Tourist arrival ‘tax’ postponed, foreign arrivals drop

[billd766]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:26 PM, ravip said:

300 THB (~8.7180385 US Dollars) a deal breaker? 

Per person.

 

Thailand is slowly pricing itself out of the market.

 

Thailand needs tourists, tourists DON'T need Thailand.

 

There are other cheaper and better places for tourists who have the world to choose from.

[billd766]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:38 PM, kinyara said:

Where did you get the figure of Cambodia getting 16 million tourists over Songkran ?

 

It can't possibly be foreign tourists as Cambodia only managed to attract 6.6 million in total for the whole of 2019.

You are correct.

 

However this link says 

 

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/cambodia-serves-over-13-million-tourists-during-traditional-new-year-holidays/251736.vnp#:~:text=Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia,to the Ministry of Tourism.

 

Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia received 13.2 million domestic and foreign visitors to its resorts and tourist destinations during the Khmer New Year (Sangkran) holidays on April 14-16, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon noted that the figure was higher than the ministry had predicted, and more than the country had seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

Cambodia is expected to attract more than 4 million foreign tourists in 2023, doubling the figure of 2.2 million it received last year./.

 

There is more information in the link.

 

 

[tomacht8]

...Earlier Mr Phipat said 60-70% of the fees will be earmarked for a tourism fund, while 17% will be used for medical insurance for tourists....

 

Nice example of unclear budget management. 17% for tourist medical assistance; ok. 60%-70% for the TAT fund?. For what  exactly the money will be spent on, is unclear and vague. For luxury travels, 1st class flights, conferences and gourmet banquets in 5 star hotels especially for senior TAT employees? And not a word about the remaining 13%-23%. Maybe  pocket money?

 

 If Thailand has its 20 million visitors a year, that would be 6000 million Thai Baht. This extra budget isn't chicken <deleted>. In the free economy, company managers with such unclear budget allocation informations would be fired immediately.

[CANSIAM]

It will take tourism numbers to drop off severely for long durations for Authorities here to come up with 1st world plans and decisions..........

[nigelforbes]

24 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

It will take tourism numbers to drop off severely for long durations for Authorities here to come up with 1st world plans and decisions..........

Give us an example of what those first world plans and decisions might include or look like, things that would change the face of tourism in Thailand that they allegedly are not capable of doing themselves?.

[jacko45k]

23 hours ago, sidneybear said:

This is an odd claim for airlines to make, as they are used to checking passports and visas at check in and could easily see if someone is a non-Imm, PR or a citizen quite easily. This all looks like deflection - the real culprit for falling arrivals being the airlines themselves, having doubled their prices since Covid.

You really have not thought this through have you? A service agent in Glasgow is supposed to do all this for Thailand... and collect 300 baht too? Prices will have to recover with improving supply...

Quite normal for tourist numbers to fall this time of year.... it is called low season for a reason.

[Older and Wiser]

On 4/19/2023 at 12:55 PM, dinsdale said:

Fair enough but surly immigratin can. Seems like TAT are looking for a way out for their always over inflated predictions. As for the reduction maybe part of that is as many Russians who have already got out of Russia has peaked. Just a thouight.

I don't know about other airlines, but if I book through PAL they always ask nationality.

[sidneybear]

58 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

A service agent in Glasgow is supposed to do all this for Thailand... and collect 300 baht too?

Service agents routinely look up visa requirements and check them before they'll give you a boarding pass. I agree that collecting the 300 Baht at check in would be problematic, but this (or its foreign currency equivalent) could either be collected at Thai immigration, or simply added on to the ticket price.

 

It really isn't rocket science that we're dealing with here.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, sidneybear said:

Service agents routinely look up visa requirements and check them before they'll give you a boarding pass.

I have had to explain my re-entry stamp to many of them at Manchester UK handling many times! Adding it to the ticket price, for heavens sake, you have gone a complete circle back to the original problem!

[CANSIAM]

3 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

Give us an example of what those first world plans and decisions might include or look like, things that would change the face of tourism in Thailand that they allegedly are not capable of doing themselves?.

