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TAT boss: quarantine remains for 1 day to test all visitors, no going back to old tourism pub scenes


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"Thai tourism formula of crowded bars and nightlife"

 

What happens to Thai crowded bars and nightlife venues? What is to keep tourists from going to those places. At those places, how will they keep Thai working girls out?

Tourists who want to party would just go to the Thai places, which will quickly become tourist places. Are they planning on barring foreigners from those places? Or will they close down the crowded bars and nightlife venues that cater to Thais also? That seems implied. Maybe they will start up private clubs for Thais only or something.

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3 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

It's primarily a place for foreigners  not necessarily expats but very few Thais. Thai men have Sapan Kwai Go Go area

Is that where it is? A friend who's fluent in Thai took me somewhere years ago - no idea where it was as I'd 'had a few and never been able to find it since'.  Apparently a lot of the go go's don't let westerners in. Obviously a few do or we wouldn't have got in but you really do need to speak Thai there - there's no "hello, welcome, sit down please. where you come from". The girls were much better looking but that could have been the Chang.

Edited by KhaoYai
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Where will the quarantine hotels be? Most folks fly into BKK. So will all foreign arrivals be forced to find a room in BKK until the test is approved? Otherwise, they'll need to create secure transit facilities in the airports and permit people to go to the other destinations for quarantine. Maybe the tests can be administered in those locations also, taking the load off of the BKK labs. I can see this working. They have your SHA+ info that will have the hotel contact info. It is just getting those tourists to the gates for transit and having separate airport facilities for "the pest." 

 

This may be part of the reason for stipulating a group of permitted destination cities. Gives them time to setup the secure transit facilities, designate the compliant hotels, and get the testing infrastructure in place. While many people say that no planning occurs, that is certainly not the case. Good for the Thais, I hope it works out.

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22 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Good luck with that. With European destinations in summer, Dubai and Carribean in winter then there are plenty of other family/luxury/value options closer to home. Thailand is an exotic place that had thrived for decades on the mix of hedonism, freedom and lax implementation of rules. Make it difficult, expensive and less fun then many will simply seek alternative destinations. Maybe he's only got the Chinese or Indians in mind so let's see how that goes.

 

Yep, Vietnam looks more promising than Thailand... 

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I think we are at the point where there are so many plans, announcements and most importantly conflicting information not to mention the attendant hassles that remain...

 

We are to the point that Thailand is permanently damaging any hope of recovering it's tourism sector.

 

A person simply doesn't know what to believe.

 

In my mind this is making policy on the fly but it's more than that. It's vested economic interests pushing and pulling policy.

 

There are dozens of other places to lay on a beach.

 

Apps..stupid apps. 90 day broken two years, all those covid apps data breaches. Thailand can't do software. Willing to put your personal data in jeopardy. Why not? Stoopid farang.

 

You. Farang. Pay 500 now.

 

Doomed.

Edited by Chad3000
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9 hours ago, Carrbhoy said:

I've bought a small hip flask and was going to do the same but with some nice rum from duty free. Use it during my twice weekly trip to the 'pub' whilst watching live sport and playing a few games of pool for a few hours. I'll keep the green tea trick in hand if my regular trips to the toilet for a sip from my hip flask raise eyebrows!

 

the flask seems to signal you are sneaking booze-----hence the tea bottle is the more stealth and holds a small sangsom botle

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8 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Is that where it is? A friend who's fluent in Thai took me somewhere years ago - no idea where it was as I'd 'had a few and never been able to find it since'.  Apparently a lot of the go go's don't let westerners in. Obviously a few do or we wouldn't have got in but you really do need to speak Thai there - there's no "hello, welcome, sit down please. where you come from". The girls were much better looking but that could have been the Chang.

Had a similar experience years back. I noticed an add for what I thought was a new restaurant down a Soi off Suk 55. 

 

I went in and discovered it was a very large venue and with some fluster I was taken to a sofa chair with a small table. Same waiter asked what drink I wanted and it came.

 

Meanwhile I had noticed I was the only Western customer amongst a very large crowd of all male Thai customers. 

