Thailand Heading For A Bustling High Season

[webfact]

 

TNR Staff

 

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects a busy high season this year with both Thais and foreigners travelling extensively after Covid control measures were relaxed from April onwards with the country fully opened to tourism in July, INN News said Saturday evening (Sept. 3).

 

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT’s governor, said a large number of foreign tourists had started coming to Thailand with the weaker baht to US dollar exchange rate spurring tourism. The Bank of Thailand set this rate at 36.804 baht to the dollar yesterday.

 

TAT is also mounting promotional activities together with the private sector to ensure that foreigners holidaying in Thailand during the high season stay longer.

 

TAT projects a big improvement in the second half of this year with around 7.5 million foreign tourists expected to come to Thailand. If arrivals in the first half are added this year’s total would be 9.62 million.

 

Full story: https://thainewsroom.com/2022/09/03/thailand-heading-for-a-bustling-high-season/

 

-- © Copyright  THAI NEWSROOM 2022-09-05

 

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[Pdavies99]

Well, they stated they only want affluent tourists! 

 

It looks like they might get that with Airlines gouging ticket prices, flights return in December are nearly £1000+ compared to earlier this year at £400 and previous December's were still only £600+-

[RichardColeman]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects a busy high season

Pure bravado and number guessing, from the unit that never gets anything right and never gets the sack !

[Skeptic7]

Anything will appear "bustling" compared to the self-imposed Covidiocy "fustercluck" of the past 2 high seasons. 

[ThailandRyan]

Here I will repair the title based upon the increased global prices on flights and fuel and the increases to ones daily life back home:

 

Thailand Heading For A Busted High Season

[hotandsticky]

11 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Here I will repair the title based upon the increased global prices on flights and fuel and the increases to ones daily life back home:

 

Thailand Heading For A Busted High Season

 

I think you are wrong.

 

IMO there will be a high season that was busier than last year. Not sure that I would stretch it as far as 'bustling' but it will put rice in the mouths of workers in the tourism industry.

 

The increases in home country fuel bills etc are one reason to encourage snowbirds back to Thailand.

Edited September 5, 2022 by hotandsticky

[sqwakvfr]

Here in CNX I was surprised how quite it was on Nimmanhaemin Road on a Sunday.  I saw mostly locals and some hit and miss foreigners(a lot of them were long term residents like myself).  Also, just based upon aircraft noise from takeoffs at CNX airport it does not appear the number of flights has increased dramatically.  It is now September so when will the masses of tourist arrive?  

[ThailandRyan]

5 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

I think you are wrong.

 

IMO there will be a high season that was busier than last year. Not sure that I would stretch it as far as 'bustling' but it will put rice in the mouths of workers in the tourism industry.

 

The increases in home country fuel bills etc are one reason to encourage snowbirds back to Thailand.

Of course it will busier than last year and 2020's high seasons, even an increase of 100 folks is an increase but a Bustling High Season....well.  My view on that is TAT is expecting millions a day to arrive......but I am probably wrong on both accounts. Again my view.

[mikebell]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

TAT) expects a busy high season this year

When do they ever expect anything less?  Their pronouncements are usually so far off the mark as to be labelled propaganda or false news.  And they have a job for LIFE with no accountability!

[klauskunkel]

The TAT, the TAT, the TATARATATAT,

cheerleading Thailand's tourism for over 60 years. 

I think they should have their own holiday: National TAT Day, where ordinary citizens can predict a number and the highest number wins a fruit basket.

[Spilornis]

Came across an announcement that Thai AirAsiaX will be flying twice a week direct to Tbilisi Georgia. (From October 8 )

Tbilisi is a lovely city but one wonders if it has anything to do with Georgia having open borders with Russia.

The flights are charter and bookings are done through a travel agent. (An unusual model for AirAsia)

 

https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/thai-airasia-x-to-fly-direct-to-tbilisi-georgia-2-times-a-week-from-oct-2022

Edited September 5, 2022 by Spilornis

[brommers]

Just more PR from some hyperventilating drone at TAT. A very small percentage of Europeans will travel long haul because of high airline prices and seat shortages. China will not open up this year according to Nomura and maybe not even next year if they continue the zero Covid policy. Indians might increase in number but they do not spend freely and markets like Japan and Korea will hardly bring in major numbers. So Teflon Thailand will in fact be a historical tourism hub and will remain a laggard in terms of recovery. 

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

I think you are wrong.

 

IMO there will be a high season that was busier than last year. Not sure that I would stretch it as far as 'bustling' but it will put rice in the mouths of workers in the tourism industry.

 

The increases in home country fuel bills etc are one reason to encourage snowbirds back to Thailand.

Kind of like saying Mali is experiencing rapid growth. When you are comparing anything to near zero, growth is inevitable. The real question is, will the hotels and people in the industry see a profit? Are the tourists who come going to spend any real money? Can the industry be sustained, after massive sabotage and legendary timidity? Or has Thailand been forgotten? 

[fulhamster]

With the cost of flights, and the ever-decreasing fx rate, don't expect too many tourists

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects

I stopped reading at this point.

[hotandsticky]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Kind of like saying Mali is experiencing rapid growth. When you are comparing anything to near zero, growth is inevitable. The real question is, will the hotels and people in the industry see a profit? Are the tourists who come going to spend any real money? Can the industry be sustained, after massive sabotage and legendary timidity? Or has Thailand been forgotten? 

 

 

Have you been to Pattaya recently?

[Gknrd]

Forecast is extremely grim for 2023 .. For the world pretty much.  Of course TOT will have Thailand as the hub of tourism and back to 2019 numbers ... Haha

[Gknrd]

9 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Have you been to Pattaya recently?

