Pattaya A Dead or Dying City?

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

My mind was set on WS GGBs, certainly not the Beach Road rough trade. It did used to be good!

I never rented on the promenade. Looking was interesting though.

[Leaver]

On 6/1/2021 at 8:21 AM, rcuthbert said:

A smart politician would provide 10,000 baht per month assistance to those families whose provider can not support his family, and  5000 baht per month for eligible singles.

 

Or, just pledge a guaranteed high price for a kilo of rice.  ????

[redwood1]

I noticed they removed the fish tanks from Jomtien Immigration? Why? That was the only nice thing there......

 

With all the thick plastic barriers on the desks......The place now has a feel closer to a prison visiting room than a immigration office..... 

Edited June 2, 2021 by redwood1

[champers]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Most Chinese came on organised tours for the seafood, IMO; the Russians for the big malls and the shopping, plus I believe the far end of Walking Street was always popular with Russians, loads of Indians in Pattaya and people go where countrymen are, plenty of Arabs because of Little Arabia, which existed since long before the boom. Scandinavians had their enclave in South Naklua. Japanese had Thaniya in Bkk, so not much reason to go to Pattaya; so which "other" Asian countries do you refer to? In the 90s farangs were the dominant visitors, and they stayed all over, but apart from golfers, most were there for one thing, IMO.

Most Chinese visitors were not in organised tours, they were Free Independant Travellers (FIT) and the number of them was rising in both numbers and in percentage terms. They were not as visible or noisy as tour groups following a flag waver. They mostly stayed in the higher quality hotels and their influence and presence was growing markedly in both Jomtien and Naklua.

Will they be back post Covid? I think they will as many own property and businesses here and there may well be the added attraction of casinos to look forward to. 

[4MyEgo]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL.

I remember how we were told that Japan avoided the corona early on because they were a mask wearing culture already. Strange then, how Japan is now being overwhelmed by corona, isn't it?

 

Well they say it does help, so we put it on, a bit like condoms, hey, now there's an idea ????

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[Fujionrye]

7 hours ago, redwood1 said:

I noticed they removed the fish tanks from Jomtien Immigration? Why? That was the only nice thing there......

 

With all the thick plastic barriers on the desks......The place now has a feel closer to a prison visiting room than a immigration office..... 

I read these barriers can interfere with air circulation, causing suspended covid particles to build up over time. Proper ventilation and filtering works best.

[Leaver]

On 6/2/2021 at 1:39 PM, champers said:

Most Chinese visitors were not in organised tours, they were Free Independant Travellers

 

Do you have a link for this.  I find it hard to believe, given the hundreds of coach buses full of Chinese that were around Pattaya, pre covid.  

[champers]

29 minutes ago, Leaver said:

 

Do you have a link for this.  I find it hard to believe, given the hundreds of coach buses full of Chinese that were around Pattaya, pre covid.  

Plenty of data from TAT available online; Goggle is your friend.

[johng]

On 6/2/2021 at 12:33 PM, redwood1 said:

I noticed they removed the fish tanks from Jomtien Immigration? Why?

 

There was still one tank  set in the wall ( right hand side near the  "world time" clocks)  last time I went in there.

perhaps the guy who ran the aquarium shop  didn't want or couldn't maintain them any more ?

 

Edited June 4, 2021 by johng

[Ralf001]

On 5/12/2021 at 12:14 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

 It simply never be the same again.

 

 

 

Did your  crystal ball tell you that ?

[Ralf001]

27 minutes ago, champers said:

Plenty of data from TAT available online; Goggle is your friend.

 

So the hundred of tourists buses were empty ?

[The Hammer2021]

The city is very busy. Threpasit market is really busy...The roads  are busy.  The night life venues are empty and closed

[Jackson B]

What is the quarantine situation for farang visitors from Bangkok? Can I come for a day or two? Or is there a 14-day quarantine as I have read in the papers? Are there checkpoints to show residency papers, or what? Are any hotels operational? Thanks for local reliable advice.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The city is very busy. Threpasit market is really busy...The roads  are busy.  The night life venues are empty and closed

And, the Darkside is busy.  Partner and I went to eat at our favorite restaurant on the Darkside and the waiting list for a table was so long we decided to go to another restaurant, instead.  

[petermik]

9 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

The city is very busy. Threpasit market is really busy...The roads  are busy.  The night life venues are empty and closed

Which "city" are you referring to...not here in Pattaya for sure.

