Really Really Slow Right Now

[girlx]

for about a month and a half now there have been virtually no tourists in thong nai pan yai... is it like this everywhere in samui/phangan right now? i heard koh tao was hopping! i know this is a relatively low season but this has been ridiculous compared to previous years... people in this village are freaking out because they can't make money to eat! what's going on!

[The Vulcan]

Oh boy, you wait 'til KJ gets hold of this!

[Mid]

nothing to see here ,

put these on and move along .....................

[sbk]

for about a month and a half now there have been virtually no tourists in thong nai pan yai... is it like this everywhere in samui/phangan right now? i heard koh tao was hopping! i know this is a relatively low season but this has been ridiculous compared to previous years... people in this village are freaking out because they can't make money to eat! what's going on!

According to my husband it is dead all over. He talked to someone who owns a resort in Koh Tao & she told him that she is emptier than she has ever been & said that the island is quiet, some people but not many. He also talked to a friend of his who works at a resort in Samui & they have 1 room with customers out of 80.

Customers of his (my husband) also told him that Phuket was quiet as well, but they stayed in Kata, so perhaps Patong is busier.

[donna]

patong is also very quiet. of course the big hotels can get up to 95% full at the moment due to their amount of rooms and that they are also able to take in big tour groups.

other smaller hotels are running at around 30-50% occupancy in the Patong area.

its gonna be a long low season....

[southwest19]

for about a month and a half now there have been virtually no tourists in thong nai pan yai... is it like this everywhere in samui/phangan right now? i heard koh tao was hopping! i know this is a relatively low season but this has been ridiculous compared to previous years... people in this village are freaking out because they can't make money to eat! what's going on!

According to my husband it is dead all over. He talked to someone who owns a resort in Koh Tao & she told him that she is emptier than she has ever been & said that the island is quiet, some people but not many. He also talked to a friend of his who works at a resort in Samui & they have 1 room with customers out of 80.

Customers of his (my husband) also told him that Phuket was quiet as well, but they stayed in Kata, so perhaps Patong is busier.

I was in Patong 3 weeks ago and it was rammed. I think the TAT has poured alot of resources in to promoting Phuket because they had to and we have been left on the backburner a bit.

Also it does not help that Samui is now probably the most expensive place to holiday in Thailand a factor of expensive flights and hotels a mantle that used to be held by Phuket.

[Samui Coconut]

for about a month and a half now there have been virtually no tourists in thong nai pan yai... is it like this everywhere in samui/phangan right now? i heard koh tao was hopping! i know this is a relatively low season but this has been ridiculous compared to previous years... people in this village are freaking out because they can't make money to eat! what's going on!

I have only been once at TNPY, usually go to Noi and it looked okay about 2 weeks ago. Are there many resorts and restaurants on TNPY and which are the best ? Seems like you live there and I would be interested to know.

Samui is slow indeed, I guess we are still spoilt from the last 2 years which have been good, but now back to pre-tsunami levels and worse since there are more hotels/restaurants/businesses with equal amount of tourists. I guess it will be survival of the fittest for the next few month.

[Mid]

Also it does not help that Samui is now probably the most expensive place to holiday in Thailand a factor of expensive flights and hotels a mantle that used to be held by Phuket.

probably ????

is , by a country mile ...................................

[mlkmnz]

Theres four of us coming over in a week to stay for 3 months? Does that help

Are places re-assessing their accommodation and other charges to be more competetive? Or are they trying to remain staunchly defensive about these higher prices?

[highdiver]

Also it does not help that Samui is now probably the most expensive place to holiday in Thailand a factor of expensive flights and hotels a mantle that used to be held by Phuket.

probably ????

is , by a country mile ...................................

its the same every year. after easter and untill July its flat.. and has been like that for the past 10 years.

I think that this yeasr the weather added to the slow down. no onme wants to come on holiday to be in the rain for nearly 3 weeks.

before 4 years most tourists on the island were in 2 places chaweng and Lamai.

now there are many new destinations in meynam, bophud and others. so even though there are more tourist then last year they spread out and each hotels is getting less. but that is the price we pay for over development.

