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Tourism Shock: Thailand's Visitor Numbers See Alarming Plunge


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Posted

Duh? China is broke! No money! I talk to people in mainland China every day. 

They are worried about basic survival. Doesn't Thailand have an embassy in China?

If so, how can Thai officials not know of conditions in China? Thai officials must be either 

blind or naive. This stupid talk of reigniting Chinese tourism in the Kingdom is 

amusing. 

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Posted

I personally wish that visiting areas where local people live in the cities,  were as attractively kept as in many other countries.  Flowers or shrubs in pots, cascading down the walls, neatly swept entrance driveways etc.  Instead there are piles of junk heaped outside the front door and in the yard, seemingly having been there for decades.  Plastic bags being strewn about also along the highways.  It looks unkempt, unhygienic and quite ugly.  Is there no ingrained sense of beauty in the average Thai household member?  
in Europe eg, even in areas where the not so affluent people live, there is a sense of pride in maintaining beauty and cleanliness surrounding their humble abodes.  Why is this lacking here? 
is the infrastructure re removal of rubbish so poorly promoted here that nobody cares?  Pity!

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Posted

My take on this.  Prices have gone up a lot in some Thai locations over the past two years.  Not attractive for tourists.  Phuket, Patong, and Phi Phi are overpriced and were extreme last high season. Bkk seems better.  Pattaya has increased, but still reasonable.

 

The first thing Chinese people think about Thailand is that it's unsafe.  They are not keen about the kidnappings, phone thefts, scams, etc.  It'll be hard to make them think otherwise.  

Posted
On 5/16/2025 at 3:36 AM, frank83628 said:

Samui is a tourist island, cheweng & lamai being the two most popular areas, prices are bound to be higher. Hua hin is still cheap, but taxi & tuk tuk will try an extra bump here n there.

Getting to Samui is a rip off by Bangkok Airways who have a monopoly on that route and own the airport in Samui. 

Posted
1 minute ago, terryofcrete said:

Getting to Samui is a rip off by Bangkok Airways who have a monopoly on that route and own the airport in Samui. 

Yep, been the same for ever though, you can get a members discount card if you live on samui, phangan or Tao.

Posted

Several daily purchases in a 7 are priced the same as here in Ireland, which is now very expensive, but we pay €13.50 an hour minimum wage that’s more than an shop assistant gets for a 12 hour shift in the 7

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Posted

They now have direct flights to Vietnam so that more tourists can escape to the Vietnam beaches when Thailand continually threatens to "get tough with disrespectful tourists" which is just about any and all tourists. 

"Bad tourist disrespect sacred tree."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred wall."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred sea cucumber." 
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred sea by swimming where boat operator anchors boat so tourist can swimming."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred no-drinking time between 2PM to 5PM!"
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred Thai cigarettes and want to vape instead!!"
"All foreigner bad.  Kick them out."

Ok - direct flights to Vietnam?
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!

 

Posted

Just down from Hua Hin and in Hua Hin there is lot of infrastructure appearing over last 2 years or so such as the new Railway now overhead, better and newer roads, further down big changes on the coast side, brand new dual carriageways taking you quickly to places like Pran Buri, Sam Roi Yot coastine, and lovely little quiet country park beeches like Samphraya beach and then further down to beaches close to Prachup Khirikhan. Brand new fast roads - impressive. You can avoid  the very busy main road going southwards 

Posted

Thailand proved that volumes, i.e. quantities cannot be handled. No infrastructure, road network grid, insufficient guides, shortage of languages in particular and common knowledge/sense in general. 

Focus on what Thailand's tourism industry was all about in the past as a top quality product.

Quality over quantity - but explain that to the buffaloes 

Posted
46 minutes ago, connda said:

They now have direct flights to Vietnam so that more tourists can escape to the Vietnam beaches when Thailand continually threatens to "get tough with disrespectful tourists" which is just about any and all tourists. 

"Bad tourist disrespect sacred tree."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred wall."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred sea cucumber." 
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred sea by swimming where boat operator anchors boat so tourist can swimming."
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred no-drinking time between 2PM to 5PM!"
"Bad tourist disrespect sacred Thai cigarettes and want to vape instead!!"
"All foreigner bad.  Kick them out."

Ok - direct flights to Vietnam?
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!

 

I can agree with you on this, in particular about vaping.  Many people have been able to quit smoking cigarettes and are now exclusively vaping instead.  I know, not harmless, but according to independent scientific papers, much less harmful than smoking, IF using reputable vapes and liquids.  The fact that one is penalised in Thailand for vaping but not for smoking cigarettes is quite flabbergasting.  
I know of several large company executives who would be happy to have a holiday in Thailand say they will not come due to being treated like a criminal for vaping.  

Posted

Shift in consumer preferences?  Other places to see, things to do.  Tourism by particular nationalities is like a tide coming in, then going out.  Once they've got the Elephant pants, time to hit up some spot on the planet.  

