Pattaya: Grim picture for future of resort as post pandemic optimism dries up

[Hotrudester]

We have just returned this afternoon to our home near Lopburi after 1 week in Pattaya. We were amazed at the lack of any positive activity or anything being open for business until Friday evening when suddenly the roads, pavements and beach went back to the Pattaya of a year ago. So the long weekenders had come to enjoy time away. This busy frantic activity continued until Monday lunchtime. By this morning (Tuesday) the city was back to being a ghost town. There were no traffic jams or delays. Virtually all the places that had opened for the holiday weekend were closed again. Our beach front hotel which was fully booked on Friday and Saturday and almost full on Sunday had 4 guests left apart from us this morning. So 5 rooms out of 92. Our main memory was the thousands and thousands of 'For Sale' signs we saw around the city. Very sad and probably even worse to come?

[Almer]

7 hours ago, Oldie said:

If I look at the many open air bars - they are just very simple and cheap constructions. If they go bust not much investment is lost. It is a different story for hotels and shopping malls for instance. Here also the banks might suffer. 

When the banks suffer we all suffer.

[0815]

Who still believes the BS that domestic travellers and expats would (could) spend that much money that businesses could survive, please go buy a calculator.

[BernieOnTour]

7 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

A lot of people’s life savings are going up in smoke . It’s almost like the banks are waiting to take property and goods and will only be too happy to reset everybody to zero so they can come back to the banks and get even more debt to start up again. None of this makes any sense !

in the end, I assume a different scenario:

- all small businesses and small hotels gone

- only international hotel chains and hotels of the “big families” survive

- the diverse style of Pattaya (and Phuket) is converted to an “All-inclusive paradise”

 

... similar to what happened in the Dominican Republic years ago ...

[jacko45k]

9 minutes ago, noone223 said:

And for the good news, ladies and gentleman,

over 15000 immigration officials have been fired since the Covid19 crisis started.

 

 

For real?

[tribalfusion001]

6 minutes ago, BernieOnTour said:

in the end, I assume a different scenario:

- all small businesses and small hotels gone

- only international hotel chains and hotels of the “big families” survive

- the diverse style of Pattaya (and Phuket) is converted to an “All-inclusive paradise”

 

... similar to what happened in the Dominican Republic years ago ...

Yes, the likely scenario, the one's with the deepest pockets will survive. A lot smaller hotels and bars will go bust in European resorts depending on whether that country has quarantine restrictions imposed of them, but at least in Europe it's open unlike Asia.

[BernieOnTour]

49 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Thailand needs courageous leadership. They don't have it.

... not only Thailand! Also Germany, Spain, Australia, ..., 

 

28 minutes ago, Cadan said:

Next year March 2021 maybe if a vaccine is ready and no mandatory quarantine. 

Forget it! Who is so stupid to take a vaccine, developed and tested in less than year?

Add in to that: most of the vaccines based on some RNA/DNA segments - nice idea, to be a guinea pig in a huge gene experiment...

[Oldie]

11 minutes ago, BernieOnTour said:

in the end, I assume a different scenario:

- all small businesses and small hotels gone

- only international hotel chains and hotels of the “big families” survive

- the diverse style of Pattaya (and Phuket) is converted to an “All-inclusive paradise”

 

... similar to what happened in the Dominican Republic years ago ...

For sure they also will provide all inclusive bars to make the paradise perfect. 

[Chivas]

The ruling Junta are not going to lose face over this. Thailand is closed for the forseeable and at least until a vaccine is distributed worldwide and proven to be effective.

You want no restrictions/quarantines than think end of 2022 at the earliest.

As I said in the finance section yesterday Thailands financial coffers are at record levels with foreign currency and could sit this pandemic out for years and years.

 

The tourism industry is being decimated but its of no consequence to the ruling party and they simply wont lose face whatsoever over the potential of Covid being spread throughout the population

[mike787]

It's all over.  No more...shut it ALL down.

[Eric Loh]

Went to Phuket and the same sort of grim situation. No shops opened and beach deserted. 

[SupermarineS6B]

Look at the mess this lot have caused, complete destruction of one of the best tourist destinations in the world, and now as all losers do they're going to roll out the tanks shortly......    All this could be stopped within one week if they just opened the doors, give the visas out, and keep off the backs of farangs and it would all fall back into place.......  But oh no, now they want blood..........   Idiots.........  

I knew the day they knocked down Cheap Charlies then carried on destroying all the farangs favourite bars and discos up and down Sukhumvit that this lot didn't give a flying F^%$# about farangs or the Thai people.........   Sadly to save the old Thailand that we all loved there will have to be some heavy duty action........  I believe it's coming.....