[champers]

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

So the hundred of tourists buses were empty ?

Of course not but the fact still remains that there were more independant travellers to the city. Why do you think TAT and the Government have them down as a target market?

[Ralf001]

8 minutes ago, champers said:

Of course not but the fact still remains that there were more independant travellers to the city. Why do you think TAT and the Government have them down as a target market?

 

Righto, so all the tourist buses were Chinese tourists traveling independently.

 

Cough cough bullsheet cough cough.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Ralf001

[Susco]

2 hours ago, johng said:

 

There was still one tank  set in the wall ( right hand side near the  "world time" clocks)  last time I went in there.

perhaps the guy who ran the aquarium shop  didn't want or couldn't maintain them any more ?

 

 

 

Have you noticed how many of the fish supply shops have closed in the past months.

 

I don't know what the reason is, but majority of the shops i knew about, are now not there any more

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, Leaver said:

 

Do you have a link for this.  I find it hard to believe, given the hundreds of coach buses full of Chinese that were around Pattaya, pre covid.  

It is possible that many hundreds of thousands were spread around the resorts of Thailand, but hard to see and imagine for us here seeing the crowds being frequently herded down Walking Street, who would appear unable to handle anything independently. 

[Leaver]

17 hours ago, champers said:

Plenty of data from TAT available online; Goggle is your friend.

 

A quick Google revealed around 11 million Chinese came to Thailand in 2019.  This is also the figure seen in media reports.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand

 

Finding something on Google that showed how many of the 11 million were FIT's wasn't as easy.

 

I did find this article on the first page of Google, which is Pattaya related.

 

using the averages of his figures, that's 275 and 2500, that would mean FIT Chinese make up only 11% of his Chinese market, which is 1 in every 10 Chinese customers.  

 

Nowhere near a majority.

 

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2185336/pattaya-new-breed-chinese-tourist-emerges-meet-fits

 

"Despite Chavalit’s confidence that his business model is the way of the future, group tours still account for the overwhelming majority of mainland visitors to Pattaya. He says he gets between 200 and 350 Chinese FIT customers depending on the season, whereas the big tours bring in 2,000 to 3,000 Chinese visitors a day."

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Leaver

[johng]

19 hours ago, Susco said:

 

 

Have you noticed how many of the fish supply shops have closed in the past months.

 

I don't know what the reason is, but majority of the shops i knew about, are now not there any more

 

No I haven't specifically  noticed  aquarium shops closing amongst the  huge number of other shops/business which are closed,  I would imagine that hotels,condos and restaurants would have counted for a large part of their sales  prior to the Covidiocy.

 

I think the one on South Pattaya road near the Mosque is still open ?

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:20 PM, champers said:

Plenty of data from TAT available online; Goggle is your friend.

You actually believe TAT data?

 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/4/2021 at 11:13 PM, champers said:

Of course not but the fact still remains that there were more independant travellers to the city. Why do you think TAT and the Government have them down as a target market?

Why do you think TAT and the Government have them down as a target market?

 

Because they daydream all day and come up with fairy tales. I can't remember when they last told the truth.

 

 

[Olmate]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You actually believe TAT data?

 

Do have any links to the contrary? 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Olmate said:

Do have any links to the contrary? 

No, but I know what I saw.

[ExpatOilWorker]

[EVENKEEL]

15 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Thanks for the laugh.

[Leaver]

On 8/21/2021 at 9:02 AM, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

So many of these around and they are all funny.  

[tomyami]

even if I had a place in pattaya it would be the last place on earth i would stay, feel sorry for those who believe the lockdown will achieve anything, but if makes you happy you are allowed breath the air but in reaility they are in a foreign prison. I wonder do these sad lives still have passports?

 

Sun spitting the trees here in Lanszarote everyone happy, can go eat, drink or shop, no police or even mask restriction.

[ChipButty]

52 minutes ago, tomyami said:

even if I had a place in pattaya it would be the last place on earth i would stay, feel sorry for those who believe the lockdown will achieve anything, but if makes you happy you are allowed breath the air but in reaility they are in a foreign prison. I wonder do these sad lives still have passports?

 

Sun spitting the trees here in Lanszarote everyone happy, can go eat, drink or shop, no police or even mask restriction.

Any Russian birds there?