Economy Political Jitters and Falling Numbers Shake Thailand’s Tourism Recovery

[baansgr]

1 minute ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Again clearly a comment from a brainless person and their eyes closed. Tons of places anywhere in Vietnam, nothing expensive either. When is the last time you went to a real city in Thailand? Like Bangkok? Lol. 

 

If you actually want to see real over priced prices, go to the south of Thailand. Easier to bash on that.

You have totally mis understood what I said, please read again..Vietnam is fantastic and was there recently,.m observation was FOREIGN business owners charging at least double what the locals do.. exactly what they did in Thailamd

[Quentin Zen]

I'm not being serious, it's fun to predict the end of times.   Looking at this chart, America had a severe housing crash in 2008.   This has to trickle down to China, Russia, and India.  Of course, maybe it doesn't.  So let's just see.  When the million-dollar homes in Cali are priced at $600,000, let's see if that affects Asia.  Currencies are too hard to predict.  I do think I'll see 50:1 USD to Baht before I see 19:1.   Now it's around 32.50.   

 

not one person has a clue, especially with China invading Taiwan on December 11th, 2025.

 

OMG, Redacted!!!!!!!!   Act like you didn't read that!!!!    

 

Note:  I was in Thailand in 2010 and saw first hand the protests.  I really don't remember 07,08 or 09 and what affect that had on tourism.  

 

[newnative]

37 million is a nice, manageable amount, in my opinion.

[StayinThailand2much]

On 6/25/2025 at 4:17 AM, harada said:

Whether I be taxi ripoffs as soon as you leave the airport or collapsing buildings it all comes down to greed and corruption so tourists are opting for safer, enjoyable destinations, and considering the fact that the greed and corruption starts at the very top there’s not much chance of things changing any time soon, unfortunately ,

 

Yes, and, strangely, these factors are hardly ever mentioned as reasons for declining tourist numbers. Instead it's 'kidnappings', 'poor economic conditions in other countries', or 'border disputes'... If they cannot even acknowledge decade-old scams, ever changing visa policies, etc., as reasons for stagnating tourism income, how can they ever solve this?

[Aussie999]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

Really..falang bar owners have ruined the bar scene, greed, greed and more greed

Can you prove your comment, tell us why you think they ruined it.

[baansgr]

10 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

Can you prove your comment, tell us why you think they ruined it.

Read my comments, not repeating myselfe 

[sambum]

"Thailand's tourism sector is reeling as foreign visitor numbers slide. From January 1 to June 22, there was a 4.24% drop in arrivals compared to the same time last year, revealed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports."

 

Must be breaking TAT's heart having to show a DROP in numbers!

[sambum]

4 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

Yes, and, strangely, these factors are hardly ever mentioned as reasons for declining tourist numbers. Instead it's 'kidnappings', 'poor economic conditions in other countries', or 'border disputes'... If they cannot even acknowledge decade-old scams, ever changing visa policies, etc., as reasons for stagnating tourism income, how can they ever solve this?

 

By being honest! 🤣

[StayinThailand2much]

19 hours ago, sambum said:

"Thailand's tourism sector is reeling as foreign visitor numbers slide. From January 1 to June 22, there was a 4.24% drop in arrivals compared to the same time last year, revealed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports."

 

Must be breaking TAT's heart having to show a DROP in numbers!

 

So much loss of 'face'... 😆 

[shackleton]

On 6/25/2025 at 1:27 PM, roo860 said:

Just found me long lost Grandad, Won hung lo.🙂

That's his brother Who Flung Dung 

[technoronin]

On 6/25/2025 at 4:09 PM, baansgr said:

Why should you be entitled to a bank account...very few countries around the world would issue you one if you are only a tourist visiting for a month or two...it's called money laundering..and what's the big deal, just bring cash or pay 220 baht withdrawl fee

I spent 3.5 months there last summer. Having a bank account made it much easier to transfer money, gave me access to "scan to pay" and Bangkok Bank has cardless withdrawals so I didn't have to carry my debit card.

There's also the fact that I already had a bank account that was working fine.

If you want to accuse me of money laundering, there are the Thai defamation laws.  Do you want to run into that kind of criminal trouble?

Also, there are countries where I can easily open a bank account, I know someone who has an account in Mexico.  It's really handy for taking advantages of exchange rate variations.

[frank83628]

On 6/25/2025 at 2:24 PM, spidermike007 said:

Thailand is no longer attracting very many Western tourists for a dozen very good reasons. Right now it is predominantly Malaysian, Indian, Arab, Chinese, and Russian. One could argue that these are relatively low quality tourists, in terms of the amounts of money that they spend. Sure you have a few wealthy Russians and some  wealthy Chinese, but most are lower to middle income and don't spend alot. 

 

Thailand suffers from an impossible level of smugness and arrogance, and a persistent belief that they are truly the center of the universe and the best thing in the world. They don't have a clue. Sometimes it feels like the fact that the nation was never colonized was a leading factor in this hubris and inability to see the world for what it is. The severe inability to adapt, improve, and reform, has hurt their prospects. 

 

It's all good. Far less tourism would make Thailand far more comfortable for the tourists who come, and for the expats, and would likely lead to better attitudes amongst people in tourism. They simply would need to be creative in figuring out ways to make up for the lost billions in revenue. 

 

This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

Absolute rubbish, Koh Tao has been rammed since December with tourists from all over, only signs of it slowing at all were from second week of June, however its still relatively busy. You are talkin about tourism from an expat point of view, and a seemingly bitter one at that.

Tourist Dont see the things you see as an expat, Pattaya will only get 50% of tourists because females dont go whoring it up Like guys do, the tourists that come to Tao dont need hookers either. They can hook up with normally like most younger people do.

[frank83628]

20 minutes ago, technoronin said:

I spent 3.5 months there last summer. Having a bank account made it much easier to transfer money, gave me access to "scan to pay" and Bangkok Bank has cardless withdrawals so I didn't have to carry my debit card.

There's also the fact that I already had a bank account that was working fine.

If you want to accuse me of money laundering, there are the Thai defamation laws.  Do you want to run into that kind of criminal trouble?

Also, there are countries where I can easily open a bank account, I know someone who has an account in Mexico.  It's really handy for taking advantages of exchange rate variations.

There is an app now for tourists, you link your card and can then use the QR scan system as everyone else does.

 

[frank83628]

Well that was 3 pages of bitter of expats bitching and moaning about how bad Thailand is....like the Thai Visa of old.

Is life really that bad here?... you know there are multiple flights out everyday.

[SABloke]

On 6/25/2025 at 4:47 AM, harada said:

Whether I be taxi ripoffs as soon as you leave the airport or collapsing buildings it all comes down to greed and corruption so tourists are opting for safer, enjoyable destinations, and considering the fact that the greed and corruption starts at the very top there’s not much chance of things changing any time soon, unfortunately ,

Speaking of greed - I just learned of an aquarium in Phuket in the famous mall that literally charges double for tourists. So foreign kids are paying the same 8++ THB as Thai adults. This is a private company so tax is not an excuse (oftened used by national parks etc.). Also, the place is not big from what I read. Absolute shafting!