I Know This Has Been Discussed Before

[kitty]

but i was wondering...

Do you think tourism is going to increase massively within the next few years?

On my travel around Thailand it would make me sad to see places filled with idiot tourists,drinking too much, collapsing on drugs and treating Thai's with no respect.

It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa....

What do you think?

Please discuss....

[Ijustwannateach]

I think that Thailand will remain dodgy enough to continue to attract a dodgy spectrum of tourists- i.e., the tourists who are ok with going somewhere that's viewed as a "cheap," "risky," or "exotic" locale rather than a "posh," "luxurious," "safe" place like the French Riviera . The problem is, no matter HOW attractive it is price-wise and offering-wise, something ALWAYS happens here (check out the story about the UK couple offed near the River Kwai) to remind everyone that justice and the rule of law are only a very thin veneer of political fiction here (though better perhaps than say, Burma). This'll keep the folks who demand ABSOLUTE safety away- which tends to leave your dodgier, less wealthy types. That said, the airfare here is a pretty steep entry fee for tourism and will likely remain so- I don't think we'll see any more of a flood than at high season now, unless the baht depreciates dramatically for reasons of economic mismanagement, which leads us to another thread entirely....

[davethailand]

Do you think tourism is going to increase massively within the next few years?.

i hope so.

It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa....

i hope not

[loong]

On my travel around Thailand it would make me sad to see places filled with idiot tourists,drinking too much, collapsing on drugs and treating Thai's with no respect

This is always going to be the case in places like Pattaya, but thre's a lot more of Thailand to visit apart from the main tourists areas.

Mind you, in my travels round Thailand, I've seen plenty of Thais drinking too much, collapsing and treating fellow Thais with no respect. Not that common really, usually a drunk Thai is a very friendly drunk.

It is a fact that Thailand relies on tourism and tourism often means drunken rowdy behavior.

The Thai government is doing it's best to deter the low class tourists by shutting bars early etc.

I don't know what direction tourism in Thailand will take, only time will tell.

If you don't like the way things develop, I can only suggest that you broaden your horizons. Spend more time with Thais and away from Pattaya etc. Or find a new country.

I can understand what you mean. I do enjoy the tourist areas, but only in small doses. Most of my time I am living up country and I have a great life.

[Totster]

It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa....

i hope not

I hope not also... the thought of it makes me feel sick....

If I want to visit somewhere like that I'd just go to Blackpool or Brighton.

totster

[britmaveric]

Another dig at Pattaya? Well I'm disappointed- Loong Pattaya is a more than all the negativism you portray it as.

Kitty- think Thailand will remain much as it has until travel time decreases and so does the cost of getting there. I'm cross my fingers and hoping our little secret remains a secret.

[WISteve]

"It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa...."

Okay, I'll bite.

I've traveled to four different continents but where the h#ll is that?

Gotta be some elitist sh#t I'm betting........

~WISteve

[Boon Mee]

It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa....

i hope not

I hope not also... the thought of it makes me feel sick....

If I want to visit somewhere like that I'd just go to Blackpool or Brighton.

totster

Give me Skegness over Blackpool any day! A weekend in good 'ol "Skeggie" can't be topped!

In terms of more tourists? Probably not as the terror situation is going to get worse rather than better.

[Savage]

The Thai party scene has been around at least as long as Aya Napa's.

Pattaya was already a playground of vice and Koh Pan Ngan parties have been going on for god knows how long.

How about Ibiza, do you think that it will get overrun with drunken tourists?

[jayenram]

"It makes me sad to think places,esp the islands, will become like the new tenerife or ayia napa...."

Okay, I'll bite.

I've traveled to four different continents but where the h#ll is that?

Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands off the Moroccan coast.

Ayanapa is Cyprus's Benidorm.

Benidorm is Spain's Blackpool.

[Boon Mee]

The Thai party scene has been around at least as long as Aya Napa's.

Pattaya was already a playground of vice and Koh Pan Ngan parties have been going on for god knows how long.

How about Ibiza, do you think that it will get overrun with drunken tourists?

Ibiza's been overun w/drunks for years. Most of 'em on cheap vacations from the UK. The southern end of Grand Canaria (Las Palmas) is still OK for a cheap vacation.

[Up2U]

The Thai Tourist Authority are targeting East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) package tourists, as they are controllable.

They are also targeting the 'high-end' for places such as Phuket, which someone seems to think is the Asian equivlent of the Riviera.

What they do not understand is that without adequate infrastructure there will be very little high-end tourism here, as the season is too short, the facilities - from beaches to marinas to shops and casinos - are absent. Beaches in Thailand are not in the same league as many ordinary resorts in other parts of the world, let alone the top tourist resorts.

Thailand has it's own individual culture, a cooking scene that is different to most others, some historic buildings, elephant and snake shows. One trip for most tourists is enough to cover it all. The majority of frequently-returning tourists are the much decried sex-tourists. They bring in the money - however much the puritans in the government may regret it.

