Battered Tourism Sector Seeks Urgent Government Help

[javel]

How does 165000 to 27000 equate to a 33.45% drop? Even if this statistic was meant to be a drop "OF" 27000, it does not add up. This is wildly wrong or else I an misinterpreting "year on year".......

Anyone?

Hmmm my math... a drop of 611%, in as 27000 goes into 165000 6.11 times....

OR... this year is 16.3 % of what the previous year was...

Airport closures, riots, global economic recession, and now H1N1.... What's next???

I just HAD to comment.

The DROP is 83,64%: (in June)

YEAR ON YEAR is July2007-June2008 on July2008-June2009. (33,45% down)

J!!!

[SomchaiCNX]

Xenophobic Yellow shirts caused the biggest damage when they shut down Suvarnabhumi. 300,000 travelers stranded- uncountable problems caused to those stranded. Foreign Minister Kasit thought is was 'FUN". They brought it on themselves. Kasit should be dumped to show the real change in Thailand's thinking. Red Shirts did not target tourist specically -Yellow and Kasit did.

yes I agree from a farang point of view. but if you ask the yellow shirts then by thier actions they helped the country. As an outsider looking in I think the current government is destroying thailand

Keep it simple please

The current situation is caused by the previous gorvernments.

So please please blame your friends instead of the current government.

The only thing I think they (current government) do wrong is that they are to slow to react and arrest those resposible for the mess (previous MP's, yellow shirts and red shirt criminals).

[les1999]

Maybe if they de-valued the baht that might help somewhat I reckon ..........

[wedders]

I don't think its that bad,

When my (Thai) wife wants to order a hotel room in Bangkok asking for Thai price they say 1.200 Baht after telling her name with the non-Thai surname they raise the price with 500 Baht to 1.700 so we did not go there, and so several hotels more the same story.

The Last one ( after talking with the manager ) allowed it but no breakfast included ! telling him in that case no deal he agreed for including the breakfast.

So I think it's not so bad at all or........my idea better some than no money at all, but it seems some don't understand

yesterday I opened the "the nation" webpage.

There was a Phuket hotel "1800 Baht per day price for Thais and Expats". On their webpage the regular prices were around 4500 Baht per night.

What is that??? Imagine, you book there, for 4500 Baht per night and the guy next door tells you that he paid just 1800 THB.

I would feel ripped off.

Same happened to me a couple of months back. Quoted 1700 baht for a room at Le Fenix Sukhomvit via an online hotel booking service, but thought I would ask them for a price direct as I'm registered as a return customer of theirs. Asked them for a very good price "as a regular customer".

Same date and type of room as the web quote, I get the answer from Le Fenix. They can offer me a good price - 2354 baht.

What's the matter with these people.

Warm greeting from Le Fenix Sukhumvit by Accor

Thank you for you email. As per your enquiry we are pleased to informed that our room rate is 2354 THB (Nett) with breakfast for standard room and 2942.50 THB (Nett) with breakfast for superior room.

If you are interested above room rate, please let us know for make a reservation for you.

In the meantime, Should you have any questions or need any kind assistance, please feel free to contact me

[thaibkk]

as long as we farangs do not get the same rights thai people get in our civilized 1st world home countries (right to own anything... land...house)

and i not give a crapper about tourist and incomes falling

i spend a serious amount of money here each day/month/year to get nothing in return, except the right to live with my Thai Wife and children ?

Edited June 17, 2009 by thaibkk

[Just1Voice]

Ok, let’s see.

1) Blatant double-tiered pricing.

2) Rip-offs starting from the moment you arrive at the airport with the metered taxi drivers refusing to use their meters, and quoting prices that are 2-3 times higher than what it should cost.

3) No recourse to go to the airport police, because they are in on it.

4) You can’t walk the beaches at night for fear of being mugged, raped and/or killed.

5) You can’t walk down the street with your family without being propositioned by sex workers, or hassled by those trying to sell you illegal/counterfeit good.

6) Cut the tourist visa from 30 days to 15, but raise the price.

7) Hold 300,000 travelers hostage at the airport, and call it fun.

8) Proclaim to the world that “equal justice” will be the norm, but fail to put on trial anyone in Yellow who was part of that takeover.

9) Declare to the world that no boat people were ever mistreated, despite the fact that there were pictures of it in every major international news paper in the world, but later claim that “maybe something like that happened”.

10) Completely absolve those involved in the killing of 78 protestors.

11) Disallow a foreigner to own even 1 rai of land to have a house on, and then state that foreigners who buy property through the LEGAL SPOUSE can have it confiscated by the state.

