TAT: Thailand needs high earning, high quality tourists - "value over volume" to get 80% back by 2023

[moskito]

WHY focus on old farts like us, bringing some money into the country, when you can focus on DIGITAL NOMADS,
young guys with VISA FROM THAIBOXING or LANGUAGE or COOKING Shools? ????????

I spent millions of baht here since i am living here straight in 1997, build houses, supported jobs for Thais in my Restaurant, support a family up North, bought 4 cars, about 12 motorcycles and spent lots of money on everything one needs to make a living here, do WE get anything in return???  In return they make it more difficult for us every year here with lots of things.
:
Thailand, specially the TAT should STOP lying into their own pockets and focus on whats real important, bringing people into the country which SPENT money, not people using Thairoads for private race competitions or monkey business Russian "Dancers" Russians or people coming here without a buck but for the weather and to avoid another winter in Siberia.  Monkey Business VISA shools do not help bringing the so called quality tourism back, specially not with a government changing its regulations every week.
:
the average working ppl needs to know in advance IF and HOW he can book a holiday and not with a risk of beeing locked into his hotel for quarantine again after arrival when booking a flight 2 month in advance.

[Chelseafan]

Well if they would stop murdering their tourists, it would be a start...

 

[Bluespunk]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

He said that from now on Thailand has to stress "Value over Volume"

If you offer such you will attract such...

[trainman34014]

This was just Episode 6,647 of the TAT Daily 'Soap'.   Stand by for Episode 6,648 later today but who's listening ?  One thing is for sure; it's not those Upmarket High Earners they crave !

[AussieBob9999]

14 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

About the same, 1992. But we must be somehow sharing a thread spanning the Multiverse!  I could not possibly disagree with you more if I was paid to. I don't see any of what you are experiencing, nor have I in better part of a decade. Am envious of your version of The Bizarre-O World you're in.

He could be right. I know a guy that has gone 'feral' and become very 'Thai'.  He lives in a remote village with his Thai wife and kids and they all like him - all he sees every day are friendly Thais - he is as happy as the proverbial pig.  But that is not for me, as I love my golf and the 'luxuries' of life available in the bigger cities.  But each to his/her own. 

[SAFETY FIRST]

24 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Are you one of the "good" falangs? Years ago a female EVP of Bangkok Bank went on record in the Bangkok Post as saying that farang retirees in Thailand were wierdos that no other country would take. They are not sharing your prejudices, they are making their own judgements - and you might not be judged as positively as you think.

Strange reply 

 

Are you one of the freaks I see around town? 

[MaiDong]

1 minute ago, MaiDong said:

I love that last photo! It's so 'Thai'!! 

Here! See if I can rival it! This is outside a brand new 7eleven here in quite a nice part of Western Bangkok, it's not on the ground, but it's still highly suspect finishing. 

 

 

The problem is that until the people actually doing any of the finishing work care about what they're doing - which would take a monumental societal shift - nothing will change. 

[DaiHard]

Non drinkers presumably.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

He stressed that Thailand needs high quality tourists who are high earners and big spenders.

What Thailand needs is it's own industry, it's own commercial sector... tourism should be a bonus.

Unfortunately that last 6 years has been spent doing nothing for the nations prosperity and stability.

Touting wealthy tourists to be a saviour is a disaster waiting to happen and an affirmation that they have no idea how to build a sustainable nation.

 

[tandor]

6 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Keep dreaming. High value tourists have other destinations in mind. You know, places where they fix the pavements, taxi drivers don’t scam them, police follow the rule of law, bars don’t rip them off, and they’re generally appreciated.

..sounds like 'tourist heaven'.

[0815]

TAT ????????????

[bluesnake]

"High earning, high quality tourists".

 

Such a horrible saying, so rude...

They should be ashamed of saying that.
 

[mjakob007]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand needs high quality tourists who are high earners and big spenders

Making the same statement time and again, without any actions would not yield different results

[mokwit]

17 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Strange reply 

 

Are you one of the freaks I see around town? 

So what are you doing in that part of town - maybe people look on you as a a freak. it's like people talking about all the wierdos in the Old Thermae without seeing that everyone else was looking at them as one of the wierdos?

 

I don't think the Thais are making the judgements based on what you are making them. I think you are just projecting your prejudices and thinking the thai's think as you do.Dress? shorts flip flops and sleeveless shirts?

 

That is what I and my thai colleagues wore whilst staying in a bungalow on Sattahip Naval base. hmmm.

 

Example 2 Staying with a friend in rural Suphanburi where they'd likely never seen a falang - we were going into town where likely they hadn't either and I was wearing shorts flip flops and sleeveless shirts  around his property - I asked him if I should change into something more formal to go into town, he was baffled - no you're fine he said. Of course I could be just hanging around with the wrong kind of Thai's but he had a masters degree and a "na" in his name and I knew him from when we worked at the same investment banks. So.............

 

 

Likewise an old Thai Chinese says hello to me as I come out of the building early morning when he is waiting for the Monks to come, dressed in (you guessed it) - doesn't seem to bother him but he is dressed pretty much the same.

