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

[oznomad]

That's all very well, except for a few things.

Will the desired rich tourists pick up a pad thai and a beer for lunch at a family restaurant?

Will they weave through markets, buying t-shirts, elephant pants, and a few spare pairs of jocks?

Will they rent beach chairs, buy beers from the chair owner and street food from the peddlers?

Will they make their way around in baht buses, tuk tuks, motorbike taxis?

Will they go on pub / bar crawls, spending their money in 10 different places in a night?

Will they stay in 2 or 3 star accommodation, either in cities or in rural areas?

Will they slip into a dingy massage shop for a therapeutic rub?

No?

How will the Thais that have been providing these services, and have struggled through covid, waiting for things to get better, make a living in the years to come?

 

Perhaps the 5 star hotels might share their profits with those mentioned above, and it will all be just rosy.

 

As always, zero thought has gone into the plan.

 

 

 

[sambum]

Whenever I see "TAT" I think "Fiction"! ("Pulp" if you like!)

[sambum]

2 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Very, very simple; get rid of the ridiculous bureaucracy serving nothing but employing thousands of officers with zero skills on a patronizing level.
Your entire visa system is absolute madness. 
Get rid of the two-tier pricing policy by allowing Thai people free of charge access.
Facilitate bank accounts for tourists (as in the past) as nobody is carrying around thousands of dollars in cash nor is willing to accept juicy withdrawal fees on foreign credit cards only. 
Tell your people that non-Thais are not aliens - it alienates the idea of "welcome" in the word already. 
Stop lying 24/7, the figures and news releases by the various government agencies are nothing short of an absolute idiotic compilation of lies. 

"Tell your people that non-Thais are not aliens - it alienates the idea of "welcome" in the word already."

 

I like it! The use of the word "alien" epitomises how the Thai government and some Ministers in particular look upon "dirty unwashed "farangs", but isn't it hypocrisy at a high level when they are desperate to attract "aliens" (or/and their money!) back to "Even more Amazing Thailand"?

 

"Stop lying 24/7, the figures and news releases by the various government agencies are nothing short of an absolute idiotic compilation of lies"

 

You have to realise that the Thai mentality (especially within the older generation) dictates that everything that is said by anyone in Government or a uniform is "gospel", hence the present situation where to disagree with Government can bring about fines or even jail time, depending on how high or low profile the "offenders" are!  

 

 

 

 

[thaipara]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

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

But how are they going to get them? It's not like they can just call uber/tourist and order up ten million for delivery next year.

 

Here's my suggestion (1% creator's fee, please, TAT), premised on TAT's certainty that Thailand is so attractive a destination that these desirable tourists will flock here and that the main problem is keeping out the riff-raff: Require visas of _all_ visitors and require all applicants to indicate how much money that are going to spend during the trip. Spend enough and get the visa. Upon arrival, hand over the dosh to your personal government functionary/handler who will accompany you in your travels and pay for everything (with your money). Any leftover funds will be spent at duty-free upon departure.

 

That's the way to ensure you get the kind of tourists you want!

[The Hammer2021]

6 hours ago, Richard1950 said:

Back in the 70s when I was in my twenties Thailand was the place to go. Fast forward to post tsunami when westerners wanted to help the Thai economy and visited in droves only to be blatantly ripped off and you begin to see the beginning of the end of Thai tourism. Thailand is what it is; dirty, sleazy, rundown. Corruption in Thailand starts at the top and filters all the way to the bottom, it permeates the whole of Thai society.

I am fairly wealthy and there are far nicer places for me to spend my time and money than the current Thailand.

Having spent many month long holidays in Chiang Mai and Koh Samet in the 70s and 80s I took a trip down memory lane in 2010 and cut my holiday short by three weeks because Thailand had turned into a cess pit of corruption and filth.

Do yourself a favour, if you want to experience SE Asia go to Vietnam or Cambodia. If you have money visit the Caribbean; great beaches, great people great service, first class accommodation, superb food and entertainment.