Posted

Kidnapping incidents linked to scam centers along the Thai-Myanmar border have significantly impacted Thailand's tourism industry, particularly affecting Chinese tourists. These kidnappings are often carried out by Chinese-speaking gangsters who lure victims with fake job offers or other schemes, then smuggle them across the border to work in scam operations in Myanmar.

 

Friends in HK and China have confirmed this.

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Posted
On 5/15/2025 at 10:37 PM, 2long said:

Uh, hello!

It's the middle of May and the end of high season.

Has anyone else noticed that it's not just lumps of concrete falling from the sky. There's this stuff called rain!

Not forget covid 

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Posted

I have lived in Thailand since 1991. I know that the world changes and things never stay the same. I use to travel Thailand a lot more then now, but our daughter comes to seen use two to four times a year, only once a year with her husband as he has way more work to do and is the Dist. manager for his company, and that once year trip is four weeks long. My daughter just left to get back to her company. Before leaving she was telling us how much more thing cost here now Hotels, food, clothing ect. she was look for a high-end lady’s bag as they did not have a store out let near her. She seen the bag looked over just what she what’s, did buy, she could get the same from the company by buying online for less now that was apply touch it and see workmanship. It cost more to live Bangkok then in Arlington WA. But I'm too old move now will just tough it out here. Money is not the hold object just part of the puzzle

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Posted
2 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

 

What did they expect from legalized dope shops that are uncontrolled, THC levels, filling the place up with draft dodgers who run criminal enterprises, now bad chinese here peddling meth to gangs, buses blowing up, speed boats blowing up, highways falling down under construction and building collapse because corruption and cheap steel. then the uncontrolled madness on the roads, truck and bus drivers that don't have to use log books , although promised, they just drive and drink energy  drinks and smoke and talk on their phone until they sometimes fall asleep, Now going to finish off the madness with casinos to wreck Thai peoples lives and drive more murder and mafia debt collectors, WELL DONE LOS

Don't blame the Thais.. It is solely on the government or lack thereof that caused this to be so bad already as well as getting worse. The Thais have no leadership they can turn to even when help is needed. So, they do what they want without worry. 

Posted

900K/mo. before. At that rate all the Chinese (that have the funds) have seen Thailand several times. Probably looking for a different adventure.  

Posted
56 minutes ago, thesetat said:

Don't blame the Thais.. It is solely on the government or lack thereof that caused this to be so bad already as well as getting worse. The Thais have no leadership they can turn to even when help is needed. So, they do what they want without worry. 

You should read what I am saying properly it's not blaming Thais it's the corruption from the government and the lack of proper checks and safety, lack of road control from the government and the harm that the government is now planning to build casinos which will cause major issues for Thai people, I am married to a Thai I have a son from her I support her mother for 15 years why would I blame Thai people, it's the corruption and government that's to blame. 

Posted
3 hours ago, terryofcrete said:

Getting to Samui is a rip off by Bangkok Airways who have a monopoly on that route and own the airport in Samui. 

It’s an expensive short flight.  

Posted
3 hours ago, Phuket Pete said:

Speaking for Phuket - The stench of weed and the anti -social losers it's attracting, choking on air pollution in the best months of the year, Baht kept artificially high whilst prices continually rise, the abandoned Condo's of corrupt developers lying everywhere whilst Infrastructure crumbles, clogged and highly dangerous roads and Russian gangsters taking over the place. Are you really surprised ?

Totally agree since dope was legalised thousands of dopes flock here and the war in Ukraine has caused Russians to flock here more than ever and that's caused crime to increase its no longer the same LOS

Posted

TAT are not known for their truthfulness!! If it were only 1% we wouldn't really notice it but it is down substantially. 

However its low season now, the Chinese economy is struggling and Chinese like Indians are generally budget tourists despite what TAT tell you and the money they waste trying to promote these regions. 

Historically May sees a spike in rainfall although the last 2 years it has been quite dry, especially here in Samui unlike this year which also seems to be effecting other regions! 

If TAT have any grey matter they should be spending their money & efforts attracting the Europeans for the August high season which we rely on so much. 

 

Posted
3 hours ago, swerve said:

My take on this.  Prices have gone up a lot in some Thai locations over the past two years.  Not attractive for tourists.  Phuket, Patong, and Phi Phi are overpriced and were extreme last high season. Bkk seems better.  Pattaya has increased, but still reasonable.

 

The first thing Chinese people think about Thailand is that it's unsafe.  They are not keen about the kidnappings, phone thefts, scams, etc.  It'll be hard to make them think otherwise.  

Not only Chinese 

Posted
6 hours ago, gejohesch said:

Of course, there are exceptions. I enjoyed walking along the Mekhong River in Nong Khai, for example. But tell me: is there any city between Bangkok and Nong Khai which is worth stopping in for 1 or 2 days? I would like to know!

 

Yes, Chiang Mai.

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