Pattaya’s tourism tide: Aims to lure 27 million visitors, making waves under local authority’s watch

[webfact]

 

The coastal city of Pattaya, under the auspices of the local tourism authority, sets its sights on drawing an impressive 27 million visitors this year.

 

Urai Mukpradapthong, the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand‘s Pattaya office, revealed this target, noting that it isn’t ambitious given the predicted number of tourists last year, which is expected to have hit the 23 million mark.

In the last quarter of the previous year, Pattaya witnessed a surge in both domestic and international tourists, partly spurred by the visa exemption scheme.

As one of Thailand’s most sought-after tourist spots, the city lures visitors with a diverse array of attractions ranging from expansive sports facilities to enormous convention centres.

In a bid to stimulate tourism, Pattaya, backed by the Chon Buri provincial administrative organisation, consistently organises events and activities. The city also features road shows and trade exhibitions across various European and Middle Eastern countries.

 

by Mitch Connor

Photo courtesy of Hanny Naibaho (Unsplash)

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-01-03

 

- 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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[retarius]

I like Pattaya when it is not crowded and the hotels are cheap. If you fill it up with low quality tourists there is no point ever going there. You will pay and arm and a leg for a hotel room (compared to when the place is empty). If you come for a beach holiday with your family, not much to do except to sit on a poor quality beach watching the filthy sea that you daren't go in because you would be rightly afraid for your health.

What I do miss is going when it rains and sitting on Soi Buakauw with a cold beer watching the poop and rats rising out of the sewers manhole covers.....nice!

[TroubleandGrumpy]

And just how are they all going to get in and ouut of that traffic disaster? Helicopters??   How about getting all the roadworks finished you idi***s - otherwise you might get them to come once, but they wont come back if they are stuck in traffic for hours looking out the windows. It has been 3 years sicne Covid shut it all down and there has been lots of announcements about projects getting things ready - but it is now worse than ever. Unbelievable - just unbelievable.   

[Will B Good]

The equivalent of half the population of Italy.........seriously?

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

sets its sights on drawing an impressive 27 million visitors this year.

 

And I'm setting my sights on impressively growing more hair on the top of my head. Even odds either will achieve success.

[Millcx]

55555555 … I don’t think so but they have to make their wages for another year “;0)

[Wuvu2]

 

Pattaya’s tourism tide: Aims to lure 27 million visitors

 

The weed shop entrepreneurs seem to be the only people who believe the headlines  

[KCPhuket]

Sorry sounds stupid

[mfd101]

Having visited the place twice 11 and 10 years ago I can't imagine ever having the need to visit there again.

[Accidental Tourist]

This includes day visiting,vendor delivery,taxi driver fro bkk, and border crossings cats & dogs...

[maddox41]

The lies  just keep coming,  TAT is on another 🌏! but with the Russians getting 90 day arrival visa and now the Chinese  visa free.  But we do know the 2 most unpopular tourists will be flooding into to Thailand 🇹🇭  yuppie. 

They  are just clueless wanting tourists from a country thats at war and the other just plain rude and entitled.  How to ruin a country all for 💵 and fu.. It for everyone else. 

[IamNoone88]

Ground control to major Tom....

[Kilick]

That would be a good place to not go.

[spidermike007]

And of course all of this will be accomplished without any effort at traffic mitigation, alternative forms of transportation and making it easier to get around. How about a monorail system, how about helicopters, how about seaplanes, how about ferries to distant destinations?

 

Has anybody even considered any of these ideas? Or is this simply more overly optimistic grandstanding? 

[kevozman1]

I have no idea what this big push is for Pattaya by TAT in recent years. It should have remained the seedy seaside town that gets low marketing and make places like Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin, and some other islands very much family friendly and encourage the tourists to go there. It's like: hey we have a very nice affordable country with decent infrastructure and lots to see, but we are going to try and funnel you guys to our most degenerate corner despite wanting to clean up the image. 

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The coastal city of Pattaya, under the auspices of the local tourism authority, sets its sights on drawing an impressive 27 million visitors this year.

27 million backpackers and sex tourists... I hope the girls are eating their greens they'll need all the energy they can muster.

[hotchilli]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

How about a monorail system, how about helicopters, how about seaplanes, how about ferries to distant destinations?

All potential death traps.

[Nickcage49]

Please no.

 

At least finish the road repairs first. This place is a mess already.

[DjSilver]

So, Pattaya wants 27 million sex buyers, prostitute, with their children to come to Pattaya 🤣

 

I knew 99 % of the people in Pattaya are either prostitutes or sex buyers, but didn't know they were 27 million.

[Trip Hop]

17 minutes ago, Nickcage49 said:

Please no.

 

At least finish the road repairs first. This place is a mess already.

Something I’ve never been able to understand myself. Even the Mrs rants that they done nothing when Covid was around and nothing in low season. Come high season they’re digging up everywhere without a care on how it portrays the place to visitors but expects them to not only come back but also increase in ridiculous numbers? If Pattaya had a real rainy season like other parts of the country then I could understand but it doesn’t except for the very occasional flooding?

[PETERTHEEATER]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

The equivalent of half the population of Italy.........seriously?

This is surely based on TAT figures so of course its serious.😋

[grain]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

The equivalent of half the population of Italy.........seriously?

It's more than the entire population of Australia. 

[StayinThailand2much]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

As one of Thailand’s most sought-after tourist spots, the city lures visitors with a diverse array of attractions ranging from expansive sports facilities to enormous convention centres.

In a bid to stimulate tourism.

 

Honestly, whenever I travel to Pattaya, all these places or events is not what I'm interested in. I don't think all those Indian single travellers are. And the Chinese tour groups usually just follow the flag to the island, and around sunset up and down Walking Street...

 

On the contrary, when there are big events, I usually avoid travelling to Pattaya.

[stoner]

the stock photo looks like a long time ago. 

[crazykopite]

Yet more pipe dreams 

[ChrisKC]

56 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

27 million backpackers and sex tourists... I hope the girls are eating their greens they'll need all the energy they can muster.

Bar girls don't need energy - they just lie down, close their eyes and think of their King and Thailand!

[Bobydog]

1 hour ago, KCPhuket said:

Sorry sounds stupid

That's because it is lol

[StayinThailand2much]

1 hour ago, Accidental Tourist said:

This includes day visiting,vendor delivery,taxi driver fro bkk, and border crossings cats & dogs...

 

Wonder, how many foreign tourists (out of the 28 million Thailand travellers, incl. migrant workers) visited Pattaya in 2023. Seems that they are primarily after domestic travellers in Pattaya (incl. the numerous freelancing tourists). - Yes, the number is large, but what is the income? 

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, Nickcage49 said:

Please no.

 

At least finish the road repairs first. This place is a mess already.

 

I really don't get it. I moved to Chanthaburi little over a year ago. I've seen them go through two major road renovations, neither of them lasted more than  month. Why must Pattaya milk such projects?

[Iamloki]

3 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

 

And I'm setting my sights on impressively growing more hair on the top of my head. Even odds either will achieve success.

If the top of your head looks anything like mine... I am sorry for you loss...