Thailand wants to lose its reputation for being ‘cheap’, aims to become premium travel destination

[bendejo]

49 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Yes , replace the 'cheap' with the moniker of the pot hub of SE Asia...

Maybe they can get Cheech & Chong to be their spokestoners.

 

 

[Xonax]

Thailand is cheap and dirty. High-end you only find in high-end resorts and condo's. As soon as you move outside your resort/condo reality will hit you right in the face.  Tourism in Thailand is all about getting as many tourists as possible to gather in an area as small as possible.

[vivananahuahin]

charisma.

[BestB]

Putting aside Thailand is not cheap, not too sure how they plan to be premium travel destination without footpaths, police who speak no English and generally low level of English in addition to dual charging sponsored by the state and general ignorance 

[wensiensheng]

Actually, I have to give “Thailand” credit on this one. They started a few years ago and have stuck at it consistently and I personally think they have pretty much achieved this particular goal……Thailand ISNT a cheap destination any more. Due to various initiatives costs have risen dramatically over what they used to be.

 

hats off to the Thais.

[ourmanflint]

what a berk! 

[Pawpcorn]

Reality Check... will set in quickly, for any high-end tourists who buy into the smoke-and-mirrors con being attempted here...

[Mavideol]

18 minutes ago, overherebc said:

I can't remember if this beach is in Thailand or The Algarve.

definitely not Thailand would be it's Algarve  555

[Mavideol]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the country should aim to become a “premium travel destination”.

whatever he has been smoking it's working, dumb as before. Similar BS statements on this topic have explained Thailand draw backs to attract premium tourists, lack of proper/quality infrastructures, power outages and so many more but it would take too long to list them 555

[RichardColeman]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the country should aim to become a “premium travel destination”.

What a complete and utter jumped fool. Anyone seeing their friends say from the UK flying off to Thailand would see it as a premium holiday. Also a family of say just 4 would spend more money in actually getting to the 'premium' country than a potential Thai earn in EIGHT MONTHS !! We pay premium to get here you silly man - its not the same as a cheap trip for people in the uk to benidorm

 

Beside , places like Pattaya with apocalypse roads and paths hardly class as 'premium' destination

 

Maybe this clown could introduce a new scheme where premium people can claim all their money - or a part of it  back - if the country does not live up to premium expectations

[khunPer]

In a way it makes sense to aim for "quality tourists" - i.e. high spenders - as less people makes less impact on the environment. Several popular tourist destination begins to charge an entry fee or tax, to reducere the number of visitors, and still gain financially.

 

On the other hand - if such a change is successfully made - smaller local vendors, including restaurants and like, might suffer, as high end visitors might spend more private time inside their walled 5-star resorts and on guided tours.

 

Some areas might however already be on that move. I live on Koh Samui - which a number of posters in this forum think is too expensive (don't need rants about that here) - and while the cheaper older hotels and resorts seems to suffer from lack of visitors already before the Covid-lockdown, the better end accommodation seems to do pretty well, even being fully booked in periods, including relative high priced pool villas, which has become popular for their level of privacy.

 

But is Thailand ready for such a move in tourism?

 

If you ask me, it's not really ready yet, lot of infrastructure needs improvements. On the other hand, the target don't seem to be Western tourists - which might find other alternatives, if Thailand change from the amazing stuff to become like som many other European or Western destinations - Asians seems to be the target, and there are many more of those than Westerners, and they are even higher spenders per day compared to Westerners, and the are furthermore be used to Asian infrastructure standards.

 

Furthermore, high fuel prices might stay with us for a while together with general higher costs, so airline tickets become more expensive; some airline have already mentioned price increases. For a relative short distance - like from India, and many other Asian places, to Thailand - the price increases are not so important, while for the 5,000+ miles distance from Europe, US and "down under" the extra cost might just be enough to look for closer alternatives...????

[vandeventer]

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

Premium tourist destination, how's that going to be accomplished if they do as Anutin says.

Looks like Anutin will kill off the majority of folks who come here for medical tourism.

There goes cheap Thailand, he's going to double or triple the prices on everything a foreigners wants or needs and that's including hotels. If that's the case why would tourist want to come here and why would we want to stay?

[moogradod]

31 minutes ago, overherebc said:

I can't remember if this beach is in Thailand or The Algarve.

I am currently planning for a short 1 week holiday where my Thai wife and me intend to swimm on a beach with nice clean sand and nice clean water and a wide variety of excellent food. Premium if possible. Maybe a swimming pool in addition. Does not even have to be on a budget.

 

I am staying in Pattaya and I do not know where to go. The water around here is not acceptable. Phuket and Koh Samui fall through the net since it is both a bit far and their reputation has suffered a lot. Koh Samet comes to mind (3 hours by car incl. boat) or Koh Chang (already a bit far for us).