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Huckenfell said:

So wrong!  you obviously have not the slightest idea of the pleasure and love which you have missed through your decision not to have children. A big and selfish mistake indeed.

It isn't about him. It's about the kind of world that his kids would have to endure in the future. Bob Dylan wrote in the 60s about 'the fear to bring children into this world'. Such thoughts aren't new.

[DrTuner]

It's a welcome cleanup. Traffic is almost alright now, too. Let the strongest survive.

[SupermarineS6B]

18 minutes ago, Chivas said:

The ruling Junta are not going to lose face over this. Thailand is closed for the forseeable and at least until a vaccine is distributed worldwide and proven to be effective.

You want no restrictions/quarantines than think end of 2022 at the earliest.

As I said in the finance section yesterday Thailands financial coffers are at record levels with foreign currency and could sit this pandemic out for years and years.

 

The tourism industry is being decimated but its of no consequence to the ruling party and they simply wont lose face whatsoever over the potential of Covid being spread throughout the population

Yeah, but they might lose the battle........  

[GAZZPA]

8 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

A lot of people’s life savings are going up in smoke . It’s almost like the banks are waiting to take property and goods and will only be too happy to reset everybody to zero so they can come back to the banks and get even more debt to start up again. None of this makes any sense !

Property crash to follow, it has to happen. Might be that a property crash will spark some investment but I doubt it. I don't care if it sounds  like doom and gloom the facts are people were already leaving Pattaya before COVID and all it has done is accelerate the decline. Thailand expat days and long term tourists are gone, it will be decades before a new direction is decided for the resort, until then it will fall further into depravity with no income for workers and no investment. Can't say they didn't create the problem for themselves,, I wonder if the die hard, Pattaya defenders who live in denial will finally admit that it is a serious problem with no short term fix? If I was a retiree using Pattaya as my "late in life" playground I would be looking to get out as quickly as possible and going somewhere else... 

[tribalfusion001]

2 minutes ago, SupermarineS6B said:

Yeah, but they might lose the battle........  

That is true, at the moment they have their country back, but the realisation will sink in that things are not going to improve and then the people will get angry.

[NCC1701A]

I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.

[KarenBravo]

The vast majority of true tourists stay no longer than a couple of weeks.

A true tourist doesn't need a visa as they can either get a visa exempt entry, or, a visa-on-arrival.

These give you thirty days and are extendable. More than ample time for the type of tourists the government want.

Why then is it that some posters are advocating easing the existing visa regulations?

Could it be that they're conflating what's good for Thailand and what's good for themselves?

[GAZZPA]

27 minutes ago, BernieOnTour said:

... not only Thailand! Also Germany, Spain, Australia, ..., 

 

Forget it! Who is so stupid to take a vaccine, developed and tested in less than year?

Add in to that: most of the vaccines based on some RNA/DNA segments - nice idea, to be a guinea pig in a huge gene experiment...

Actually it is not developed and tested in less than 1 year. The vaccine has been in development for about 5 years, the accelerated bit is the adjusting for it to specifically target COVID, do a bit of research. To develop a brand new vaccine in 1 year is impossible. So, my view is you would be stupid not to take it. I guess it's up to you..

[tribalfusion001]

1 minute ago, KarenBravo said:

The vast majority of true tourists stay no longer than a couple of weeks.

A true tourist doesn't need a visa as they can either get a visa exempt entry, or, a visa-on-arrival.

These give you thirty days and are extendable. More than ample time for the type of tourists the government want.

Why then is it that some posters are advocating easing the existing visa regulations?

Could it be that they're conflating what's good for Thailand and what's good for themselves?

That was pre covid, 2 week quarantine will make 30 day exempt or VOA useless.

[SupermarineS6B]

3 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Revelation...... how apt....... 

[tribalfusion001]

5 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

Actually it is not developed and tested in less than 1 year. The vaccine has been in development for about 5 years, the accelerated bit is the adjusting for it to specifically target COVID, do a bit of research. To develop a brand new vaccine in 1 year is impossible. So, my view is you would be stupid not to take it. I guess it's up to you..

Depends if covid-19 is likely to affect you or not, same as the flu jab. I'm sure entry into some countries if all not countries will require a covid-19 jab, it won't be a mandatory vaccine just encouraged. Free for under 16s and over 75s and certain health conditions, everyone pay for it and mega profits.

