TAT forced to face reality: more than a third of the Thai tourist industry has gone bust

 

Image: Reuters

 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand are having to face reality after one of their own surveys showed them their rose tinted view was a complete sham.

 

Earlier in the week TAT governor Yutthasak Suphasorn - author of the failed STV scheme - claimed that 10 million foreign tourists would be arriving from midyear and, along with Thais, would be spending 1.2 TRILLION baht on the tourist industry this year.

 

This was greeted with incredulity in many areas.

 

Now the starry eyed governor has had to admit that little might be left of the tourist industry even if people worldwide start to travel again. A highly debatable question.

 

A TAT survey between January 10 and 12 asked 1,884 businesses how they were getting along. 

 

34.66% said they had already shut down and gone out of business.

 

Those that were left begged him to provide emergency assistance on utility bills and for staff wages.

 

Without this help they feared that they too would go under.

 

The TAT surveyed businesses in the areas of accommodation, travel firms, restaurants, vehicle rental companies and public transport businesses, reported Thai media.

 

The message came back loud and clear.

 

We've either gone bust or will do without immediate help.

 

A far cry from the governor's optimistic outlook just a few days before.

 

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4 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The message came back loud and clear.

 

We've either gone bust or will do without immediate help.

 

Unfortunately, it looks like a lot more will be going bust.

There is no immediate help coming from T.A.T. or the "government" to help the smaller businesses within the tourist industry.

6 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

A far cry from the governor's optimistic outlook just a few days before.

so what was that optimistic outlook based on ? no facts, just baseless hope ?

7 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

A TAT survey between January 10 and 12 asked 1,884 businesses how they were getting along. 

 

34.66% said they had already shut down and gone out of business.

 

If a business had shut and gone out of business how were TAT able to contact them? What about all the other businesses that had dissapeared completely and weren't contactable? What about all the small bars, street vendors and massage shops? The TAT stated percentage of 34.66% must be way, way under the real figure.

 

Well. allow tourists to come in following a proper PCR test, and if some have got the vaccine go easy on them and not this draconian 14 days incarceration costing lot of money, show flexibility and willingness to accommodate the above mentioned and oh yeah, stop silly tax on non existing tourist and things will get better...

"Forced to face reality"?

Geez..this is Thailand...

5 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

"Forced to face reality"?

Geez..this is Thailand...

Yeah, exactly.   What a brutal punishment 

 

24 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

so what was that optimistic outlook based on ? no facts, just baseless hope ?

 

based on the need to look good in front of one's superiors and tow the party line

 

just like everything else in thailand

 

 

Just now, GeorgeCross said:

 

based on the need to look good in front of one's superiors and tow the party line

 

just like everything else in thailand

 

 

 

I think that applies to most countries politicians. The USA and UK come to mind.

When 7-11s, Burger Kings, and Starbucks are closing down all over the place, the situation is not just bad its desperate and getting worse all the time.....Only removing all restrictions for tourist 100% could turn things around....

Edited January 23, 20215 yr by redwood1

Lets see, TAT will now redo the numbers of expected Tourists reduced by 34.66%.  Lets see if the numbers improve or they estimate more will arrive because of vaccinations worldwide.

32 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

TAT forced to face reality

Funniest thing I've read in a long time! Does reality even translate in this country???

TAT officials should be on suicide watch.

1 minute ago, KhunKenAP said:

TAT officials should be on suicide watch.

No, they are like mushrooms, live in the dark and thrive on BS!

38 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

author of the failed STV scheme

 

i assume he'll be doing the decent thing and stepping down?

 

lol

1 minute ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

i assume he'll be doing the decent thing and stepping down?

 

lol

 

I doubt it, that's for decent people!

5 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

When 7-11s, Burger Kings, and Starbucks are closing down all over the place, the situation is not just bad its desperate and getting worse all the time.....Only removing all restrictions for tourist 100% could turn things around....

 

europe tried that last summer..

 

didn't work out so good

 

spain just said country will be closed until AFTER the summer this year to stop a repeat and france, austrian and swiss ski resorts now closed to all but locals across the alps for the whole season

 

so yeah open up, then face the consequences

 

its done. all going bust i'm afraid, the gov just aren't interested in bailing them out

 

 

You would think that one's self-respect would encourage one to pluck numbers that might arguably bear some relation to real-world possibilities ... But no.

 

Meantime, all the pandemic news worldwide is getting worse, not better. Fears that the latest variants are not merely more infectious but more deadly too, and that the first round of vaccinations may be less effective than thought. Those fears may not turn out to be well-founded, but they are not entirely baseless for the moment.

43 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

so what was that optimistic outlook based on ? no facts, just baseless hope ?

I think the hope was based on hopelessness.

I would say more than 80% or 4/5 here in Pattaya.   

Government and police need to layoff at least half their staff and give that tax money back to those who have shut down and need sustenance.  

5 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Well. allow tourists to come in following a proper PCR test, and if some have got the vaccine go easy on them and not this draconian 14 days incarceration costing lot of money, show flexibility and willingness to accommodate the above mentioned and oh yeah, stop silly tax on non existing tourist and things will get better...

Exactly. I'm based in Saudi most of the time. Take a PCR test before travelling. On arrival I have 8 hours to get to my home. At home I register my location on the government app. Selfisolate at home for 48 hours until I take a free test at a drive in government testing facility. Get a message on my phone the next day with the results. If it's negative I'm good to go anywhere. Infection rates have been stable for months now at around 100-200 cases a day since they opened the country up. It's only people living in the coconut shell that is thailand who believe the 14 day thing is the only way to go. It's not. There are other ways that work too. We just have to learn to live with this virus. 

