Thailand Aims to Woo Elite Tourists Amidst Regional Rivalry

[save the frogs]

5 star hotels maintain the same standards anywhere in the world because it's their company brand reputation. 

 

 

[MalcolmB]

8 hours ago, Foxx said:

 

I disagree.  Thailand can offer luxury.  There are plenty of 5* hotels which offer world quality service - not just in Bangkok (Mandarin Oriental, SIam Kempinski, Capella, Four Seasons, etc.), but also in Phuket (Anantara, Amanpuri), Phuket (Four Seasons), Hua Hin (Chivasom), Chiang Mai (Aleenta Retreat), Phang Nga (Six Senses), Samui (Banyan Tree).  There are loads of others, but I hope I've made my point.

As for fine dining restaurants, they most certainly aren't a joke.  Last year I had excellent food and service at Blue, Le Normandie, IGNIV, Maison Dunand, Savelberg and Sühring.  Some might say not cheap, but compared with similar quality establishments in the occident, they are great value for money too.

That’s right Fox.

The clowns complaining have no clue because they don’t have the money for luxury.

it is just jealousy trying to cover up for their own failures.

[kinyara]

I wonder if staff at higher end establishments be they hotels, restaurants or exclusive retail outlets get paid much more than those working in mid-level places and chain stores. I tend to think the wealthy customers benefit the already wealthy owners in the hospitality/tourism sector with not so much trickle down effect as a higher volume of mid range customers.

[soalbundy]

20 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

The arrogance is laughable don't they realize this place in many areas is a notch above 3rd world?  Comparing it to Japan or Singapore is a joke.  It is known world wide as a cheap place to holiday, so the lower level tourists will continue to be the majority. 

Until you pi$$ them off by looking down your nose at them, the working class Joes are your bread and butter and they are financially in a bad place these days, there may come a time when you start scrambling for the much maligned backpackers who were once the majority of your tourists in times gone by.

[petedk]

If Thailand wants the rich tourists then safety measures have to be greatly improved.

I have just read about a rich Chinese tourists who is going to sue a boat operator for endangering his family's lives at the weekend by taking them out on a boat despite bad weather warnings. The boat sank.

[Emdog]

Thailand can have all the "White Lotus" type resorts it wants, but at some point the rich have to leave the grounds of the resort and face the chaotic, ramshackle mess called reality here in Thailand.. the trash, the dangerous roads/drivers, the fraught with peril happenings.... I suppose they could travel by helicopter, but even the rich have problems with them at times

[Dan747]

The Tourism Authority of Thailand should go after the Expats that stay here and spend more money in the long term!!

[richard_smith237]

38 minutes ago, Dan747 said:

The Tourism Authority of Thailand should go after the Expats that stay here and spend more money in the long term!!

 

In a roundabout way they are (going after us !) well the Revenue Department is with taxation.....

 

But, I see what you mean - they 'should' make being here simpler for long termers who spend their money here. 

Offer health care, offer long term Visa's (i.e. decades) or paths to residency and citizenship for those married here...  but thats from a personal perspective - Does Thailand have to 'woo' us ?? - we are already here....

 

 

[BangkokHank]

On 1/4/2025 at 2:12 PM, sqwakvfr said:

How does one say "reality check" in Thai? 

 Learity check.

[richard_smith237]

7 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Until you pi$$ them off by looking down your nose at them, the working class Joes are your bread and butter and they are financially in a bad place these days, there may come a time when you start scrambling for the much maligned backpackers who were once the majority of your tourists in times gone by.

 

Valid points.. 

 

It was 'back packers' who put Thailand on the tourist map....  (arguably)... the back-packers came because Thailand was affordable, safe, exotic, fun...   

... Those same back-packers came back for return trips later on with their families, and then made further return trips. 

 

'Repeat custom'....    Meanwhile other areas are a 'once in a life time'... i.e. India, Nepal etc tourists tend to visit such countries once in their life, experience them once and have no great desire to return. 

 

Thailands success is its charm and that attracts return visitors - If Thailand loses that charm, it loses its return visitors.

