Thailand previews difficult life without tourists

[snoop1130]

A man walks at the empty Karon beach on Phuket Island, Thailand in April 1, 2021. Picture taken April 1, 2021 with a drone. REUTERS/Jorge Silva - RC2E1N9OLSIF

 

Thailand looks ill-prepared for life without tourists as a fresh wave of contagion hits. The Southeast Asian country needs to wean itself off this economic crutch, but political instability stands in the way.

 

Gorgeous beaches, spicy food and temples draw a steady stream of travellers. The industry generated $60 billion in international tourism receipts in 2019, with each arrival spending $1,520 on average per visit, making it one of the world’s most profitable destinations. World Bank data put the industry’s total contribution to GDP at $100 billion in 2018, about one-fifth of activity.

 

Hopes of a sharp rebound in visitors have now been dashed. Infections began shooting up around the same time as in India, showing a similar rise. The government, run by former general Prayuth Chan-ocha, failed to secure enough vaccines; Thailand has fewer shots per capita than Myanmar or Laos, per an Oxford University study.

 

Reuters estimates only 1% of the population has been fully jabbed. That makes it near impossible for Bangkok to pitch travel bubbles, especially with markets like China where inoculation has also proceeded slowly, making officials wary of re-opening borders.

 

Finance officials have now revised down their 2021 GDP growth forecast to 2.3% from 2.8%. The central bank held the benchmark interest rate steady at 0.5% on Wednesday, which leaves a little room to ease but not much. A weak baht is a blessing because the exports of goods and services account for a whopping 60% of Thai GDP, making it one of the most export-dependent economies in the world.

 

Thailand already suffers from the “middle-income trap”, and signs of stagnation are increasing. The poverty rate has been rising since 2015 per World Bank data. Tourism pads such traps by creating jobs for low-skilled people, but it doesn’t upgrade their skills much. Nor do hotels, restaurants and massage parlours generate much innovation. In Thailand, tourists also support darker industries: prostitution and narcotics.

 

An indefinite tourism freeze puts pressure on the government to upgrade other parts of the economy, especially the key electronics, automotive and health sectors. And it will be a struggle to attract foreign direct investment against the backdrop of a simmering pro-democracy protest movement. But simply waiting for foreign visitors to return is not an option.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-05-06

 

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[internationalism]

get over it, it's 1 year since it should be realised, that tourist infastructure will gradually be put to other use or disintegrate, and those working there long ago changed their jobs. The fittest will survive.

The fastest those poorly doing will close down and look for less profitable alternatives, the better for the others to prosper.

it was a very nice, easy money earner, but won't back soon.

[connda]

Thailand is a very confused country.

First Thailand cries that it no longer has adequate tourist revenues, then its citizens vote to kick all foreigners out of their communities while Thai media is busy bashing foreigners for "misdeeds" (like failure to wear a mask) while ignoring the hundreds of Thais who fail to do the same.  (Foreigners = Bad; Thais = Good)

Then when tourists fail to return because they either have heard via word of mouth from friends that the Thai Smile is only around as long as there is money to be made, and that under that Thai rictus-grin lies a heart of xenophobia and a less than subtle dislike of all foreign outsiders - or - they encounter a fear-produced and sustained regulatory gauntlet of rules, regulations, requirements, and quarantines that simply makes vacationing in Thailand too much of a hassle to deal with and tourists opt to travel to destinations and spend their vacation dollars in countries which are more welcoming.

And Thailand will never understand, they will never make the connection, they will not "get it."  In the end, foreigners will take the brunt of the blame.  (Foreigner = Bad; Thai = Good)
They need to find a different math.

[WineOh]

Thailand doesn't deserve tourists.

Edited May 6, 2021 by WineOh

[kimamey]

2 minutes ago, connda said:

Thailand is a very confused country.