A silly emotive innacurate description of Thailand. The three countries you mention are also corrupt but less free and more despotic

[cncltd1973]

13 hours ago, Robin said:

Thailand has made its reputation  as aa destination for cheap back-packer type tourists and sex tourism.  Now it is having second thoughts as these categories are going elsewhere.  it might be too late to change now, and beyond the ability of Thais to do so.

TAT will need o be far more imaginative and active to get these imaginary "high quality tourists"  who mainly want a high quality destination.  

Agreed. They want high quality tourists, but don't understand what will draw them in. If they did a little actual research, like getting out of the office and participating in tourism activities and asking questions of tourists, then they could build make some changes that would attract the tourists they want. Instead, they keep thinking everything is good enough and all it needs is a new slogan.

The real reason high quality tourists don't come is because Thailand stops at 'good enough', and good enough isn't good enough for people with standards.

[cncltd1973]

13 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

A silly emotive innacurate description of Thailand. The three countries you mention are also corrupt but less free and more despotic

Do you work for the Thai government? You're so quick to dismiss an account by a 'fairly wealthy' person who has visited over the years, I would think it has some value as I've heard similar assessments.

And, I grew up in the Caribbean, it's not a country but many countries, and they do attract a class above other tropical destinations of the world.

[Stargeezr]

Considering the the world is still in a COVID pandemic. Thailand should be happy

to get a healthy tourist who is not about to die of COVID. TAT just cannot quit

dreaming.  With the current restrictions, and rules, and new requirements to 

fill out new forms, and other hoops, Thailand will be lucky to get a few thousand tourists this

December, and even in 2022. In Canada, the Omicron is affecting and infecting lots of people

and new restrictions on travel is being implemented.  Dream on TAT.

[Albert Zweistein]

Certainly Thailand needs a high quality government.

[Mike Galley]

The chance is there but the right conditions need to be set up first. 

Let's start with the application of Thailand Pass....who is ready to spend 30 minutes online to follow ridiculous document requests. Besides that , who is willing to pass two PCR tests within 3 days and pay more than thb 2,000 ?

If Thailand wants high class tourists I could provide the right places to stay for them and make them spend unforgotten holidays, however, I am afraid that I would need to create the perfect conditions for them to make them book first of all....and Thai government authorities don't seem to be cooperative enough with all these ridiculous application procedures....a real shame !

[Hanuman2547]

I believe that Khun Yutthasak is overly optimistic at attaining those numbers and those types of tourists.  Remember, the 40 million tourists in 2019 included the "high quality tourists who are high earners and big spenders" as well as the poorest of the poor backpackers staying in the cheapest accommodations available.  Obviously there were a lot of more the latter than the former.  These "high value" tourists will choose destinations with proven track records, safe tourist areas, and a lot less paperwork and hoops to jump through.  Unfortunately Thailand does not tick all the boxes that these types of tourists require.  

[Straight8]

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

 

You think? Perhaps you'd all like them to also donate 10% of their wealth while they are here?

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Spot on. And we could show similar or worse in every other city. This place is ridiculous. 

Sad reality is, we can show similar just round the corner on 3rd Rd too. 

[TechnikaIII]

TAT needs to be disbanded, so the salaries of those useless and destructive high-earners can be appropriated for constructive and helpful purposes.

Never before in the history of Thailand's tourism, has so much damage been done by so few.

[crazykopite]

These people live in cloud cuckoo land it’s those of us who have lived here for years that helps the economy not the odd wealthy individual who stays two weeks and then moves on 

[DBath]

Thailand’s tourism minister, proving once again: when it comes to discrimination, Thailand won’t take a backseat to anyone…

 

“If you’re impressed by discrimination, come to Thailand for your vacation!.”(but only if you’re RICH, if you’re not RICH, stay away we don’t need you!)

????????????

[crazykopite]

23 hours ago, The Cipher said:

I'm in the bucket that TAT would probably classify as the high earning desirable foreigner.

