Will Western tourists ever go off visiting Thailand?

[SteveAZ]

People will return once it is decided Covid-19 is endemic. The visitor health insurance requirement will stay as it’s not Thailands responsibility to provide healthcare to noncitizen’s. Fundamentally I don’t think Thailand wants to repeat the past of attracting cash strapped bargain hunting tourists.  Those days are likely over. Just my opinion, but who knows when tourists will actually return. Hopefully the days when droves of tourists in insane numbers trample everything, are over.

[Isaan sailor]

On top of the well-discussed quarantine hurdles, you can now add the rising Baht as a dealbreaker. The higher Baht crimps spending, hurts exports, and should force foreigners to look elsewhere.

[RandiRona]

10 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

It is an image that the government is trying to re-brand. Fortunately it is not the main reason for many tourists visiting Thailand. Profession is ever evolving but not the world oldest profession. They will always be places for some hanky panky in Thailand. 

But how a normal family would travel to Thailand when just 2 day forced quarantine and test would cost around 40k bhat and if unfortunate looking at around 500k of forced hospital stay when tested positive.

I also dont see any kind of incentives for knowledge industry like IT/Finances to get more knowledge workers like Singapore and Malaysia has done successfully. Unfortunately there is a lot to be done to change the sex tourism destination which it is today.

[ExpatOilWorker]

27 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

There is just one in this world...

 

But for the past 2 years, there have been none. 

The lower Sukhumvit neighborhood is slowly changing.  With building like Q taking over, NEP might one day share the fate of Washington Square and Clinton Plaza.

[BayArea]

54 minutes ago, Robin said:

The present government is doing all it can to keep tourists away.  One of the few things it has succeeded at.

The Thai 'Elite' have never liked hordes of 'dirty, rude farangs' swarming over their temples and palaces, taking their women, etc..  Covid has given them and their puppet government an excuse to keep all these Faragns away, and they will not give that up.

Look to Vietnam for beaches, Philippines for girls', Indonesia for both, and Thailand's future looks grim.  Plenty of unemployed men for the army, and women for cheap servants for the rich.  It might be what they want.

Look for Viet Nam for beaches,  culture/ history/ tradition, culinary goodness, back packing adventures,  and nightlife. And girls, they are everywhere if you know where to look.

[Humpy]

As soon as Pattaya's Walking Street gets back to what it was three yeas ago then the tourists will return..... !!????

[Joules]

Forget the pandemic for a minute.  Ever since the last coup, those "in charge" of Thailand have taken a decidedly xenophobic turn.  the truth is, the decline really got under way with the coup against Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 and has been going downhill ever since.  Structurally, it is a decidedly less friendly place than it used to be.   Individual Thai people are still friendly, but even many of them have been poisoned by the anti-foreigner rhetoric, including repeated government proclamations that only "rich tourists" are wanted.  Many Thais do not want tourism resumed.  They are enthralled by the idea that Thailand is for Thai people and they can travel freely (and cheaply) without competition from throngs of foreigners.

 

It is far bigger than covid.

[rott]

6 hours ago, twix38 said:

I am just waiting until I can return without any restrictions except a PCR test to enter without any quarantine for vaccinated folk.

 

Then I will return to sort out my affairs and complete my relocation back to uk permanently. Far too many downsides to living in Thailand and I did that for 13 years.

 

Pollution, pesticides, poor air quality, hospitals not actually competent often in my experience, Sun exposure damage build up often under estimated, flipping street dogs, xenophobic population, jumping through immigration hoops, 2 tier pricing and ripoff, dangerous driving, political shambles, exch rate and no longer cheap....so much more, but I'll stop there.

 

Just waiting to return to leave for good!!

But how many of those are actually a real problem to many people.? Tourist people that is. 

 

[michael888]

People are already "off" it.  Mandatory "health insurance" that doesnt even pay if you get ill.  Smog choked skies from the giant sugar plantation that used to be Thailand blazes away for 6 months a year.  Dual pricing at everything from tourist attractions to hospitals.  Is there anything i'm missing?

[Gottfrid]

4 hours ago, Millcx said:

55555555555555 Dreamland won’t happen

Sure it will! You don´t think that Thailand have been having crisis many times before? You do not think that they have been talking about change and cleaning up Thailand for the last 25 years? I always goes back. The reason why is the deep corruption in society. So, as long as that not goes away, which it will not! Just too much pocket money to lose. Then it will just be business as usual.

