Is Pattaya Dead Right Now?

[tropo]

"Is Pattaya Dead Right Now?, Is there going to be a high season?"

It would be nice if there would be at least a low season.

It is very, very quiet.

Pattaya was very busy this evening.

I've never seen Pattaya very, very quiet in the 3 years I've been here. I've seen it less busy and more busy, but quiet...never.

[tropo]

Bear up boys. Someone I know at the UK Foreign Office tells me they are mulling a formal warning against travel to Bangkok following the recent violence. If this happens then it automatically invalidates travel insurance. In which case travellers from the UK will drop off to virtually none.

Anyone reading this forum would have to be excused for thinking only Brits go to Pattaya and that if Brits stay away it's gloom and doom.

Personally I don't mind at all.

[wileycoyote]

i'm finding it impossible to get a fair priced flight over xmas, all fully booked (apart from air france but who the <deleted> would want to fly with them )

Enjoyed your comment about Air France-I feel exactly the same way

Glad you got a flight.

Best Wishes

Wiley Coyote

[LtCol]

Australian Government Warns travellers to Thailand to exercise caution because of HIGH THREAT of Terrorist attacks. Avoid travel to Thai Burma Border & do not travel overland to Malaysia. Further Violence cannot be ruled out.

Travellers should exercise a high degree of Vigilance.

'Nuff said

[gk10002000]

Just booked my flight from Seattle in the USA to Thailand October 20. Planning on staying 60 days. I will have to make a visa run later in November. Sounds like Cambodia won't be the place. That is OK. I wanted to visit Laos for a few days anyway. This is not my first trip to Thailand so I am not too concerned. I was on Ko Samet during the tsunami in 2004. Luckily my friends changed our Phuket travel bookings the night before! I was there when Thaksin was put out.

[TomBrown]

I'd say Pattaya on the whole has less foreigners in it for this time of year.

[JSixpack]

Bear up boys. Someone I know at the UK Foreign Office tells me they are mulling a formal warning against travel to Bangkok following the recent violence. If this happens then it automatically invalidates travel insurance. In which case travellers from the UK will drop off to virtually none.

Anyone reading this forum would have to be excused for thinking only Brits go to Pattaya and that if Brits stay away it's gloom and doom.

Personally I don't mind at all.

Be a great improvement, actually. However, nothing's gonna keep the Bitchers away from Thailand, certainly not any lil' ol' lack of travel insurance. It would like telling Muslims that insurance won't cover travel to Mecca. Why the obsession, I wonder? Ah, well.

[innovator]

Pattaya is not quiet, but there are not many customers. There is a big difference. Plenty of noise to be found with the motorbikes, construction, bars, and other things. But, I would be willing to bet money that a survey of small and medium sized businesses around town would clearly show a severe reduction in customers during the past few months.

In fact, city hall has held meetings over the past few months to discuss the reduction in tourist numbers and the severe impact on revenues. So, they already conducted the survey and admitted that there has been a lack of customers during the past few months.

But, this will probably turn around in November for the high season. Pattaya always seems to get the customers during high season.

Edited October 20, 2008 by innovator

[torrenova]

I get a lot of first time travelers at my place (=resort).

Currently I have roughly worth a million Baht in cancellations. This is from people actually bought and paid for their tickets and paid deposits on accommodation. Apparently with the border things at Cambodia, along with the Bangkok protests people are now entitled for full refunds of their tickets through their cancellation insurance.

Combination of everything, but a lot thanks to media coverage. Talked yesterday to one of the persons just canceled and he said "How can I go on holiday with my wife and children to a country which is at war"

Add to that the obvious financial economic hardship and uncertainty...

Yes, Pattaya is dead and will remain so throughout the high season.

I'm coming down from the jungle for a while so I'll come over and help out supporting the bar if not the whole place. When I sort out dates I'll drop you a PM or email.

Sorry to hear about the cancellations. At least you've the balls to tell it how it is rather than plodding on saying everything is fine when we all know it bloody well isn't !

