Tourism Thailand's Tourism Industry Faces Pivotal Moment as Arrivals Decline

[Luuk Chaai]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

It is inevitable that as time passes the conection between the Thai-Chinese and the motherland will fade, reducing visitation on a family basis.

 

so the big question is ....

[ChipButty]

7 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

I have a friend that is a taxi driver here in Phuket. She told me yesterday that Phuket People, born & raised in Phuket,  don't understand what the government is doing to Phuket.  A lot of her family customers don't want to see all those weed shops and expose their children to them.  They don't want to come back.  Only weed smokers enjoy all the shops.  I think everyone should have a choice, but it needs to be regulated more.  The last time I was in Rawai, I counted 40 shops just in a short drive.  Does Phuket really need all those weed shops that cater to a lower end tourist?

Somebody has issued licenses for all those weed shops and we all know who that is, I think there is another one opening in the middle of the Beach front, 

[WHansen]

Tourist numbers falling is hardly surprising, the country is a absolute mess on so many levels.

The influx of Russians who were welcomed with open arms at the start of the war and then the 60 day visa free for all has turned most tourist destinations into problem zones. All the bad press we read about daily in the English speaking publications are also picked up by the international press and that is certainly not a good look for a country that relies so heavily on tourists.

The bad elements found an easy way in and easy ways to stay are now here for good. 

[Luuk Chaai]

11 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

I have a friend that is a taxi driver here in Phuket. She told me yesterday that Phuket People, born & raised in Phuket,  don't understand what the government is doing to Phuket.  A lot of her family customers don't want to see all those weed shops and expose their children to them.  They don't want to come back.  Only weed smokers enjoy all the shops.  I think everyone should have a choice, but it needs to be regulated more.  The last time I was in Rawai, I counted 40 shops just in a short drive.  Does Phuket really need all those weed shops that cater to a lower end tourist?

 

12 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

Does Phuket really need all those weed shops that cater to a lower end tourist?

 

Does Phuket really need all those russians ?

[Nicco]

8 minutes ago, LivingNThailand said:

I have a friend that is a taxi driver here in Phuket. She told me yesterday that Phuket People, born & raised in Phuket,  don't understand what the government is doing to Phuket.  A lot of her family customers don't want to see all those weed shops and expose their children to them.  They don't want to come back.  Only weed smokers enjoy all the shops.  I think everyone should have a choice, but it needs to be regulated more.  The last time I was in Rawai, I counted 40 shops just in a short drive.  Does Phuket really need all those weed shops that cater to a lower end tourist?

 

All the Balinese are long gone. Decades ago.

 

I would argue that they do, they need backpackers. I'd bet they at least spend equally as the Indians, Chinese and stay far longer. The government would probably do well by encouraging more of them. They just need to be more discerning. They can control the visa regiment so that improves markedly. At least the long stay crowd.

 

I suppose they need to let most anyone in for two weeks a year.

[FaridIsmail]

Yep one hint of the war in cambodia and they will kiss goodbye to their tourism.  They will lose 8 percent of their GDP overnight.  Many businesses will close and Pattaya will become a ghost town.

 

Also Thailand will lose the war and they will be forced into a stalemate.  It is not possible to make enough bullets to mow down the whole of Cambodia, China, Laos and Russia.

[Reddavy]

21 hours ago, TedG said:

Japan is a much better vacation destination than Thailand. It is modern and clean, and you won't get run over trying to cross the street at a crosswalk.  

Yep but the food is disgusting there. 🤮🤷🏼

[Jumbo1968]

When Thailand closed the borders due to Covid they said they didn’t need to rely on tourists for their GDP, what’s changed ?

[ChipButty]

3 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

 

 

Does Phuket really need all those russians ?

They have invested some serious money in Phuket, they will own Rawai soon 

[Petey11]

On 6/11/2025 at 11:28 AM, blaze master said:

You know what that means.....time to raise prices.

Exactly, "We're not selling as many hotel rooms, we better raise the price so turnover is the same". 

[TedG]

7 hours ago, Spilornis said:

 

American retirees who have more time are a massive market but what does Thailand do to attract this crowd who I like to call bubble tourists. (bubble in the sense that they fear independent travel).

 

I've noticed most seniors I know like to travel with tour groups.  Can you imagine a group of seniors trying to cross the street or walk down the sidewalk in Thailand?  

[BangkokReady]

On 6/11/2025 at 5:28 PM, blaze master said:

You know what that means.....time to raise prices.

 

And release a statement saying how foreigners are bad and Thailand doesn't need them.

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, TedG said:

 

I've noticed most seniors I know like to travel with tour groups.  Can you imagine a group of seniors trying to cross the street or walk down the sidewalk in Thailand?  

 

There lies the problem, this isn't a safe country for tourist's, or anyone else for that matter, to travel within. You could be seriously injured on the sidewalk, crosswalk, in/on any type of vehicle (especially if it is driven by a Thai). If your streets and sidewalks are some of the deadliest and most dangerous in the world, it behoves tourists to think twice.