But, on the other, maybe you think corruption will go away just because of a pandemic? In that case you are far far out in dreamland. If anything happens, it will be more as there has been to few sources of income during more than 2 years.

[cyril sneer]

1 hour ago, RandiRona said:

Eric my friend, you gotta read more, here is an article you may trust. I copied relevant section as well.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_tourism

A number of countries have become popular destinations for sex tourism, including Brazil,[4][5] Costa Rica,[6][7][8] the Dominican Republic,[9] the Netherlands (particularly Amsterdam),[10][11] Kenya,[12] Colombia, Thailand,[13] 

thanks for this

[bougnat]

 ,

An excellent cuisine .... with palm oil. When it is not massacred by the pepper, it is generously added with glutamate GME 621, responsible for obesity, hypertension, hyperactivity, halzeimer diabete...

 

 

 

 

[cyril sneer]

38 minutes ago, Humpy said:

As soon as Pattaya's Walking Street gets back to what it was three yeas ago then the tourists will return..... !!????

it's renovation is 80% complete apparently, with children welcome now

[Bad boy 561]

9 hours ago, tomster said:

Just drop all entry restrictions (maybe keep the insurance requirement as that is not that unreasonable) and the millions will return.

 

Problem is if they drop all restrictions before the next election the protests will return in force - they can't have that so expect to see the fear campaign kept going until after the vote at least. 

Not unreasonable?how do figure that

[Pattaya Spotter]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

I am sure many retirees will think twice before settling here in the future as visa and insurance regulations are making it harder to make ends meet.

Nothing has changed re my annual "retirement visa" renewal in over a decade...I don't think there has been any substantial change in getting a Non-Imm "O' visa to get the process started. Have I missed something?

[stigar]

You migth missing that thai incurance companies now say that they dont want  people re-entering thailand get incurance.There you go again.

Edited February 10, 2022 by stigar

[Pushkin]

.... And so, Mexico was an easy choice with only a few hours flight, neverending PCR tests with certified hotels requirement, useless insurance, no fear of being locked up and automatic 6 months Visa on arrival with none of the documentation hassle... 

[John Drake]

9 hours ago, tomster said:

Just drop all entry restrictions (maybe keep the insurance requirement as that is not that unreasonable) and the millions will return.

Keeping the insurance means not only locking out older people who might not be able to get it, but it also means keeping some sort of pre-clearance requiring an application through some sort of Thai website or embassy. That will only frustrate any hope for a return to Western tourism as it used to be. And that's for one reason. Thailand was always an attraction because it was just a matter of getting on a plane and arriving here with a month to spend, if the tourist wanted. You could visit Thailand on a whim. It made for part of the adventure of it all. An insurance requirement will mean that option is no longer in play. Essentially, everyone will need an approved insurance visa. If you're going to need to go through the trouble for that, there are better places with easier entry requirements. 

[Pattaya Spotter]

Westerners are certainly flocking back to Phuket...my guesthouse in Chalong, where I was literally the only tenant for the past 7-8 months (25 rooms) is now about half full; and the restos and muay Thai training gyms are filling up again.

[John Drake]

2 hours ago, Robin said:

The present government is doing all it can to keep tourists away.  One of the few things it has succeeded at.

The Thai 'Elite' have never liked hordes of 'dirty, rude farangs' swarming over their temples and palaces, taking their women, etc..  Covid has given them and their puppet government an excuse to keep all these Faragns away, and they will not give that up.

Look to Vietnam for beaches, Philippines for girls', Indonesia for both, and Thailand's future looks grim.  Plenty of unemployed men for the army, and women for cheap servants for the rich.  It might be what they want.

That's one way of looking at it. I can't say it's wrong.

[tjo o tjim]

I expect Thailand will become less desirable for a retiree paradise; the country has been actively trying to destroy that for years.  Regular tourists will come back in time, especially where they can find value.  I think the challenge for Thailand will really be that they will slowly get fewer repeat tourists, and the average duration of stay is likely to drop.  

