Tourism Foreign Tourists in Pattaya Feel "Short-Changed" Amid Local Deals

[champers]

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Most of the users of the 50/50 scheme are civil servants who enjoy a reasonable salary and take all the national holidays given, or the wealthier upper class who don't work.

Cash strapped locals tend to be self employed day workers who never go on holidays.

 

Civil servants are what I would call middle class and they tend to spend beyond their means.

My daughter in law occasionally comes to Pattaya from Bangkok and has also been to Hua Hin this year. She runs a small business selling Thai desserts at markets around Bangkok and sends both her girls to a fee paying kindergarden. Her and her hubby work their socks off, have a home in Issan as well as Bangkok. Their last visit here they stayed a Sunday night at Hard Rock hotel on a heavily reduced rate.

 

[BarraMarra]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I suspect it is subsidized for the locals at only 35 baht!

I can't criticize a country for looking after its nationals over and above foreigners, I wish it was the case where I hail from!

What do you think Jacko if all of a sudden the tourist stopped coming ?

[billd766]

2 hours ago, actonion said:

 In every hospital, (3,) that  have had  surgery  they want the money up front , so i dont know how these foreigners cant / wont pay 

I have never had that problem. The last time I went to the local government hospital I was offered a private room at 700 thb per night and when I explained that I was waiting for my pension to come through, they told me that I could pay later when my money was in the bank. But I live in rural Thailand and NOT in Pattaya.

[geisha]

Of course Thailand was more safe / beautiful / cheaper years back. But so we’re most countries ! 
we can’t compare the Thailand after the Vietnam war up till 2000´with today !!!!Sure it was better, hence all the older expats having discovered a great place to settle down.  You could cross the road without worrying you.d be run down, much less crime and fighting, less disgusting drunks, less of everything bad. Prices were very cheap , flights here for tourists were VERY expensive. 
Unfortunately Thailand has not invested in its country, roads are a mess, pavements, crossings and driving are death traps, lots of crazy drug fired kids robbing tourists . The Thai police force has let Thailand down. Since drugs became legal, the tourists come in droves only for that reason ! Everyone talks about it . 
Hotels are resting on their laurels and not upgrading their rooms. 4 star hotels are really 2 star.5 stars are aging too and expensive. 
booking agencies online get cheap rooms for off season, or rooms they have not upgraded ! As I saw in one well known hotel opposite Central shopping, great hotel, age old rooms at certain levels. my friends were disgusted. 
Thailand on a whole needs upgrading and safety rules. 
TAT should be active instead of spouting lies. 
 

[Sweet Swede]

I moved to Thailand 30 years ago.Dual pricing has not been an issue where I live outside Phan in Chiang Rai Province. Except when travelling to main tourist places like Phuket, Koh Samui, national parks and other similar places. Phuket is the worst of them all, Even with my Thai ID card I have to pay tourist price at the parks. This was not an issue 20 years ago. I don't visit parks anymore, because beautiful nature that I experience when I visit Sweden and Norway every year for free is after all superior to Thai parks. It is different here, but not very special. I also experience the same nature free, at many places in the local community. When I go to a tourist trap I stay clear and invisible and let my wife do the bargaining when we want to purchase something.. I only show up when it is time to pay.  I am really pleased how honest sellers are locally, even in Chiang Rai compared to other tourist destinations. But at tourist trap destinations I am just a shadow behind my wife to avoid being scammed.

[sambum]

8 hours ago, actonion said:

Dual pricing on everything for the  Foreigner, from your local Laundry to the International  Hospital, I  have  e- mailed  months ago   all of the International hospital's in Pattaya  asking them the reason why a Foreigner has to pay  more for all Hospital services  than a Thai person, all of my e mails remain unanswered

 

A Thai friend of mine had a cataract removed, and a new lens fitted at a Government hospital ,and was charged 6,000 baht. I was quoted 40 -50,000 baht for the same procedure. Now that's double pricing to the extreme - 7 to 8 times more!!!