12) Hold responsible any foreigner involved in an accident or dispute, despite clear evidence to the opposite.

13) Instead of lowering prices to encourage travelers on Thai Air, raise the prices on those who still use the airlines to make up the difference.

14) And whenever anything goes wrong, blame the foreigners.

Yeah, and they scratch their heads and wonder why tourism is down in Thailand, but is actually up in Vietnam and Malaysia.

[paulspad2002]

making life easier for foreigners here and not thinking we are all dam stupid, it is us that keep this country afloat and provide the services that they need aon a professinal level, teaches to teach their kids better english so they can get a better education and provide more for their family...

getting rid of the rediculous 150 baht fee that gets added onto any atm transaction on top of ur own banks fee and the currency conversion fees.....

providing more than 6 dam french fries on a plate.....who does this

stop charging 10 buks for a vodka and orange in the clubs i can get this cheaper in my home country...i realise its choice

change the visa structure to entice ppl........giving away free tourist visas is fine but ur only saving 100 buks lets get real here..........allowing backpackers only 15 days to travel before hanv got leave again is crazy......we dont want u ehar for long just give us ur money and piss off...

thailand is a money society, its got worse in a year prices have gone up, yeah the economy is bad so put prices up....

get rid of thai /ferang menus and the mentality that goes with it, provide police with training based not on corruptioin or what they can get out of a situation....

the bar mat incident got highlighted thru out the western world , the very same ppl that come and spend all their money...phuket relies on these very same ppl and to think that ur being watched and convicted...that commander wud have been laughed out anywhere else and probably fired for bringing the country into desripute..

i think a questionairre at the departures wud be great for travellers to fill out....maybe then they will know the views of the real ppl that spend their money here and why they are here and for how long............its time they got real i wont be back for my 4 months regular trip as i do each year ill be taking my money somewhere else that treats me better, provides me with better police protection and if i voice my opinion at something a place that wont throw me in jail for being right

[dasy]

I don't think its that bad,

When my (Thai) wife wants to order a hotel room in Bangkok asking for Thai price they say 1.200 Baht after telling her name with the non-Thai surname they raise the price with 500 Baht to 1.700 so we did not go there, and so several hotels more the same story.

The Last one ( after talking with the manager ) allowed it but no breakfast included ! telling him in that case no deal he agreed for including the breakfast.

So I think it's not so bad at all or........my idea better some than no money at all, but it seems some don't understand

yesterday I opened the "the nation" webpage.

There was a Phuket hotel "1800 Baht per day price for Thais and Expats". On their webpage the regular prices were around 4500 Baht per night.

What is that??? Imagine, you book there, for 4500 Baht per night and the guy next door tells you that he paid just 1800 THB.

I would feel ripped off.

The feeling of being ripped off or knowing someone that was during their stay anywhere on the world is a reason not to go there. Except Italy off course for then you can buy the Tshirt saying: "I got ripped off in Italy" and it becomes a tourist attraction..

[jelluk]

i live in uk and thailand is considerd to be a dangerous place . all my friends think this i know its not true but that's the vibes bangkok has been putting out for the last year . gone is the los

[gocus]

Come on,

give me good reasons to go back to thailand...

Used to go often in the 90s, now i'm more thinking of cambodia.

But i see only degradation in the land of S... (replace the dots by what you want)

[StevieH]

as long as we farangs do not get the same rights thai people get in our civilized 1st world home countries (right to own anything... land...house)

and i not give a crapper about tourist and incomes falling

i spend a serious amount of money here each day/month/year to get nothing in return, except the right to live with my Thai Wife and children ?

well you should. falling tourist revenues means it costs more for you to live here as the shortfall will have to be made up somewhere.

[blackopsnz]

Please people you are all jumping the gun here; government officials are taking our advice very seriously, the Pattaya Police have set up operations to incourage xpats to stay and pass on the good word of how Pattay is the only place to holaday in Thailand.

Why is Pattaya the best destination and what does that have to do with overall correction of the plight of Thailand and the relationship to tourism

I actually tell my friends intending to visit Thailand to steer clear of Pattaya - the beach is filthy and the touts are horrendous and the vendors will cuss you

that is not a good place to promote tourism - its a sexual tourists playground and shows all the signs of decay

Pattaya is a major tourist destination for Thailand so it has relevance to this thread, if you had bothered clicking on the link and reading it before posting; you would have figured out that I was being sarcastic due to the link being about Pattaya police corruption targeted at farang.