First Thailand cries that it no longer has adequate tourist revenues, then its citizens vote to kick all foreigners out of their communities while Thai media is busy bashing foreigners for "misdeeds" (like failure to wear a mask) while ignoring the hundreds of Thais who fail to do the same.  (Foreigners = Bad; Thais = Good)

Then when tourists fail to return because they either have heard via word of mouth from friends that the Thai Smile is only around as long as there is money to be made, and that under that Thai rictus-grin lies a heart of xenophobia and a less than subtle dislike of all foreign outsiders - or - they encounter a fear-produced and sustained regulatory gauntlet of rules, regulations, requirements, and quarantines that simply makes vacationing in Thailand too much of a hassle to deal with and tourists opt to travel to destinations and spend their vacation dollars in countries which are more welcoming.

And Thailand will never understand, they will never make the connection, they will not "get it."  In the end, foreigners will take the brunt of the blame.  (Foreigner = Bad; Thai = Good)
They need to find a different math.

I've never noticed this attitude from Thais in Isaan where I live or in general but I do think it may exist in government circles which means it has a greater effect.

 

I don't know about the Thai smile but Thai politeness exits but with limits. Anyone who claims Thais are always polite has never driven on Thai roads.

[WineOh]

1 minute ago, kimamey said:

I've never noticed this attitude from Thais

I notice it every day.

[brewsterbudgen]

The Chinese will be back in their hordes, once they can get back in!

[Mavideol]

Thailand previews difficult life without tourists

 

maybe that means they would open their eyes and ease their sh..ty visa requirements and the way they treat foreigners (I know, I know... wishful thinking)

[Mavideol]

4 minutes ago, WineOh said:

I notice it every day.

and that makes 2 of us

[Forrests Father]

I am sure that TAT has a new concept tomorrow to bring in a yet undiscovered target group of big spenders.

[connda]

12 minutes ago, kimamey said:

I've never noticed this attitude from Thais in Isaan

I've lived within fully Thai communities in Isaan, Bangkok, and Northern Thailand.  If you are under the illusion that you as a foreigner are somehow accepted as part of their culture, then you are simply fooling yourself.  Thais can be polite, but don't think that means you are accepted as part of their community or part of their culture. You are not.  I even spent a full Rain Retreat as a Buddhist monk is a region where I was the only foreigner, and trust me, even there the "respect" was at best paper thin.  Not all Thais, but quite a significant number were...unaccepting, and that nonacceptance had everything to do with me being kon chart dang - an outsider from a different country - i.e., Not A Thai.

Edited May 6, 2021 by connda

[papa al]

12 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

and that makes 2 of us

You gents so sensitive; or ...

people get what they give.?

Thai people nice to papa.

100%. 

[Mavideol]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The industry generated $60 billion in international tourism receipts in 2019           

Thailand previews difficult life without tourists

 

 

they said tourists/tourism were (was) not that important, it was small money.... it appears the money was not that small after all,  otherwise they wouldn't miss the tourists

[Blumpie]

26 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The Chinese will be back in their hordes, once they can get back in!

It's going to be many many years before that happens.  Many years.  They are just not inoculating as fast as they should there, and they really don't care.  

I believe they realize it's another form of control that has suddenly just happened and nobody really cares about it either.  Chinese are wary of the virus, unlike most.  

[BenDeCosta]

What is it that irks so many visitors to Thailand?

 

The litter strewn beaches? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The awkward visa requirements, especially for people that want to visit regularly? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The poor standard of spoken English spoken by the majority of Thais, even within the hospitality industry? Again, that could be sorted, if the government was serious about it. But they prefer to pay rock bottom salaries to teachers from Nigeria or the Philippines.

The rip-offs and notorious taxi mafias? Well, that could be sorted, but it just keeps being allowed to continue year after year despite so many complaints about it. Why are those dodgy gem stores and tailors that will only post your clothes to your home country allowed to keep operating?

 

Covid has given Thailand a golden opportunity to look at some of these issues and get the tourism industry ready and raring to go once it is safe to do so. But alas I don't think any of the above issues will be addressed any time soon. Any money they spend fixing these things would surely come back to them many times over.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by BenDeCosta

[Blumpie]

1 minute ago, BenDeCosta said:

What is it that irks so many visitors to Thailand?