[sambum]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Of course Thailand was more safe / beautiful / cheaper years back. But so we’re most countries ! 
we can’t compare the Thailand after the Vietnam war up till 2000´with today !!!!Sure it was better, hence all the older expats having discovered a great place to settle down.  You could cross the road without worrying you.d be run down, much less crime and fighting, less disgusting drunks, less of everything bad. Prices were very cheap , flights here for tourists were VERY expensive. 
Unfortunately Thailand has not invested in its country, roads are a mess, pavements, crossings and driving are death traps, lots of crazy drug fired kids robbing tourists . The Thai police force has let Thailand down. Since drugs became legal, the tourists come in droves only for that reason ! Everyone talks about it . 
Hotels are resting on their laurels and not upgrading their rooms. 4 star hotels are really 2 star.5 stars are aging too and expensive. 
booking agencies online get cheap rooms for off season, or rooms they have not upgraded ! As I saw in one well known hotel opposite Central shopping, great hotel, age old rooms at certain levels. my friends were disgusted. 
Thailand on a whole needs upgrading and safety rules. 
TAT should be active instead of spouting lies. 
 

 

Your last line says it all!

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

I have never had that problem. The last time I went to the local government hospital I was offered a private room at 700 thb per night and when I explained that I was waiting for my pension to come through, they told me that I could pay later when my money was in the bank. But I live in rural Thailand and NOT in Pattaya.

Last year the government hospital wanted 3000 baht per night here in Phuket, it's not much more in the private hospital, I didn't pay it by the way, 

[Photoguy21]

8 hours ago, actonion said:

Legal or not i still would like to know.... WHY

Because they believe tourists will still think it is cheap

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Of course Thailand was more safe / beautiful / cheaper years back. But so we’re most countries ! 
we can’t compare the Thailand after the Vietnam war up till 2000´with today !!!!Sure it was better, hence all the older expats having discovered a great place to settle down.  You could cross the road without worrying you.d be run down, much less crime and fighting, less disgusting drunks, less of everything bad. Prices were very cheap , flights here for tourists were VERY expensive. 
Unfortunately Thailand has not invested in its country, roads are a mess, pavements, crossings and driving are death traps, lots of crazy drug fired kids robbing tourists . The Thai police force has let Thailand down. Since drugs became legal, the tourists come in droves only for that reason ! Everyone talks about it . 
Hotels are resting on their laurels and not upgrading their rooms. 4 star hotels are really 2 star.5 stars are aging too and expensive. 
booking agencies online get cheap rooms for off season, or rooms they have not upgraded ! As I saw in one well known hotel opposite Central shopping, great hotel, age old rooms at certain levels. my friends were disgusted. 
Thailand on a whole needs upgrading and safety rules. 
TAT should be active instead of spouting lies. 
 

Here in Phuket I know of a couple of so called 5 star hotels that are a dump, as you know we cannot name them, a friend was asking me about one of them a couple of months ago, I dont think they have upgraded the rooms for over 20 years, 

[billd766]

If you are a smart tourist, you plan your holiday months ahead. The internet is available worldwide so you can plan your flight and pay for it in advance. The same thing applies to hotels.

 

There are hotel booking agencies that allow you to view and select which rooms you want and you can see the rooms online and choose what you want. Hotels may be listed on more than one site at a different price and YOU can choose what you want. You can get a hotel in the centre and pay a far higher price or look at somerging perhaps 1 km away which will be cheaper.

 

You can look around the internet and buy language lessons and they are not that expensive.

 

You can try Thai food, for example, in your own country to see if you like it.

 

Nobody forces you to go to a national park.

 

The choice is always yours and yes tf you think that a chain hotel in Thailand is expensive, then look at the same chain of hotels in your own country and compare the price.

[kingstonkid]

6 hours ago, actonion said:

 In every hospital, (3,) that  have had  surgery  they want the money up front , so i dont know how these foreigners cant / wont pay 

 

 

The challenge is that if you go to a hospital with an injury, they have to treat you.  I agree now that a lot of them are looking for the plasitc but it was not long ago that people were skipping on the bills 

 

Not surgeries or stuff like tht, but on emergency room stuff.

[jimmybcool]

9 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

My experience is that since the tsunami some private hospitals, and especially one that has several hospitals across the country has raised its prices in an absurd manner, and as I had to use these hospitals from time to time, I can confirm that those high prices have always remained, and as I mentioned earlier you even had to negotiate for a lower price.
Totally ridiculous.
How could that be anyway.

 

I have little experience with hospitals in Thailand.  Mostly good though.  I thought I had a detached retina and went to hospital on Sukumvit in Pattaya.  In less than 2 hours I got to see a doctor and tested and cost very little as I recall.  Even with insurance it would have cost me more in the states.

 

Speaking of which in the states if you don't have insurance (besides being <deleted>) the prices are higher.  I have Medicare and Blue Cross.  All the time I see doctors submit bills of $400 which are then written down to $48 allowed and accepted.  How people without insurance handle this I do not know.