[blaze master]

14 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

 

And release a statement saying how foreigners are bad and Thailand doesn't need them.

 

Pollution 

Garbage

Traffic

Horrible government 

Terrible infrastructure 

Rising prices for lackluster service 

Tainted food

Top tier tourists

Unbelievable corruption

The lies

2 tier pricing

 

Etc etc etc etc 

 

 

[terryofcrete]

On 6/11/2025 at 11:47 AM, PJ71 said:

My thoughts exactly, hope the indians, arabs and ozzies stop coming too.

Fair dinkum ! 

[BarraMarra]

13 hours ago, impulse said:

 

349,000 flights a year just into Swampy.  That's about 3 planes every 5 minutes.  Add in DMK and the outliers and it's 836K flights a year.  That's about 1.5 flights per minute, 24/7/365.

 

 

Even the top brass have admitted numbers are down impulse and there worried the Chinese or the Golden Goose has decided they have had enough and are going elsewhere. I don't know where you got your figures from of incoming flights. 

[MarkBR]

13 hours ago, Reddavy said:

Yep but the food is disgusting there. 🤮🤷🏼

Not sure what you are eating as Japanese food is some of the best in the world

[impulse]

4 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

Even the top brass have admitted numbers are down impulse and there worried the Chinese or the Golden Goose has decided they have had enough and are going elsewhere. I don't know where you got your figures from of incoming flights. 

 

Hard to tell.  One day, they say it's up.  The next day they say it's down.  Here's an interesting tidbit from a current AN thread about Kokotel:

 

From January 1 to June 8, Thailand recorded over 15 million foreign visitors, marking a 2.87% decline compared to the previous year.

 

I wouldn't characterize a 2.9% YoY decline as "the sky is falling".

 

Where did I get my figures?  I did a Bing search.  The number of commercial flights is public data that's easily found, though I'm sure that a different source may have slightly different numbers.

 

 

[shdmn]

All I know is that it was pretty busy when I was there in high season.  About as busy as I have ever seen it.  The airport, Pattaya, and Bangkok.

[thesetat]

On 6/11/2025 at 5:04 PM, snoop1130 said:

He advocates for welcoming back Chinese tourists while also opening new markets, notably India, projected to overtake Russia as the third-largest source of tourists due to recently implemented free visa policies. Supasorn also stressed the importance of attracting high-income tourists and bolstering domestic tourism as a reliable revenue source.

 

Thailand's global competitiveness in tourism has also waned, as evidenced by the country's drop to 47th place in the 2024 Travel & Tourism Development Index. To counter this, Supasorn suggests enhancing safety and hygiene standards, developing new tourist routes, and positioning Thailand as a leader in sustainable tourism.

 

"Thailand must adapt or risk being left behind," he warned. "The time for change is now."

 

With these strategic recommendations, Thailand aims to reclaim its status as a premier global tourist destination, ensuring sustainable growth and resilience amidst evolving global challenges.

This guy must be a complete idiot...

The damage is already done. The news shows immigration problems, violent actions from locals and ladyboys as well as security at hotels and bars. To think his suggestions would make a change seems ludicrous. 

Thailand needs to overhaul their police, their immigration policies, their business operational policies and their baht value as well as pricing which has skyrocketed since Covid. 

Corruption is the biggest problem. 

People like Thailands leader who go to China promising something they can not deliver on is also a waste of time and tax payer money. 

[mikebell]

On 6/11/2025 at 5:04 PM, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's global competitiveness in tourism has also waned, as evidenced by the country's drop to 47th place in the 2024 Travel & Tourism Development Index.

Keep It Simple Stupid.  Just check what Vietnam is doing and imitate.  If Thai admin can make anything complicated they will. 

This is a micro-example repeated thousands of times a day.  I go to Royal Garden Plaza Pattaya 3 times a week to play table tennis.  When you have finished, you get a ticket stamped by the cashier; go down two floors; locate the information desk manned by two workers and have your parking ticket endorsed; then locate your car.

 

  These non-jobs are all in the name of the much vaunted 98% supposed full employment figures. Look at the whistling car-park attendants; look at the MAKRO Bill-checkers who can scan 183 articles in 1.7 seconds before you are permitted to take your trolley to the car; look at the number of Immigration officers who sit at desks chatting; bank assistants will ignore customers (especially ones with a language problem); go to Thaiwatsadu cellar & you will find groups of ten non-workers actively hiding from work.

[BarraMarra]

4 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Hard to tell.  One day, they say it's up.  The next day they say it's down.  Here's an interesting tidbit from a current AN thread about Kokotel:

 

From January 1 to June 8, Thailand recorded over 15 million foreign visitors, marking a 2.87% decline compared to the previous year.

 

I wouldn't characterize a 2.9% YoY decline as "the sky is falling".

 

Where did I get my figures?  I did a Bing search.  The number of commercial flights is public data that's easily found, though I'm sure that a different source may have slightly different numbers.