I'm in Pattaya now.  Lots of Thais on the weekends and lots of old men like me... ????

[hotandsticky]

2 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

I'm in Pattaya now.  Lots of Thais on the weekends and lots of old men like me... ????

 

 

Sounds like a perfect formula ????

 

More old men, and perhaps more Thais, will come in high season

[spidermike007]

59 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Have you been to Pattaya recently?

No. A good friend who owns property there, and visits often told me it is at about 25% of it's former self. Samui is at about 20%. 

[hotandsticky]

26 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

No. A good friend who owns property there, and visits often told me it is at about 25% of it's former self. Samui is at about 20%. 

Busier in popular areas - I would say 50/60% of normal low season. Much busier at weekends.

[ThailandRyan]

17 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Busier in popular areas - I would say 50/60% of normal low season. Much busier at weekends.

Government stimulus for the 50/50 travel scheme is still in play.  Hua Hin was very busy on Saturday night, the Centara Grand where we were staying was almost full Saturday night as they had 6 tour buses pull in and it appeared it was a work sponsored trip.  The breakfast Buffet at 8 am as we were heading to walk the beach was full and when we returned it was still full at 10 am.  We then checked out, and drove home to beat most of the rain.  Talked with a friend today who stayed last night at the hotel and he said it was nearly empty and when he checked out a few hours ago it was silent inside.  Looks like the weekends in many tourist destinations are having tourism, but then the other 5 days it is fairly quiet.

[Longwood50]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects a busy high season this year with both Thais and foreigners travelling extensively after Covid control measures were relaxed from April onwards with the country fully opened to tourism in July, INN News said Saturday evening (Sept. 3).

 

They are basing this projection on the correlation between the number of Indians reporting having their gold chains and wallet stolen by ladyboys.  That predictor has recently hit an all time high encouraging optimism for increased tourists. 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, Gknrd said:

I'm in Pattaya now.  Lots of Thais on the weekends and lots of old men like me... ????

I was in town Sunday... busy as anything on Buakhao, 2nd Rd and Central Festival Mall. Lots of Thais as you say, but also Indians and what looked like Westerners. Admittedly beach was quiet, but a bit hot and sticky to be sitting there,

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I stopped reading at this point.

Should've been the case some time back, whereas it seems that all the quality tabloid news centers around tourism related. Why is any of this news? 

[Senior Player]

From my own observations which are based solely on Pattaya vloggers on YouTube, the place looks deader than a doornail. Just taking a gander at all the recently uploaded videos, there really isn't that much to shout home about. The bars appear to be mostly bustling with bar girls with the occasional smattering of farangs nursing their cold bottles of Singha, and the streets look half-deserted. I suppose that can be seen as a positive if you want to be the main focus of attention as a paying customer, but that can't be good if you're trying to run a successful business. Even Central Festival looks pretty devoid of tourists early in the evenings. Plus, a lot of shops are still shuttered-up along many stretches of once thriving thoroughfares and side-streets. Unless all these YouTube vloggers are using digital trickery, it doesn't quite square with what TAT is telling us.

 

Either way, the government needs to do more to entice Western tourists back to Thailand. A moratorium on tourist visas and the easing of application requirements might help, but that's only one suggestion. Perhaps trying to increase the output of jet fuel and passing it onto their government-owned airlines with an eye at reducing the overall cost of a flight might be another. Before anyone jumps on the logistics of such a feat, it's not up to me as a potential tourist to devise a plan at rescuing their flagging tourist model. Though it is up to me to decide whether I want to pay and fly 5,923 miles to LOS in the current global downturn. Over to you, Thailand...

[Deli]

12 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

I think you are wrong.

 

IMO there will be a high season that was busier than last year. Not sure that I would stretch it as far as 'bustling' but it will put rice in the mouths of workers in the tourism industry.

 

The increases in home country fuel bills etc are one reason to encourage snowbirds back to Thailand.

Snowbirds do not help the classic tourist industry. It's the 2 or 3 weeks couple / family tourism that keeps the wheel turning and brings money to the people. And they will be shocked by the inflated ticket fares.

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, Deli said:

Snowbirds do not help the classic tourist industry. It's the 2 or 3 weeks couple / family tourism that keeps the wheel turning and brings money to the people. And they will be shocked by the inflated ticket fares.

Snowbirds most certainly do help the food and drink and entertainment industries.

 

That is sufficient.

[Stargeezr]

I think that at the end of April 2023, TAT will more accurately be able to say whether or not

the 2022, 2023 Winter was a great success or not. For now it is a bit like a weather forecast,

and will be only so accurate.   Meanwhile I was told that Air Canada in Canada will only allow 1 piece of luggage

free on international flights, and is charging 100 dollars for the 2nd piece of luggage. How is that for a policy change?                                                       I will be checking to see if any Asian based airlines are doing any changes like this.  If not I will not be flying via Air Canada this Winter.

grumble grumble.

[sqwakvfr]

Flew out of CNX airport last night to BKK.  To me it looked about 95% of the passengers were Thai’s.  I did see a small number of foreigners at the airpot but was really surprised it was not bustling with tourists coming and going.  Saw a group Mormon Missionaries on my flight(are they considered a s Tourists?). 

 

At my hotel in Bangkok(close to BKK Airport) it feels very empty.  About 4 people at the breakfast buffet.  BKK Airport was busier than in 2021 and early 2022 but nowhere close to where it was like in 2019.  I can tell when a hotel is not busy because the shuttle van only took 10 minutes to pick me up from the gate.  

 

Who knows maybe October, November and December will be a tsunami of arrivals? Maybe not?