 

And although I'm sad that there aren't more people like me in Thailand, I do have to admit that the put-down-roots type of foreigner (frequently found on this board) are, in some ways, better for the country than I am.

 

People like you guys are committed and invested in your communities for the long haul. Whereas I think that a lot of the people in my bucket remain flexible by design and are a lot more mercenary with capital allocation.

 

I'm in Thailand because it meets my needs at the current time. But if it ever stopped, I'd be gone tomorrow.

 

And I can understand why TAT targets wants to move upmarket, because honestly, there really is a lot of riffraff from Western countries that pools here (I don't mean anyone in particular here but also am not sorry if I trigger anyone with that statement). But I do wonder if TAT's aims are too upmarket. I think the country's ideal market to target would be nice middle class tourists and retirees.

My villa has been valued recently at 25 million baht my. Pensions come to more than 1 million baht a year I have 8+ million in investments overseas, what category does that put me in and I’ve supported the Thai economy for 15 years in that time I have never left the country meaning I have invested every baht in that period into the Thai economy it’s people like myself they should be trying to attract not someone who will come for two weeks and then move on 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, crazykopite said:

it’s people like myself they should be trying to attract not someone who will come for two weeks and then move on 

Sounds like they got you already.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm…. Emphasis on the “high earning” oI suggest, “quality”would be at best optional? I sometimes think Thais get quantity and quality confused

[Whacker]

Some of those hiso wealthy big spender Thais should also be stepping up to the plate, and helping their brethern. Isn't there and old saying that charity begins at home? Why does The Thai government always want to have wealthy foreigners solve their financial problems?  Why can't they embarress the ultra rich Thais into helping out?  Maybe the government can set an example themselves by donating 10 percent of their salaries? Maybe Priwit can donate some of his watches. How many watches does he need to tell the time anyway?

[The Cipher]

Quote

I have invested every baht in that period into the Thai economy it’s people like myself they should be trying to attract not someone who will come for two weeks and then move on 

Ok I'm choosing chaos. Since everyone seem to feel that their class of foreigner is the economic engine of Thailand, I decided to mock up this table as a thought experiment.

 

  

We know that pre-Covid there were approx 30-35 million foreign arrivals in Thailand each year. We know that there are maybe 100,000 foreign retirees in Thailand. So if we make some reasonable spend and volume assumptions about each of these groups, we can roughly gauge their importance to the economy (which is what TAT cares about).

 

Assuming that lower wealth tourists spend just over USD $1,000 per trip, and higher wealth tourists spend USD $10,000 per trip, we see that we only need 2 million higher wealth tourists to make up the equivalent of 20 million(!) lower wealth tourists. Added bonus of not having the country overrun by the LQ type of foreigner.

 

We see that middle class tourists actually are the sweet spot, spending about $3,000 per trip and contributing 50% more to the economy in total compared with the other two short term categories. This is what Thailand should be targeting.

 

Finally we see that there are only approx 100,000 foreigners holding retirement visas in Thailand. If each of them spends 1,000,000 THB per year we see that their contribution is relatively smaller than every other short term group. Because someone is gonna get triggered and tell me that I'm wrong, I even included an extra line where we 3x the stated lifer volume and the conclusion remains the same.

 

To be clear, I do think that retirees/lifers do contribute to the country in ways beyond their economic impact, and it's nice to see you guys helping your communities grow. I just wanted to provide some context to why TAT visions might be different from AseanNow perspectives.

[Eric Loh]

I thought TAT intention is about attracting high quality tourists which is in their purview and not about plans for retirees which is the purview of the Home Ministry. Just like recent Malaysia's Home Ministry strict financial changes which affected 48,000 retirees that have second homes in Malaysia. Retirees need not fret about TAT's comments. 

[Pravda]

Someone just posted this on Facebook. 

 

 

[Pravda]

Just now, Pravda said:

Someone just posted this on Facebook. 