[SabaiBKK]

many people cited the "barmat incident' as one of the causes and blame it on thais.... but actually its the FARANG OWNER of the bar who is the ass hole at the origin of the problem , he called the cops over a barmat that a DRUNK customer was playing around with .... and then he pushed to file a suit against her .... this guy should be hanged by the balls and his bar confiscated for being such a prick ... i sincerely hope that his bar will be boycotted ...

[wrecker]

Just because mr Tosaporn is making the reasons up the Thai government should do what any government should do, nothing. The N1H1 influenza virus is NOT the reason, not even one of the reasons and not even a remote possibility. There are just two reasons:

1. The politica upheaval and foremost the blockade of the airports in December, that prevented people from going home. As the yellow shirts were supported by the rich and the powerful and the poor do not tend to have hotels, golfcourses but only provide labor that is paid for in terms that is almost an insult to the people working, the government should inform the elite that it already did too much by paying their intrest bills over the last few months. Restructuring is necessary, overcapacity should be flushed out of the market by bankruptcies.

The 2nd reasons is the credit and trade crisis, people abroad are losing their jobs and feel uncertain which always leads to fewer passengers and fewer arrivals. The government is not responsible for an international crisis.

if people should be helped it are the underpaid staff that is always so kind and hardworking, they deserve a better safety net. I feel no sympathy whatsoever for the big operators, it is all part of the risk that entrepreneurs need to take in order to be successful.

The influenza virus mentioned by Tosaporn shows that this gentleman should be first in line to lose his job, for the simple reason that he is not doing his job and is making up stories. Executives that come up with faulty answers must be replaced first.

[superrod]

How does 165000 to 27000 equate to a 33.45% drop? Even if this statistic was meant to be a drop "OF" 27000, it does not add up. This is wildly wrong or else I an misinterpreting "year on year".......

Anyone?

I think they missed a 1 out, 127,000 + 33%=168,910 nearer the mark.

You're calculating the wrong way round and still you don't get a sensible figure.

The fact is that the Thai reporters write up stories without thinking much about them, particularly where figures are involved. They just copy down what they are told and uncritically put it out, either never seeing discrepancies or afraid to question discrepancies if they do see them.

It all comes out of the education system of wrote learning and copying and the hierarchical face-saving social system where you don't question anyone or anything for fear of retribution. That's the only way I can explain such dumbness as you see here.

A 33.45% drop from 165,000 would be 55,193 less tourists, leaving 109,807 tourists still visiting. Whereas, 127,000 would be a 23% drop (38,000 less tourists). Let's just face the fact that Thai journalists are lousy at high school math.

Edited June 17, 2009 by superrod

[rufanuf]

Thailand's problems with falling tourism today are caused in order of effect.

1. Relative weakness of tourists own currency due to the current economic climate

2. Thailand's appeal as a low cost destination drying up as the Thai's themsleves keep driving up their prices for

any service or product aimed at forgieners. Anything from hotel rooms, beer to contraband junk sold on the street,

the Thai's have a serious issue with asking ever higher prices for an ever less appealing product or service.

3. The natural growth curve of a matruing market place. Thailand is no longer an emerging tourist market, but a mature market that

has seen its best days, in the face of local emerging competition for tourists money that is fresh, ambitious and wants a slice of the action.

The Thai's had it too good for too long. I first came to Thailand in 96, in that time I have seen every single aspect of what made Thailand

appealing as a tourist destination get slowly battered down. Poor planning controls, poor regulation of businesses servicing the industry and generally

a poor cultural response to a golden opportunity, that means they will keep haemaragging their customer base to other asian countries.

Do the Thai's care about this? Persoanlly from what I have seen, I dont think so which is why the slide will continue in the long run.

[loonodingle]

Som Num "Kin" Nah....................

To much Crime. Violence and hatred to the falang.

And it wont get any better, the will self destruct without doubt. theres no way back from the money grabbing, corrupt ways that so many officials adopt.

Just money money.

And they critisised Thaksin................. Hmmmmmmm there all at it blatantly at it. At least he could lead the country while he lined his pockets. now the countrys outta the window and its every man for hisself

[yom07]

A lot of this thread has moved to the "I can't afford to leave here anymore" line.

I don't seriously think all the double pricing / scamming / exchange rate thing is counting for a lot in the drop.

- double pricing is only boring when you are realizing it. True for expats, not for tourists. Even at 3x or 4x, food is still cheaper here.

- scamming is and had always been. That's not something new, and once gain, I know a lot of people who were quite happy to get a 300 B tuk tuk drive in BKK (That's sooooo cheap !!!)

