About 15 years ago, Thaksin changed the visa rules and made it difficult for backpack travelers to stay in the Kingdom for more than 14 days without another visa run. At the same time, Vietnam was quickly building up its backpacker guest houses, resorts, and beach sites, attracting the backpackers with easy immigration rules and low costs. This cost Thailand dozens of closed and shuttered guesthouses everywhere. More and more backpack tourist changed their destinations, and headed for Nam. (Some people think it's good to get rid of backpackers, but they actually bring a LOT of income into Thailand because they stay longer and do more activities than the package tour tourists. It's the backpack tourists who eat in the Mom&Pop noodle shops, buy T-shirts and circus pants from the local stores rather than from the big shopping malls, and take the classes [yoga, jewelry making, massage, cooking, etc.] that most package tours don't, bringing more income to locals. Now Thailand is building big hotels as if the more they build, the richer tourists will come. And more and more of them are sitting deserted, half-built shells quickly being taken over by jungle vines. I can think of three of them within 5k of my house. Tourists don't come to Thailand for the hotels. They come to Thailand for the rich and diverse cultural activities, the relaxed beaches, and the interesting cities with their nightlife and sightseeing. What we seem to be left with is the TAT telling us that tourism is improving, the Hotel industry telling us that they are having trouble filling even 50% of their rooms with the richer package tourists, and the Guest Houses sitting empty. A drive through the back sois inside the Old City in Chiang Mai is on empty streets. Only a few individuals are walking around. Looking at empty tables at outdoor restaurants completes the story. High Season will still see an increase, but will it ever be as it was before the Pandemic?
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