Nothing will save the Thai tourism industry

[duchovny]

The protestors and troops have moved on, but that doesn't mean the tourists will forgive and forget and come flooding back, especially when you see this violence and mayhem on CNN and BBC every few months.

The average international tourist, from where-ever, wont be forgeting this in a hurry. They will be too worried to book a Thai holiday in the future for fear of their holiday being ruined by cancellations or worse.

RIP Thai tourism.

Ironically, this will help tourism in Thailand's "enemies" nearby, such as Cambodia, Vietnam and probably the P.I as people will see them as more stable. And once they discover these other places, they wont go back to Thailand. The Thais have not only shot themselves in the foot but given a big lift up to surrounding countries.

[Naam]

yada, yada, yada... yakety yak

[PhilHarries]

While you may be correct in what you say what has this got to do with saying "God save the.........."?

For sure Thailand has not done itself any favours by the recent melee but it remains to be seen just how much damage has been done and how TAT will try and lessen the effects. It may be too early to be writing off Thailand's tourist industry but sure as eggs are oval it is NOT the time to be investing in a new luxury resort.

[Lite Beer]

Topic Title Changed.

[vahack]

lol yea they definitely shot themselves in the foot this year. protests right before tourist season and then during songkran - one of the busiest tourist weeks of the year. not to mention looking like total world-class incompetent idiots by blocking the Asean conference.

about a year ago i was telling my wife that i thought Thailand would be one of the few countries to avoid the upcoming recession. they had been off the world business scene during the harshest investment years of 2006-2007 and were taking positive steps to cushion any financial impact.

3 prime ministers later and The Economist ranks Thailand as one of the 5 hardest hit economies during this recession.

doesnt matter to me. i dont own a hotel, in-country travel is dirt cheap now and the dollar is doing great!

[markg]

It won't kill the tourist industry, it will just be a blip. Might be a big blip, but nevertheless, a blip and not a death.

Why?

After the Tsunami (in Phuket) they said 'that's it - tourism is dead' Yet just 6 short months later it's all back the same as before. Sure the Japanese and Koreans took a little longer to come back, but that;s just their style.

After the coup, they said 'that's it, tourism is dead'

It didnt die

After the over running of Suvanapoom airport they said 'that's it, tourism is dead'

It isnt.

Tourism won't die just yet in Thailand. It's a beautiful, 'exotic' country which has quite good infrastructure. Holidaymakers can impress their friends about their daring travels in the far-east and Orient, even though they stayed in a 5 star hotel and ate 3 European meals a day. Though they did try a pad-Thai once.

There will be a blip, sure. There will be lay-offs, of course. But i think folks' political memories are short. Certainly less than a year.

The real kicker is the credit-crunch. Many people just cant afford to come here just now.

But once that is sorted out, it will be back to normal.

Don't lock the coffin down just yet.

[PhilHarries]

markg, you are dead right. Thai tourism is like the Thai Baht, you can shoot it up all you like but, like Terminator, it just keeps on going.

[ukrules]

RIP Thai tourism.

Utter crap of course.

[Heng]

Thankfully though, it's not a team sport and agro-exports/imports, private finance, and plastics are still doing fine. Sucks to be some, eh?

[AceCafe]

Thailand is like a tried and tested old tart you just cannot stop yourself going back to........ she may not be as pretty or exciting as she was 20 years ago, but she still has that something that beats all the others in the area hands down!

I love her but she slays me sometimes!

[markg]

Remember Bali ?

One massive bomb that killed how many? 200 people?

A few years later, again in Kuta, another bomb which thankfully only killed a few people.

Did tourism suffer? YES!

Did it die? No way!

If Bali, and specifically Kuta can survive something like fundamental Muslims carrying out bombings, then Thailand can certainly ride out political battles.

Europeans in particular are pretty pragmatic. A few political protesters on the streets is a normal situation to us and we're made of sterner stuff than most. It doesnt tend to bother us as much as say the Koreans or the Japanese whom i notice, according to reports, have canceled their holidays because of the red-shirt fiasco.

Their loss as far as i'm concerned.

But they will be back. Just like they came swarming back by the tour-bus-load just 6 months after the tsunami.

[capco1]

family tourists will probably make a destination change for a while but I really don't think this will keep away the single male farang who's looking to party!.......Kinda like bee's being drawn to honey....The hive might be crushed but there's still sweet stuff in the rubble!

I'm goin in Capt, if I'm not back in two weeks send a search party!

