Chiang Mai hotels urged to open for tourist surge

By THE NATION

 

 

Chiang Mai tourism authorities are concerned that many hotels and tour agencies remain closed as the province prepares for a surge of tourists from the government’s travel-stimulus scheme.

 

Punlop Sae-Jew, who chairs the local Tourism Council of Thailand branch, said Chiang Mai has shown little interest in opening to tourism because this time is traditionally regarded as the low season.

 

Responding to complaints from hotel operators that it was not worth reopening with occupancy rates below 12 per cent, Punlop pointed out that by opening hotels operators would at least gain some revenue.

 

Meanwhile of the approximately 1,000 tour agencies in the province, 80 per cent remained closed while 20 per cent were focusing on running their business via online channels, he added.

 

Since late March, Chiang Mai has lost at least Bt30 billion in tourism revenue. Visitors normally generate at least Bt70 billion for the province between January and July.

 

However, Chiang Mai expects to receive at least Bt100 billion from visitors within this third quarter thanks to government subsidies for domestic tourists. Punlop said his branch aimed to collaborate with airlines to attract more people from other regions to Chiang Mai. Local accommodation and restaurant operators had prepared packages to lure domestic tourists with strict Covid-19 control measures, he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30392007

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-07-28

 

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A surge of domestic tourists.

Good luck.

35 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

A surge of domestic tourists.

A surge of verbal excrement by the authorities, more like.  

As of end July, the night bazaar area is like a ghost town and Doi Inthanon national park is still shut.

Surge?

Was at an Elephant camp last week.

They are expecting so many visitors in the future, that they've plowed up all the land, where they previously grew elephant fodder, and started growing rice.

I suspect they've predicted the future better than the Chiang Mai tourism Authority.

 

Well this month we've allready had 2 4 day weekends for domestic tourists to "surge" all over the country...maybe they plan 4 day weekends as "the new normal"

4 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

A surge of domestic tourists.

Exactly !! ha!

5 hours ago, webfact said:

a surge of tourists from the government’s travel-stimulus scheme.

Missed this news.  From what I have read, there are no plans for letting in tourists

"If you open them, they will come."

Poor Chiang Mai

 

It seriously overestimated itself, knocked out all the budget dives
took away the chilled vibe that it had garnered
and swallowed the Chinese invasion whole
so many upmarket hotels to cater for Chinese
The bloody convoys of TUK TUKs 
THe stupid party scene at Zoe in Yellow and the hostels that followed creating a party booze culture for stupid young farang who only hit Thailand to Party and tick the destination  boxes.

They ripped the heart out of that 'city'

 

The police with their regular roadblocks the no helmet no licence 'tea fine' good for 4 days you carry paper.

The Chinese bus tours to the Fruit market the stupid stores that sell about half a dozen ittems for the Chinese.

Loi Kroh with its sad tired old bars with even sadder tired old bar girls th only sadder place for those type of women is Georgetown Penang the equivalent of an Elephant Graveyard.

CM was never a tourist destination, was never meant to be not as they designed it.
it was the gateway to Pai, the Mae Hong Song Loop, nothing more.

The elephant camps long gone strange that such a revered animal would not be government subsidised during this time.
not so revered.

Tourism changes a dynamic and very very few places get that 

Sometimes it better just to stay holed up in the hotel in Germany than visit Chiang Mai

 

How long is this government scheme supposed to last? 

48 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

"If you open them, they will come."

Are we talking about loy kroh girls?

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Was at an Elephant camp last week.

They are expecting so many visitors in the future, that they've plowed up all the land, where they previously grew elephant fodder, and started growing rice.

I suspect they've predicted the future better than the Chiang Mai tourism Authority.

 

Somebody has been a busy bee!  Giving the misses a break ????

29 minutes ago, andy72 said:

Poor Chiang Mai

 

It seriously overestimated itself, knocked out all the budget dives
took away the chilled vibe that it had garnered
and swallowed the Chinese invasion whole
so many upmarket hotels to cater for Chinese
The bloody convoys of TUK TUKs 
THe stupid party scene at Zoe in Yellow and the hostels that followed creating a party booze culture for stupid young farang who only hit Thailand to Party and tick the destination  boxes.

They ripped the heart out of that 'city'

 

The police with their regular roadblocks the no helmet no licence 'tea fine' good for 4 days you carry paper.

The Chinese bus tours to the Fruit market the stupid stores that sell about half a dozen ittems for the Chinese.

Loi Kroh with its sad tired old bars with even sadder tired old bar girls th only sadder place for those type of women is Georgetown Penang the equivalent of an Elephant Graveyard.

