TAT considers actions needed to restore tourist confidence in Thailand

[VBF]

3 hours ago, sambum said:

Well said! I have just gone through the annual "nightmare" of annual visa extension, and when the Chief of Immigration said last year he was going to make it easier for expats to extend their visas HE WAS TELLING PORKIES!!! Every year, the rules change to make it just that little bit more awkward or difficult - extensions by reason of marriage to a Thai national being a prime example. Last year 2 Immigration Officers visited my house to have photographs taken of themselves with my wife and I. This year there were 3 of them, and we had to get someone else to be included in the photos - someone Thai to presumably confirm that they knew us and that we were who we said we were!!! And my friend who has a visa by way of Retirement says that he has been told that the next time he applies for an extension, he will have to have photos taken of himself inside and outside of the house. 

So how is that is "making things easier" - they haven't stopped any ridiculous requirements - just added to them.

 

And to further complicate things, the "Rules and Regulations" differ from office to office, and in my case even from Officer to Officer - I was given a "new" form to fill in and sign by an IO, (Acknowledgement of fines and "punishments" for overstay)  which was thrown in the bin by the next IO that I saw (because she didn't personally give me the form!) and when we saw the interviewing IO, I was given the same form to fill in and sign again!!!

 

Making things easier? I think not!!!

What you and @Sigmund say is probably very true and most uncomfortable and worrying for Expats, but....it's  in this thread which concerns tourists.

None of what either of you say matters much to tourists except perhaps "cheating taxi drivers" and possibly double pricing. Even with those, most tourists will simply shrug them off as "still cheaper than at home". 
IME, the only real cheating taxis are on Phuket whilst in Pattaya, the "Baht buses" still provide a wonderfully cheap way to get around.

[VBF]

7 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Treat this as an isolated case - it is, not even in Thailand, a reoccurring problem when a loonie starts shooting in a mall.

Open, transparent press work will focus the media's attention onto other subjects very soon. 

As happened with the unfortunate lady who was seriously injured on the escalator in Don Meung airport a while ago. The coverage of that incident has disappeared completely!

[atpeace]

1 hour ago, thecyclist said:

double/triple overcharging on state parks

A lot more than triple. Foreigners pay 10 times the amount Thais pay .

@thecyclist -Assuming you are a cyclist, this is an issue I forgot about and frustrating if you want to climb some of the great climbs in the parks on a regular basis.  Not that I would do it but a friend ???? easily was able to get into all the parks for free carrying his bike a few hundred meters. around the entrances  Did it in Khao Yai 10 straight days and saved 6,000 baht.

[steven100]

TAT road show outside Paragon .....  fruit basket, birds nest drink basket,  wai's and photo shoot with the injured,  lots of smiles and more wai's .....   more TV photo's for the news at 6.00,   All will be forgiven and forgotten in a couple of days.

[thecyclist]

1 hour ago, atpeace said:

@thecyclist -Assuming you are a cyclist, this is an issue I forgot about and frustrating if you want to climb some of the great climbs in the parks on a regular basis.  Not that I would do it but a friend ???? easily was able to get into all the parks for free carrying his bike a few hundred meters. around the entrances  Did it in Khao Yai 10 straight days and saved 6,000 baht.

I have never tried it, but carrying the bike around the entrance should be possible. Regarding Khao Yai, I regularly biked back and forth through the park when it was still 5 Baht for everyone. Did it once after fees went up to 20 Baht for Thais and 200 Baht for farang..I put 20 Baht on the counter, and he pointed to the sign saying 200.I told him in Thai that I was not interested in the park, only wanted to bike through it, and would be out the other side in a couple of hours, he said Oh, and accepted the 20.if he hadn't I would have turned around, and done my biking somewhere else.

Edited October 5, 2023 by thecyclist
Error

[kinyara]

Fortunately for Thailand there will likely be around 27 million or so tourists this year that don't share the same negativity as a small group of jaded posters on this forum.

[thecyclist]

12 minutes ago, kinyara said:

Fortunately for Thailand there will likely be around 27 million or so tourists this year that don't share the same negativity as a small group of jaded posters on this forum.

That's because most of the 27 million are here on a short vacation, probably half of them first time visitors, who see only the facade, the smiles, and who don't want to spoil their annual holidays by digging a little deeper and taking a look behind the veneer. 

If they were to stay here for years like most of the posters on the forum do, they would come to see the reality behind the smiles, the greed, the corruption, the rip-offs, the xenophobia.