I belive that in KP its the same. there are now more hotels and resorts in KP then before.

some hotels , the managers are more market wise have dropped the prices for low season and are doing well. others that expect to cover investment by giving high prices will be less fortunate. the market is very competitive.

the next low season is end of october untill new year.

[Mid]

its the same every year. after easter and untill July its flat.. and has been like that for the past 10 years.

nice try at glossing over the reality ,

may be low season but it's not the same as every year .........................................................

head in the sand , does not work .

[highdiver]

its the same every year. after easter and untill July its flat.. and has been like that for the past 10 years.

nice try at glossing over the reality ,

may be low season but it's not the same as every year .........................................................

head in the sand , does not work .

i am having a very good yest so far.. thnaks fr you concern.

there are actualy more tourists this year then last year. pop down to the Samui touris beuro and find out for yourself.

please remove those dark black glasses they realy dont fit you.

[katyb]

A friend of mine has a bar / restaurant in Maenam. She says there are no farangs around at all this week. Its dead, dead, dead. She 'gonna run away' if it doesn't get better!

I just don't know how the smaller bars survive. So many of them are almost empty during the high season let alone now.

I hope it gets better for everyone concerned.

Kate

[Rooo]

Maybe if you search the forum, I had that prediction last year. You can't expand & speculate on one year's result, post tsunami.Many people have spent money on a false or admittedly fake assumption at the time. How silly is that?

[highdiver]

Maybe if you search the forum, I had that prediction last year. You can't expand & speculate on one year's result, post tsunami.Many people have spent money on a false or admittedly fake assumption at the time. How silly is that?

you are absolutly right. i remeber that thread and your input. and I agree with you 100%.

Over the past year many new bars and resteraunts were opened not to metion adittional thousands of new hotels and resort rooms.

there are infact more tourist this year but they are so spread out over the island you can hardly notice them.

and the funny thing is to see all those new business that are opening up all expecting to make huge profits..

now that there are not enough tourist to fill it up its time for the "Blame Game"

blame bangkok ariways

blame Samui

blame the goverment.

blame everyone.

With more new hotels and businesses opening its bound to get even worse next year.

[seville]

Maybe this will have some of the developers and folks building so many resorts and hotels rethink what they are doing. It's awful to book a lovely looking place and discover when you get there that there is a construction site right next door or worse your in the middle of one. Here is you lovely room with all the amentites and at 7:00 am you will be woken up to the sound of hammers and the like at no extra charge. Samui is off the charts on what you have to pay for a room. You really have to dig around to find a room that is worth the money.

I've heard that the number of people coming to the area was up, but all season long we were waiting for it to get busy and it just never did. We always use Had Rin as our bench mark to see how busy it's going to get and Had Rin stayed super quiet all season except right around full moon. Maybe the tourist are coming and not staying as long as the had in past years. Of course you have to factor in the amount of new rooms that have been built. But just walking around in Had Rin or going into Chawang in the evening looked like September in January.

I think all the 200-400 baht a night bungalows will do all right and some of the old favorites. But it's going to be very interesting to see how some of the new resorts are doing. Havanna on TNPY already wants to sell and they haven't been open for even a year. Makes me want to scream. He's a nice enough guy, but the place that was there before he bought the property was perfect and people staying there all the time.

[RAZZELL]

Anyone got any figures???

Are tourist number's up, down, same same???

Maybe the same amount spread more thinly...???

But I suspect less people are coming to Thailand full stop...

RAZZ

Edited May 25, 2007 by RAZZELL

[maurizio04]

Maybe if you search the forum, I had that prediction last year. You can't expand & speculate on one year's result, post tsunami.Many people have spent money on a false or admittedly fake assumption at the time. How silly is that?

The price in peak season actually doubled in 2 years, now i see long list of resort at 2500 bath when it used to be 1000/1500. The flight to Thailand is so expensive that for the classical week vacation europeans people will go to the carabbean for half the cost. And for Samui there is an additional flight, so no tour operators....

[Jet Gorgon]

200-400 baht a night bungalows

Crikes, haven't seen those on Samui for about five years.

