"Drastic" losses to Thai tourism with 1.57 TRILLION baht hit, admits tourism minister

[Bim Smith]

I thought creating misunderstandings was against the law in Thailand or are the Government exempt.

[AlfHuy]

If you don't hear from next week, I finally got promoted to the new "Tourism Minister".

 

I got the easy fix for Thailand:

Reduce the working week from 6 days to 1 day.

1 day working, 6 days holiday.

Give every Thai 60,000baht a week spending money and all 5 star hotels at 199baht a night, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, alcohol, massage.

Soon, all problems are gone.

 

Money from the submarines well spent.

[scammed]

.

[scammed]

6 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Send the bill to your mates in Beijing.  They let the Wuhan China virus out so they can make restitution to every country effected.

 

the shut down was self inflicted by the thai government,

though i acknowledge that most other governments

are also responsible by shutting down their economy

[paulbj2]

3 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

For some reason, I'm not feeling it for the Phuket tuk-tuk mafia and their families, you know the ones who want B200 to go a kilometer down the road...and if you have the temerity to negotiate tell you to get stuffed (at best). Sometimes karma can bite you in the behind sooner than expected.

Once I discovered Grab, I never again took a tuk-tuk. Why would anyone use those appalling, dirty, polluting heaps of <deleted> when Grab (and Uber when they were around) supply you with an air conditioned car driven by someone sane and helpful for a fraction of the price of a Tuk-tuk.

[AlfHuy]

11 minutes ago, paulbj2 said:

Once I discovered Grab, I never again took a tuk-tuk. Why would anyone use those appalling, dirty, polluting heaps of <deleted> when Grab (and Uber when they were around) supply you with an air conditioned car driven by someone sane and helpful for a fraction of the price of a Tuk-tuk.

took a tuk-tuk

 

that sounds funny. Tookatooktook ????

[Jeffr2]

42 minutes ago, scammed said:

the shut down was self inflicted by the thai government,

though i acknowledge that most other governments

are also responsible by shutting down their economy

And thus saving the lives of many.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The lack of foreign tourism in 2020 and the reluctance of Thais to travel to any great extent has resulted in catastrophic damage to the industry, notes Thaivisa.

So look inwards for the solution, foreign tourism is going to take a long time to feel comfortable with international travel, domestic travel is caught between those who can afford to travel and those who can't.

Adjust the prices so domestic Thais can afford to move around and try not to fleece them as the only customer through the door.

[vandeventer]

So much loss and thousands of retirees that wish they can come home. This government is crying with a mouth full of bread. Be smart, let them come back.

[aussienam]

4 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

But they already are.. I applied for my COE to come back next month, 100% painless, took less than 2 days start to finish, everything booked and arranged.. Every week they open a new class of visa, property owners, elite, wealthy etc.. On top of the already married, Thai family etc.. 

People need to view the howling old folks who cant work a website with significant scepticism.. OA needs insurance and 800k.. Show that for the over 50s and you you can have a COE to come next week. 

General tourism and quaratine free travel isnt there, but Thailand is hardly closed, and people making those claims are generally the pennyless ones who offer very limited upside for Thailand anyway. 

"Every week they open a new class of visa, property owners, elite, wealthy etc.. On top of the already married, Thai family etc.. "  WRONG.  I've been stranded 8 months and the different visa types has been very delayed spanning since lockdown.  Only recently were remaining OA visa holders/applicants able to apply.  

O visa holders are now forced to covert to OA, which for several reasons many cannot (go to expats stranded forums).  

The "howling old folks"?  Really?  You sound like a very heartless patronising individual.  I am in my 50s and computer savvy, applied now because I am finally eligible, but been hell. 

Depends where you are stranded, flight availability, backlog of applicants from that country, amount of available ASQs, etc, that all adds to further delays.  There are genuinely elder expats who are struggling to get back and who do struggle with technology.  Probably some fought in wars too for your country as well.  

[Harry Fingerling]

And that’s just tourism, their exports have gone south due to an artificially high baht which makes he tourism deficit look small.

[BigStar]

  

4 hours ago, DrTuner said:

I checked Mastercard's data source before. Government agencies -> TAT.

But passes the smell test via intelligent "third-party research and proprietary analysis" and so is widely accepted. Moreover, when you look at the myriad tables of stats comparing countries according to various variables, through the years, the numbers seem to make sense in the rational world. TAT: TVF enthusiastically agrees so whenever the numbers show a decrease, gleefully repeating the usual litany of jet ski scams, turds spotted in Pattaya bay, taxi ripoffs, broken pavements, unsmiling cashiers, dual pricing, blah blah. Of course, they repeat that all the time anyway.

 

So, with this latest nosedive, we've got nothing but agreement.???? TAT's got it exactly right now, as in 2009 and 2014.