Possibly learn and incorporate what Cambodia and Vietnam are doing, problems do start at the top so it may be a struggle here......

[nigelforbes]

11 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

Possibly learn and incorporate what Cambodia and Vietnam are doing, problems do start at the top so it may be a struggle here......

So, give us an example.

[richard_smith237]

Other nations charge a ‘Tourism tax’ or ‘City Tax’ at Hotels... 

 

IMO this is the only logical way to collect this ’tourist tax’.... 

Any other methods involve complications.

- Airlines refused to differentiate based on nationality - Valid point.

- Arrivals - a ’Tourist tax’ on arrival is going to cause extra queues.

 

Simple solution: Hotels charge at check-in and issue a ticket.

- 1 Ticket is valid for a month (or any duration they see fit).

- Thai Nationals have no need to pay this tax.

- Thai Residents (Work Permit, Non-Imm Visa, Pink ID etc) have no need to pay this tax.

 

This means genuine tourists are targeted as intended and Thai’s and residents are not. 

 

 

Alternatively - Don’t charge any extra tax at all. 

Thailand can simply to better to court and attract more tourists and profit from that - distribute those profits more effectively and account for ‘breakage’ where sometimes tourist bills will need to be covered at hospitals etc

 

The current cost burden of Tourists in unpaid medical bills is approximately 0.014% o the income from Tourism - thus, its not as if there is any burden at all.

 

Thailand profits hugely from Tourism - Thailand could do a lot better to ‘welcome’ tourist rather than treat them as a burden. 

 

 

 

[anchadian]

 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by anchadian

[BigStar]

On 4/21/2023 at 2:16 PM, billd766 said:

Per person.

 

Thailand is slowly pricing itself out of the market.

 

Thailand needs tourists, tourists DON'T need Thailand.

 

There are other cheaper and better places for tourists who have the world to choose from.

Yeah, the End of Thai Tourism is nigh. Again.

[Jaggg88]

On 4/19/2023 at 9:30 PM, chalawaan said:

That must be new. I didn't in 2017.

I notice Korea and Indonesia now slugging people for serious money, $50 and up, before the flight, even just to transit landside for a hotel sleep. 

Rome and Vienna 2018 and 2019 so yes must be recent.

[crouchpeter]

On 4/20/2023 at 8:50 PM, JCauto said:

Really? I guess you have to tell us what you describe as "peasant food", because Phnom Penh is pretty similar to any major city in Asia in that there's quite a wide range of different restaurants and it's really up to you as to what you like to eat. Your inability to spell the city name doesn't speak well of your standing in terms of knowledge. Vientiane is a great city for food, you won't find better value in the region. Superb French, excellent Italian, and at ridiculously low prices. Easiest city to get around in the region too.

Peasant food is the sort of food people like you eat at home.....simple, cheap, unpleasant and tasteless. As for spelling city names, the only correct spelling would be written in Khmer script.

[JCauto]

6 hours ago, crouchpeter said:

Peasant food is the sort of food people like you eat at home.....simple, cheap, unpleasant and tasteless. As for spelling city names, the only correct spelling would be written in Khmer script.

People like me? Oh, do tell! What am I like? Why would you assume I like simple, cheap, unpleasant and tasteless food? I mean, I moved to Southeast Asia, not exactly the hub of glop.

 

Actually, why would you think that the food of the peasants is that way at all? The "peasants" would be the people of the North, Northeast and rural areas in the Central and South. Their food would almost never be described as "tasteless", most would say it's extremely spicy. I enjoy it immensely.

 

Oh, and you're a bit of a purist when it comes to spelling, preferring to use only the native script or, when you deign to discuss things with "peasants", your own transliteration which I guess must be "above" the likes of us. What an interesting fellow you must be, to be so far above us yet an admirer of the Scouse.
 

[ravip]

7 hours ago, crouchpeter said:

Peasant food is the sort of food people like you eat at home.....simple, cheap, unpleasant and tasteless. As for spelling city names, the only correct spelling would be written in Khmer script.

" people like you" - can you please define?

I just cant understand what that could be... please.