 

If you are spending US$1,000/day and up, there are simply better places to go that most of Thailand if you will be spending more than a few days here.  If you are spending under US$100/day, Thailand might become more of a place you spend a few days rather than a base to travel around SE Asia.  

[Mickmouse1]

One should mention the Red sea and North Africa.

Bristol to Sharm or Hurghada is only 4.5 hours flight. If fully vaccinated you are free to enjoy everything without much fuss.????

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

On top of the well-discussed quarantine hurdles, you can now add the rising Baht as a dealbreaker. The higher Baht crimps spending, hurts exports, and should force foreigners to look elsewhere.

6 months ago it was (midrate) 37 to £1. Now (midrate) it's around 44 to £1.

Isn't that better for uk tourists?

Sorry, a year ago, not 6 months.

Edited February 10, 2022 by overherebc

[thisisrascal]

I’ll be arriving for two weeks next month but I have a nagging feeling I’ve made a huge mistake in already committing myself to the best part of a grand when reading the horrors many tourists have suffered from. My holiday after March will likely be elsewhere. 

[superal]

2 hours ago, Robin said:

The present government is doing all it can to keep tourists away.  One of the few things it has succeeded at.

The Thai 'Elite' have never liked hordes of 'dirty, rude farangs' swarming over their temples and palaces, taking their women, etc..  Covid has given them and their puppet government an excuse to keep all these Faragns away, and they will not give that up.

Look to Vietnam for beaches, Philippines for girls', Indonesia for both, and Thailand's future looks grim.  Plenty of unemployed men for the army, and women for cheap servants for the rich.  It might be what they want.

You got it right cos even pre-covid there were mutterings of getting rid of the tacky part of tourism and in turn upgrading Thailand's reputation . It would seem that the plan is for the tacky part to be shoved out of town to Phuket . Pattaya to be flattened/ rebuilt to a 4 or 5 star resort that attracts high end tourists . Lets not forget that China has a big influence on doings in Thailand .

[bbbbooboo]

S

8 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

Western tourists will never go off visiting Thailand. In fact, quite the contrary. There are many reasons…

 

Simple, transparent, user-friendly visa procedures.

Supportive, welcoming, 'jai dee' government.

Uniform and fair application of common sense rules and regulations.

Reasonable prices for all tourist services.

Honesty and integrity of tourist-related businesses.

Unspoiled natural attractions.

Incorruptible security and world-class public safety.

 

Yes…without question…untold multitudes of well-heeled, free-spending, quality farangs will be soon be arriving...to much TAT fanfare.

 

 

Funniest thing i've read in a long time. Its so .accurate

[NoshowJones]

10 hours ago, tomster said:

Just drop all entry restrictions (maybe keep the insurance requirement as that is not that unreasonable) and the millions will return.

 

Problem is if they drop all restrictions before the next election the protests will return in force - they can't have that so expect to see the fear campaign kept going until after the vote at least. 

 "(maybe keep the insurance requirement as that is not that unreasonable) and the millions will return.".

Why keep it? Don't you know that there is 300Bt getting included in everyone's plane fare into Thailand shortly? That is supposed to help cover insurance, so they say. I repeat, so they say.

[Isaan sailor]

20 minutes ago, overherebc said:

6 months ago it was (midrate) 37 to £1. Now (midrate) it's around 44 to £1.

Isn't that better for uk tourists?

Sure, but we’re not all from UK, even though we speak and write in English.

[overherebc]

1 minute ago, Isaan sailor said:

Sure, but we’re not all from UK, even though we speak and write in English.

Yes ok, but I  mentioned only uk tourists.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Joules said:

Forget the pandemic for a minute.  Ever since the last coup, those "in charge" of Thailand have taken a decidedly xenophobic turn.  the truth is, the decline really got under way with the coup against Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006 and has been going downhill ever since.  Structurally, it is a decidedly less friendly place than it used to be.   Individual Thai people are still friendly, but even many of them have been poisoned by the anti-foreigner rhetoric, including repeated government proclamations that only "rich tourists" are wanted.  Many Thais do not want tourism resumed.  They are enthralled by the idea that Thailand is for Thai people and they can travel freely (and cheaply) without competition from throngs of foreigners.

 

It is far bigger than covid.

Is that so? Is there no thought for the thousands of Thais who depended on tourism for their livelihood, and are now out of work?