Pattaya: Dead as a Dodo

[roger101]

Or as a friend of mine would say  "Brown bread". Has Pattaya finally had it. It's not sudden, parts of the city have been suffering for years. As the number of Chinese etc kept increasing the number of Europeans etc reduced. So a  number  of businesses which catered to 'should we say the more interesting' parts of business suffered. Some who modified their approach prospered, while others went to the wall.

 

Then Covid 19 happened. To start with most businesses gritted their teeth and waited. Some went under but a big chunk thought like most people it wouldn't last that long. So they laid people off and started to go through their savings. Well things come to an end.

 

So here we are, well into the third wave with the most draconian measures in place. Even well run businesses have temporarily shut and a lot of them permanently.

Will it open up again? Well obviously it will. It's still a seaside resort, but it will take a long time.  Whether we who live here now will still recognize the place in 5 years I doubt it.

[gk10012001]

I am not sure what is happening, but they sure seem to be greatly harming the average low income working Thai or tourist supporting or involved Thai worker.  They are losing more money by locking and shutting down, than if they would just spend the money on vaccinating the population!  Follow the money.  I hate to to think they want to put all the good old fashioned soi businesses out of business, in preparation for more condos, waterfront property development, etc.  Sometimes if you follow the money, seemingly strange things start to make sense.

[champers]

Brush up your blackjack skills and you'll be fine.

[Mickeymaus]

"Well obviously it will. It's still a seaside resort, but it will take a long time." 

 

I don't think that it will take long for Pattaya to get back to its shabby glory. Most bars are simple barracks. They switch on the lights and their often insanely noisy music and they are ready for sexy men again. 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Mickeymaus

[steven100]

so what OP   ?  what's your question ?   everywhere is struggling ....   many countries are doing it tough.

[johng]

I went to  Tescos'ss and Big C  south Pattaya today to stock up on beer and indeed everything in both where shut except for the pharmacy and the supermarket  except the electronics and  clothing sections cordoned off   luckily for me the alcohol section was still open as it was in the 11am - 2pm window  I cleaned out the Big C stock of Cheers beer and scarpered before being attacked by Covid zombies ! 

[Pravda]

Once upon a time I though Patterz would be Las Vegas of Thailand.

[scubascuba3]

much quieter since yesterday, we've been there before

[OneMoreFarang]

Obviously there will be many owners who lost a lot or all of their money. But that doesn't mean business won't continue. It will continue, just with new owners.

 

I know that is hard and not fair but nobody said life is fair.

 

 

[RichardColeman]

Let's hope they ban ALL chinese tourists until they can prove they have had a NON chinese vaccine.

 

But I dare say money will override all vaccine efficacy concerns in the end.

 

Hopefully Thailand will concentrate on European tourists for a few years. But I doubt that too !

[pissedoff2am]

How many entrepreneurs do you think will open a business again after having theirs destroyed by short sighted govt (none who have missed a paycheck in any country) for a virus that is not a grave threat to the vast majority of the population.

Fallout from this is going to last years.

[bkk6060]

Of course it will open again.

It has been rated the number one male entertainment place in the world by many publications over the years.  There are millions of males all over the world who have come here and will continue to come in the future their desire for female company is not going to suddenly stop.

It looks bad now but places like Soi 6 can get going again in about a week. I bet it does not take long to pull up a metal door, stock a place with booze and get girls back here.  Many of the other places are still open even today in and around Soi Buakhao, Soi honey, etc. and others could be fully opened quickly.

Same LK Metro.  Walking Street I have no idea I have not gone for years I think a tourist trap but many love it and it is pretty much a must see for visitors here.

Pattaya will come back sooner then some think unless all these vaccines are full of salt peter and it permanently kills the sex drives of men all around the world.  Let's hope not.

[Kerryd]

14 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Hopefully Thailand will concentrate on European tourists for a few years. But I doubt that too !

Not as long as the current regime is in power. A lot will come back, but not like it was 10+ years ago.

Having said that though, the decision to shift away from (Caucasian) tourists and towards Indian/Chinese started back when Thaksin's puppet gov't was in power (The "People's Power Party" made up mostly of members from Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party.) 
The PPP was in office from 2007-2011 and it was around 2009/2010 that there started to be a noticeable shift in the tourist demographic in places like Pattaya as more Chinese tour groups (and those **** buses) started appearing as well as a large influx of Indian tourists.

That was around the same time that businesses started noticing a drop in the "high season" numbers as fewer "Western" tourists were arriving in the winter months. Not long after, my friends told me that there basically wasn't any difference between "high" and "low" season any more as their business were down all year round.