[Sphere]

----a cooking scene that is different to most others, some historic buildings, elephant and snake shows----

How could you possibly forget the famous Monkey Work Coconut show?

Now playing on all beachside shanty's near you. Tourists are flocking in hordes to such and several other attractions. If we have such class acts, we dont need to clean up our beaches, do we? Not

[Coffee Dude]

I have summized from my observations over a comparitively short stay (2 years-ish) that the type of tourist being 'woo'd' to LoS has changed. But what I've seen of it is; It isn't the tourists, it is the people that are coming here to take advantage of them. Esp many (not all) falangs who don't care what damage they do as long as it makes them a buck. Scam artists are appearing with astonishing rapiditiy.

But I agree with Up2U that without the infrastructure it isn't going to work anyway. Meanwhile, a lot of people are dumping money into holiday homes and other ventures that couldn't be considered High end any time soon because of this lack of infrastructure. What we are left with is a bunch of unfinished construction and a lot less coconut palms and rain forest.

During this metamorphasis we are subjected to views that are supposed to appeal to this High end market that take away from the things that I thought made LoS a great place to start with. For me (personal thing) you could choose just about any lifestyle you wanted. Don't want to go on a rant but the closing times are the government telling me when I should go to bed (don't like it, no sir, don't like it).

I sure would like to see more tourists but not at the cost of eventually losing most of them in the near future because of short sightedness and greed.

Coffee!!!

[kitty]

The reason i asked this question is mainly because 2 years ago i was dreaming of travelling around thailand, i knew a few people that had gone there for a 2 week holiday, mainly to Phuket or Samui..

However, i didnt know many people who had spent more than a month there.

I finally got to Thailand( i never thought id have money or courage to do it,esp on my own) this year and stayed for 3 lovely months. Now, since my return the amount of people going to thailand to travel is astonishing

I now kinda feel i didnt do anything very different as its now classed as the "norm" to goto Thailand, esp for woman as its the safest place in Asia for females to travel to.

I hate seeing beautiful places over run by idiots...

I think if people come to Thailand and appreciate it and respect it then fine but ive noticed alot of yobs heading this way too.

Ibiza: Well thats quite sad too, there are mainly beautiful places in ibiza, i love it there.

It has a relaxed hippy side, a glam clubbing side but then the dreaded yob side.

I now avoid the "yob" side at all costs

Hang on..... Ive had a brain storm!

Ill just avoid the over touristy places in Thailand and bobs your uncle!

[WISteve]

"It has a relaxed hippy side, a glam clubbing side but then the dreaded yob side.

I now avoid the "yob" side at all costs "

Hummmmm....in the US we'd probably have a Califonia Girl on our hands here.

My brother who lives in Wyoming (the REAL West) has an expression for these sorts. The tourist who shows up with a pair of shorts and a twenty dollar bill, stays for two months, and never changes either of them.

The current administration wants to target "high roller" tourists but it's not going to happen with dirty beaches, crummy streets and horrible PR. Phuket was within days of running out of a water supply this spring before the rains came but they think it's going to attract high-end tourists?

The majority of tourists are returnning visitors. They will have to do some dramatic and expensive changes if they truly want to banish the punter and put their hopes on the high end market. No one is coming back for a 2nd, 3rd, or 10th visit to see monkey boxing.....

WISteve

[loong]

Brtimaveric

Another dig at Pattaya?  Well I'm disappointed- Loong Pattaya is a more than all the negativism you portray it as.

Can I remind you about what I put in my posting

I can understand what you mean. I do enjoy the tourist areas, but only in small doses. Most of my time I am living up country and I have a great life.

I'm sorry if I was unclear. I certainly did not mean to have a dig at Pattaya. When I visit Pattaya, I really enjoy myself - I just would not want to live there permanently. Same as I would not want to live at any vibrant holiday resort anywhere in the world. As a resort Pattaya is the best and probably the safest that I know of.

Any negative comments were directed at the downside tourism not Pattaya. Generally, I think that the tourists in Pattaya are much better behaved than in other resorts in the world

[loong]

Hang on..... Ive had a brain storm!

Ill just avoid the over touristy places in Thailand and bobs your uncle! 

That's what I told you

[kitty]

Hang on..... Ive had a brain storm!

Ill just avoid the over touristy places in Thailand and bobs your uncle! 

That's what I told you

My mum always told me i was slow *scratchies chin*

[loong]

That's ok

No need to Rush!!

[RDN]

but i was wondering...

Do you think tourism is going to increase massively within the next few years?....

I don't think so (tourists increasing) - the cost of the air fare will continue to put a lot of people off. And the yob types that you want to avoid are usually easy to avoid by not going to Patong, Nana, etc. But people like davethailand and my mate who runs a bar here in Phuket - they need the tourists to make them a living, so you can't blame 'em for wanting more customers

And while I am helpful (I hope) to people in the visa forum who want to know how to retire here, I do hope they stay the **** away from my beach, thanks .