[sambum]

10 hours ago, shackleton said:

Tourists will still come to Thailand 

The guys after cheap sex will come to Pattaya as its known world wide bars and girls ????

The family tourist for the scenery beaches and Temples and good food  

There is something for everybody plus its still cheap ????

"There is something for everybody plus its still cheap ????"

 

Obviously not a cheese and wine person!

[soi3eddie]

Sad events at Paragon. RIP those involved. 

The TAT will surely use that as the reason for any decline in Thai Tourism visitor numbers or revenue. TAT will hide behind the Paragon shootings as the reason when in reality it's the world economy, China imploding, high flight costs and bureaucracy of long stay visas/extensions that will keep people away. It could be argued that travelling to Thailand is as safe, or safer, than being in some western countries. 

 

[DonniePeverley]

On 10/4/2023 at 1:19 PM, tomazbodner said:

So unmanned beeping metal detectors aren't enough, then?

 

Do you want airport type security to get into a mall? 

 

Don't be silly. 

[DonniePeverley]

26 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

Sad events at Paragon. RIP those involved. 

The TAT will surely use that as the reason for any decline in Thai Tourism visitor numbers or revenue. TAT will hide behind the Paragon shootings as the reason when in reality it's the world economy, China imploding, high flight costs and bureaucracy of long stay visas/extensions that will keep people away. It could be argued that travelling to Thailand is as safe, or safer, than being in some western countries. 

 

 

China isn't imploding. I've been reading nonsense about this for nearly a decade, that China is going to fall any minute now. It's just utter nonsense. 

 

[BarraMarra]

14 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

guessing:

1. Form a committee

2. Fruit baskets for the injured

3. Taxi driver returns lost money to tourist news article

And make sure the TV Crews are there to film it,

[Cabradelmar]

Why start now ???? 

[BarraMarra]

22 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

Do you want airport type security to get into a mall? 

 

Don't be silly. 

Yes if it prevents a bomber or a shooter,

[BarraMarra]

TAT Only thinking this incident may turn away tourists less tourists less cash coming in.

[DonniePeverley]

8 minutes ago, BarraMarra said:

Yes if it prevents a bomber or a shooter,

 

FFS. So you want to go through x-ray machines, you want body searches, you want all your bags searched - just to go shopping ? 

[sambum]

"TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said today (Wednesday) that it may take about a week to get a clearer picture of how many foreign tourists cancel or postpone their planned visits to Thailand following the shooting."

 

Wot? No committee?

[sambum]

12 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

TAT Only thinking this incident may turn away tourists less tourists less cash coming in.

Yes - How dare he? Damaging Thailand's image indeed! What is the world coming to?

[BarraMarra]

14 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

FFS. So you want to go through x-ray machines, you want body searches, you want all your bags searched - just to go shopping ? 

No just basic checks, if it looks suspicious like a heavy-looking rucksack common sense. I remember riding into the underground car park at Jungceylon in Patong where everyone was made to stop and lift your seat on a bike and a basic check was implemented.

[Dogmatix]

I see a lot of knee jerk stuff from Anutin and others grandstanding on TV.  Many stricter controls for registered guns which are already strictly controlled.  How will this help prevent 90% of Thai violence committed with illegal guns and by soldiers and police like the Korat massacre and the massacre of innocent little children.  

 

How about getting rid of illegal guns and only letting soldiers and police have guns on duty and hand them back when they go off duty?

[Sigmund]

On 10/4/2023 at 11:36 PM, Captain Monday said:

TAT can try what they will to restore confidence

 

Immigration will still deny multi-millionaire tourists entry at for ”coming too many times”

 

Revenue department will show up at airports to confiscate 24 percent of cash brought in exchange fot a paper in Thai how to file for reimbursement during the next tax year if they can prove they were actually tourists????

 

Those who make it to the Kingdom will experience the same scams and greed starting with rude Taxi drivers with rigged meters

 

Nothing ever changes and the organs of govt work at cross purposes

 

 

No problem in bringing cash. It's mainly the money bank transfers that will be targetted.

[Sigmund]

On 10/5/2023 at 1:53 PM, thecyclist said:

That's because most of the 27 million are here on a short vacation, probably half of them first time visitors, who see only the facade, the smiles, and who don't want to spoil their annual holidays by digging a little deeper and taking a look behind the veneer. 

If they were to stay here for years like most of the posters on the forum do, they would come to see the reality behind the smiles, the greed, the corruption, the rip-offs, the xenophobia.

and all the cheats in housing complexes,  who overcharge on all their facilities and amneties,