But of course, the powers that be, regardless of which political stripes they wear, are aware that a very large percentage of the "Caucasian" tourist demographic comes to Thailand for 2 things. Booze and women.

So the only way to get rid of the stigma of being viewed as a "sex" destination is to get rid of the people that seem to have that as their main priority. Hence the change in the tourist demographic and the various gov'ts plans to "eliminate" the sex trade here. (Just the "foreign tourist" sex trade of course, not the domestic trade.)
In fact, Prayut made the elimination of the "sex trade" a pledge early on after he took power so I wouldn't expect him or his gov't to be of much help in the future when it comes to trying to get "Western" tourists back again.

[connda]

That's Ok.  TAT will sprinkle magic fairy dust over the city and tourist will bloom out of the sandy beaches (well, when they have sand) and will spend billions and billions for THB by the end of the year!  Maybe a trillion if all the tourist are rich, jet-setting millionaires and billionaire just dying to visit Soi 6 and the malls and buy luxury cars to ship back home as well as a condo or two!  Happy dayz are coming baby!

[OneMoreFarang]

13 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Let's hope they ban ALL chinese tourists until they can prove they have had a NON chinese vaccine.

 

But I dare say money will override all vaccine efficacy concerns in the end.

 

Hopefully Thailand will concentrate on European tourists for a few years. But I doubt that too !

Are you maybe a little racist?

Are ALL Chinese tourists bad? And are ALL European tourists good?

I am sure I saw idiots and <deleted> from about any country and seemingly nice people from many countries. Chinese tourist visited Thailand and Pattaya for decades, and why not.

Live and let live!

[tomyami]

After nearly 2 years it will take same to normalise unless there is another twist.

It wont happen over a  couple of weeks the amount of support staff and girls will take years, 90% have left some will never comeback

New style businesses to replace old probably more local catering for domestic many farang will not invest till a completely unrestricted normality is established

Areas that flourished in march/april will return quickly others less, some never like soi 7/8.

Tourists will be slow to return as will the airlines mainly those who have investment and committments.  

lifting the shutters in soi6 can be done in a day however i see gentlemans clubs return in numbers first

[connda]

20 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Not as long as the current regime is in power. A lot will come back, but not like it was 10+ years ago.

Having said that though, the decision to shift away from (Caucasian) tourists and towards Indian/Chinese started back when Thaksin's puppet gov't was in power (The "People's Power Party" made up mostly of members from Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party.) 
The PPP was in office from 2007-2011 and it was around 2009/2010 that there started to be a noticeable shift in the tourist demographic in places like Pattaya as more Chinese tour groups (and those **** buses) started appearing as well as a large influx of Indian tourists.

That was around the same time that businesses started noticing a drop in the "high season" numbers as fewer "Western" tourists were arriving in the winter months. Not long after, my friends told me that there basically wasn't any difference between "high" and "low" season any more as their business were down all year round.

But of course, the powers that be, regardless of which political stripes they wear, are aware that a very large percentage of the "Caucasian" tourist demographic comes to Thailand for 2 things. Booze and women.

So the only way to get rid of the stigma of being viewed as a "sex" destination is to get rid of the people that seem to have that as their main priority. Hence the change in the tourist demographic and the various gov'ts plans to "eliminate" the sex trade here. (Just the "foreign tourist" sex trade of course, not the domestic trade.)
In fact, Prayut made the elimination of the "sex trade" a pledge early on after he took power so I wouldn't expect him or his gov't to be of much help in the future when it comes to trying to get "Western" tourists back again.

Well the government will drive a stake through the heart of farang tourism as both sex and booze spreads Covid.  So does talking, gathering with friends, swimming, walking on the beach, non-alcoholic beer, and placing a bet on Saturday's races at Newbury with your London bookie (could be fatal as the Delta variant attacks gamblers according to experts).  So virtually all activities which a farang would come to Thailand to enjoy are being made illegal by the morality police in the name of Covid.  Thank goodness farangs don't come to bet on Siamese fighting fish or Rhinoceros beetle fights. 
So of course tourism will recover!  <books ticket for Cozumel>

[connda]

7 minutes ago, tomyami said:

After nearly 2 years it will take same to normalise unless there is another twist.

It wont happen over a  couple of weeks the amount of support staff and girls will take years, 90% have left some will never comeback

If you put a dab of honey on the ground, how long does it take the ants to arrive.
There ya go.  It would take that long to reestablish the girls in the bars.