 

[thecyclist]

13 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I prefer to live in Thailand, but I prefer to holiday in Vietnam.

What I do is around 3 months Vietnam, 2 months in Thailand, a couple of weeks in Cambodia. Variety is best. 

[captain_shane]

7 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

You can't quote that on a Thai-hater expat forum

Quite bizarre that I have 40+ thumbs down on this thread. I think all the haters should move to vietnam immediately.

[jimmybcool]

38 minutes ago, captain_shane said:

Quite bizarre that I have 40+ thumbs down on this thread. I think all the haters should move to vietnam immediately.

Not really.  it's the internet.  🤣

 

I have noticed this particular webpage has some very opinionated and no exceptions allowed active posters.  

[Zack61]

On 7/30/2025 at 7:26 PM, snoop1130 said:

"It's a free country. If you don't like the price, don't buy it."

My sentiments exactly. Vote with your wallet. As far as the subsidies for hotel accommodation for locals goes, I have no issues. I wouldn’t think there’d be too many governments around the world offering subsidies to foreign nationals. This is a scheme specifically for the locals and we, as foreign visitors, shouldn’t expect to be included. 
Dual pricing for entry into national parks etc… is another issue however.  But it’s a free country and if you don’t like the price don’t buy it. 

[jacko45k]

18 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

And these tourists are cheap Charlie's and don't help the Thai economy, the majority are on guided tours visiting Chinese owned venues 

To say they do not help the Thai economy is nonsense.....there were 40 million of them! I don't expect those numbers to be quite matched this upcoming year, predictions are against it. Thailand is losing it's glitter,  Now if they could get each of them to pay an arrivals tax, as part of the TDAC!

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

What do you think Jacko if all of a sudden the tourist stopped coming ?

Oh the glory! But I suspect in reality my town would turn into a desolate wasteland. The locals are stepping into the breach somewhat. See large groups of them out on company outings, having kids parties etc, they are enjoying life and getting more wealthy. The foreign tourists aren't going to stop entirely, as we see India has taken over, a short 4 hours flight away, 6000 baht equivalent. . 

[ChipButty]

Yesterday I was joking with the staff in 7/11 my wife bought some things and when she got to the checkout, they have all these special offers, she had a small drink so now she can swop it for a large one, Free, she also had a small bag of crisp ok now swop that one for a large packet, hey whats going on here farang no get special offers?  only Thai get, they have this chart at the checkout with all these special offers get your wife to check it out, buy one get one or a bigger one, 

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Yesterday I was joking with the staff in 7/11 my wife bought some things and when she got to the checkout, they have all these special offers, she had a small drink so now she can swop it for a large one, Free, she also had a small bag of crisp ok now swop that one for a large packet, hey whats going on here farang no get special offers?  only Thai get, they have this chart at the checkout with all these special offers get your wife to check it out, buy one get one or a bigger one, 

I recall in early Covid days I came across a small group of locals giving out free facemasks. When I asked for one I was told 'only for Thai'. Ironic as the place was currently neurotic over covid infected Italians!

We did get free vaccinations though later. 

[actonion]

16 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

Because they believe tourists will still think it is cheap

One would hope that people in those positions would have more intelligence than to think that way

[actonion]

16 hours ago, sambum said:

 

A Thai friend of mine had a cataract removed, and a new lens fitted at a Government hospital ,and was charged 6,000 baht. I was quoted 40 -50,000 baht for the same procedure. Now that's double pricing to the extreme - 7 to 8 times more!!!

I had a small Prostate Surgery costing 220,000b  a go home same day,  and a  20 minute operation, 2 Weeks later my Thai Mrs.. in same Hospital  had a Hysterectomy operation lasting 4 half hours, & a 4 day stay in Hospital, costing 300,000b expensiive yes,    but i reckon she had the better deal,...... ( even though i paid?")

[Peterphuket]

13 hours ago, jimmybcool said:

I have little experience with hospitals in Thailand.  Mostly good though.  I thought I had a detached retina and went to hospital on Sukumvit in Pattaya.  In less than 2 hours I got to see a doctor and tested and cost very little as I recall.  Even with insurance it would have cost me more in the states.

 

Speaking of which in the states if you don't have insurance (besides being <deleted>) the prices are higher.  I have Medicare and Blue Cross.  All the time I see doctors submit bills of $400 which are then written down to $48 allowed and accepted.  How people without insurance handle this I do not know.