Very true. If a tourist wanted to venture to an island destination, they are all devastated by this shutdown. Was recently in Samui. 85% of the hotels were closed. Most restaurants, alot of bars, shops and other businesses were closed many permanently. Granted, there are some great hotel bargains right now. But, that environment is fairly depressing, seeing so much hardship. So, the lame authorities here need to wrap their minds around that. Tourists would be coming to a hugely diminished destination. Free quarantine? Might be a good place to start. Make some sacrifices, you incompetents. These issues and problems were becoming apparent long before Covid. And none were being addressed. That is part of my point. 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?

Major changes need to be made, if Thailand wants to continue to enjoy the cash cow of tourism. Travelers these days simply have too many choices. Creativity is required. Progress needs to be made. Thailand cannot continue to be one of the least progressive nations on earth, and expect foreigners to tolerate that degree of ignorance. These seeds were planted over a decade ago. The hapless army has accelerated the process dramatically. If Thailand had a qualified health minister, and a slightly intelligent tourism minister, they would stop this nonsense, and realize no tourism program requiring quarantine will ever work. Period. 

 

No sacrifices are being made or contemplated. No luxury or wine taxes are being reduced. Nothing is being done to address prior problems, or elevate the experience. Combined with a bloated baht, inconsistent and draconian immigration policy, major international egg on the face from recent decisions pertaining to the youth and opposition protestors, no way forward politically, horrendous air quality and environmental policies (or lack thereof), and a truly regressive dinosaur government, Thailand is losing its appeal for many. 
 
The Thai army. Moving Thailand backwards, and inflicting untold pain on it's people. Time to go, guys. The people need competency, and they are speaking loudly now. 

 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Those that were left begged him to provide emergency assistance on utility bills and for staff wages.

 

Without this help they feared that they too would go under.

 

 

Open up the cash box for all the money they are hoarding to prop up the baht. Spend it on your people, not a favorable exchange rate for billionaires to acquire homes and businesses in Europe and the US.

It took decades to build up Thailand's tourism industry and the infrastructure that goes with that. Anyone thinking long term would be devising some plan to preserve at least part of it for when, hopefully, the good times return. We're in danger of going into total meltdown, and starting again from base isn't going to be so easy, it's not like flicking a light switch.TAT should be thinking strategically, but that involves accepting certain realities, if not publicly at least privately, among themselves. I don't see any sign of this, rather a very reactionary response.

How tourism eventually returns is going to depend on those people that saved money due to the pandemic and it's restrictions versus those that have been made poor by the same.

Lets hope the former outnumber the latter.

1 hour ago, Thaiwrath said:

Unfortunately, it looks like a lot more will be going bust.

There is no immediate help coming from T.A.T. or the "government" to help the smaller businesses within the tourist industry.

Rolex watches aren't cheap. 

well at least he is starting to get it 

 

 

it is a really sad situation, the current lockdown in Pattaya seems pointless and damaging since by the Governors own figures they have had no virus detections for nearly a week now - why is everything still closed up

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Very true. If a tourist wanted to venture to an island destination, they are all devastated by this shutdown. Was recently in Samui. 85% of the hotels were closed. Most restaurants, alot of bars, shops and other businesses were closed many permanently. Granted, there are some great hotel bargains right now. But, that environment is fairly depressing, seeing so much hardship. So, the lame authorities here need to wrap their minds around that. Tourists would be coming to a hugely diminished destination. Free quarantine? Might be a good place to start. Make some sacrifices, you incompetents. These issues and problems were becoming apparent long before Covid. And none were being addressed. That is part of my point. 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?

Major changes need to be made, if Thailand wants to continue to enjoy the cash cow of tourism. Travelers these days simply have too many choices. Creativity is required. Progress needs to be made. Thailand cannot continue to be one of the least progressive nations on earth, and expect foreigners to tolerate that degree of ignorance. These seeds were planted over a decade ago. The hapless army has accelerated the process dramatically. If Thailand had a qualified health minister, and a slightly intelligent tourism minister, they would stop this nonsense, and realize no tourism program requiring quarantine will ever work. Period. 

 

No sacrifices are being made or contemplated. No luxury or wine taxes are being reduced. Nothing is being done to address prior problems, or elevate the experience. Combined with a bloated baht, inconsistent and draconian immigration policy, major international egg on the face from recent decisions pertaining to the youth and opposition protestors, no way forward politically, horrendous air quality and environmental policies (or lack thereof), and a truly regressive dinosaur government, Thailand is losing its appeal for many. 
 
The Thai army. Moving Thailand backwards, and inflicting untold pain on it's people. Time to go, guys. The people need competency, and they are speaking loudly now. 

 

TAT come out with these ideas to bring tourists back, but like you say, until the quarantine changes they aren't coming. I read one recently that people would come to Thailand for vaccination tours. Pay over the odds at a private thai hospital for a vaccination program but still including the quarantine. You just couldn't make it up. Who comes up with this stuff!? ???? Completely overlooking the fact that in most people's countries it's going to be free anyway, and they'll have had it way before Thailand gets any jabs, and NO ONE WANTS TO QUARANTINE!!! 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

TAT forced to face reality: more than a third of the Thai tourist industry has gone bust

 

wait until they wake up to the reality of what is coming this year...................no one.

Driven into the ground by greed incompetence a barraged of ridiculous laws and a government that is to cerebrally challenged the goose is cooked and dead ????