[ChristianBlessing]

45 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Pattaya will come back sooner then some think unless all these vaccines are full of salt peter and it permanently kills the sex drives of men all around the world.  Let's hope not.

"Dead as a dodo" indeed ????

[ChaiyaTH]

1 hour ago, Pravda said:

Once upon a time I though Patterz would be Las Vegas of Thailand.

Well both places are S holes so I guess that part of the mission is reached.

[Kerryd]

19 minutes ago, connda said:

Well the government will drive a stake through the heart of farang tourism as both sex and booze spreads Covid.  So does talking, gathering with friends, swimming, walking on the beach, non-alcoholic beer, and placing a bet on Saturday's races at Newbury with your London bookie (could be fatal as the Delta variant attacks gamblers according to experts).  So virtually all activities which a farang would come to Thailand to enjoy are being made illegal by the morality police in the name of Covid.  Thank goodness farangs don't come to bet on Siamese fighting fish or Rhinoceros beetle fights. 
So of course tourism will recover!  <books ticket for Cozumel>

Yeah but people are expecting that all those restrictions will be lifted before they start letting tourists back in.

Then again, one of their great plans was to allow people in but have them confined to their hotel rooms for 2 weeks. No doubt in the anticipation that most tourists only spend 10-14 days on holiday anyways so they'd end up flying in, going to their hotel for 10-14 days then flying out again.

So who knows !

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

So the only way to get rid of the stigma of being viewed as a "sex" destination is to get rid of the people that seem to have that as their main priority. Hence the change in the tourist demographic and the various gov'ts plans to "eliminate" the sex trade here. (Just the "foreign tourist" sex trade of course, not the domestic trade.)
In fact, Prayut made the elimination of the "sex trade" a pledge early on after he took power so I wouldn't expect him or his gov't to be of much help in the future when it comes to trying to get "Western" tourists back again.

The problem being, without the sex trade Pattaya isn't a place many people would want to visit.

[sezze]

Pattaya will be faster in business then you might think so . It is demand/supply , right now there is no demand , nobody "can" come there . You see why Pattaya started and who their visitors were in the 1st place . It wasn't the pretty beach and the nice temples . Thailand is now lacking the vaccination , but eventually it will get there . Once everything is able to open , 1st people visiting won't be families with children , it will be single man . They will create the demand , and there will be plenty of supply ready to cater for them ( as they need the money ) . Nobody has ever cared about the looks of the bars , rather then what was inside of it , and i do not mean the chair or table . It all can still be a while , idk how long since i never myself was thinking this pandemic would be this long . Looking at the European numbers , you do see some dark red countries , but hospitals aren't full anymore , people aren't dying like before anymore . They are just infected , which right now is still something to watch since many still aren't vaccinated and new variant can come around , but as long as it stays like this we will get herd immunity soon by vaccination or having infection before . Thailand like said is still very very far behind , but i do not think it will be 1y longer .

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, connda said:

If you put a dab of honey on the ground, how long does it take the ants to arrive.
There ya go.  It would take that long to reestablish the girls in the bars.

You would need to find some honey dabbers first, no?

[fredscats]

Covid and its variants are going to be around for a long long time

[sezze]

11 minutes ago, fredscats said:

Covid and its variants are going to be around for a long long time

Yes sure , it will be like all other corona virus in the future , meaning it will be a strong cold , more like flu , claiming a few deaths each year . Until we are there vaccines will take most heavy symptoms away ( hospital/death ) .

[shdmn]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

The problem being, without the sex trade Pattaya isn't a place many people would want to visit.

That popular opinion is at least 5-10 years out of date imo.  The new Pattaya can survive just fine without the sex trade.  Lots of middle class Bangkok couples/families come to Pattaya on weekends and probably more than of 75% of (pre-covid) tourism was not related to the sex industry.

Edited July 22, 2021 by shdmn

[Johnny Mac]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

The problem being, without the sex trade Pattaya isn't a place many people would want to visit.

Nah, not having that. Unfounded and cliched. You could even say more would go there if they 'cleaned' all that up.

[Golden Triangle]

3 hours ago, connda said:

If you put a dab of honey on the ground, how long does it take the ants to arrive.
There ya go.  It would take that long to reestablish the girls in the bars.

 Cloud cuckoo land matey, sorry you are soooooooo wrong.

[gk10012001]

11 hours ago, champers said:

Brush up your blackjack skills and you'll be fine.

A definite possibility.  Casinos will be inevitable in Thailand.  They can't resist the money opportunties