Thailand's Struggling Inbound Tourism documentary

[Baht Simpson]

A rather good Asian Insight documentary from NHK Japan regarding Thailand's tourism problems.  Available on NHK VOD until 30th October.

 

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2022314/

 

 

[86Tiger]

Is pretty good video

[Poet]

Quote

"Everyone is hoping international travel will resume. That would jumpstart the economy ... Thailand was able to develop its economy long-term because of tourism revenue. That was key to the nation's growth"

Chaiyong Chareanmuang
Special Lecturer, Tourism Hospitality Industry
Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

This is absolutely true but, unfortunately, runs against the narrative of the hyper-nationalists who seized the country by force.

The sitting government will remain unable to address this massive problem rationally because it literally cannot see the reality that foreign money underpins the entire economy.

The tour guide featured in this video was able to fall back on family support and is pulling her life back together from the comfort of her parents' home in a gated community. The three ladyboy dancers have found low-level restaurant work paying roughly a dollar per hour, but have to dip into their savings to survive. One says that she now has no savings left. The restaurant does not appear to be very busy, depending on students and office workers. You have to wonder how all these new workers flooding into the restaurant business are affecting the existing restaurant workers - how far can that diminished pie be divided?

Thailand keeps moving thanks to the momentum of half-a-century of growth fueled by foreign spending, but neither the situation of the tour guide nor the dancers is sustainable. The tuktuk drivers appear to have already exhausted their options and are mostly just sitting around, broke. That's a flammable situation.
 

Quote

"Without foreign tourists, Khaosan has lost its vitality. We're now changing our strategy to target Thai people instead of foreigners ... In the past, foreign tourists shopped from 10 am until the evening, but now the streets are empty during those hours ... we're trying to get Thais to come in the evening. We can't succeed unless we change ourselves and our stores"

Sauga Ruangwattanakul
Chairman, Khaosan Business Association

So, for example, one bar is reducing prices by 30% to attract Thais. The owner warns his staff that if sales drop he will have to drop their wages - presumably they weren't exactly high earners in the first place. The owner explains to the documentary makers that his rent is too high, but he is hanging on because he believes that Khaosan will soon return to normal.

As long as the faction in charge believe that foreigners are both undesireable and unnecessary, there will be no return to normal and the majority of the population are heading towards a cliff.

 

[Orton Rd]

NHK mess it up as usual by playing pointless music over narration, can hardly hear what is said, not so bad when it gets going