 

The drink bill was placed on the small table. I started to sip my drink but quickly the waiter was back asking for payment.

 

After waiter took the money another older Thai man rather abrupt, good English, suit and necktie arrived and said 'thanks for visiting us but this is a private club', meantime he was pointing to the entrance door.

 

I departed.

Edited by scorecard
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The only thing these fake puritans will succeed in doing, is driving the sex industry further underground. It will not disappear. It is too much a part of Thai culture, and there are not enough opportunities for Thai women to make good money. Even with a college degree, for the most part. 

 

So, they will simply put the nightclubs, and the bars out of business. And Tinder, escort services, and online apps will flourish here. The nitwits are once again shooting themselves in the foot, and shrinking the economy. This will result in significantly lower tourism numbers, as most do not want to spend alot of their time in the temples, nor the malls. And they continue to avoid talking about the sacrifices needed to get tourism back on track here. Sacrifices? Why would the most popular nation in the world, with the greatest tourist attractions, the kindest people, the biggest smiles, the deepest culture, the most cooperative officials, and such low cost travel need to make them?

 

Get ready. Thailand is heading toward lower income, African nation status. 30 years from now they will teach at university, how Thailand was once a booming economy. What happened? 

 

 

1200x800.jpg

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55 minutes ago, superal said:

Do not underestimate the actions of this country's leadership  .  They made their intentions loud and clear 4 or 5 years ago to clean the place up E.G. Pattaya etc and turn it into an upmarket holiday resort that will be suitable for families . The powers that be are stubborn , inconsiderate for others sufference because of their actions . They are well aware of western ways but choose to ignore them because their illogical ways are correct in their eyes . We will never understand Thai thinking as it is alien to us and much of it is based on religious beliefs and culture . It is well known that some of the Thai aristocracy would like the country to return to ways of old , say some 40 years ago which would involve a complete reconstruction of current Thai living for most but not all , as some of the older Thai folk retain the old customs . The TAT idea of encouraging wealthy tourists would mean a reduction of general tourism but would still bring in a comparable income . Thailand wishes to keep its identity and not be another western type tourist spot .  I reckon the famous Thai holiday / bars and resorts may be over and there may well be another Asian country ready to take over . The about turn will be a tricky process with so many unemployed people from the entertainment businesses .

Are you aware of why wealthy tourists AVOID Thailand? Here are just a few things you could do, or suggest, if you were a serious man.

1. Get rid of Anutin and submit your own resignation, Prayuth. You are an abomination. You are two of the least competent ministers in this hapless administration. You and A need to be replaced with talented people who have real experience in their fields and creative minds. Less xenophobia helps too.

2. Lower luxury taxes to 20%. This would help Thailand to attract some wealthy tourists again. Most wealthy people love to spend real money while on vacation. Contrary to what you think, wealthy foreigners are NOT dumb. They do not enjoy paying for stunningly over priced items, and will wait for their next trip to London, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Nassau, or Dubai to buy a handbag at what it should cost, rather than what you think foolish people will pay.

3. Improve traffic safety.
4. Improve immigration service.
5. Get rid of the toxic army.
6. Address corruption.
7. Pay attention to air quality.
8. Stop treating tourists like dogs. This applies to the govt., not the people.

That is just a start. I could go on for days. Do not expect the wealthy tourists to return. They come here once, if they come at all. And they do not return for a dozen good reasons like the lack of top quality service, expertise, shopping, English skills, sommelier service, fairly priced world class wine, high standard F & B, and the list goes on.

The problems what existed long before Covid are NOT being addressed. At a minimum:
the unwillingness to tackle the scams, and corruption in general.
the traffic and public safety issues.
the lack of a competent and effective police force, that foreigners can count on, when they need them.
the environmental issues, and so many other causes, are all having an impact on tourism.
the inept military government, who nobody likes, and most people despise.
haphazard and xenophobic immigration policy, meant to deter tourism, and ex-pats, rather than encourage them.
racist ranting from the government, often directed at tourists and ex-pats and a nonsensical nationalistic agenda, that is pure politics.