 

 

TAT Control tourism impulse, daily they bring out a spokesman saying we believe we will see 30 Million this year or our figures look greater with a perception of new arrivals. Totally bull they think if they keep pumping out this false information it is believed. One day they say a spokesman is confident a high rise in tourist numbers then the same day a spokesman from a different tourist dept worry's figures are alarming and asking for help. Its always the Chinese numbers declining they never look at the European market and offer incentive's to make it easier for them to plug a gap where the Chinese has left. 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

23 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

That's how they think norsurin they only think about money not the customer. Eventually it will sink in there's a reason your bar is empty but first you must want the customer to come to your Bar not turn them away by charging high prices in your bar. Its not Rocket Science reduce the price customers will come bump it up and your sat alone with no customers. The days are gone where a plane lands every five minutes with a packed cabin full of potential tourists.

Most Thais have a 'farming' mentality when it comes to business. If it fails, they just start again with a new crop - easy peasy. In the west starting a business is difficult and expensive and requires complying with all the rules and regulations - especially when hiring people. In Thailand you just open a box/shed and away you go - way too easy so they just dont care.   

[LivingNThailand]

6 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Most Thais have a 'farming' mentality when it comes to business. If it fails, they just start again with a new crop

You hit the nail on the head.  I was just talking to friends about why Thai people don't understand marketing.  In our local small shopping center there are three luggage stores, four places to buy coffee, three fast food shops, only one restaurant, if you call MK a restaurant, a store that sells bras and a few other odds and ends plus two "anchor" tenants.  They shift the kiosk items around every month trying to fool us.  haha.  There is what is called a good tenant mix to keep the regular customers coming back.  Marketing.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

21 hours ago, WHansen said:

Tourist numbers falling is hardly surprising, the country is a absolute mess on so many levels.

The influx of Russians who were welcomed with open arms at the start of the war and then the 60 day visa free for all has turned most tourist destinations into problem zones. All the bad press we read about daily in the English speaking publications are also picked up by the international press and that is certainly not a good look for a country that relies so heavily on tourists.

The bad elements found an easy way in and easy ways to stay are now here for good. 

Who would travel to a country that has been swamped by the Russians and the Chinese. Cheap Charlies from India and short hop-overs from Malaysia - that is who.  Thailand never cared about who their tourist customers were - they still don't care - all they think and care about is themselves.

 

There was a senior public servant in Rayong that publicly stated last year that Thailand needs to solve the 'corrupt Chinese problem' in the Region. There was a growing number of illegal factories with Chinese owned businesses using illegal workers. He stated that Thailand needs to change to attract the 'western' businesses (Japan, Korea, West, Europe, etc.) and that beaches and girls and sun and cheaper labour costs (Thais), was not enough these days.  He also added that threatening to hit working Expats with income taxes on their money made overseas would make it even more unattractive to invest in Thailand, and he said the same for the push to increase the Thai minimum wages too high.  He claimed that all those things and more, and locals turning a blind eye to irregularities, are making it attractive for corrupt people to setup and employ illegals, and very unattractive for genuine overseas investors and workers.  Because being critical about Thailand is totally unacceptable, I believe he was 'demoted' or 'retired' - and therein lies the problem - they refuse to accept criticism - justified or not.   

[terryofcrete]

6 hours ago, MarkBR said:

Not sure what you are eating as Japanese food is some of the best in the world

If you're Japanese ?

[sandyf]

23 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

 

so the big question is ....

Try Dr Who.

[Reddavy]

7 hours ago, MarkBR said:

Not sure what you are eating as Japanese food is some of the best in the world

I do not eat what i don’t recognise and when it is still moving on your plate 🤮

[ronnie50]

On 6/12/2025 at 3:05 PM, LivingNThailand said:

I have a friend that is a taxi driver here in Phuket. She told me yesterday that Phuket People, born & raised in Phuket,  don't understand what the government is doing to Phuket.  A lot of her family customers don't want to see all those weed shops and expose their children to them.  They don't want to come back.  Only weed smokers enjoy all the shops.  I think everyone should have a choice, but it needs to be regulated more.  The last time I was in Rawai, I counted 40 shops just in a short drive.  Does Phuket really need all those weed shops that cater to a lower end tourist?

I've wondered about that in other places like Bangkok too. The big question is who owns them? Is there a certain small group of people that own the majority of them? I doubt they are all individually owned by sole proprietors. Money laundering comes to mind.

[kinyara]

I personally can't see the attraction of Thailand for the Chinese package tour bus loads that are staying at home. Being bussed around to crappy man made " attractions " and in some cases pressured to buy absolute tat would be my idea of the holiday from hell. They may go once but I'd have thought they'd be unlikely to be repeat visitors.

 

Can't help feeling Thailand is a bit past its sell by date as an attractive destination for numerous reasons that you read about in the news on a daily basis. A lack of public infrastructure investment, corruption, poor transport and other safety, policing that's more about fining tourists for minor traffic offences than providing a safe environment to enjoy a holiday, violence and very average service standards compared to the competition.

 

Would anyone say that Phuket, Pattaya or Samui are more attractive value for money places to holiday now than say 10 years ago ?