Phuket Named World’s Most Overcrowded Destination Amid Tourism Boom

[cookie1974]

5 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

You couldn’t afford it.

Bold comment considering you dont even know me or my financial status so im not going to bother with a meaningful reply.😴😴

[Patong2021]

All I can say is I told you so. And yes Thailand did it to itself, and they merit the scorn.

Despite all the  claims of going upscale and pursuing quality visitors, the opposite happened. The focus was on attracting cheap junket flights and it hasn't delivered the type of visitor that builds sustainable tourism. I know it's going to be a nightmare this high season.

[Ben Zioner]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Hurghada, Turkey

Is this AI rewriting Geography?

 

 

[MalcolmB]

19 minutes ago, cookie1974 said:

Bold comment considering you dont even know me or my financial status so im not going to bother with a meaningful reply.😴😴

You were complaining that it is expensive. 
Try Pattaya, much cheaper.

[MalcolmB]

13 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

All I can say is I told you so. And yes Thailand did it to itself, and they merit the scorn.

Despite all the  claims of going upscale and pursuing quality visitors, the opposite happened. The focus was on attracting cheap junket flights and it hasn't delivered the type of visitor that builds sustainable tourism. I know it's going to be a nightmare this high season.

Judging by your user name, would it be fair to assume you are are a sex tourist?

An upscale one of course.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Last time I was there many 4 star  hotels didn't seem worth the high price. Khao Lak much better. Similar hotels significantly cheaper and nice empty beaches in parts. 

[zzzzz]

not sure about the rest of the island ( although there still seems to be traffic everytime i go out)
But here in Kamala, this is the Highest Low season i have seen here in 28 years

[StandardIssue]

Alas, the once great and beautiful destinations in Thailand played out already. 20-30 years ago Phuket was absolutely wonderful. I remember my 1999 trip. Fantastic, not crowded, had the beach practically to myself. Small humble bar scene.. now. Well over tourism and a tourist ghetto. Same with Pattaya and Jomtien. Outrageous over building and place is over run by Russians, Chinese and these young Middle Eastern hoodlums illegally renting bikes and terrorizing the locals. Pattaya now the favored destination for Indian scammers operating scam centers setup in larger older condo units. Place is played out and unlivable for me. To each his own but I've been living here on and off since 2012. first few years were great.. about time they disallowed the income affidavits for long term Non O visas it started getting played out. Now Jomtien which was once a quiet get away from downtown Pattaya is worse than Pattaya. Time to head out and check out South America, Eastern Europe or Phils I think.

[ThailandRyan]

Cue the legal team. Defamation lawsuit on the horizon.....

[Snackbar]

The Mirror

[newnative]

    Can't speak for Phuket but I would totally dispute Pattaya being number 2 on the list.  It's a tourist town and, yes, it's popular, it has lots of tourists, but it's also large and spread out, with a number of different beaches, tourist areas, and tourist attractions, such as Nong Nooch Gardens, in different locales.  The tourists aren't all concentrated in one small area so it doesn't feel 'overcrowded' to me.  I would certainly rank Venice much higher.  It was so overcrowded when we visited it was hard to even walk around--that's not the case with Pattaya.  

[ChipButty]

I go down to Nai Harn beach most mornings, it's not busy, 

[IamNoone88]

A entire article on overcrowding and not one mention of the cheap tourist class and utterly dreadful traffic conditions .... just the beaches.

[ThailandRyan]

12 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

I go down to Nai Harn beach most mornings, it's not busy, 

Ergo why my comment above holds water.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

it is because they don’t have the good infrastructure there that we have in Thailand. Not because it is more crowded.

 

 

Good.

 

And loud mouthed Americans.

Wrong. Bali is infinitely more crowded and congested than Phuket. Traffic is like Manhattan at rush hour. It is a blight on the planet. 

[ChipButty]

13 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Ergo why my comment above holds water.

Couple of days ago when I was there they built a new car park it was empty but for a few bikes, I didnt go this morning it is raining heavy, the beach is quiet, I'll take some photo's next time, 

[Frankie baby]

tourists outnumbering locals by an astonishing 118 to one.

 

Absolute rubbish, there's nobody here apart from a few Russian draft dodgers & the usual strags. I don't know what they multiplied this time to get these ridicules' figures.