 

This is not a joke - I am damn serious about it. Did not have a good swim in the sea since before the Tsunami in Phuket. Only our swimming pool. So please - where are these premium destinations that correspond to our (I think modest - does not even include sport, temples, bars etc.) requirements ?

 

And the above picture might be rather the Algarve than Thailand because of the clean water.

 

 

[tomacht8]

Thailand is no longer a cheap travel destination. And certainly not a premium destination in terms of product quality. As long as the rats and the soi dogs roam the streets, and the Roti vendor doesn't wash his hands after pissing. No chance.

[Pawpcorn]

14 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

definitely not Thailand would be it's Algarve  555

Google image search nailed it:

https://www.italia.it/en/sardinia/sassari/la-maddalena-archipelago-national-park

[malibukid]

maybe Thailand should do what Bhutan has done and demand that tourist spend a set amount per diem?

[Mavideol]

1 minute ago, tomacht8 said:

Thailand is no longer a cheap travel destination. And certainly not a premium destination in terms of product quality. As long as the rats roam the streets and the Roti vendor doesn't wash his hands after pissing. No chance.

and smoking while cooking or serving a drink, not to mention the food street stalls without water to wash dishes.... the list it's too long  555

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

More delusional grandeur and belief that Thailand is the centre of the universe. I call it home but I am in no way do I take Thailand for what it is.

 

Firstly the infrastructure needs to be updated. Get rid of electricity above  the ground. That will take 40 years at least. Have a functionally political system that is a true democracy and not one that really is another name for dictatorship. That will take at least 2 generations or even more.

 

I could go on and on but I have made my point. Keep Thailand for what it is and what it has always been.

America is too soft on Thailand

[freedomnow]

More daily macro goal ideas to pivot to from the previous day's ones.

 

Big talk, small walk.

[Jimbo2014]

One thing I can say, its no longer cheap.  The quality may be often lacking but it aint cheap here.

[parafareno]

indians will have to share 1 lady 8:1 ratio instead of currently 5:1 if the costs are gonna increase

[FinChin67]

They just want the dirty foreigners to visit the border and hand over the cash.

[overherebc]

18 minutes ago, moogradod said:

I am currently planning for a short 1 week holiday where my Thai wife and me intend to swimm on a beach with nice clean sand and nice clean water and a wide variety of excellent food. Premium if possible. Maybe a swimming pool in addition. Does not even have to be on a budget.

 

I am staying in Pattaya and I do not know where to go. The water around here is not acceptable. Phuket and Koh Samui fall through the net since it is both a bit far and their reputation has suffered a lot. Koh Samet comes to mind (3 hours by car incl. boat) or Koh Chang (already a bit far for us).

 

This is not a joke - I am damn serious about it. Did not have a good swim in the sea since before the Tsunami in Phuket. Only our swimming pool. So please - where are these premium destinations that correspond to our (I think modest - does not even include sport, temples, bars etc.) requirements ?

 

And the above picture might be rather the Algarve than Thailand because of the clean water.

 

 

I've been in the sea once in 30 plus years and that was in phuket. 

[ozz1]

Thailand the Riviera of Asia it will never be while this lot is in power how about cleaning the place up and placing a few rubbish bins around instead of letting it blow around on the streets these people have no idea and fixing the pavements up but all they can do is dream about it idiots

[John Drake]

23 minutes ago, vandeventer said:

There goes cheap Thailand, he's going to double or triple the prices on everything a foreigners wants or needs and that's including hotels. If that's the case why would tourist want to come here and why would we want to stay?

A "premium" tropical destination is Hawaii. Thailand is not and never will be Hawaii.

[pacovl46]

One of the major attractions of Thailand is that it is comparatively cheap. Take that away and they'll go elsewhere. Also, the number of people who are rich is comparatively small and they will NOT be able to make up for the millions of tourists that will move on to other destinations. That pipe dream of being able to replave eegualr tourists with only rich ones will always be just that - a pipe dream! 

[Purdey]

While Anutin might say this, it depends on whether tourists agree. Premium tourists want English speaking service not confused smiles. They want clean beaches and streets. They want a single price system and fewer rip-off artists so compare with developed countries. If you want some of Singapore's riches, look at why they attract premium tourists (I can never see its attraction personally). Probably that air of western service in a clean, Asian, setting.

Only Thailand's 5 star hotels will get income in a country devasted by financial loss due to COVID. Do premium visitors eat at the side of the road? Do they haggle with vendors of street side stands? No, they get in a coach and drive past.

To me, with respect, Anutin is talking about helping the rich while the poor get poorer. 

[sanuk711]

"Thailand wants to lose its reputation for being ‘cheap’" == Value for money.

 

what a great reputation to have, & they would like to change it............

[bananafish]

Make everything more expensive, of course, what a fantastic idea to attract tourists. 

[greeneking]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Here we go again... yawn.

Yes, can just cut and paste all the expected responses too.