[wasabi]

Tourism will suffer but die no way. Thailand is incompetent at running it's government and does most things half ass if any attempt is made at all but it still has charm none of it's neighbors possess.

[JR Texas]

RIP Thai tourism.

Utter crap of course.

Not utter crap.......just an exaggeration using strong words.

Tourism has been declining (net decline) for the past 10 years. The annual increase in tourists would have been much greater if not for incompetence among successive governments.

Thailand has been pushing tourists away to "better places" (certainly in terms of visa rules): the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Lao, and especially Cambodia have all gained from Thailand's mistakes.

People are discovering that other countries in the region have wonderful beaches and nightlife and food and hotels, etc..

They are also starting to sense the strong xenophobia that has surfaced in Thailand--something that does not make for a happy stay in the Kingdom.

The economy is in shambles..........the visa/business rules are anti-foreigner/anti-investment.........the education system is worthless........every sector is corrupt to the core.......major cities are polluted and now dangerous to live in because of the pollution.......beaches are polluted.......and violence against foreigners has increased.

An internal "civil war" like mass psychology between different-colored shirts is not helping matters. The fighting seems to have stopped. Still, I see no major turnaround for Thailand in the near future.

Thailand has a mass of very ignorant young students who are about to get a taste of the economic situation. They will be angry when myth does not coincide with reality. What will they do? What will the young men do? I think this is a critical development. Young men without opportunities often resort to violence.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Given that the biggest threat to sustained Thai tourism is in fact mass tourism, this may be a good thing.

Thailand is more and more seen as an over-touristed package tour pit like the Spanish costas, so it may actually be a good thing to recapture that spirit of adventure.

People always whine on how Thailand was so much better 10-20 years ago. Well guess what, far fewer tourists back then, far fewer locals being jaded by it, etc. I would expect some happiness now.. Of course I know better; Internet fora are far more conducive to winging than to being positive.

Edited April 15, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai

[BugJackBaron]

Remember Bali ?

One massive bomb that killed how many? 200 people?

A few years later, again in Kuta, another bomb which thankfully only killed a few people.

Did tourism suffer? YES!

Did it die? No way!

If Bali, and specifically Kuta can survive something like fundamental Muslims carrying out bombings, then Thailand can certainly ride out political battles.

Europeans in particular are pretty pragmatic. A few political protesters on the streets is a normal situation to us and we're made of sterner stuff than most. It doesnt tend to bother us as much as say the Koreans or the Japanese whom i notice, according to reports, have canceled their holidays because of the red-shirt fiasco.

Their loss as far as i'm concerned.

But they will be back. Just like they came swarming back by the tour-bus-load just 6 months after the tsunami.

From what I understand tourism in Bali DID die - down as much as 99%. But that was clearly because in that

case tourists were the target. In the case of Thailand it is quite different and like you say tourists do come back

[Ulysses G.]

Tourism will suffer but die no way. Thailand is incompetent at running it's government and does most things half ass if any attempt is made at all but it still has charm none of it's neighbors possess.

This it exactly!

[thunder30101]

Guessing you have never been to cambodia lol The one good thing is maybe some of the tour people will start taking better care of the ones that do come. Living in the ne I can only hope more do not come and stay down south.

[bonobo]

Thai tourism will not die, but it will suffer.  But to compare this to the tsunami is wrong.  People realized the tsunami was a natural occurance which would probably not be repeated, and they came back.  With the airport closing and now this, that shows the world that there is a fundamantal problem with the political situation there, and many people will opt to other places.

[stingray]

Protesters are everywhere. They was in England, just a week ago on the G20 Meeting. Today on the 15.th there are thenthousends of Protesters al over the USA in many cities. It's Taxday. So what?

Cambo and surrounding countries are not even worth to look at it. If tourists not come to Thailand. they choose mosthly the caribbean island or Brasil. But only a very very small procentage consider Cambo and Vietnam.

[simon43]

Thank-you for the warning about tourism dying. Unfortunately, I have no time to dwell on this matter since my Phuket hotel is running at almost 100% occupancy.... (and has been in spite of airport occupations, military coup etc etc)

Simon

[geriatrickid]

The protests really didn't disrupt any tourists. Sure it looks bad on the news, but for those that have visited they will return. The most lucrative group of tourists are the Scandanavians and they aren't easily spooked. After all, these are the people that gave us the savage pillaging vikings. It takes a lot to scare them off and no one's threatened them. even during the airport seizures, tourists were not threatened. Inconvenienced yes, but not physically harmed.