 

 

[impulse]

On 1/4/2025 at 5:44 AM, webfact said:

Last year, luxury seekers predominantly visited hotspots like Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi, and Koh Samui. These visitors spend an average of ฿77,693 per trip, or about ฿6,171 daily,

 

If they're aiming at luxury tourists that spend $180 a day, they're missing the meaning of "luxury". 

 

They can't attract high fliers with the kind of experience they can even hope to provide at a cost of $180 a day.

[steven100]

On 1/4/2025 at 4:44 AM, webfact said:

wellness, sport, and romance

 

yeah  '   that'll work   

[CallumWK]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

'Repeat custom'....    Meanwhile other areas are a 'once in a life time'... i.e. India, Nepal etc tourists tend to visit such countries once in their life, experience them once and have no great desire to return. 

 

So you named 2 out of 195 countries to make your point.

How about Vietnam - Indonesia - Bali -  Philippines - Cambodia, just to name a few in the region. They do not get repeat custom?

[Phillip9]

On 1/4/2025 at 4:41 PM, captpkapoor said:

If Thailand wants elite tourists, they have to stop with the "singlet wearing, beer belly, flip flop on a scooter living in a miserable 32 sq m studio in Pattaya" Westerner who keeps dishing out racist rants on here about all the other tourists who come and spend real money at good hotels.

 

I don't think any of these "elite" tourists are going to Pattaya. 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Phillip9 said:

 

I don't think any of these "elite" tourists are going to Pattaya. 

You'd be surprised. 

[3NUMBAS]

They always relied on DOM for years 

[Mike_Hunt]

Based on the numbers on the article.  I’m elite.  That’s a low bar.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Phillip9 said:

 

I don't think any of these "elite" tourists are going to Pattaya. 

      Doubtful you've been to Pattaya in the past few years--or if you did visit you didn't see much.  Pattaya is attracting both 'elite' tourists and also residents.   

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 1/4/2025 at 8:40 AM, mdr224 said:

The elite tourists they are seeking all went to japan. All thats left are chinese russians arabs and indians

 

"Luxury" seeking tourists, according to the OP, spend about $2,000 USD per trip... That's considered luxury by the TAT???

 

No wonder they (the TAT) are perpetually lost in their ever changing machinations.

 

Last time I heard from them, I think they were talking about focusing on tourists from "luxury" havens like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan!!!

 

 

[Walker88]

The mere mention of "Quality" or "Elite" tourist brings out howls from......folks who chose to live here. I don't get it. If Thailand is so bad.....

 

Also, many feel the need to speak of what the truly wealthy really want, as if the wealthy are uniform and all cut from the same vicuña.

 

The priciest rooms at the Mandarin Oriental go for 540-690,000 baht per night. There are restaurants in Bangkok where one can get a bottle of  Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Monopole Burgundy for 400,000 baht per bottle.

 

Those are not budget tourists, nor are they likely to be mere millionaires. They aren't flying into Thailand on AirAsia.

 

There are few genuine "paradises" on the planet, so no matter where anyone chooses to travel, they might run into bad air, crime, barely hidden poverty, or poor infrastructure. Maybe the Pebble Beach area of California or Telluride or Lanai is close to paradise, but most everywhere is kind of a mixed bag. NYC has plenty of billionaires, but frankly, it's kind of a dump. So is Paris and much of London. Santorini has uber wealthy and backpackers. Menlo Park and Palo Alto have billionaires, but El Camino Real has the usual assortment of Taco Bells and McDonalds.

 

Thailand has a lot to offer. It should come as no surprise that some of the things that attract the divorced pensioner also attract the uber wealthy. That quiet fellow sitting near you in the agogo may well have flown into Thailand on his own jet.

 

Despite the constant utterances from TAT about "quality", they actually set the bar pretty low. A visitor who spends 77K baht is hardly a high roller. No matter what TAT does, there are always elite who will come visit Thailand. It's on lots of folks' bucket list, whether they are backpackers, weed aficianados, families with young kids, or billionaires. Concentrate on smooth entry and exit at the airports, patrol the roads better, and do something about air quality and the tourist numbers will stay in the 30-40 million range.