 

It just makes me laugh, the falangs who think they are so superior when the Thais likely look on thems the same as the people they regard as freaks and wierdos. Absolutely the Thais will classify you as eithe phu dee falang or falang kee nok, but maybe not along lines you think. the old Chinese guy says hello to me IMO because if I am up that early I can't have been on the suds all night, and therefore is judging me by behaviour rather than dress.

 

Oh, I have Scandinavian colouration including Titanium Dioxide white skin - that can get you a long way.

Edited December 15, 2021 by mokwit

[terryofcrete]

I'd love to take some of these "high earners and big spender" advocates out on a street blindfolded with a white stick and ask them to negotiate their way along a typical Soi in the likes of Pattaya ....especially the ones with open manholes ! 
 

[Almer]

His aim is to get 50% back in 2022 and 80 % back in 2023, that means you are happy with the tourists from the past, the OM said he wants to clean up not have tourists with there tongues hanging out walking around Oattaya, make your mind up chaps

[mjakob007]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Noteworthy in the Phuket Sandbox revival this year was the fact that each tourist spent 70,000 baht

more than 50% of per capita expenses were in sandbox hotel, PCR tests etc.

 

Do they plan to continue sandbox in 2022-23 to continue similar income profile from high spenders?

[terryofcrete]

Do they ever take into account the Billions of Baht handed over to Ladies and spent somewhere in Thailand ... even the money that's sent to Isaan ...it's all foreign spending and going into the Thai economy 

[SunsetT]

6 hours ago, mikebell said:

When they're not quoting impossibly optimistic figures, they're spouting the bleedin' obvious.

Yes obvious, but to state it publicly in this way is undiplomatic, ignorant, impolite, discriminatory and offensive to many.

[shaff]

6 hours ago, tonray said:

Let's see ..I'm not what would be classified as a high earning, big spending foreigner...but...in the past 3 years I helped with down payment on a townhouse (where I now live and maintain), I bought 2 cars, I bought two insurance policies (one for my health and one for my extension), and of course I spend money for food, domestic travel, etc etc. But tired old expats like me...out....big spending high flyers in....5555

 

5 hours ago, LivingNThailand said:

2 years during "covid" I've bought a refrigerator, washing machine, bed, 2 new phones, a new car, paid my rent on time, frequented the local grocery stores just about every day, ate at local restaurants, hired local people to garden and clean, etc.   Spent 99.9% of my hard earned and saved money here in Thailand.  A lot more than one single tourist, that's for sure.  Money well spent, I may add.  Enjoyed every minute of it.

 

[mjakob007]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand has to stress "Value over Volume

create scarcity and push prices up.

1500 people per evening for new years,

drinking to stop at 1AM.

 

See the beeline of high spenders queuing up for 2024 new year celebration, after spending 50k a piece at 14 day  'happy quarantine' before being let out for celebrations 

Edited December 15, 2021 by mjakob007

[gejohesch]

5 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

You may be right, but having lived here for a while, you should know by now, that none of this is appreciated, but that Thailand wants high-spending, overpaying tourists, who throw their money 'out of the window' for just a few days, before heading back to their home country. What long-term tourists or expats do to benefit Thailand's economy or population in the long term (spending way more long-term than a tourist, who's here for a week or two) is not what the ruling class  (and some in the tourism industry) care about.

 

Arrive as a tourist for 10 days, spending 100,000 baht, they want you,

but living here, spending a million baht over the length of a year, they despise you...

Yes, maybe just maybe, that's the word : "they despise you". Having lived and worked a few years in Bangkok (before moving to Isan), I could not help sometimes having that creeping feeling that behind the smiles (sometimes no smiles) foreigners are just despised. There is that subtle, underlying notion of Thai superiority.... dare I say "Thailand über alles"?

So, high spending foreigners that stay invisible and ideally do not stay, I can see that ranking high in the minds....

Edited December 15, 2021 by gejohesch

[SAFETY FIRST]

13 minutes ago, mokwit said:

So what are you doing in that part of town - maybe people look on you as a a freak. it's like people talking about all the wierdos in the Old Thermae without seeing that everyone else was looking at them as one of the wierdos?

 

I don't think the Thais are making the judgements based on what you are making them. I think you are just projecting your prejudices and thinking the thai's think as you do.Dress? shorts flip flops and sleeveless shirts?

 

That is what I and my thai colleagues wore whilst staying in a bungalow on Sattahip Naval base. hmmm.

 

Example 2 Staying with a friend in rural Suphanburi where they'd likely never seen a falang - we were going into town where likely they hadn't either and I was wearing shorts flip flops and sleeveless shirts  around his property - I asked him if I should change into something more formal to go into town, he was baffled - no you're fine he said. Of course I could be just hanging around with the wrong kind of Thai's but he had a masters degree and a "na" in his name and I knew him from when we worked at the same investment banks. So.............

 

 

Likewise an old Thai Chinese says hello to me as I come out of the building early morning when he is waiting for the Monks to come, dressed in (you guessed it) - doesn't seem to bother him but he is dressed pretty much the same.