The decision to turn away from Western tourism, and focus almost exclusively on lower to lower middle income Chinese, Malaysian and Indian tourism (86% of total tourism in 2019) was a mistake of historically monumental proportions. The TAT is barely making any effort to lure Westerners. And in my opinion they are the big spenders. I read surveys about the average Chinese tourists, being at the top of the list of big spenders. But, this is average. And the big spending Chinese do not come to Thailand for a dozen different reasons. The wife wants to buy a luxury handbag. The same Gucci bag that she likes is $3,500 in Singapore, London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, or Dubai. In Bangkok that bag sells for $9,000.

At a five star hotel, this same wealthy Chinese couple want a great bottle of wine. They see a good vintage of Domaine Coche-Dury Monthelie, which would sell for about $500 retail, at a five star in many of the major cities for $1,000 on the list. The same bottle, if it was available (highly unlikely) in Bangkok, would be 100,000 baht, or more. And if it was available would the hotel have a sommelier who was qualified and fluent enough, to explain the wine, and the various vintages available? I have not found that in the past here. I have been to high end restaurants where they knew nothing about the expensive wines on the list! Nothing! The lack of expertise here is a big factor in discouraging wealthy tourists who come here, from returning ever again.

Most wealthy people tend to be smart with their money. They simply will not pay stupid money for stuff. The ultra rich are different. But, no ultra rich people would even consider Thailand as a destination, unless they had work here. The luxury taxes have been discouraging high end tourism here for decades. It is policy that is so dumb, so shortsighted, so non-visionary, and it badly hurts the economy. If wine duty was 100%, you would have a thriving wine industry here, five to ten times the size of the current industry. So the state income would be made up on volume, and hundreds of thousands of jobs would be generated. Instead the protection of a few local wineries continues, due to some politicians passing the anti import wine bill years ago, and accepting the payoffs that came with that braindead decision.


Sure, the neighboring countries are benefitting from all of the mistakes Thailand is making. But, they are also trying much harder, and are far smarter with their policies. They deserve the gains. These are simply more examples of brain dead leaders, who have no vision, and are NOT leading the nation forward, are not helping the nation to progress, and are not benefitting the people of Thailand.

Edited by spidermike007
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2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Are you aware of why wealthy tourists AVOID Thailand? Here are just a few things you could do, or suggest, if you were a serious man.

1. Get rid of Anutin and submit your own resignation, Prayuth. You are an abomination. You are two of the least competent ministers in this hapless administration. You and A need to be replaced with talented people who have real experience in their fields and creative minds. Less xenophobia helps too.

2. Lower luxury taxes to 20%. This would help Thailand to attract some wealthy tourists again. Most wealthy people love to spend real money while on vacation. Contrary to what you think, wealthy foreigners are NOT dumb. They do not enjoy paying for stunningly over priced items, and will wait for their next trip to London, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Nassau, or Dubai to buy a handbag at what it should cost, rather than what you think foolish people will pay.

3. Improve traffic safety.
4. Improve immigration service.
5. Get rid of the toxic army.
6. Address corruption.
7. Pay attention to air quality.
8. Stop treating tourists like dogs. This applies to the govt., not the people.

That is just a start. I could go on for days. Do not expect the wealthy tourists to return. They come here once, if they come at all. And they do not return for a dozen good reasons like the lack of top quality service, expertise, shopping, English skills, sommelier service, fairly priced world class wine, high standard F & B, and the list goes on.

The problems what existed long before Covid are NOT being addressed. At a minimum:
the unwillingness to tackle the scams, and corruption in general.
the traffic and public safety issues.
the lack of a competent and effective police force, that foreigners can count on, when they need them.
the environmental issues, and so many other causes, are all having an impact on tourism.
the inept military government, who nobody likes, and most people despise.
haphazard and xenophobic immigration policy, meant to deter tourism, and ex-pats, rather than encourage them.
racist ranting from the government, often directed at tourists and ex-pats and a nonsensical nationalistic agenda, that is pure politics.

