The Thai tourism and sports minister announced an ambitious new target for foreign tourism revenue: an unprecedented 3 trillion baht.

 

The minister, Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, revealed the goal, which marks a considerable increase from the 1.9 trillion baht recorded in 2019, is part of a broader strategy to position the nation as a leading hub for sports and entertainment.

 

Sudawan acknowledged that while the government is eager to reach this lofty target, an action plan is yet to be finalised. She referenced the recent Cabinet decision to exempt visas for citizens of select countries as an initial step towards boosting tourist numbers.

“Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has provided us with avenues to draw in more tourists, beginning with the removal of visa requirements for some and simplifying airport travel procedures.

 

by Alex Morgan 

Photo by Lkszy Dgtl on Unsplash

 

Full story: [source name + source link] 2023-09-15

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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A miss is as good as a mile

Has anything other than pot been legalized?

There's nothing wrong with aiming.. i aim to bed a young lasses every time i go out, so what? however though, aiming correctly is very important when you pee..

Do they, TAT, actually have a plan in place that shows how they expect to reach this 'goal'?

52 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Has anything other than pot been legalized?

Kratom?

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Sudawan acknowledged that while the government is eager to reach this lofty target, an action plan is yet to be finalised.

So just BS at the moment then?

Tourism is not returning anytime soon. The average Thai seems to attribute this to Covid. And that is a significant factor. But, there were a dozen issues plaguing the industry long before covid reared it's ugly head, income was dropping dramatically, as the "number of arrivals" were up, pointing toward a dramatically lower quality of tourist, that Thailand was able to attract. The heavy hitters, and the wealthy tourists have found many other places that meet their need for a nice bottle of wine with dinner (that is not overpriced to a mind boggling degree), a sommelier at the hotel who knows their wine, reasonable luxury goods, so the wife can shop here while on vacation, law and order that addresses jet ski scammers, sewage being dumped into the ocean in resort areas, control over the taxi goons, and far better transportation options (high speed trains, helicopters available for transport, etc.

 

It is more and more apparent by the day, that the destruction and sabotage of Thailand's tourism industry was likely deliberate, and planned out. Nothing else makes sense. They have been wanting to get rid of the nightlife for as long as they have been in power. What better way to do this, than use the cover of Covid? Reduce the entire industry to ashes, then rebuild it, in their own pure as snow image. Without a trace of nightlife, or a hint of a sex industry.

Phiphat and Prayuth have made history. 100 years from now, in the hospitality industry classes at the university level, they will still be teaching about you, as the man who presided over the once great industry of tourism, the man who helped destroy the industry millions depended upon. They will talk about you when the students are visiting the hollowed out shells, of once formerly great hotels, as the man who helped precipitate the demise and decline of Thailand, from the tiger of SE Asia (and at one time the 21st largest economy in the world) to a whiny, sickly, skinny, disease infested alley cat, on it's last legs. And on par with Burundi, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Yemen, and Sierra Leone. 

Normally I would not putting a laughing emoji, but middle class Chinese are not coming back any time soon. Only criminals for now....

Why not change Baht into US, three trillion USD sounds even more ???? 

 

2 hours ago, watchcat said:

Kratom?

Needs something stronger than that to come up with those figures...

7 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Do they, TAT, actually have a plan in place that shows how they expect to reach this 'goal'?

they are expecting a lot of Arabs and Indians from the ads they've been running there? plus more Russians/Chinese hiding/scamming.

 

masses of that size that won't be arriving from the west...

When tourism numbers are awful throw up numbers high in the sky.  The numbers are the numbers but I digress, feed them sugar and spice and all that nice.  

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

There's nothing wrong with aiming.. 

Yes, I aim to be a billionaire by Christmas... But back to the OP; with way less than 39 million tourists (as in 2019), but an income from inbound tourism projected to be more than 50% higher than 2019, this seems a very optimistic prediction. Unless, of course, they plan to charge all foreign tourists hefty fees to achieve that goal...