People are ticked off; I know many annual Samui vacationers who just said "enough". Prices tripled, service more <deleted>, unavoidable construction noise, bar fights in villages like Maenam, where there were never problems, horrendous traffic with more drivers competing to see who can be nastier...<deleted>? Sure, rent a house and go shop in air-con at Tesco where most folks use their trollies as combat vehicles.

But, Samui's becoming a group tour destination, too.

Too bad.

[sbk]

My husband goes to town every day so gauges his idea of "no people" by how many farangs he sees on the roads. He sees almost none. So, even if more people were "spread around", Koh Phangan is hardly large enough to hide them. Our resort had an excellent high season, best ever. And we are slow this slow season. But, and here is the big but, we don't owe the bank money or have to pay rent. So, for those who borrowed money to build or (in many local cases) to rebuild falling down bungalows, the lack of tourists is difficult. Was there overbuilding on Koh Phangan? Absolutely, but I don't believe the lack of tourists has much to do with them being spread out over many new places. As I said, Koh P is pretty small and its fairly easy to gauge tourist numbers by driving around on the main roads or going to the pier at noon.

Also, a friend of a friend is currently trekking in CM and told her that it is very quiet there as well, guesthouse owners etc are talking about how quiet it is.

I suspect the enforcement of the visa rule requiring border travellers to have an onward plane ticket may be dampening things. Many backpackers travel overland to Singapore and get a ticket out of there.

[wolfmanjack]

My husband goes to town every day so gauges his idea of "no people" by how many farangs he sees on the roads. He sees almost none. So, even if more people were "spread around", Koh Phangan is hardly large enough to hide them. Our resort had an excellent high season, best ever. And we are slow this slow season. But, and here is the big but, we don't owe the bank money or have to pay rent. So, for those who borrowed money to build or (in many local cases) to rebuild falling down bungalows, the lack of tourists is difficult. Was there overbuilding on Koh Phangan? Absolutely, but I don't believe the lack of tourists has much to do with them being spread out over many new places. As I said, Koh P is pretty small and its fairly easy to gauge tourist numbers by driving around on the main roads or going to the pier at noon.

Also, a friend of a friend is currently trekking in CM and told her that it is very quiet there as well, guesthouse owners etc are talking about how quiet it is.

I suspect the enforcement of the visa rule requiring border travellers to have an onward plane ticket may be dampening things. Many backpackers travel overland to Singapore and get a ticket out of there.

I was just at the night bazaar last night. Almost no falangs. The sellers are complaining too.

[RakSamui]

hopefully Samui may return to how it used to be a few years ago, as in pre Tsumami. samui has not god given right to tourist the infastucture is as bad as it gets, violence is on the up, the taxis and airlines are a rip off. lady boys line the streets at night abusing people walking home. the main street in chaweng is a filthy stinking place why would a tourist want to come here. for me i hope the tourist numbers continue to drop. as for all the business's that made a business plan based on turnover after the tsunami som nam na. every month the full moon party results in the fatality of at least one young life, any civilised part of the world would have stopped such an event years ago.

Thailand is past its sell by date tourism moves on, a milatary dictatorship is not good for business and it will all kick of again later this year as the military clearly have no intention of giving up power so things are only going to get worse.

Yours truly happily retired not needing the tourist dollar.

[girlx]

well i don't think koh phangan looks slow because there is too much new and competing development. in thong nai pan there is not much new development at all, we are just completely empty of tourists. as SBK says, you can drive around thongsala and see how dead the island is as there are few farangs even there. the taxis are coming back dejected and empty from the piers.

Havanna on TNPY already wants to sell and they haven't been open for even a year. Makes me want to scream. He's a nice enough guy, but the place that was there before he bought the property was perfect and people staying there all the time.

as much as i like that family, they did everything wrong. they had stars in their eyes- they don't seem to have researched the beach at all before they built. they have so many problems- the reception being at the back where no one ever goes, the restaurant too (which has been empty since it opened), shoddy work so that they have plumbing problems constantly, no sign on the beach of what they have to offer, a cuban style place with indian food in thailand (!?), the owner working at the beach side bar and playing boney m or some godawful country music on repeat all day (who wants to sit and drink to that?), confusing their employees with slaves, borrowing insane amounts of money from the bank and trying to do everything at once instead of feeling out your customers.... the list goes on. it's their own fault they have to sell already.