[Mobi]

According to my wife, who has a hair dressing salon in Pattaya Klang, near Tops, there has been a steady "unseasonal" decline in business all this year, and last month, for the first time ever, she didn't make enough money to pay the bills. All the other places near her, (salons and massage places) have been suffering equally.

Her customers are a mixture of farangs of both sexes, and bar girls. There seem to be very few farangs in her neck of the woods, and the bar girls have no money for hair do's.

This last week or so it has started to pick up and she is back to 'pre slump' turnover, but it's not great.

The last couple of weeks it has been school holidays, and there has been a large influx of Thai tourists with kids from Bangkok - especially on weekends. Lets see what happens when the schools go back next week.

[gmac]

Pattaya is not quiet, but there are not many customers. There is a big difference. Plenty of noise to be found with the motorbikes, construction, bars, and other things. But, I would be willing to bet money that a survey of small and medium sized businesses around town would clearly show a severe reduction in customers during the past few months.

In fact, city hall has held meetings over the past few months to discuss the reduction in tourist numbers and the severe impact on revenues. So, they already conducted the survey and admitted that there has been a lack of customers during the past few months.

But, this will probably turn around in November for the high season. Pattaya always seems to get the customers during high season.

Yup, City Hall has these meetings to decide how to attract more tourists..........errrm, close the bars half the day, alienate the visitors who have been coming for years (Soi 6 licence enforcements) , but hey, we got culture and beaches don't we!!!

[hkt83100]

Thanks Chang_paarp.

You folks down there seem to get tourist well before we do in Chiang Mai. I'm just trying to see if there is any indications at all that some will show up this year.

Speaking about indicators, here in Karon/Phuket in the restaurant we had the best September in 14 years (since opening), and October is doing very well. Everybody is talking about less tourists, but until now I see just a rise :-) Patong is a different story, as I was told.

[torrenova]

I think that Phuket and some of those other tsunami affected areas are actually befitting from trade lost in the aftermath in a strange way. Not out of sympathy but perhaps out of lost opportunity. I don't know, I just get the feeling talking to people over the last couple of years. Patong on the other hand is presumably offering nothing and expecting top dollar for it as always ?

[tropo]

Pattaya is not quiet, but there are not many customers. There is a big difference.

There's still plenty of customers. The problem is more the oversupply of accommodation, restaurants, shop, markets, bars etc etc.

Have you ever seen a town the size of Pattaya with so many convenience stores, pharmacies, hairdressers, open markets, bars and accommodation...with more being built every day.

The top notch businesses are still busy. They're busy all year around.

[Tolley]

Pattaya is not quiet, but there are not many customers. There is a big difference.

There's still plenty of customers. The problem is more the oversupply of accommodation, restaurants, shop, markets, bars etc etc.

Have you ever seen a town the size of Pattaya with so many convenience stores, pharmacies, hairdressers, open markets, bars and accommodation...with more being built every day.

The top notch businesses are still busy. They're busy all year around.

There is definitely an oversupply of many businesses in Pattaya however there is also a lot less customers around as well.

I have never seen it as quiet as last month.

[britmaveric]

Quiet is good!!!!

[samuibeachcomber]

Quiet is good!!!!

tell that to the bar girls!!!!!!!!!1

[britmaveric]

Darwinian principles at work....

[PompeyMatt]

I was told by a mate who went down to Pattaya that all the "entertainment" establishments are closed until 6pm now.

a) Is this true ?

and if the answer is yes...

Could this be one of the reasons (apart from off season) that it is so quiet ?

Cheers,

Matt

[baruto]

I just started to prepare a budget for my trip to Pattaya in November. Considering the higher prices in Pattaya (roughly 15% up) plus the exchange rate difference, this trip will cost me about 20 % more than last year. Each 100 EUR banknote today means one 500 THB banknote less compared to last time. This is signifiacant difference. OK, this time I don't care, but next time I will think twice before booking air tickets.

[tropo]

There is definitely an oversupply of many businesses in Pattaya however there is also a lot less customers around as well.

I have never seen it as quiet as last month.

