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Will tourism in Thailand recover anytime soon?

 

 

Enjoy this feature as a Podcast!

With so much up in the air in terms of when and how tourism in Thailand could recover post-pandemic in this so called ‘new normal’ world, here is my take on things.

 

We can be down beat, but I think the force and will of the people combined with low covid infection rates in the country bode well for a surge in tourism, once we see some form of global normality return.

 

Do take a listen to my podcast below for my full opinion on the matter.

 

https://danaboutthailand.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/podcast-thailandrecover.mp3

 

 

The more they wait the more time people will discover new places. When people discovers how easy and well treated they are in neighbouring countries it will show on their social media's and from there the game is on. If I have 2 friends that has been in Vietnam and told me how cheap and well treated they have been there then I would of course be very much tempted to go there myself. As I did in December. And behold.... The communist country gave me a blast of expectations

No can't ever recover until the bizarre entry restrictions are lifted the current amature fleecing attempts just won't work with most it's the end game ????

On 7/10/2020 at 1:03 AM, Expat Explore said:

once we see some form of global normality return.

Once my Aunt has some form of testicles, she'll be my Uncle.  Sure, pal.

 

Keep on dreaming.

I'm currently staying in a hotel in Pattaya and there are very few visitors - it was quite nice at first, but then when I thought and it and started looking around the city, it's quite unsettling; I realized that things may never 'recover' to where they were, at all, or the new 'normal' may be significantly less than pre-covid.
What I noticed is that besides the many shuttered business, the main problem seems to be that the businesses that are open (or have re-opened) don't have many customers/revenue, so they are slowly dying. Like for example, traditional massage shops are open, but with very few workers (due to limited demand), so they'll just keep struggling until rent/debt burdens mount. 
Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Terminal 21 and for a weekend, it was very light. I think many people are assuming that things will just 'bounce back' but people had to adjust during the lockdown and may have different ways to doing things.  

While there is a xenophobic military government Thailand can kiss its tourist industry goodbye.

 

They are so incompetent it beggars belief.

 

As for encouraging expat travel around the country with half of them currently facing visa uncertainty .... no chance.

 

We have completed stopped spending money until we feel we are welcome here. No upgrade car, bike , furniture etc right now. Just food and utilities.

18 hours ago, sead said:

When people discovers how easy and well treated they are in neighbouring countries

????????????????

41 minutes ago, Denim said:

We have completed stopped spending money until we feel we are welcome here. No upgrade car, bike , furniture etc right now. Just food and utilities.

Hunger Strike next ?

31 minutes ago, tonray said:

Hunger Strike next ?

 

Bacon and cheese first to go.

 

I'm telling the 4 dogs to go out and look for work today. About time they stopped living on handouts.

Edited July 12, 20205 yr by Denim

Now, without another extension for those stuck in Thailand, the Thai government is kicking roughly 500.000 farangs out of the country. They surely will not come back, besides the money, which they normally receive from abroad, and is being spent in Thailand will disappear. If a country is best at shooting its own foot, Thailand is number one. With the current "hospitality" policy, tourism will not recover soon, promise.

Ignoring the current situation and the hurdles of coming to Thailand my daughter from England was shocked last Christmas at the incredible increased costs in Pattaya since she had last come 2 years before. She said but for visiting me she wouldn't return to Thailand as Turkey was half the cost and the journey only 5 and not 12 hours. Other people might choose to go to Vietnam and become avid fans of Vietnam and never return to the land of farang haters.

No one is going to be traveling anywhere for a long time economies have been hurt traveling in an enclosed place will scare people and this virus is not done.  As to the cost that people pay that will come back to realism as people realize that the cash cow is sick.

19 minutes ago, JusticeGB said:

Ignoring the current situation and the hurdles of coming to Thailand my daughter from England was shocked last Christmas at the incredible increased costs in Pattaya since she had last come 2 years before. She said but for visiting me she wouldn't return to Thailand as Turkey was half the cost and the journey only 5 and not 12 hours. Other people might choose to go to Vietnam and become avid fans of Vietnam and never return to the land of farang haters.

My friend couldnt get back here to Thailand (he's retired here) so he went to Turkey for a month and flew his Thai lady to meet him. 2 people gone for a month. And it looks like they wont be back in August either. Beyond any logic.

