Thailand previews difficult life without tourists

[Don Chance]

Thai's need to learn from the Indians,

[Fex Bluse]

43 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. 

 

Rest assured that Thailand's main export will be its pretty women for decades to come. Until the Sino Thai elites understand that increasing the size of the economic pie is better than pocketing every satang they can, most Thais will remain poor. 

[Simple Jack]

I'm New to TV comments.  Lurker for many years. Imho. Thailand has had one year to prepare for the worst. The "Government" has done very little.  Wait and see attitude.

 

If it were my show. I'd rather be proactive than reactive.

 

Take care & keep safe all.

 

 

[BenDeCosta]

Trying to shut down the sex industry in Pattaya is like trying to ban gambling in Las Vegas. The one thing that has caused the place to flourish and provide thousands of locals with income, and it's the one thing they want to get rid of. I don't think they've actually thought it through.

[Justgrazing]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

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

 

The problem is the P M is a military man beneath the suit .. he is not a politician and does not have the skillset needed to get out of the situation that he has helped create .. nor do any of his accolytes who similarly are not polititians gifted with the vision required .. the dashboard lights have been flashing for mths that a comprehensive vaccination programme is the only way forward but the fiddling and procrastination has continued with lamentable statements made about a mill' of vaccine from here and a couple of mill' from over there in the belief that vax made in Thailand will be available in the quantities needed from next mth .. this is a slow motion crash that could've been avoided had they chosen not to put the eggs in one basket .. 

[TaoNow]

2 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

Trying to shut down the sex industry in Pattaya is like trying to ban gambling in Las Vegas. The one thing that has caused the place to flourish and provide thousands of locals with income, and it's the one thing they want to get rid of. I don't think they've actually thought it through.

 

Ben:  The key point to keep in mind is that the sex industry is demand-driven. 

 

For example, you can't just go to any town and open a brothel and expect there to be customers. That's the supply-side strategy.

 

By contrast, if there is demand, then the market will respond. 

 

What Covid has done is decimate the demand side of the equation -- for whatever reason (fear of infection, the hassles of travel and enforced quarantine, lack of entertainment options besides bars, etc.).

 

In sum, the demand for easy sex is drying up.   So, Patpong, Cowboy, Pattaya, Patong, etc., will have to reinvent themselves.

 

Into what, I have no idea.  Over to you...

[BenDeCosta]

11 minutes ago, TaoNow said:

For example, you can't just go to any town and open a brothel and expect there to be customers. That's the supply-side strategy.

 

Maybe. But go to a town and open up dozens of brothels with beautiful girls, then the town will get a name for itself and it'll work. To quote Kevin Costner, "build it and they will come", and in more ways than one. Haha, I'm just joking.

 

And what you say is true, people need to adapt to survive. But seeing as I suspect that many bargirls were doing it as a last resort, I wonder what they will turn to instead?

 

There's obviously no easy solution, but many Thai women who have been accustomed to staying in nice hotels, eating fresh seafood, buying designer handbags and the latest iPhone are going to have a hard time adjusting to living on 300 baht a day from a 12 hour shift at a factory in Chon Buri.

 

Obviously I don't approve of the sex industry in any country, but their days of earning thousands of baht a day for just getting drunk and playing pool is obviously over, for now.

 

Like it or not, for many visitors to Thailand the girls were a big draw, if they have all shipped out to Bahrain, Dubai, South Korea and Japan, then Thailand will have one less bow in its tourism quiver.

Edited May 6, 2021 by BenDeCosta

[Simple Jack]

BenDeCos

I agree. Either way alot of people will feel the hurt.

[EricTh]

If Thailand hadn't eased up on the Songkran festival, the third wave wouldn't have happened.

 

Tourists can't even dine-in at restaurants and you expect tourists to be locked up in their hotel rooms?

 

India made the same mistake, now look what happened to them.

Edited May 6, 2021 by EricTh

[Disparate Dan]

One of the few (maybe the only) pluses of the Virus is that there are opportunities to reset a number of the world's ills, and one of those is mass tourism.

It has made some Thais rich and enslaved many more. It has also ruined more formerly beautiful spots than I care to recall; all the places we (me and my Thai family) used to holiday or look forward to visiting are now of no more interest because they are no better than a Costa del Far East. When I talk to Thais about this they start moaning about how everything has been destroyed by tourism/tourists – and most people here do NOT derive much or any income from tourism.

This is by no means the only country or sector where mass tourism now can be brought under control courtesy of the pan[dem]ic. Cruising, one of the world's most pollutive pastimes, is another area that is crashing and for the global good.

In Thailand's case it's involuntary, but it's a start. Bangkok has been relatively liveable (save for closing the pubs, of course) recently.

Given I appear to be stuck here for the foreseeable, I relish the demise of mass tourism. I know there will be howls from those who get their income from tourism (aka screwing up life for the locals). Tough.

[Pattaya Spotter]

They sound more and more desperate...this ad for Patong Apts says these rates will be in effect for at least a year (from my FB feed). Note the "begging" thank you emoji.

 

 

[RichardColeman]

Thailand will be open just as soon as the bills for the vaccines start coming in. 

[BenDeCosta]

1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

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..

 

Actually, it brought a reliable and very decent income to thousands of Thai people and their families for decades.

[StayinThailand2much]

3 hours 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.

 

Spot on! Not only did the health minister label tourists as 'dir**' last year, but there also seems to be a common perception now, thanks to politicians and mass media, among (poorer) Thais that 'white people spread Covid in Thailand'...