Thankfully though, it's not a team sport and agro-exports/imports, private finance, and plastics are still doing fine. Sucks to be some, eh?

Don't know where you get your data but those sectors are in deep doo doo. Thailand is a non player in the international finance markets and major infrastructure projects rely on foreign funding.

Read between the lines of a positive spin;

BANGKOK, April 9 (TNA) – In February, Thai exports contracted 11 per cent compared with more than 20 per cent growth during the comparable period the year before.

[Carmine6]

Thank-you for the warning about tourism dying. Unfortunately, I have no time to dwell on this matter since my Phuket hotel is running at almost 100% occupancy.... (and has been in spite of airport occupations, military coup etc etc)

Simon

I was trying to book a hotel for next week (not on Phuket) and they only had the more expensive rooms available, executive or whatever. I figure all the other hotels must have read TV and gone out of business or these guys wouldn't be so full.

[PhilHarries]

I suppose it might put off those "quality" tourists TAT were hoping for. After all it's most inconvenient trying to have one's afternoon soiree in an atmosphere of CS gas "Waiter, old chap, would you please remove this molotov cocktail, that is most definately not what we ordered".

So I guess the lager louts will still be welcome for a few more years.

[Heng]

Thankfully though, it's not a team sport and agro-exports/imports, private finance, and plastics are still doing fine. Sucks to be some, eh?

Don't know where you get your data but those sectors are in deep doo doo. Thailand is a non player in the international finance markets and major infrastructure projects rely on foreign funding.

I get my data from our accounting books. What's the obsession with national team sports, companies, or businesses that have nothing to do with you directly?

[simon43]

Carmine6, I think that there are many tourism business in Phuket that are suffering - some friends of mine with guesthouses or restaurants are really feeling the downturn in business. But I also have friends with very busy guesthouses and very busy restaurants and very busy tour agencies.

Let's face it, there are many farang in Phuket, Pattaya and Samui with 'hobby' bars, hobby restaurants and hobby guesthouses. By 'hobby', I mean that these persons have very little idea about running a business. (Like my 'ex', they maybe consider business revenue to equal salary and spend it accordingly).

As soon as the pinch is felt, these businesses fail rapidly. Just take at look at the high number of empty bars in Patong that are for sale or for rent. But there are also some very successful bars in that area, managed by bosses who clearly understand their market and customers.

Simon

[trogers]

Same was said for Bali, after the 2 bomb attacks!

[BigSnake]

The protestors and troops have moved on, but that doesn't mean the tourists will forgive and forget and come flooding back, especially when you see this violence and mayhem on CNN and BBC every few months.

The average international tourist, from where-ever, wont be forgeting this in a hurry. They will be too worried to book a Thai holiday in the future for fear of their holiday being ruined by cancellations or worse.

RIP Thai tourism.

Ironically, this will help tourism in Thailand's "enemies" nearby, such as Cambodia, Vietnam and probably the P.I as people will see them as more stable. And once they discover these other places, they wont go back to Thailand. The Thais have not only shot themselves in the foot but given a big lift up to surrounding countries.

For sure two or three month of peace and quite the tourist's flood gate will open trust me, but in the mean time billions and billions of Baht will be loss. Whose fault is that red shirts, yellow shirts, green shirts, government(s) are you listening_UP

[Sporting Dog]

There are great airfares available now - I don't know the data but I would think that Thailand gets many repeat visitors. And many of those that have visited previously would probably not feel too threatened by the political instability.....certainly not as much of a worry as instability in Cambodia, Vietnam would be.

I think the tourism industry will do relatively OK - the global downturn will probably have a bigger impact than the political situation.

[PhilHarries]

There are great airfares available now - I don't know the data but I would think that Thailand gets many repeat visitors. And many of those that have visited previously would probably not feel too threatened by the political instability.....certainly not as much of a worry as instability in Cambodia, Vietnam would be.

I think the tourism industry will do relatively OK - the global downturn will probably have a bigger impact than the political situation.

Are you smoking one of those big Bob Marley cigarettes? No red/yellow shirt thugs running around causing mayhem. It may be communist but you'd hardly know it when you are in the country.

The main areas where Viet Nam lags Thailand are infrastructure and no visa exempt entry. Having said that you can get your visas on line within 24 hours, something Thailand could do with setting up.