 

It is coincidental, that I also did about 15 years ago, first to Bkk/Phuket hospital, they referred me straight to Bangkok because they didn't have the laser equipment on Phuket then. But stubborn as I was, I had my doubts and went for a “second opinion” to the “International Hospital” also on Phuket, and that doctor couldn't find anything! He requested me to come to his private clinic in the evening, where he had different equipment and could look at it better, but the opinion remained negative.
In the meantime, I had informed the insurance company in Europe and they arranged an appointment plus tickets for the next day in Bangkok, where it turned out I did have a detached retina.
Total cost then 10000 Thb.

[actonion]

20 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It's astonishing that you seem to think that privately owned businesses owe you any kind of explanation about their fee structure!

And why should'nt  they  give an explanation if you're paying for a service,?

[newnative]

    Useless article, full of errors, with too many (haha) uses of the word 'many' when likely it is actually 'few'.   I doubt there are 'many' actual tourists complaining about the Thai travel program--it's highly likely that the vast majority haven't even heard of it.   What we have here is a few disgruntled expats whining about Thai citizens getting something that they aren't getting.  Grow up already.

[newnative]

On 7/31/2025 at 8:42 AM, sungod said:

 

Never noticed, I pay the same as my wife for dentist, I pay the same for check ups.

 

She did get a local rate for child birth though. Everything else is the same from what I can see. 

Agree.  My Thai spouse and I pay the same.

[newnative]

On 7/31/2025 at 8:41 AM, hotchilli said:

It's all they want and exactly what they get, the low end cheap Charlies that come in droves, same as the digital nomads.

TAT daily spout about numbers not quality.

They certainly aren't getting the quality millionaires that they would love to target.

Name me a millionaire who wants to go to Pattaya to cruise Walking street to see the scantily dressed whores parading around in front of go-go bars.

Thailand get the dregs because they cater to the dregs.

Other countries offer what the middle upper class want, and that's where people are migrating.

    I can't speak for millionaire visitors but Pattaya is attracting plenty of wealthy expats to settle here.  You only need to look at all the new, very expensive pool villa housing being built--especially on the Darkside, with prices from 15 to 150MB.  Plus some of the new condo projects, such as Arom, with smallish 2 bedroom condos going for around 21MB and up.

[Liquorice]

On 7/31/2025 at 6:12 AM, DonniePeverley said:

Despite the low season rhetoric - Thailand is on course to attract 40 million tourists. Almost record breaking. 

That was TAT's 'out of the hat' prediction.

 

The reality is that Thailand's tourist figures are continuing to falling and the Government is panicking.

Thailand's foreign tourist arrivals from Jan 1 to June 22 fell 4.24% compared to the same period a year earlier, the Tourism and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday.

There were about 16.04 million foreign visitors during the period, it said in a statement. Malaysia was the largest source with 2.19 million visitors, followed by China with 2.17 million.

Last month, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) cut its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals this year to 37 million from 38 million. There was a record of nearly 40 million visitors in 2019, before the coronavirus (Covid) pandemic.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3056792/thailand-records-4-24-year-on-year-drop-in-foreign-visitors-so-far-in-2025. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

[newnative]

On 7/31/2025 at 9:40 AM, pomchop said:

So if you get offered a discount deal back in your home country you will refuse to accept it as not fair?

 

Kamaaina discounts in Hawaii are special deals and discounts offered to Hawaii residents by various businesses like hotels, restaurants, and attractions. These discounts are a way for local residents to enjoy their home state at a lower cost and are a perk of living in Hawaii. To qualify for these discounts, residents typically need to show a valid Hawaii state ID or driver's license. 

 

Las Vegas locals can find discounts at many casinos, hotels, restaurants, and attractions throughout the city. These deals are often part of promotions like "Locals Unlocked" or are specifically targeted at Nevada residents. Many resorts and entertainment venues offer discounts on hotel stays, dining, shows, and activities. 

 

In Great Britain, various discounts are available to locals for attractions, travel, and other experiences. These can be found through dedicated websites and apps offering deals, as well as through specific membership programs and organizations

 

In Australia, residents can often find discounts and special offers through various programs and initiatives. These include state-specific seniors cards, energy concessions, and regional travel discounts, as well as local business initiatives like "Locals Discount" platforms and specific offers from individual businesses. 

 

Additionally, it's common for museums, attractions, and public transport systems in many countries to offer different pricing for locals versus tourists

Totally true.  I always wonder what all the whining is about--common all over the world.