The decision to turn away from Western tourism, and focus almost exclusively on lower to lower middle income Chinese, Malaysian and Indian tourism (86% of total tourism in 2019) was a mistake of historically monumental proportions. The TAT is barely making any effort to lure Westerners. And in my opinion they are the big spenders. I read surveys about the average Chinese tourists, being at the top of the list of big spenders. But, this is average. And the big spending Chinese do not come to Thailand for a dozen different reasons. The wife wants to buy a luxury handbag. The same Gucci bag that she likes is $3,500 in Singapore, London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, or Dubai. In Bangkok that bag sells for $9,000.

At a five star hotel, this same wealthy Chinese couple want a great bottle of wine. They see a good vintage of Domaine Coche-Dury Monthelie, which would sell for about $500 retail, at a five star in many of the major cities for $1,000 on the list. The same bottle, if it was available (highly unlikely) in Bangkok, would be 100,000 baht, or more. And if it was available would the hotel have a sommelier who was qualified and fluent enough, to explain the wine, and the various vintages available? I have not found that in the past here. I have been to high end restaurants where they knew nothing about the expensive wines on the list! Nothing! The lack of expertise here is a big factor in discouraging wealthy tourists who come here, from returning ever again.

Most wealthy people tend to be smart with their money. They simply will not pay stupid money for stuff. The ultra rich are different. But, no ultra rich people would even consider Thailand as a destination, unless they had work here. The luxury taxes have been discouraging high end tourism here for decades. It is policy that is so dumb, so shortsighted, so non-visionary, and it badly hurts the economy. If wine duty was 100%, you would have a thriving wine industry here, five to ten times the size of the current industry. So the state income would be made up on volume, and hundreds of thousands of jobs would be generated. Instead the protection of a few local wineries continues, due to some politicians passing the anti import wine bill years ago, and accepting the payoffs that came with that braindead decision.


Sure, the neighboring countries are benefitting from all of the mistakes Thailand is making. But, they are also trying much harder, and are far smarter with their policies. They deserve the gains. These are simply more examples of brain dead leaders, who have no vision, and are NOT leading the nation forward, are not helping the nation to progress, and are not benefitting the people of Thailand.

lol muh xenophobia.

 

Thailand is for Thais.  Just because your home country got ruined doesn't mean you need to ruin Thailand.

I'm not racist, I just love my country.

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6 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 And if it was available would the hotel have a sommelier who was qualified and fluent enough, to explain the wine, and the various vintages available? I have not found that in the past here. I have been to high end restaurants where they knew nothing about the expensive wines on the list! Nothing! The lack of expertise here is a big factor in discouraging wealthy tourists who come here, from returning ever again.


 

A friend of mine went to some high end Italian restaurant in Bangkok and ordered a bottle of wine, the girl went off to get the bottle when she returned she just plonked the bottle on the table and walked off, my friend shouted her back, are you not going to open this bottle for me?

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anyone whos coming november.. you're just encouraging the government to keep all the ridiculous rules in play and keeping anything that's fun shut.  apart from people wanting to see their family (although you could have been doing that since last year, and if you was waiting on quarantine to stop, your family obviously dont meant that much to you!)  anyone else thanks a bunch.  

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8 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

A friend of mine went to some high end Italian restaurant in Bangkok and ordered a bottle of wine, the girl went off to get the bottle when she returned she just plonked the bottle on the table and walked off, my friend shouted her back, are you not going to open this bottle for me?

Just one of the reasons why Thailand will never attract more than 15 wealthy tourists a year. High end service is just not up to par here. 

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So the quality tourists come to LOS, quality dad, quality mom, and two quality kids. End of the day after doing quality things like visiting temples, going to the beach, buying designer goods in a quality mall, eating at a quality restaurant ..guess what, quality dad would like a beer or even an XO brandy if he's proper quality ..and yet he can't . Keep on dreaming TAT for that big rush of high end quality tourists coming on November 1st.

 

As a side note: It was the dirty farang backpacker all those years ago that built up the potential for what we see now and laughably what the TAT hope for too ..guess that's all forgotten eh.  

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