Prime minister urges Thais to make more holiday trips in aid of economy

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Tourism is an important mechanism for stimulating economic expansion and dissipating income to local businesses and communities nationwide. Recognizing this, the prime minister is now encouraging Thais to make more holiday trips.

 

Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha has placed great importance on the promotion and stimulation of domestic tourism, as the activity helps to distribute revenue to all sizes of businesses and supports the employment of persons in the tourism industry. Although Thailand is now open to international tourists, some time is expected to be required for the number of foreign visitors to approach the multi-million figure. Encouraging domestic travel by Thai nationals, therefore, remains an important contributor to economic growth.

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports projects that 100 million trips would have been made in Thailand by Thai nationals for the whole of 2021. The number of domestic trips has already reached 92 million at the end of November, and about 650 billion baht in tourism revenue was generated by these trips.

 

As of today (7 Dec), about 100,000 room nights remain available under the third phase of the We Travel Together subsidy program for hotel stays and air tickets. The public is encouraged to reserve their subsidized hotel stays before the slots run out.

 

Addressing concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant, the prime minister asserted that relevant agencies have been closely monitoring against outbreaks of Omicron. Meanwhile, he is urging various venues and the general public to observe the “COVID Free Setting” and “DMHTT” disease control criteria in order to maintain safety within the Thai tourism scene.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-12-07

 

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[engamann]

I guess that what millions of people out of work need to hear after 18 months of suffer , more holiday when them not have any roof over they head of food on the tabel , Prauyt the great leader.

[4MyEgo]

Yup, will be booking ours with the hotel direct tomorrow, looks like they have reduced their prices, noting that a week before the "We travel together" 40% discount came into effect, they put their prices up 40%, and it looks like no one went....LOL

 

So tomorrow we will be booking for 5 nights in January, in this 5 star hotel that we have stayed at before on the oceanfront for 2,245 baht per night with breakfast included after the 40% discount is applied, how cheap is that.

 

Good thinks come to those that wait.

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[daveAustin]

26 minutes ago, engamann said:

I guess that what millions of people out of work need to hear after 18 months of suffer , more holiday when them not have any roof over they head of food on the tabel , Prauyt the great leader.

Yep. No clue. How about putting his hand in his pocket, or, better still, take a loooong holiday himself!

[tomazbodner]

54 minutes ago, engamann said:

I guess that what millions of people out of work need to hear after 18 months of suffer , more holiday when them not have any roof over they head of food on the tabel , Prauyt the great leader.

Shopping malls are still full of shoppers with shiny new toys, car sales are skyrocketing, upmarket restaurants and coffee shops are full of people, domestic terminals are full of travelers. Not everyone is broke in this country. And if those who have spend some, that could trickle down to those who don't have as well.

[ikke1959]

I think with all the lockdowns and measures for Covid a lot of people hardly had any income. With the many holidays people want to earn money not spending....It is normal to care for a living first and than the pleasures. Mr Prayuth with his full bankaccounts doesn't understand that 

[BKKTRAVELER]

Most of my friends said they would go to the beach last weekend, then said they'll go the next week for the next long back to back weekend. In the end, nobody is going anywhere. The reason, everybody is broke and don't want to spend 20k+ on leisure anymore.

[djayz]

I would love to know what percentage of the population can actually afford to travel these days. Yes, it doesn't cost that much, but a lot of average, normal families don't have that kind of money. Another sign that a lot of these people are out of touch with reality. 

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, tomazbodner said:

Shopping malls are still full of shoppers with shiny new toys, car sales are skyrocketing, upmarket restaurants and coffee shops are full of people, domestic terminals are full of travelers. Not everyone is broke in this country. And if those who have spend some, that could trickle down to those who don't have as well.

Probably the result of endless credit card abuse. Expect a new bank of Thailand warning about personal debt rising hugely in the new year 

[Airalee]

35 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Probably the result of endless credit card abuse. Expect a new bank of Thailand warning about personal debt rising hugely in the new year 

Pay no attention.  Car sales definitely aren’t skyrocketing.  A good friend works at Siam Paragon and tells me that there are lots of window shoppers but sales are few and far between.  In the last couple weeks I have gone to Central Embassy to get a watch serviced (empty upon both drop off and pickup), met up with someone at central Chidlom at 5pm (ghost town) and then went to shop at Emporium and finally eat at Emquartier.  Those malls certainly aren’t full…far from it.   Went to Central Bangna 2 weeks ago and had no problem parking and most restaurants were certainly not full.  Popped into IKEA and there wasn’t even a line at the register.

 

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/total-vehicle-sales
 

 

[Gandtee]

Big Chief speak with fork tongue! One minute he says stay at home to stop the spread of the dreaded lurgy. Now he says travel to stimulate the economy? The fastest way to stimulate the economy is to open up the entertainment industry. This will enable people to get back to work and earn money to spend on feeding themselves and one day to go on a holiday.????

[kimamey]

I'm sure there are many who can't afford to take holidays but those that can will at least keep some people in employment.

My wife still works so more holidays from work would help. I had planned to return for New Year so that we could take the whole family away whilst she and her sister and daughter had time off but unfortunately I'm not in a position to travel at the moment as I'm recovering from an operation. 

I'll just have to be patient but it would be great if she had more time off when I do get back.

[fondue zoo]

 

Typical of politicians, wealthy ones doubly so, no regard and or knowledge of how the general populace is faring.