[ThaiGoon]

Very strange. A couple of days ago TAT just reported that the number of tourists has increased by about four percent this year. Hmm.

[sbk]

Most likely they were reporting year to date ThaiGoon.

The high season was, at least for us, excellent. No shortage of guests. We were busy until mid-April and then whoosh! very slow. Which is, of course, fairly normal for this time of year. But, my husband feels it is slower than usual.

[cmsally]

Dead as the proverbial doornail in Chiang Mai. Many people renting, woud I imagine, find it hard to keep going.

A big surge of new apartment buildings and hotels for the Rajapruek festival , now probably standing empty. A number of places have told me they try and let out rooms monthly but even that isn't working due to the surge in apartment buildings.

I hope for their sakes they didn't borrow money to fund their projects.

Like SBK said anyone who hasn't borrowed or rented can ride it out but at the other end of the spectrum it must be pretty grim.

[ThaiGoon]

Most likely they were reporting year to date ThaiGoon.

The high season was, at least for us, excellent. No shortage of guests. We were busy until mid-April and then whoosh! very slow. Which is, of course, fairly normal for this time of year. But, my husband feels it is slower than usual.

Ahh. I see.

[Prakanong]

Most likely they were reporting year to date ThaiGoon.

The high season was, at least for us, excellent. No shortage of guests. We were busy until mid-April and then whoosh! very slow. Which is, of course, fairly normal for this time of year. But, my husband feels it is slower than usual.

Ahh. I see.

Yes the TAT figures were for the year to April - up 4% year on year with biggest increase from Europe.

Thing is though last year was low after the Tsunami the year before - or was it?

If its 4% increase on a low year they could be interpreted differently - what is the trend?

[southwest19]

My husband goes to town every day so gauges his idea of "no people" by how many farangs he sees on the roads. He sees almost none. So, even if more people were "spread around", Koh Phangan is hardly large enough to hide them. Our resort had an excellent high season, best ever. And we are slow this slow season. But, and here is the big but, we don't owe the bank money or have to pay rent. So, for those who borrowed money to build or (in many local cases) to rebuild falling down bungalows, the lack of tourists is difficult. Was there overbuilding on Koh Phangan? Absolutely, but I don't believe the lack of tourists has much to do with them being spread out over many new places. As I said, Koh P is pretty small and its fairly easy to gauge tourist numbers by driving around on the main roads or going to the pier at noon.

Also, a friend of a friend is currently trekking in CM and told her that it is very quiet there as well, guesthouse owners etc are talking about how quiet it is.

I suspect the enforcement of the visa rule requiring border travellers to have an onward plane ticket may be dampening things. Many backpackers travel overland to Singapore and get a ticket out of there.

I agree with you it is very quiet nearly everyone says so except highdiver. Pop into Chaweng or Bophut and you will see I am not sure what colour glasses Highdiver has on maybe the blacked out type.

I simply do not buy the arguement that numbers are up compared to this time last year and it is just a case of them being more spreadout or simply hiding.

Also how do TAT compile their numbers I have made 5 trips out of Thailand this year does that mean I am 1 tourist or 5?

I think Samui has become very complacent in recent years thinking it had a godgiven right to tourists. We have the worst infrastructure out of any resort destination I have ever been to in Thailand the roads now are criminal yet no-one is ever held to account.

Along with the high prices maybe tourists are starting to vote with their feet!

[terryp]

Visas, strong baht, coupe, Terror attacks, complacent Thais, ripp offs, Murders etc etc…yes go to Thailand, just what people are thinking

I’ve been saying since last year; the bubble has burst, + the baht is far too strong, costs in Thailand as a holiday destination are totally over priced & really not worth it.

Believe me NOWHERE is busy, Bangkok has not even had a high season, Pattaya is down on its knees…Jomtien is a ghost Town

This will be a year of dramatic change in Thailand, and if all kicks off next week you can forget Thailand getting back into the desirable destinations for another 3-5 years……..if it ever will

Goose golden dead….solly accident…..!

Thailand had tourism given to it on a plate, they even screwed that up