[GAZZPA]

3 hours ago, Guderian said:

Pattaya will survive, but it will change, and in some ways the changes will be exactly what the government claims it has been wanting for the last 15 years or more. Somebody should have told them to be careful what they wish for. There are enough Thais and expats living here to keep the most important businesses going, there's certainly no sign of the likes of Friendship, Siamburi's and Foodmart going under any time soon. Outside the tourist area, which is a relatively small part of the total city, not much has changed. It's the places like Beach Road, Second Road, Soi Buakhao, and parts of Jomtien and Naklua that will suffer most. Fewer cheap bars and hotels and restaurants, fewer shops selling tourist tat, and fewer convenience stores. A ghastly situation for the business owners concerned, but it's just possible with sufficient government support that they might be able to remodel those areas to provide better quality facilities built with sustainable tourism in mind. It's not what you'd like if you are wedded to the Pattaya of the past, but it was changing slowly anyway, this will speed up the changes and we may end up with a much nicer city to live in.

You might be right, but remember that if the majority of the tourist money goes away absolutely everything suffers. The expat shops like Friendship and Foodmart will always have expat customers but they are declining, I am willing to bet their profits have been falling for sure. Remember Pattaya is built on the trade from Beach Road, Jomtien, Soi Buakhao and Naklua. There is nothing else to the city if tourism is dead. The closest alternative trade is Laemchabang with factories and shipping. It might feel ok for a retiree's living on a secure pension who now live in a quite dead seaside town but it is not good for the local economy. 

[bkk6060]

16 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

I was a retiree using Pattaya as my "late in life" playground I would be looking to get out as quickly as possible and going somewhere else..

Totally ridiculous are you jealous? I guess you do not get it.  

For many of us this is actually a great time to be here.

Everything I enjoy in my retirement is 1/2 to 1/3 of normal prices.

Add no crowds, buses, and competition for certain activities.

My lifestyle is same as before but much better.

Sad for the businesses who cannot recover.  But for residents it is the best by far I have experienced in 10 years.  I would not want to be any place else enjoying life tremendously!

[epicking]

Landlords dont help much.
My Girlfriend has a Massage clinic with her sister. They made a deal with him of 70% rent until January, 21 on the condition that they closed and not did business or stayed there.
He just called the other day and said no-more. Either pay full rent now or get out.

[SupermarineS6B]

22 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

That is true, at the moment they have their country back, but the realisation will sink in that things are not going to improve and then the people will get angry.

Nobody was taking their country off them, this is just the powers that be selling the place to their cousins......   Without consulting the people of Thailand.........   When the people finally twig it there'll be blood........  

[rumak]

3 hours ago, Guderian said:

we may end up with a much nicer city to live in.

good post.  i was not really ready to agree with the sentence above,  but you did use the word city.  In that respect the loss of many tourist shops and their attitudes will not be missed.

 

would not be my cup of tea (like it was 20 years ago) ,  but those times have passed for many of us anyway.   it is a city, with traffic and lots of people.  That does appeal to many.

 

i now choose to look for "relaxing" beach areas ,   where i can actually see the water without an umbrella in my face or someone hawking dried squid.    i have no complaints though,  we need cities to attract all the people that i do not want to be around  ????

[GAZZPA]

14 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Totally ridiculous are you jealous? I guess you do not get it.  

For many of us this is actually a great time to be here.

Everything I enjoy in my retirement is 1/2 to 1/3 of normal prices.

Add no crowds, buses, and competition for certain activities.

My lifestyle is same as before but much better.

Sad for the businesses who cannot recover.  But for residents it is the best by far I have experienced in 10 years.  I would not want to be any place else enjoying life tremendously!

I can kind of understand what you are saying. Am I jealous, do I want to be in dead, run down seaside resort in a developing country, erm, no... The issue for most people is they didn't settle in Pattaya for a sleepy seaside lifestyle, they went there for it's bars, nightlife, ladies, food etc, so maybe ok for you but for the majority it won't be. Also if it keeps going downhill it will effect your quality of life because poor facilities, lack of choice, no money etc. As I said there will be retirees who are on a secure pension who won't care that it is quiet as a church graveyard but for most it is a disaster.

[GAZZPA]

25 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Depends if covid-19 is likely to affect you or not, same as the flu jab. I'm sure entry into some countries if all not countries will require a covid-19 jab, it won't be a mandatory vaccine just encouraged. Free for under 16s and over 75s and certain health conditions, everyone pay for it and mega profits.

Yes all true. Mega profits for drug companies but it will stop the virus, quite important point that considering what it has done to the global economies. i still think Pattaya will not recover quickly though because it is already the city of "for sale" signs. No business person keeps flogging a dead horse forever so all the great things about Pattaya with small independent restaurants, shops etc will be gone.