- exchange rate might be valid for some countries, but definitelly not all of them. UK for sure, US maybe, but definitely not the Euro zone. The exchange rate has pretty much not changed over the past 5 years.

1st of all, get the right number. All that discussion started from figures nobody can understand. Then, compare with similar tourism markets. My guess is that's a global downturn in the tourist industry. I don't see how the air transportation market could drop that much without an impact on tourism.

There are a lot of people in this forum always keen to blame the government for anything they do, or don't do actually. I'm going to be a bit blunt here, but you know what ? Not Happy ? Go back home.

[lostboy777]

Ok, let's see.

1) Blatant double-tiered pricing.

2) Rip-offs starting from the moment you arrive at the airport with the metered taxi drivers refusing to use their meters, and quoting prices that are 2-3 times higher than what it should cost.

3) No recourse to go to the airport police, because they are in on it.

4) You can't walk the beaches at night for fear of being mugged, raped and/or killed.

5) You can't walk down the street with your family without being propositioned by sex workers, or hassled by those trying to sell you illegal/counterfeit good.

6) Cut the tourist visa from 30 days to 15, but raise the price.

7) Hold 300,000 travelers hostage at the airport, and call it fun.

8) Proclaim to the world that "equal justice" will be the norm, but fail to put on trial anyone in Yellow who was part of that takeover.

9) Declare to the world that no boat people were ever mistreated, despite the fact that there were pictures of it in every major international news paper in the world, but later claim that "maybe something like that happened".

10) Completely absolve those involved in the killing of 78 protestors.

11) Disallow a foreigner to own even 1 rai of land to have a house on, and then state that foreigners who buy property through the LEGAL SPOUSE can have it confiscated by the state.

12) Hold responsible any foreigner involved in an accident or dispute, despite clear evidence to the opposite.

13) Instead of lowering prices to encourage travelers on Thai Air, raise the prices on those who still use the airlines to make up the difference.

14) And whenever anything goes wrong, blame the foreigners.

Yeah, and they scratch their heads and wonder why tourism is down in Thailand, but is actually up in Vietnam and Malaysia.

YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

AND IF YOU CAN'T BLAME THE BURMESE, BLAME THE FARANGS.

WORK PERMITS AND VISA'S ARE SIMPLY A JOKE.

THE NEW 15 DAY ARRIVAL VISA IS THE MOST STUPID DECISION EVER.

THE SWINE FLU IS ONLY MAYBE 10% OF THE PROBLEM.

FARANGS BEING KILLED, STABBED OR BEATEN DOESN'T HELP!!!

BEING RIPPED OFF EVERYWHERE!!!

OVERPRICED....FARANGS FIRST CAME TO THAILAND BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP!...PEOPLE FORGET THAT!

FARANGS BRING A LOT OF MONEY INTO THIS COUNTRY, AND WE DO NOT EXPECT TO HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS THAI'S ETC, OR SOCIAL WELFARE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT ALWAYS BEING MADE FELT TO BE AN OUTSIDER, THE RIDICULOUS VISA SITUATIONS GETS TO YOU AFTER A WHILE, AND HAS A NEGATIVE REACTION, AS IN MY OPINION HALF THE TOURISM HERE IS RELATED TO THE EXPATS LIVING HERE. TAKE OUT THE EXPATS ---- TAKE AWAY TOURISM.

In the immigration office... still after 10 years of going the guy says to me, 'welcome to my country'...sums it it really.

[Town35]

I vacationed in Patong last year when the airport was shut down for a few days. For a foreigner, the airport is the only lifeline back to home and job. After a couple of days of being closed, I really began to regret vacationing in Thailand. It is a fairly cheap place, but if I had been forced to stay much longer I would have really been digging into my emergency funds. I was in a mass evacuation from the Philippines in 1991 and the experience was unpleasant. Combined with Tokyo-prices for a Tuk Tuk, filthy beaches, aggressive vendors, 120-decibel loud-speaker announcements made from continuously circling trucks, and a beach road that felt like Manhattan rush hour, Patong was not a place that I could recommend to friends except for the good hotels and night life. Not all of Thailand is that way but Patong and Pattaya are signs that Thailand has gotten by for a long time based on luck and momentum and could easily lose its competitive advantage to other countries. I have thought before about vacationing in Thailand for 4 or 5 months but get turned off by the complexity of the process as well as the other annoyances. Thailand is still one of my favorite destinations but the negatives have caused me to slowly start buying Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Philipines travel books. -- Town

[TerraPosse]

Not sure why this panicking about less tourists. When I arrived over a week ago, the airport was heaving with arrivals and even longer than usual queues at immigration (partly because of the heat camera screening they were doing). When my gf tried to book a hotel for some friends who arrived last week she found out all was fully booked. Can't really be all that bad apparently.

