Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet says the five-day leisure visit by sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln group has helped reshape the resort city's image beyond its better-known nightlife trade.

About 5,000 US Navy visitors arrived in Pattaya, Chon Buri, last Wednesday and left on Sunday. Mr Poramet said the visit was believed to have generated around 100 million baht for the local economy, although he added that the full financial impact had not yet been established.

The mayor said spending was spread across restaurants, beverage outlets, shopping malls, tourist attractions and retail shops, rather than being focused on nightlife venues.

Spending across Pattaya

Based on discussions with local business operators and US embassy officials, Mr Poramet said sailors spent at least US$100 to US$150 each during their stay.

Visitors from the carrier group went to attractions including the Sanctuary of Truth Museum, Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and the Four Regions Floating Market. They also rode elephants, shopped and bought souvenirs for their families, according to the mayor.

Pattaya retains a nightlife scene, Mr Poramet said, but it is now concentrated in particular areas. He said the city offered a broader mix of shopping, dining, cultural sites and activities aimed at different types of visitor.

A different image of naval visitors

Mr Poramet said Thai and international media coverage gave Pattaya a "new city image", showing US personnel visiting cultural locations and wearing traditional Thai costumes, rather than only attending entertainment venues.

He said this provided broad publicity for the city at virtually no cost to Pattaya authorities. The visit was also said to reflect changing travel habits among US military personnel compared with the era when American forces were based at air and naval facilities around Thailand during the Vietnam War.

Capt Dan Keeler, commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln, said roughly 20% of the carrier's approximately 4,800 personnel were women, with many members of the crew relatively young.

Mr Poramet said many sailors had researched destinations and planned their visits before arriving, suggesting a different style of tourism from earlier generations of US military visitors.

"Pattaya is for every day, for all ages, safe for everyone, and you can find everything you need in one place," he said. He described the image promoted by the carrier group's stay as "Pattaya Variety”.

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9 September 2026

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How so? Such visits have been a regular occurrence here for decades and are usually once a year. Making comparisons to the Vietnam war era is a stretch.

Its about money!

It sounds like the sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln were closer to being SoyBoys than the US military from days of old who were party animals...

But to be fair, the guys did seem to have a lot more shore leave restrictions than the military in the past...

More lipstick on a pig by this guy. Without the sex industry Pattaya will be nothing more than a typical Thai coastal city.

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Pattaya mayor Poramet Ngampichet says the five-day leisure visit by sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln group has helped reshape the resort city's image beyond its better-known nightlife trade.

No different from the Vietnam R&R days..

business as usual.

Shows how much Pattaya has NOT changed.

New image…? Come on Mayor ! Still

“Sin City” with 50’000 Prostitutes and not Disney Land !

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

It sounds like the sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln were closer to being SoyBoys than the US military from days of old who were party animals...

But to be fair, the guys did seem to have a lot more shore leave restrictions than the military in the past...

Did the keyboard worrier say this to any of the actual worriers? Didn't think so. 555

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If this were to be believed than Hegseth's testosterone plan is not working

1 minute ago, smartass said:

If this were to be believed than Hegseth's testosterone plan is not working

Oh, it's working it's well thought out magic, alrighty...

SHRINKAGE 😏

ChatGPT: Testosterone can shrink the testicles, sometimes noticeably.

I'm sure plenty of these guys and gals had their fun in the bars. But they were also likely told .. repeatedly .. not to embarrass their country and act disrespectfully to the Thais. That would also fall heavily on the Captains orders or wishes. You F up, I'm going to hear about it and you'll be getting back on this boat in a few days to face me. All speculation, but glad to see these soldiers didn't turn Pattaya upside down .. and instead, many stories reported of leaving big tips and acting with respect.

His worship the Mayor is delusional...next he will be telling us the Waterfront Building down at Bali Hi Pier is to be demolished......

Surely! Heil Mayor! This simply took away the fact that Pattaya is one of the worlds biggest sex trading center! It also removed all the trouble makers coming to Pattaya! Besides that, it´s absolutely no violence or theft done by ladyboys no more! All the fake hair products magically disappeared. Also everything else, was cleaned up with the same broom!

The result after only 5 days is magnificent! Now this is truly a world class family resort!

With two face phony anything help, with all the negatives about the ship and sailors visiting how things turn out🤣

With the beach and close proximity to U-tapao airfield, Pattaya as we know it was basically founded by US Navy sailors on R&R during the Vietnam war. I remember them volunteering to help the Pattaya Orphanage get a fresh coat of paint during a visit back in the early 90s.

6 minutes ago, robert2 said:

With the beach and close proximity to U-tapao airfield, Pattaya as we know it was basically founded by US Navy sailors on R&R during the Vietnam war. I remember them volunteering to help the Pattaya Orphanage get a fresh coat of paint during a visit back in the early 90s.

Nice memory but the Vietnam war ended in 1975

Yawn! Same bull ... sh.t from the mayor. He makes it sound like Pattaya is a fairytale for Disneyland movies. If the mayor was asked are their any pros or ladyboys in Pattaya, by the seamen?

His answer would be "what are they and I know nothing about those things. This is a family and navy friendly city and nothing to see here"?

Edited Wednesday at 07:22 AM2 days by cynic1

6 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Surely! Heil Mayor! This simply took away the fact that Pattaya is one of the worlds biggest sex trading center! It also removed all the trouble makers coming to Pattaya! Besides that, it´s absolutely no violence or theft done by ladyboys no more! All the fake hair products magically disappeared. Also everything else, was cleaned up with the same broom!

The result after only 5 days is magnificent! Now this is truly a world class family resort!

So no major dramas and a lot of semen flowing no doubt- at least they had some R and R

12 hours ago, redwood1 said:

It sounds like the sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln were closer to being SoyBoys than the US military from days of old who were party animals...

But to be fair, the guys did seem to have a lot more shore leave restrictions than the military in the past...

The newer military from what I’ve seen. I’m a 30 year vet are into Xbox and PlayStation and dont go out boozing like in the 80’s. It’s a new generation. I was recently in Osan Korea. Street empty during Labor Day. I’m thinking they have other interests and things to spend their money on. Good for them imo. Do what they like and enjoy

On 9/9/2026 at 8:33 AM, marin said:

Nice memory but the Vietnam war ended in 1975

Yeah and the seedy business targeting foreigners as a customer base was the start of the city's transformation into a red light hot spot. You didn't know US military had docked near Pattaya /Laem Chabang port numerous times since 1975?

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by robert2

2 hours ago, robert2 said:

Yeah and the seedy business targeting foreigners as a customer base was the start of the city's transformation into a red light hot spot. You didn't know US military had docked near Pattaya /Laem Chabang port numerous times since 1975?

2 hours ago, robert2 said:

Yeah and the seedy business targeting foreigners as a customer base was the start of the city's transformation into a red light hot spot. You didn't know US military had docked near Pattaya /Laem Chabang port numerous times since 1975?

Been here 37 years and lived in Pattaya during the floods 15 years ago. I would not call all the business's that sprung up as Pattaya grew as "seedy" though. You would be surprised at some of the characters over the years.