 

Well, I am one of many tourists in Thailand, but the rising xenophobia had me think about travelling and spending money in Thailand. I will just keep my travel funds 'dry', waiting for friendlier places to open their borders again next year.

 

Thailand likes Chinese tourists, so they should wait for them. Good luck, Thailand!

Edited May 6, 2021 by StayinThailand2much

[BenDeCosta]

4 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Spot on! Not only did the health minister label tourists as 'dir**' last year, but there also seems to be a common perception now, thanks to politicians and mass media, among (poorer) Thais that 'white people spread Covid in Thailand'...

 

It almost seems like they cannot decide whether or not they are capable of tolerating foreigners in the country in order to get our money. In their ideal world, they would be allowed to berate us and castigate us, whilst also emptying our wallets. But that isn't how tourism works.

 

In the modern age, bad tourist experiences can be voiced in an instant to millions of people around the globe. If they want to get the tourist income back, they need to clean up their act, start treating tourists better and teach the locals to stop biting the hand that feeds them. But I suspect I have more chance of being hit by a UFO driven by Elvis than this ever happening.

[Maha Sarakham]

1 hour ago, BenDeCosta said:

There's obviously no easy solution, but many Thai women who have been accustomed to staying in nice hotels, eating fresh seafood, buying designer handbags and the latest iPhone are going to have a hard time adjusting to living on 300 baht a day from a 12 hour shift at a factory in Chon Buri.

 

Won't happen.  They'll just go work in Korea as a 'Pee Noi' which is all the rage in the villages these days.  Everyone's daughter is sending home 30,000 - 50,000 baht a month and building their parents new houses.  Many work in the sex industry there in massage shops, others have legitimate jobs and live in dormitories supplied by the Korean businesses.  Either way, it's rapidly gaining popularity due to the internal struggles in Thailand.

[GrandPapillon]

they should regard this as a blessing, this mass tourism of Chinese was just unbearable for the long run, and western expat communities were being marginalized

 

time to get back our Thailand that we liked when moving here ????

[Scott]

Reported post removed.

[ikke1959]

I don't have a problem with the Thai people and Thai lifestyle in my area. But I know and see and have bad experiences too. Tourism is dead and maybe will never bloom again as before. Thailand should welcome everybody for work and retirement, but the immigration is out of date with changing rules and paperworks,  the unfriendly attitude can be annoying. Besides that there are ancient laws that a foreigner is not allowed to do anything. Darting or playing bridge or other games are seen as gambling, in fact working in your garden or be a volunteer or simple things as teaching linedance needs paperwork, change of visa. They forget that retired people have children and grandchildren and that they will come to Thailand to visit their parents. and so we can make the list longer and longer. 

Thailand is promoting to be the first Asian country for same sex marriage , but after 5 years there is still no decision made. They are missing a group of people who surely want to marry here on the beautiful islands and hotels.

No instead the Government is always talking bad of the foreigner with Anutin telling that the foreigners are to blame for the Covd, They will get no jabs, and more stupid things. There is a lot of work to do, because people who live here tell the family and friends in heir home country about what is happening here and there they will tell to their friends and so on.. and Thailand is the big loser, but they don't see it. It is a pity for the good people here 

[Taboo2]

4 hours 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?

I must agree,,,when I arrived in KLA...it was a warm and welcoming experience.  It was my first visit and I was worried about how they would treat an American, but man, I was blown away at how welcoming they were towards us tourists!

[Skeptic7]

13 hours ago, papa al said:

You gents so sensitive; or ...

people get what they give.?

Thai people nice to papa.

100%. 

Could it be, per chance, that Papa is easily fooled? ????

[mikebell]

13 hours ago, TaoNow said:

the great relief of mainstream Thailand. 

The Thai prostitution industry dwarfs that for tourists.

[HaoleBoy]

27 minutes ago, mikebell said:

The Thai prostitution industry dwarfs that for tourists.

Well said!

 

Most farangs don't realize the Thai red-light areas (outside of Pattaya) are more numerous than Nana, Patpong, Cowboy in BKK.  Go to any small town and you will see the Karaoke bars and massage shops all offering sex.  Thai hi-society just don't want to have their country "known" as a sex-capitol but the men all use these places. 

[papa al]

50 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

Could it be, per chance, that Papa is easily fooled? ????

Ab-so-root-ree.

Her loud moaning is probably fake,

but papa don't care.

&c.

[papa al]

40 minutes ago, mikebell said:

... prostitution ... dwarfs ...

... still on bucket list ...

????

[papa al]

13 hours ago, Don Chance said:

Thai's need to learn from the Indians,

Ahh India !

Land of open defecation.

[Fex Bluse]

14 hours ago, kimamey said:

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.

 

The prevailing xenophobia is, in my opinion, driven primarily by Sino Thais and Sino Thai elites in particular. Experience shows in virtually every part of the world where there are large ethnic Chinese national populations, there is a deep xenophobia for outsiders. Now, it's not just ethnic Chinese, of course. East Asians are largely deeply xenophobic. I love and respect Japanese culture, but I would NEVER live in Japan.

 

[retsdon]

Unless Thailand fixes its education system it will never progress economically beyond a low to lower mid-tier country. It's a massive ask though when the people in charge of fixing it are either corrupt or themselves ill-educated. 

[Benmart]

14 hours ago, papa al said:

You gents so sensitive; or ...

people get what they give.?

Thai people nice to papa.

100%. 

More likely, If papa has money, papa is treated nicely.

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

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

To which he should be held fully responsible.