 

It's only when anyone dares claim there's been an increase in tourism that suddenly all the stats are nonsense. Yet Bloomberg never quotes TAT: TVF barstool analysis that

 

This year, like the past 25 years, Thailand has had no tourists except zero-spending tourists from Russia, China, or India. Critical TVF Economic Indicators--the shopping bag count, the lines-at-the-bank count, the lights-on-at-night count, and the red plate count--are STILL flashing red while in a perpetual downward spiral. A total economic collapse is forecast for any day unless Thailand takes immediate steps to encourage the return of the Big Spending Golden Egg Layers via unrestricted, perpetual, free tourist visas, baht devaluation to THB100/GBPeso, bar fine price controls, and proper Thai servility in the presence of any Golden Egg Layer.

 

Problem is, if there were so few spending tourists to Thailand in recent decades, how could their absence now have possibly caused such economic devastation as is obvious to even the most near-sighted Eyeballs here?

 

As I noted, now TAT: TVF is caught in a most uncomfortable contradiction. To fully savor the deliciousness of this year's COVID disaster on tourism, they've got to accept the previous stats from TAT that they'd all enjoyed sneering at throughout last year.???? So which is it? I love this forum.

 

[Caldera]

I wonder how much additional money that is usually being spent "informally" by tourists hasn't even been accounted for. Also, as others have correctly pointed out, they still had most of the last high season, but the upcoming high season looks like a near total write-off.

[newnative]

    The big problem is everybody at the top, at all the ministries, thinks way too timid.  Too cover-your-ass safe.  Nobody goes bold.  Nobody thinks one bit outside the box.  Head down at all times.  Housing is in the tank.  Any bold ideas?  No.  Some talk about extending a tax break and that's about it so far.  Doesn't even rise to the rank of timid and not going to get the job done. 

    Buy a condo and get a visa?   Finally a great idea bubbles up awhile ago.  Get some more expats in, living here and spending money, and help the housing market at the same time.   A win-win.  Great idea ruined by the fine print.   Have no fine print.  Buy a condo, new or used, and get a 5 Year Visa.  Period.  Show you still own the condo after 5 years, or show you have bought another condo (the Newnative rule), and get a renewable extension for another 5 years.  Period.  Going hand in hand with this, be bold and suspend the condo foreign quota for 5 years.  Suspending it has been done before so it's not even that bold.  Maybe just eliminate it.   Anybody who has already bought and still owns a condo gets rewarded with a 10 year renewable visa.  Be bold.  Eliminate or at least suspend many of the immigration requirements, starting with the 90 day reporting and the age requirement for retirement visas.  Make the retirement  extensions for renters at least 2 years.  Streamline and simplify everything.

     When they do come up with something, it's usually way too complex and unworkable.   Always far too many cooks have had a hand, usually doing CYA, and it ends up an unpalatable mess.  That applies to all the 'schemes' TAT and Immigration have come up with.  And, the minister at the tippy top has shown no interest in or encouragement of bold ideas, while also offering none of his own. It's all timid, fumbling, don't rock the boat, muddle along, day after day.   So, Thailand finds itself not advancing on any fronts, and retreating on most.  Covid has changed everything; Thailand needs to boldly adapt and change with it. 

     

[Teee]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Blame, blame, blame. It was caused by anything but us. Without Covid, Thailand was heading toward a disastrous high season. Hotels at 50% occupancy, at a time when they are usually nearly full. So, Pipat. You need to admit what an utter failure you have been as tourism minister. You are an empty suit. 

 

These issues and problems were becoming apparent long before Covid. And none were being addressed. Tourism had been declining for years already. The numbers were up. But the quality of tourist was way down. And according to everyone I spoke to last year, the year before and the year before that, income was way, way down. So, "this blame it all on Covid scenario" is somewhat disengenuous. Sure, Covid is huge. And the drop now is stunning. But, my point is there were plenty of issues prior to Covid. And are any of them being addressed?

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

The source of the declining tourist sector over the past 3 years before covid, easy to work out.

High Bht...made almost everything expensive. Yes could get a Hotel deal that seemed cheap and taxi rides (if you could get an honest driver) was ok, but shopping and eating out was so expensive.

Many expats i know are struggling big time and even the foreign business owners are in trouble.

 

Now the question is; Who will blink first? Thai Govt or the departure of the Expats and Foreign Business owners?

 

 

 

 

[Teee]

2 hours ago, vandeventer said:

So much loss and thousands of retirees that wish they can come home. This government is crying with a mouth full of bread. Be smart, let them come back.

All the retirees that left Thailand this year for what ever reason and can not return, are at home....Thailand is just a retirees holiday home.

Thai govt not in any rush to allow old people back due to the fact Covid kills very old people so why should they let them back.

 

Such a shame this has happened this year, but in reality the Thai Govt over the last few years just not interested in having old people living in Thailand.