I hope tourism will never come back in the form that it took. The volume of toursists grew 3-4 fold from 2009 to 2019, but the share of GDP only doubled. What this means is that the revenue from tourism had a relative decline....ie each tourist generated less in real revenue. We need to go back to quality tourism instead of the riff-raff that have been coming for a cheap <deleted>.

 

They should ban these bus tours that Chinese, Indians and Koreans use. They should introduce some transparent planning laws in Phuket, Pattaya, Bangkok, CM etc and stop overcrowding with poorly built cheap hotels. Start knocking down all the <deleted> hotels and building some quality. Lets move away from sex tourists, backpackers, bus tours and the like let's get a better class of tourist that appreciates a nice clean environment, places where sh!T from the sewers doesn't flood into the streets when it rains, somewhere where you can get a taxi at a fair price etc etc.

1 hour ago, JusticeGB said:

Ignoring the current situation and the hurdles of coming to Thailand my daughter from England was shocked last Christmas at the incredible increased costs in Pattaya since she had last come 2 years before. She said but for visiting me she wouldn't return to Thailand as Turkey was half the cost and the journey only 5 and not 12 hours. Other people might choose to go to Vietnam and become avid fans of Vietnam and never return to the land of farang haters.

A friend of mine went on holiday to Vietnam recently. About an hour out of Ho Chi Minh. Beers were roughly 25 Baht per bottle. And for happy hour, he got 2 bottles of beer for the same price! He said everyone was friendly and the Ladies were pleasant and beautiful. Thailand is NOT the be all and end all it thinks it is for tourists. 

40 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I hope tourism will never come back in the form that it took. The volume of toursists grew 3-4 fold from 2009 to 2019, but the share of GDP only doubled. What this means is that the revenue from tourism had a relative decline....ie each tourist generated less in real revenue. We need to go back to quality tourism instead of the riff-raff that have been coming for a cheap <deleted>.

 

They should ban these bus tours that Chinese, Indians and Koreans use. They should introduce some transparent planning laws in Phuket, Pattaya, Bangkok, CM etc and stop overcrowding with poorly built cheap hotels. Start knocking down all the <deleted> hotels and building some quality. Lets move away from sex tourists, backpackers, bus tours and the like let's get a better class of tourist that appreciates a nice clean environment, places where sh!T from the sewers doesn't flood into the streets when it rains, somewhere where you can get a taxi at a fair price etc etc.

Good luck with cutting the head off the golden goose with the limitation of mass package tours for the countries you mention

 

This has been raised numerous times for the zero dollar industry, you really believe there is zero dollars for the people who process, operate and licence the tour industry market??

 

The industry of tourism is driven by the government and it provides exactly the type of tourist that they want, what they don't appear to want are residential western nation tourists.............

 

 

 

On 7/10/2020 at 2:03 PM, Expat Explore said:

Will tourism in Thailand recover anytime soon?

That's completely a function of government policy.  And their policy at the moment is to impose travel restriction that will literally choke the life out of the tourism industry.  Foreign tourist are not going to flock here by the millions given the current restrictions imposed by the government.  With that said, it's amazing that TAT seems to be living in a different dimension than the rest of the government.  It's as though TAT simply does not communicate with the segments of the government which set travel policy.  Either that or they see their role in the government as being one where they publish 'happy talk' which is completely counter to reality. 
"Happy Happy Joy Joy."

Even before Covid restrictions Thai IO's were turning people with valid visas issued in their home countries away saying "you been in Thailand too much/many times."  If foreigners have the money to spend and actuall like the country stop turning away frequent visitors  and making them feel unwanted. As long as they don't casue trouble let them stay and spend their money if causing trouble arrest and deport them for a time. Too mamy have been turned away with valid visas or for extending  or using Visa Exempt  ,don't think they will be returning and the few high end tourists that will go to Phuket, Samui ect will not support the majority of tourist service workers in Thailand especially areas like Pattaya/Jomtien (no world class beach)

On 7/12/2020 at 7:50 AM, Denim said:

While there is a xenophobic military government Thailand can kiss its tourist industry goodbye.

 

They are so incompetent it beggars belief.

 

As for encouraging expat travel around the country with half of them currently facing visa uncertainty .... no chance.

 

We have completed stopped spending money until we feel we are welcome here. No upgrade car, bike , furniture etc right now. Just food and utilities.

 

Seriously, you think previous governments were not incompetent? All good at lining their own, families and cronies pockets.

 

Just like Trudeau it seems too 555!