 

It just makes me laugh, the falangs who think they are so superior when the Thais likely look on thems the same as the people they regard as freaks and wierdos. Absolutely the Thais will classify you as eithe phu dee falang or falang kee nok, but maybe not along lines you think. the old Chinese guy says hello to me IMO because if I am up that early I can't have been on the suds all night, and therefore is judging me by behaviour rather than dress.

 

Oh, I have Scandinavian colouration including Titanium Dioxide white skin - that can get you a long way.

OMG 

 

It is you I saw 

[MaiDong]

25 minutes ago, MaiDong said:

Here! See if I can rival it! This is outside a brand new 7eleven here in quite a nice part of Western Bangkok, it's not on the ground, but it's still highly suspect finishing. 

 

 

The problem is that until the people actually doing any of the finishing work care about what they're doing - which would take a monumental societal shift - nothing will change. 

On a positive note, for any digital nomads in my area, Internet really sped up! I doubt the 7eleven spaghetti art installation is the reason though... 

[Harveyboy]

6 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Keep dreaming. High value tourists have other destinations in mind. You know, places where they fix the pavements, taxi drivers don’t scam them, police follow the rule of law, bars don’t rip them off, and they’re generally appreciated.

well said mate

[Harveyboy]

6 hours ago, tonray said:

Let's see ..I'm not what would be classified as a high earning, big spending foreigner...but...in the past 3 years I helped with down payment on a townhouse (where I now live and maintain), I bought 2 cars, I bought two insurance policies (one for my health and one for my extension), and of course I spend money for food, domestic travel, etc etc. But tired old expats like me...out....big spending high flyers in....5555

same jere

6 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Keep dreaming. High value tourists have other destinations in mind. You know, places where they fix the pavements, taxi drivers don’t scam them, police follow the rule of law, bars don’t rip them off, and they’re generally appreciated.

well said mate

[TigerandDog]

6 hours ago, tonray said:

Let's see ..I'm not what would be classified as a high earning, big spending foreigner...but...in the past 3 years I helped with down payment on a townhouse (where I now live and maintain), I bought 2 cars, I bought two insurance policies (one for my health and one for my extension), and of course I spend money for food, domestic travel, etc etc. But tired old expats like me...out....big spending high flyers in....5555

I'm not a big earning, big spending foreigner BUT I reckon I contribute more to the Thai economy than any individual high spending tourist. In my time here ( 7 years ) I've purchased 2 cars ( both new ) and paid cash for the 2nd one, purchased 2 mobile phones ( expensive ones ), furnished my wife's new bungalow, obviously use local restaurants etc., support local sporting organisations ( golf & cycling ) and I'm currently building a new house with a total budget for construction and furniture of several million baht. So this combined with what other long term expats contribute to the Thai economy, long term, is in reality more beneficial to the Thai economy, especially local regional economies,  than what any tourist might contribute, especially when very littel is spent by Chinese and Indian tourists, and what they do spend is at predetermined businesses and most of that money flows out of Thailand back to India & China.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Wonder if the people from TAT ever been to a place where "High Quality Tourists" visit? They should take a trip to the French Riviera and see how things should be done, No broken sidewalks like here, clean water, no plastic floating around and beautiful beach promenades.

   

Edited December 15, 2021 by HiSoLowSoNoSo

[Harveyboy]

4 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

I think you are right re Vietnam and they completely by passed the sex tourist route and went straight for the middle class market and have done exceedingly well. They were having issues with their taxi driver scams etc and cleaned it all up. Vietnam is quirky, interesting, old school and lots to see. A very charming place. I love living in Thailand for other reasons but as for a holiday destination I would rather go to Vietnam any day of the week. Some of the nicest, smartest most genuine, welcoming and motivated peoples I have ever met, even in the face of so much adversity in the past. And its not for the high end hotels or resorts. It's for all the things I would not have or see in my own country. Apart from the handful of generic overcrowded landmark sites in Bangkok, and millions of temples of every size and type, there is very little Thai culture, heritage, architecture etc to be found here. And they must have a rich history. Vietnam do very well with village tours. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that in Thailand and Western people love that stuff.   

 

I doubt Thailand has ever done any real research re demographics, target markets or customers needs. The first negative or constructive criticism they got they would have got defensive, started finger pointing and made excuses. And lets face it. it was all so easy for them back in the 80s, 90s. It just all fell in their lap. 

 

As an Australian, we already have resorts and beautiful beaches, with decent food of all cultures. Coming to Thailand with a family to second rate beaches, resorts with average at best food and service, unsafe transport.....that lets face it are not much cheaper than back home these days ain't going to cut it. I am sure the Thai smile and welcoming attitude of the people that used to be in these tourist areas has long gone. Middle class Europeans / Eastern Europeans as well as the Chinese should be Thailand's target market. But then again how does Spain / Portugal /  Yugoslavia etc compare in Europe value wise and quality of service.

i been to all those European destinations and the compete well in fact some cheaper than here a lot cheaper...

[tonysilly]

Stop the scams and tell the police and the Thugs to leave the Tourist alone. Then maybe, maybe you might get high quality tourist. Until then, Thailand will be just a cheap place where people come for crazy fun. What are they going to do with all the Ladyboy Bars. Or do high soo people Love them too??