[UB40]

11 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Send the bill to your mates in Beijing.  They let the Wuhan China virus out so they can make restitution to every country effected.

Exactly. The super biological weapon Covid-19 is "Made in China"

... and now these wonderful people start buy up all insolvent business ...

[Black Angus]

I spent 10 years working for the Thai Tourist Police. I loved the Thai People and got on very well with them. I treated everyone fairly Proof of this was when I walked down the street in civies, some would  run after me and as why I not say Hello and the captain once asked during Songkran on his third trip with flowers "What is it with you and the flower girls"  I always found if you told them off in a humorous manner they didn't lose Face. It not the ordinary Thai but those in charge that has ruined the country mostly through. greed and fear.

Sadly because of them the Thailand that most of us loved and five to ten years to get  back to 50% of its tourist and I feel it will never in my lifetime reach the 100% mark of yesteryear.

  Thailand RIP

[UB40]

1 hour ago, Teee said:

Thai govt not in any rush to allow old people back due to the fact Covid kills very old people so why should they let them back.

Just wondering. Is it possible, that a 92 year old woman can just naturally die due to multiple organ failure.

There where antibodies found on her mucous membranes. 

Another man died by Covid-19. He crashed into a tree, after having a heart attack. Same thing. Antibodies = died by Covid ... 555

[daveAustin]

It will be worse than that when year is out. Jan-Sep includes the first quarter which was pretty much business as usual. Last three will be a washout. Hoping to kick it all off again while introducing mandatory non-insurance and mountains and mountains of paperwork will not business-as-usual make.

[Kadilo]

Bit of a surprise I must say as many of the TVF experts have been telling us it was pretty much business as usual for the Thais and tourism contributed so little to their economy. 

[ChakaKhan]

14 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

No more lies Thailand, no more lies.

Wishful Thinking Me Thinks TR  ????   Hope this wont affect my being "Hansum"......

[UKresonant]

Even if Thailand did open up, and there was not the pre-covid attitude trend mentioned earlier, an "open" Thailand would perhaps only be 1.2 Trillion down instead of 1.57 Trillion?

 

From a Europe and in particular UK perspective, there is not much of a market for Thailand to trawl at the moment I would think. Not nil but probably insignificant. Some those that were keen, may be loosing there motivation by now, studying the methodology and likely hood  of accessing a 2019 style holiday environment.????

 

In our area of the UK, one of our credible medical experts is predicting that, the Xmas dinner get-together this year shall be over video link!

[Albert Zweistein]

12 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yes right. Meanwhile in the real world, WHO recognizes that Thailand has handled the pandemic brilliantly compared to all those wonderful "first world" nations in Europe, the US, Aussie etc. They all put money before people and are now enjoying their second lockdowns, curbs and curfews. 

 

Dumb idea not to close the borders and have millions affected.

Those "first world"nations in Europe, US and Astralia are not ruled by generals.

[Stargeezr]

Let the expats in, who have property, give them all the STV,   then thank them for returning 

when they arrive. If they have to do a 21 week quarantine, then give them the information, where

they can expect to stay, in the nearest city to where they will be living while in Thailand.

Is this too much to ask TAT, and Thai government, or will you just be relying on your

300 plus Chinese for this high season and Winter? It is time to get off your *sses and

do something besides change your rules and most recent schemes. Soon it will be November and if I am right that is the beginning of High Season, right? Otherwise, live with your losses, and own them,

as it will be your fault for your losses, TAT and Thai government of Immigration and the PM.

Geezer

[Fex Bluse]

@sandyf I'm super surprised the domestic Thai tourism could not make up the loss. 

[mr mr]

18 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

No more lies Thailand, no more lies

shoot no more thailand then ? 

[ndreamer]

41 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

@sandyf I'm super surprised the domestic Thai tourism could not make up the loss. 

some dodgy hotels made bank with these domestic rebates. Domesic depends on international & international investments. 

It will be years before things get back to normal, maybe much longer

[DBath]

18 hours ago, jackdd said:

This was just the low season, the losses in the high season will probably be a multitude of this.

1.5 trillion even for that period is too low. 2019 saw 1.9 trillion baht revenue from International tourism and 1.3 trillion for domestic.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

@sandyf I'm super surprised the domestic Thai tourism could not make up the loss. 

Such sarcastic wit you have sir. 

 

As I see it all types of tourists need money to travel, even domestics which have very little except for day to day life, living hand to mouth.  Wonder how the Government is counting the money they have given the Thai's to travel, and the 3000 baht schemes for daily expenses.  Makes me think they will count is a gain in tourism revenue and not a loss from the coffers.  Robbing Peter to pay Paul, but its still going into the system I guess.  This Government is blind to everything and its severity unless it digs into there pocket books.