think by far the majority of people who come these days are not the same people who did visit in the 90's / 00's since prices have increased a lot . Thailand isn't at all a cheap destination , so every visitor does have a good sum of cash . What cash are they are looking for ?? People spending +5000 is pretty normal just before corona , which isn't cheap by standards .  I'm sure as European you can have loads of fun in Europe for the cash you spend in Thailand . How much do they consider wealthy travellers ? And how they consider it to be like that ? If you building a home , 100k is not that much but a lot for normal tourist , and not a lot according to Thai  rich people ? .