Thailand to “focus on quality tourists who can spend more”

[webfact]

Hua Hin Beach. File photo

 

By Paul Andrews

 

The post pandemic recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector will focus on quality rather than quantity, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said earlier this week.

 

The Thai government recently announced ambitious plans to attract one million foreign tourists by April next year.

 

The arrival foreign tourists will be helped by the easing of restrictions, including the removal of the mandatory quarantine requirement for all visitors to Thailand from November 1.

 

Full story: https://www.huahintoday.com/hua-hin-news/thailand-to-focus-on-quality-tourists-who-can-spend-more/

 

-- © Copyright Hua Hin Today 2021-10-09

 

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[Thailand]

Problem solved, brilliant, incomparable etc!

[Xonax]

As if they are in a position, where they can select to be picky! 

 

[Shuya]

beggars can't be choosers

[BritManToo]

Thailand wants quality tourists, but Thailand isn't a quality destination.

[bigupandchill]

Thailand is an environmental disaster area. Discerning visitors will go elsewhere.

[worgeordie]

"Thailand to “focus on quality tourists who can spend more”

Like those that can spend more than a 1000 Thb a day....????

they should just be happy with any tourists they get , and

stop this thing about multi millionaire tourists ,you may get

a few, but its ordinary tourists that benefit Thais engaged

in the tourist industry.

regards worgeordie  

[RafPinto]

So they basically admit that their whole strategy was wrong:

 

Why would you say that you want to focus on "quality tourists?"

They admit that they were just interested in high numbers of tourists instead of the quality of tourists.

 

Probably the millions of Scheinese and Indians didn't get the result they were hoping for.

[KhunLA]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Thailand wants quality tourists, but Thailand isn't a quality destination.

So true.  Still a 3rd world country.  Most 4 or 5 star accommodations here are anything but.  People that think otherwise have never been to a 4 or 5 star resort.  A pool & buffet brekkie is not 5* ????

 

Nothing new with their 'quality over quantity' marketing, but has failed, as everything they touch.

[Geoffggi]

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

The post pandemic recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector will focus on quality rather than quantity, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said earlier this week.

 

A couple of problems with this philosophy, the first being have a good look around, wealthy people have much better places to go to, cleaner & safer. & secondly this kind of thinking does not feed the working class of people, look at the comments from the bar and small restaurant owners in Phuket they saw absolutely nothing from this line of thinking; try considering the population for a change instead of the rich and influential they have enough already.

[brucegoniners]

Yet they concentrate on the Chinese. Funny.

[Mavideol]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The post pandemic recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector will focus on quality rather than quantity,

it's back again, yes and yes their BS it's back again, they had that "fantastic" idea a couple months ago and now they are running out of any new/good ideas thus the BS of quality over quantity jumped in, God have mercy on them...... 555 ROFL

[LongTimeLurker]

Isn't this what Thaksin introduced with his Thailand Elite Card?

 

And how well did that go down with the world's multi millionaires?

[Pedrogaz]

When you don't define quality and wealthy accurately enough, you will always meet your goals.

[LomSak27]

Obviously this has been the head guy, yes that guy's, pipedream for years now. Long time before  Still no specifics on why quality tourists would choose Thailand. What's the lure? How are they going to sell it.  

 

Quote

"The focus will be to attract foreigners from four specific groups dubbed, ‘rich’ global citizens, digital nomads, ‘wealthy’ retirees and highly skilled professionals."

"Digital nomads"  What the heck? I have met a wealthy digital nomad, BTW, one. Retired after twenty as a microserf in Redmond. Making real money as he traveled. However that is a world away from you tuber nomads you meet online or up around Nimmanhemin. The ones having the 25 Baht plates of gap cow on side sois.

Those champagne wishes and caviar dreams, never cease to amaze..  

[greenmonkey]

Ha! Don't they mean they want super rich tourists who have so much money they don't care about the state sponsored dual pricing and they don't care if they are constantly going to be ripped off by the locals!?

[MRToMRT]

I had better packs my bags and leave then. 

 

What I don't get is who are these articles/news release supposed to impress/be for? Is it Thais? Is it foreign tourists? Who is it?

[Longwood50]

[USEpat]

Maybe the government needs to take a wee bit from their submarine fund and send their tourism forecasters and decision makers on a junket to real five-star international destinations.  They might be surprised that the real ones don't have sewage running into their beachfront ocean, have sidewalks without holes, pits and other walking hazards, don't have beaches (not to say roads and storefronts) washed away or inundated during annual rainy seasons and tend to avoid obvious dual pricing rip-offs.  Having been to a few myself, they might also note that beachfront promenades are rarely populated by hoards of mostly past-their-prime hookers while entertainment joints don't feature hundreds of young women pimped out by their families in order to send money back to the farm.  That said, there are a few terrific spots in the country - most off shore island getaways that have accommodations and scenery that rival any in the world. One thing the very rich have is options - if the Thai psyche can ever understand the implications of that fact, they might do better.

[wensiensheng]

They’ve been saying this for years. But reality is that TAT focuses on numbers of bums on airplane seats and that drives everything down market.

 

start targeting FEWER visitors and I might start to believe the hype.

[ChaiyaTH]

I am starting to become crazy I guess, every day there is some kind of post with what they think to achieve or focus on, they still do not get a single thing right either. It is just hopeless at this point.

[milesinnz]

Parrot speak, quality tourists, quality tourists.. squark, quality tourists....

[Isaan sailor]

Quality tourists that will spend more?  Easy—charge 100 Baht for every white bus passenger on those zero-Baht tours. They’ll make millions.

[Chelseafan]

47 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

When you don't define quality and wealthy accurately enough, you will always meet your goals.

 

Very well said.

 

[Polaky]

I'd spend more if they open the bars and bring the entertainment back.

[Bagwain]

1 minute ago, Polaky said:

I'd spend more if they open the bars and bring the entertainment back.

Plus some natives will get fed!

[ChaiyaTH]

2 minutes ago, Polaky said:

I'd spend more if they open the bars and bring the entertainment back.

If they only took those revenues into account, they must be clueless. I still suspect we indirectly fund the agriculture business by half 555

[BangkokReady]

45 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

What I don't get is who are these articles/news release supposed to impress/be for? Is it Thais? Is it foreign tourists? Who is it?

Somebody commented on here once before that most of this is just a show for the Thais.  Even if it only effects us foreigners, visas, 90 days, TM30, tourists, whatever, it's just to send a certain message to the Thai populace about how foreigners are being kept in line, etc.  This really made sense to me, when you consider how much of Thai culture and society is based on show and pretense.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

They could have cleaned up the dirty and broken tourist towns during the last year when nobody visited the place, made proper beach promenades, resurfaced all the broken roads, hidden all the ugly over head wires etc. etc. Did this happen, no they just left the ghost towns to further fall apart. 

[bkk_bwana]

It is a well known fact that 'backpacker' tourists spend the most (because they stay a lot longer) and put more money into the local economy (they sleep, eat and drink local). High end tourists stay in foreign owned and managed hotels, eat imported Australian beef and drink French wine.