 

The litter strewn beaches? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The awkward visa requirements, especially for people that want to visit regularly? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The poor standard of spoken English spoken by the majority of Thais, even within the hospitality industry? Again, that could be sorted, if the government was serious about it. But they prefer to pay rock bottom salaries to teachers from Nigeria or the Philippines.

The rip-offs and notorious taxi mafias? Well, that could be sorted, but it just keeps being allowed to continue year after year despite so many complaints about it.

 

Covid has given Thailand a golden opportunity to look at some of these issues and get the tourism industry ready and raring to go once it is safe to do so. But alas I don't think any of the above issues will be addressed any time soon.

 

It's being ripped off every second of the day.  

[2 is 1]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Gorgeous beaches, spicy food and temples draw a steady stream of travellers.

Hmm.. so many temple in Pattaya Soi 6 also really spicy "som tam"!

[TaoNow]

5 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

What is it that irks so many visitors to Thailand?

 

The litter strewn beaches? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The awkward visa requirements, especially for people that want to visit regularly? They could sort that, if they wanted to.

The poor standard of spoken English spoken by the majority of Thais, even within the hospitality industry? Again, that could be sorted, if the government was serious about it. But they prefer to pay rock bottom salaries to teachers from Nigeria or the Philippines.

The rip-offs and notorious taxi mafias? Well, that could be sorted, but it just keeps being allowed to continue year after year despite so many complaints about it. Why are those dodgy gem stores and tailors that will only post your clothes to your home country allowed to keep operating?

 

Covid has given Thailand a golden opportunity to look at some of these issues and get the tourism industry ready and raring to go once it is safe to do so. But alas I don't think any of the above issues will be addressed any time soon. Any money they spend fixing these things would surely come back to them many times over.

 

 Indeed Ben. 

 

And the collateral damage of the Covid pandemic might be the deterrence of the international sex tourists who used to come to Thailand to plunge their fingers into the "candy store." 

 

The demise of that market could be the silver lining of this all, and to the great relief of mainstream Thailand. 

[BenDeCosta]

9 minutes ago, TaoNow said:

 Indeed Ben. 

 

And the collateral damage of the Covid pandemic might be the deterrence of the international sex tourists who used to come to Thailand to plunge their fingers into the "candy store." 

 

The demise of that market could be the silver lining of this all, and to the great relief of mainstream Thailand. 

 

Some of the other countries in the region seem to care more about their tourism industries, so I suspect that over the years to come many people will prefer to go to Vietnam, the Philippines or even Cambodia. Of course, each country has its positives and negatives but if Thailand just keeps burying its head in the sand whilst all the other countries continue to improve their experiences for holiday-makers, then Thailand is just shooting itself in the foot.

 

I suspect that even the sex-tourists you mention will end up going to other places, if they haven't started doing so already.

 

The difference between the nice smile, greeting and welcome that I get when I go to Malaysia is just the opposite of the scowl and silent treatment I usually get at Suvarnabhumi. 

 

If the Malaysian Immigration department can train its staff to be polite and friendly to visitors that have decided to come to their country and spend most of the money that they've worked all year to save up, then why can't Thailand do it?

Edited May 6, 2021 by BenDeCosta

[from the home of CC]

the sooner they get away from this reliance on foreign money the better they will be, it has brought nothing but a huge headache to this country..

[brewsterbudgen]

26 minutes ago, Blumpie said:

It's going to be many many years before that happens.  Many years.  They are just not inoculating as fast as they should there, and they really don't care.  

I believe they realize it's another form of control that has suddenly just happened and nobody really cares about it either.  Chinese are wary of the virus, unlike most.  

I think it will be a lot sooner than that. Hopefully early next year.