 

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It is more and more apparent by the day, that the destruction and sabotage of Thailand's tourism industry was likely deliberate, and planned out. Nothing else makes sense. They have been wanting to get rid of the nightlife for as long as they have been in power. What better way to do this, than use the cover of Covid? Reduce the entire industry to ashes, then rebuild it, in their own pure as snow image. Without a trace of nightlife, or a hint of a sex industry.

Agreed. Not the very rich upper class in Thailand profited from the nightlife, but average people and cops. That's why the ruling class wanted to get rid of the nightlife to sell condos to the Chinese instead, while cashing in on the bonanza. 

Ridiculous as usual

1 hour ago, cncltd1973 said:

they are expecting a lot of Arabs and Indians from the ads they've been running there? plus more Russians/Chinese hiding/scamming.

 

masses of that size that won't be arriving from the west...

The masses from China they are expecting won't be coming in large numbers anytime soon either. And most Russians won't be able to afford Thailand holidays. That leaves them with the growing middle classes from India and the Arab countries.

New PM new calculator this one comes with trill and a free box of budgie food ????

19 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Has anything other than pot been legalized?

Some Nationals without visas.

19 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Has anything other than pot been legalized?

Corruption..........................unofficially! 

Wait...no "scheme" lingo❗❓

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Sudawan acknowledged that while the government is eager to reach this lofty target, an action plan is yet to be finalised.

So just a dream then?

13 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Agreed. Not the very rich upper class in Thailand profited from the nightlife, but average people and cops. That's why the ruling class wanted to get rid of the nightlife to sell condos to the Chinese instead, while cashing in on the bonanza. 

There is that element. But, I also think there is a false sense of purity. Of course it is totally fake, and as disingenuous at it gets. But, they see themselves as saints and saviors, and have absolutely no perception of who they really are, as they have all spent a lifetime denying reality, avoiding any sort of introspection, and doing everything and anything in their power to increase their wealth. Money is their God. This applies to the so called hi-so, and all the leaders of the heinous army. 

On 9/15/2023 at 12:30 PM, spidermike007 said:

Tourism is not returning anytime soon. The average Thai seems to attribute this to Covid. And that is a significant factor. But, there were a dozen issues plaguing the industry long before covid reared it's ugly head, income was dropping dramatically, as the "number of arrivals" were up, pointing toward a dramatically lower quality of tourist, that Thailand was able to attract. The heavy hitters, and the wealthy tourists have found many other places that meet their need for a nice bottle of wine with dinner (that is not overpriced to a mind boggling degree), a sommelier at the hotel who knows their wine, reasonable luxury goods, so the wife can shop here while on vacation, law and order that addresses jet ski scammers, sewage being dumped into the ocean in resort areas, control over the taxi goons, and far better transportation options (high speed trains, helicopters available for transport, etc.

 

It is more and more apparent by the day, that the destruction and sabotage of Thailand's tourism industry was likely deliberate, and planned out. Nothing else makes sense. They have been wanting to get rid of the nightlife for as long as they have been in power. What better way to do this, than use the cover of Covid? Reduce the entire industry to ashes, then rebuild it, in their own pure as snow image. Without a trace of nightlife, or a hint of a sex industry.

Phiphat and Prayuth have made history. 100 years from now, in the hospitality industry classes at the university level, they will still be teaching about you, as the man who presided over the once great industry of tourism, the man who helped destroy the industry millions depended upon. They will talk about you when the students are visiting the hollowed out shells, of once formerly great hotels, as the man who helped precipitate the demise and decline of Thailand, from the tiger of SE Asia (and at one time the 21st largest economy in the world) to a whiny, sickly, skinny, disease infested alley cat, on it's last legs. And on par with Burundi, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Yemen, and Sierra Leone. 

Actually if you strip out the Chinese effect which has a huge bearing on the headline number, tourists have been returning in their numbers from all major markets except Japan, so your rant about all things you specifically dislike seems to ignore the reality for the millions returning . I myself flew in last week from Dubai on a full flight, the airport felt very much back to normal and as I looked for my booked taxi there were plenty of signs being held from the top hotel chains. The continued existence of these 5 star options indicates there are wealthy clientele visiting, even though Thailand always has been and always will be primarily a mass tourist market catering to all budget levels.