[MalcolmB]

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Wrong. Bali is infinitely more crowded and congested than Phuket. Traffic is like Manhattan at rush hour. It is a blight on the planet. 

No you are wrong.

Again.

Bali gets about half the tourists Phuket gets.

The better infrastructure makes Phuket feel less crowded than Bali. 

[stix40]

PPM

By Thai government.

This will back fire big time !

Watch this space! 

[hitext]

7 hours ago, Frankie baby said:

tourists outnumbering locals by an astonishing 118 to one.

 

Absolute rubbish, there's nobody here apart from a few Russian draft dodgers & the usual strags. I don't know what they multiplied this time to get these ridicules' figures.

 

The original source for this is an article on MoneyTransfers.com: https://moneytransfers.com/news/2023/09/06/the-most-and-least-over-touristed-destinations-around-the-world

 

They just divided the number of visitors by the number of residents. This is meaningless, as you could visit Phuket 10 times in a year and count as 10 visitors. The idea of residents being outnumbered 118 to 1 is clearly nonsense.

[Mad Mustang]

Went to Phuket for a week pre covid. Stayed 2 days and flew back to BKK. Wouldn’t go back if I was paid to.

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

it is because they don’t have the good infrastructure there that we have in Thailand. Not because it is more crowded.

 

 

Good.

 

And loud mouthed Americans.

It sounds like you really do not have any idea what you're talking about, you've likely never been to Southwest Bali, and you're just quoting based on tourism arrival number, which don't mean much. Phuket and Bali are two completely different animals, in Bali the tourism is concentrated in a relatively small area in the southwest of the island, the rest of the island is fantastic and not crowded at all. So, it's the tourism area in Bali that I'm referring to. Unlike Phuket it has nothing to do with infrastructure, the infrastructure on Bali is quite good, it has everything to do with over development, massive traffic issues, and unbelievable numbers of Australian tourists. 

 

It's never taken me 2 hours to go two kilometers anywhere on Phuket, it has taken me that long on Bali. You don't know what traffic is until you've been to Southwest Bali. 

[gjoo888]

Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded.

[black tabby12345]

Overcrowded with the Worse Half tourists?

 

So many crimes by foreigners reported recently.

[MalcolmB]

46 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

you've likely never been to Southwest Bali,

I most likely have spent more time in Bali and Phuket than you have.

 

But I am wrong and the OP is wrong. I suppose I will have to believe some weird guy on the internet who constantly complains about everything and everyone. Thais, Russians, Chinese, Aussies etc. 

 

48 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

unbelievable numbers of Australian tourists. 

 

[ujayujay]

5 hours ago, Nemises said:

Without hearing them talk, how do you know that they are Russians?

 

 

 

Anyone who is not totally deaf in both ears knows that

 

Unless you are Russian.....

[Patong2021]

3 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Judging by your user name, would it be fair to assume you are are a sex tourist?

An upscale one of course.

 

No. I have a long term partner. Anyway, the soaring sex worker STI infection rate, does not support playing STI roulette in Thailand, so no mia noi for me and I suggest no sopheni gay (โสเภณีเกย์) for you.

 

 

[harryviking]

Phuket has become a rat hole! A few hundred thousand Russians escaping Russia are just some . Going to Phuket is NOT going to Thailand!! Phuket has not been Thailand for ages! 

[Kinok Farang]

5 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

They're not at fault and "the elites" don't chose who comes but some of us find certain groups repellant regardless of how they got here. Indians, Arabs and Chinese rub me the wrong so I will avoid them.

 

Thai people don't even like them much right? When I first arrived in Thailand a Thai woman told me a proverb "between an Indian and a snake who do you hit first? The Indian". Curious how the poor Thai people in Phuket are coping with this surge.

It's the Arabs that freak me out the most.

There is an undercurrent in them that stinks of superiority.You just know that their hatred of the West is so real and now they don't even hide it.

Who's f***ing idea was it to dig up all their oil then give it back to them so that now they can do whatever they want in the world instead of sitting outside their tents burning camel-shiit for fuel.

[LivingNThailand]

6 hours ago, loong said:

I know that there was a lot of discussion about this tax, but I thought that it was shelved.

It's been shelved about 5 times.  This article doesn't have any reference or who did the survey.  Looks like fake news to me.