Edit: it's British Airways

 

Just now, Pravda said:

 

 

 

[AustinRacing]

Quite a few grumpy old men commenting about how bad Thailand is and how things will never change and all the negative stuff. If you’re not happy and believe Thailand is beneath you then pack up and go back to your better country. Nothing wrong with wanting better quality tourists and whether they get it sooner or later remains to be seen. This is their strategy. Remember Thailand has significant ties to nearby cultures such as Chinese, Indians etc and little to no such ties with farang lands and as such you’re not their priority. But coming from a “superior” culture makes it hard for you to accept that. Right? 

[Pravda]

5 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Thailand has significant ties to nearby cultures such as Chinese, Indians etc and little to no such ties with farang lands and as such you’re not their priority. But coming from a “superior” culture makes it hard for you to accept that. Right? 

Thailand has significant ties to whoever gives more money.

 

And if you ask the average Thai they want nothing to do with either Chinese or Indians.

 

Just correcting your significant misconceptions about this country before you decide to send anyone home.

[The Cipher]

27 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Quite a few grumpy old men commenting about how bad Thailand is and how things will never change and all the negative stuff. If you’re not happy and believe Thailand is beneath you then pack up and go back to your better country. Nothing wrong with wanting better quality tourists and whether they get it sooner or later remains to be seen. This is their strategy.  But coming from a “superior” culture makes it hard for you to accept that. Right? 

Just speaking honestly, there's definitely an undercurrent of entitlement in many forumers here. But not like, smug entitlement. Rather, the frustrated entitlement of people who feel that their due is being denied to them. And this is mixed in with the loss of esteem that comes from declining status in the world.

 

My suspicion is that a lot of the old guys here were pretty mundane/overlooked in their home countries for much of their lives. And then they moved to Thailand a few decades ago and felt wealthy and important for the first time ever. Or perhaps they felt they should have felt wealthy/important, who knows?

 

But in the time since, the world has changed. Price levels have risen while pensions may have remained fixed. Technology has advanced, and changing geopolitical fortunes have resulted in the rise of other cultures. So a lot of the retirees here sense a loss of status, but probably can't fully explain why (although I'm articulating it for them right now).

 

They want to be seen as wealthy, but aren't. They want to feel important, but don't. And in part due to age, skill, and/or IQ constraints, they aren't able to change that situation. So a bitterness emerges and is constantly fueled by reminders that the world has moved on and by the sense of powerlessness that comes with that. 

 

It's a really interesting human case study. Yes there's a lot of objective racism on this board, but when you put it into context it's actually more of a sad picture than a nasty one. There are also a lot of lessons for younger people on pitfalls to avoid in life.

[NoshowJones]

21 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

You enjoy a rich fantasy life!

What would happen if a farang came here for a 2 or 3 week holiday and had only spending money in his pocket and was using his countries credit or debit card for his holiday expenses, then was sent to a hospital having had a positive PSR test on arrival at the airport, he comes out after about 14 days with a huge over inflated bill of thousands of Baht. 

 

All he has on him is only his daily spending money and he refuses to use his debit or credit card to pay the hospital?

Does he then get his passport taken of him and put in jail until he gets the money sent over to pay his hospital bill  from his home country, or what?

[AustinRacing]

45 minutes ago, Pravda said:

Thailand has significant ties to whoever gives more money.

 

And if you ask the average Thai they want nothing to do with either Chinese or Indians.

 

Just correcting your significant misconceptions about this country before you decide to send anyone home.

Well I’m not seeing any corrections here just your beliefs which is fair enough and you’re entitled to them. Most Thais have ethnic roots to China and India and that’s a fact. You can figure the rest. 

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, hotchilli said:

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.

 

They are soldiers, not politicians, they are in government through default. They haven't a clue about prosperity or stability, they have about the same mentality as the ordinary Somchai or Lek in the street.

Things will improve when the Thai people vote in a proper government with actual politicians, but by how much I don't know as it has been so long since the country had that. Thailand is a third world country with third world mentality, and always will be.