CM was never a tourist destination, was never meant to be not as they designed it.
it was the gateway to Pai, the Mae Hong Song Loop, nothing more.

The elephant camps long gone strange that such a revered animal would not be government subsidised during this time.
not so revered.

Tourism changes a dynamic and very very few places get that 

Sometimes it better just to stay holed up in the hotel in Germany than visit Chiang Mai

 

Funfact I used to Dj at the original tiny Zoe..until the turks ran Yanni out-took a whisky bottle to the head!

15 minutes ago, andy72 said:

They ripped the heart out of that 'city'

555   well, you got a lot into that one post.   most of  it true, and a bit funny .  I met one of my true

loves on Loi kroa  many moons ago.   A black magic woman from Buriram.   A khymer princess who

stole my heart and punctured it a few times.  

I remember riding my mountain bike, maybe the first in CM ..... down Huay keow road to the dirt road

which lead to Huay tung tao.   Strawberry farms ...forever ... gone.

Don't know if I ever thought of CM as having a "heart".   No, it was not heartless, just a nice place to

have some variety and easy access to some city stuff.  But it was a Thai city.  No internet, no farang bakeries or pizza shops or Rimpings.   

Now the pioneers are buried or gasping their last breaths.  Poor Gonzo has been hanging on by a thread

(though not his first on TV )   Rumak has come and gone a few times.  Out to the country,  now back

to my home in the city.  Strange times everywhere.  

Tourists ?  guess they have come and gone as well.  Seems to me that everyone is walking around in

a daze,  wondering what next will appear on our tablets.   Or is it take two tablets and go to bed ?

"they"  are ripping the heart out of the world.    Or is it just me ???

They can open what they want but everywhere is dead. I felt sick walking on the beaches of Koh Samui and seeing nothing but CLOSED signs.

They can open the airport but nobody will travel yet with the cost of quarantine.  

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Chiang Mai tourism authorities are concerned that many hotels and tour agencies remain closed as the province prepares for a surge of tourists from the government’s travel-stimulus scheme.

Open for 4 days of madness then what.... sit around waiting for the odd Thai tourist to come and stay?

Hotels that have been closed for a while need to be cleaned and made ready, staff need to be re-employed and the kitchen/bar etc all stocked.

After the weekend what will they do when everyone has gone again, pay staff to sit around doing nothing.

Sense say's they will remain closed until it's justifiable to re-open. 

After 10 years of visiting of Thailand, I finally managed to go to Chiang Mai last September and it was very quiet. The locals were saying it was the quietest in years, hardly any Chinese about, most of happy ending massage girls had go to Malaysia to work and the standard of the bar girls was on par with Kanchanaburi.

 

I had a look around Zoe in Yellow which was quiet. I walked along the river front and the old city, took some good photos. I did see a video of Zoe in Yellow from last week and it was dead, the whole place must be quiet without any tourists.

4 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

After 10 years of visiting of Thailand, I finally managed to go to Chiang Mai last September and it was very quiet. The locals were saying it was the quietest in years, hardly any Chinese about, most of happy ending massage girls had go to Malaysia to work and the standard of the bar girls was on par with Kanchanaburi.

 

I had a look around Zoe in Yellow which was quiet. I walked along the river front and the old city, took some good photos. I did see a video of Zoe in Yellow from last week and it was dead, the whole place must be quiet without any tourists.

What did you do in regards to not being able to get a happy ending massage ?

How did you manage ?

6 hours ago, rumak said:

I met one of my true

loves on Loi kroa  many moons ago.   A black magic woman from Buriram.   A khymer princess who

stole my heart and punctured it a few time

Shes still working the bars in Loi Kroh, if you want to go back and visit her again 

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

Shes still working the bars in Loi Kroh, if you want to go back and visit her again 

hmmmmm .   food for thought.    First i'll have to google "how do 2 people in wheelchairs make love" 

 

 

For some strange reason, it's "low season" now in Chiang Mai, even though everywhere is lush & green.  Best time of the year to visit.  But Thai tourists follow the crowd, & think cool season is best, so they can fill their lungs with pm2.5 pollution.  Strange people...

 

Same with Pai.  Crowded out at New Year when dry & brown.  Awesome at this time of the year ???? 

7 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Hotels that have been closed for a while need to be cleaned and made ready,

Therein lies a huge problem for the businesses as I understand it, they have to reach a certain criteria and then be inspected, which means they best make sure they have pre purchased a lot of brown envelopes!