[wensiensheng]

9 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Shopping malls are still full of shoppers with shiny new toys, car sales are skyrocketing, upmarket restaurants and coffee shops are full of people, domestic terminals are full of travelers. Not everyone is broke in this country. And if those who have spend some, that could trickle down to those who don't have as well.

Well I would have to take issue with your comment that new car sales are skyrocketing. Anecdotally the sales people I know in the industry say they are suffering quite badly. I’m not sure what official car sales numbers are, but I’d be surprised if they are sky rocketing.

 

but I take your point that not all are broke and anyone with money can get things with some nice discounts.

[fredscats]

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Shopping malls are still full of shoppers with shiny new toys, car sales are skyrocketing, upmarket restaurants and coffee shops are full of people, domestic terminals are full of travelers. Not everyone is broke in this country. And if those who have spend some, that could trickle down to those who don't have as well.

Ill give you that,especially car sales,witnessed guy signing up for new car in mall,could hardly put one foot in front of the other along with his fat(and poor) family.....no deposit no interest,red plated cars all over the place,all loaned money,yet no jobs.  Country is going broke on broke.....as for shopping,what day is this?

Edited December 8, 2021 by fredscats

[jacko45k]

18 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

I’m not sure what official car sales numbers are, but I’d be surprised if they are sky rocketing.

Last I heard there was a new vehicle supply shortage caused by lack of the control chips that go into them! So is there an over supply or not?

[cyril sneer]

might help if they didn't ban 'entertainment'

[crazykopite]

The general lives on another planet the average Thai can just about to afford to live let alone take a holiday . Holidays in Thailand are for the elite if he wants to get the economy going stop wasting money on Chinese submarines and other military hardware and use that money to boost the economy is he still planning on using a 100 million on New year celebrations that money can also be used more wisely 

[cheapcanuck]

If the Thai people have no money to spend on domestic travel then how are they to travel? 

[crazykopite]

The only reason the shopping malls are full is the Thais love the air free conditioning .

[ronster]

Utterly deluded !!

Oblivious to the fact his handling of this whole ****show has left millions without jobs , people left bankrupt , thousands homeless and relying on handouts of food from Thais and foreigners in the street .

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Recognizing this, the prime minister is now encouraging Thais to make more holiday trips.

Recognising that the world is not kicking the door down to come to paradise, and the trillionaires seem not too interested in his expensive visa scams,  he now asks the natives to travel and spend more.

 

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports projects that 100 million trips would have been made in Thailand by Thai nationals for the whole of 2021. The number of domestic trips has already reached 92 million at the end of November, and about 650 billion baht in tourism revenue was generated by these trips.

The ministry of tourism should just stay quiet instead of rolling out these constant ridiculous predictions and suspect  revenue figures.

[Moti24]

Prime minister urges Thais to make more holiday trips in aid of economy

 

All that's going to do is generate more tax revenue for the government with money already in Thailand.

 

What's needed isn't going to happen.  Until tourists feel that they can enter Thailand without the worry of unexpected quarantine, they'll just go elsewhere; just like some expats have already done.

[Phredd]

Give all RTP 3 weeks Holiday Pay Bonus due to their excellent Policing Activities, however they must go away on Holidays and then the Public will save money by not being ripped off for 3 weeks. 

[Scouse123]

11 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Shopping malls are still full of shoppers with shiny new toys, car sales are skyrocketing, upmarket restaurants and coffee shops are full of people, domestic terminals are full of travelers. Not everyone is broke in this country. And if those who have spend some, that could trickle down to those who don't have as well.

You have obviously never heard of people shopping under the guise of ' never , never ' regarding paying back credit taken out to purchase such items.

 

Also, shopping malls and outdoor markets are full of plenty of people with many that are just ' browsing '  not buying. Household debt is in the news for breaking all records.

 

Not saying everyone is broke in the country, just the majority of the working class which forms the backbone of the country and the bread basket of the country.

 

We cannot expect any better from a self appointed supposed leader who has lived a life of ' privilege and shelter ' from the realities of what is happening on the ground in Thailand..

 

A bit of a ' let them eat cake ' attitude to serious problems from an idiot that knows no better assisted by that slimy little toad as his deputy and a cabinet stuffed with military crooks, cronies and ' yes men '

 

Shameful!

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Scouse123

[mikebell]

30 minutes ago, Phredd said:

Give all RTP 3 weeks Holiday Pay Bonus due to their excellent Policing Activities, however they must go away on Holidays and then the Public will save money by not being ripped off for 3 weeks. 

RTP in Pattaya have been on holiday for at least a year except for the occasional high-profile raid on a restaurant when funds run low.

[kentrot]

He wants Thai's to holiday more. 

That's like standing in a bucket and trying to lift it.

 

And why is everyone talking only about tourism. That's only 15-18% of GDP. What about the other 82-85 % ? 

 

Why isn't the government doing more to promote industry ? Every week there are stories of immigrant workers crossing the border to take THAI jobs   Maybe imposing a decent minimum wage would create more jobs for Thai's .

 

And would it be asking too much that farmers get a decent price for their goods. 13 million farmers subsist on a few hundred baht a day , if that. Not enough to take time off and spend on hotels and restaurants. A farmer might get 5 baht for a kilo of vegetables that took months to grow . And Lotus's sells it, a week later, for TRIPLE the price. Not exactly fair !

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

That is how all of this fork up started.

Last year Prayut said 'go forth and travel for Songkhran'!

Government people from Thonglor brothels private clubs gave Covid to everyone.

[actonion]

If the Tha's i dont  spend   this government  will introduce yet another  public holiday,,       .............

 

"You will spend"