Yes, but overall there are still a lot of tourists around. It's hard to fill up thousands of beer bars, hotel and restaurants at any time. There's just about one bar and one restaurant for every tourist.

[opebo]

Pattaya is sadly very dead, and will be for the forseeable future. Of course there is an easy solution to this, but the Thais seem determined to go in the opposite direction (enforcing offensive closing times, eliminating freelance streetwalkers, etc.). 24 hour nightlife and easily obtained 'entertainment' visas and work permits for women from anywhere - particularly other ASEAN countries - would kick Pattaya into high gear again. Its only reason for past success was that it was absolutely unique in all the world. Now they want to turn it into Florida. I could cry!

Edited October 21, 2008 by opebo

[Tolley]

There is definitely an oversupply of many businesses in Pattaya however there is also a lot less customers around as well.

I have never seen it as quiet as last month.

Yes, but overall there are still a lot of tourists around. It's hard to fill up thousands of beer bars, hotel and restaurants at any time. There's just about one bar and one restaurant for every tourist.

If there are so many tourists around why are a lot of the hotels almost empty?

[samuibeachcomber]

you'd expect things to be quiet now as its the low/rainy season.The telling time will be dec/jan.and you would expect numbers to be down then too cos of financial/recession problems around the world.I think all of this will affect thailand next year when you see lots of thais losing their jobs in the tourist/retail and manufacturing jobs.If that happens expect more robberies/house breakins and possibly more angst against farangs living here,pattaya included.

[smokeyjoe2008]

My brother just got a return flight with Eva leaving LHR on 7 Dec for GBP660! Thats crazy cheap and less than I ever paid during december period.

Dave

i wanted to fly out of heathrow on the 20th of dec.cheapest flight i could get was £1017.changed my plans flying with jet from heathrow on 22nd of nov £457.but not many flight avalible from the uk at the moment.

[opebo]

you'd expect things to be quiet now as its the low/rainy season.The telling time will be dec/jan.and you would expect numbers to be down then too cos of financial/recession problems around the world.I think all of this will affect thailand next year when you see lots of thais losing their jobs in the tourist/retail and manufacturing jobs.If that happens expect more robberies/house breakins and possibly more angst against farangs living here,pattaya included.

Well more Thai citizens losing their jobs will mean more working for us in Pattaya, certainly, ala 1997-2000, unless the government closes it down. But I do fear the 'angst' to which you refer - and by that I mean violent attacks.

[tropo]

There is definitely an oversupply of many businesses in Pattaya however there is also a lot less customers around as well.

I have never seen it as quiet as last month.

Yes, but overall there are still a lot of tourists around. It's hard to fill up thousands of beer bars, hotel and restaurants at any time. There's just about one bar and one restaurant for every tourist.

If there are so many tourists around why are a lot of the hotels almost empty?

That's simple to answer. There are too many hotels. You can always find bargains even in December and January in Pattaya.

Pattaya is not quiet and it's not dead.

[BigSnake]

Just return a few days ago, spend five days there didn't seem DEAD to me, oh well I guess it depend on what you are looking for or what you call dead, Jomtien Beach did seem down or dead and for sure not cheap, decent deluxe Bt2500, a bit on the expensive side for my little budget however; I for one don't care to sleep with the BEDBUGs, ie, some of the very cheap short time places(bt250). Oh!! well to each his of her own.

[syd barrett]

I have never known Pattaya so quiet. I think a lot of this has to do with the publicized unrest in Bangkok. I am sure though that there will be a short lived high season from December 1st-End of January. A lot of what has dropped off is the Pattaya long stay crowd who have moved elsewhere. I don't know where but the long-termers are just turning their backs on Central Pattaya.

[LennyW]

All the tourists are a lot more spread out around the town these days, i have never seen so much falangs walking about Sukhumvit, Chaiyapruek, Na Jomtien areas. Just seems wierd as not so long ago it was a bit of a novelty to see a westerner walking about in these areas.

I would not say the whole of Pattaya was dead now, just not so condensed into the centre of town, this seems to have been the trend for the last couple of years.