[Lacessit]

41 minutes ago, connda said:

I've lived within fully Thai communities in Isaan, Bangkok, and Northern Thailand.  If you are under the illusion that you as a foreigner are somehow accepted as part of their culture, then you are simply fooling yourself.  Thais can be polite, but don't think that means you are accepted as part of their community or part of their culture. You are not.  I even spent a full Rain Retreat as a Buddhist monk is a region where I was the only foreigner, and trust me, even there the "respect" was at best paper thin.  Not all Thais, but quite a significant number were...unaccepting, and that nonacceptance had everything to do with me being kon chart dang - an outsider from a different country - i.e., Not A Thai.

I've found most Thais are polite to me, perhaps that's because I am polite to them. I've learned enough Thai to get by with daily conversation and needs.

I really don't care if Thais accept me or don't accept me, I have my own daily life routines. I do wonder about non-Thais who want to become part of a society where face is all-important, and believes implicitly in ghosts.

I am a stranger in a strange land, I don't worry about it.

[Blumpie]

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I think it will be a lot sooner than that. Hopefully early next year.

It absolutely won't be until, at the earliest, which is a pipe dream, fall of 2022.  I know that it won't be this tourist season, next year nobody can really say but I can't see a single reason why it would recover before then.  

The shame in China for leaving on tourism is great.  The black mark by their name will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

They won't come this year.  Hell, nobody is coming this year other than the odd white guy paying big $$$.

[Ventenio]

34 million tourists......  Thailand only has around 70 million people.  

 

Who knows, maybe 100 million Chinese and Indians will come.

 

But the falang, IMO, has finally realized they are not wanted.  

 

This was NOT a period where we came together.  divided we fall....

[TaoNow]

20 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

 

Some of the other countries in the region seem to care more about their tourism industries, so I suspect that over the years to come many people will prefer to go to Vietnam, the Philippines or even Cambodia. Of course, each country has its positives and negatives but if Thailand just keeps burying its head in the sand whilst all the other countries continue to improve their experiences for holiday-makers, then Thailand is just shooting itself in the foot.

 

I suspect that even the sex-tourists you mention will end up going to other places, if they haven't started doing so already.

 

The difference between the nice smile, greeting and welcome that I get when I go to Malaysia is just the opposite of the scowl and silent treatment I usually get at Suvarnabhumi. 

 

If the Malaysian Immigration department can train its staff to be polite and friendly to visitors that have decided to come to their country and spend most of the money that they've worked all year to save up, then why can't Thailand do it?

 

Exactly Ben.  And my calculation is that Thai society -- as a whole -- is willing to trade that smile for the eradication of the image of Thailand as an international sex tourist mecca.  IOW, they would willingly forego the lost income as a result.

[Brunolem]

14 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I've found most Thais are polite to me, perhaps that's because I am polite to them. I've learned enough Thai to get by with daily conversation and needs.

I really don't care if Thais accept me or don't accept me, I have my own daily life routines. I do wonder about non-Thais who want to become part of a society where face is all-important, and believes implicitly in ghosts.

I am a stranger in a strange land, I don't worry about it.

Nailed it!

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The Chinese will be back in their hordes, once they can get back in!

And once they can get out...of China!

[BenDeCosta]

1 minute ago, TaoNow said:

 

Exactly Ben.  And my calculation is that Thai society -- as a whole -- is willing to trade that smile for the eradication of the image of Thailand as an international sex tourist mecca.  IOW, they would willingly forego the lost income as a result.

I agree, however, I bet you the people making the decisions won't be losing a single baht in their personal income. It's the normal, hard-working people that'll take the hit.

[Brunolem]

20 minutes ago, TaoNow said:

 

Exactly Ben.  And my calculation is that Thai society -- as a whole -- is willing to trade that smile for the eradication of the image of Thailand as an international sex tourist mecca.  IOW, they would willingly forego the lost income as a result.

And yet it doesn't seem that Pattaya city hall is using the opportunity to definitively close down areas such as soi 6, which reopens like a mushroom as soon as restrictions are removed (I witnessed it during a visit last December).

Edited May 6, 2021 by Brunolem

[trainman34014]

1 hour ago, Forrests Father said:

I am sure that TAT has a new concept tomorrow to bring in a yet undiscovered target group of big spenders.

Yep; Eskimo's are the next big thing !