If they want to see what a collapsed tourism industry looks like they should visit Zimbabwe.

[TVmonitor]

THey can't even get the figures right for the press or the grammar

"dropped from 165,000 in the same period of 2008, to 27,000 in 2009" - so what's the chance of anything they say being right?

[worthingmike]

not to be funny but they must have seen this coming? and i'd imagine that swine 'flu has sod all to do with it.

There is a recession on. Flu what flu Britain has more fle than Thailand. Remove TAX of flights if you want Tourisum to return My flight to Thiland has a massive £175 per person TAX. Remove that Tax and you will see the beaches and hotels fill again.

[dmcrory]

EAT RICE THAILAND!

FROM YOUR CRAP WITH VISAS TO BEING ROBBED MORE THEN ONCE! TO YOUR GREEDY AND SPOILED PEOPLE! I ABSOLUTELY HATE THAILAND!

I WILL NEVER EVER COME THERE AGAIN! I WON'T EVEN FLY YOUR AIRLINE! YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE! THE FOREIGNER IS THE ONE THAT CREATES JOBS! THE THAI GOVERNMENT'S IDEA OF PROVIDING JOBS IS VISA RUNS AND SCREWING THE FOREIGNER OVER ANYWAY THEY CAN!

CAMBODIA AND LAOS WILL GET MY TRAVEL DOLLARS AND BELIEVE ME MY BUDGET IS PRETTY MUCH UNLIMITED!

NEVER AGAIN!

[dman961]

So, nothing to do with:-

• the oz lady kept in prison for 4 days for stealing a beer mat.
  
• the man killed on his boat by fishermen.
  
• the 15 day visa for local border crossings.
  
• the strenght of the baht.
  
• the threat to take back land if the thai lady got her money from a farrang.
  
• the ever increasing price of flights, hotels, food etc.
  
• the amount of poeple that get scammed/ripped off by jet ski owners/motorbike owners.
  
• the rights that farrangs don't have over property/land.
  

The list goes on... ...any body want to think of more, please be my guest.

Oh and yes, the political unrests, and an uncomon (so SCARY) flu... ha ha schewww.

I geuss you could say what many have been saying for a long time and now the siht really is starting to hit the fan.

[bob6023]

Good news for those of us that live here. Except think it would be good if they devalue the BHt. 40 to one would be nice . but that makes sense, so I don't look fot it to happen. To bad the ones who are coming are Iranians, Russians, ect.

[StevieH]

EAT RICE THAILAND!

FROM YOUR CRAP WITH VISAS TO BEING ROBBED MORE THEN ONCE! TO YOUR GREEDY AND SPOILED PEOPLE! I ABSOLUTELY HATE THAILAND!

I WILL NEVER EVER COME THERE AGAIN! I WON'T EVEN FLY YOUR AIRLINE! YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE! THE FOREIGNER IS THE ONE THAT CREATES JOBS! THE THAI GOVERNMENT'S IDEA OF PROVIDING JOBS IS VISA RUNS AND SCREWING THE FOREIGNER OVER ANYWAY THEY CAN!

CAMBODIA AND LAOS WILL GET MY TRAVEL DOLLARS AND BELIEVE ME MY BUDGET IS PRETTY MUCH UNLIMITED!

NEVER AGAIN!

it's about half past two mate.

[TVmonitor]

Ok, let's see.

1) Blatant double-tiered pricing.

2) Rip-offs starting from the moment you arrive at the airport with the metered taxi drivers refusing to use their meters, and quoting prices that are 2-3 times higher than what it should cost.

3) No recourse to go to the airport police, because they are in on it.

4) You can't walk the beaches at night for fear of being mugged, raped and/or killed.

5) You can't walk down the street with your family without being propositioned by sex workers, or hassled by those trying to sell you illegal/counterfeit good.

6) Cut the tourist visa from 30 days to 15, but raise the price.

7) Hold 300,000 travelers hostage at the airport, and call it fun.

8) Proclaim to the world that "equal justice" will be the norm, but fail to put on trial anyone in Yellow who was part of that takeover.

9) Declare to the world that no boat people were ever mistreated, despite the fact that there were pictures of it in every major international news paper in the world, but later claim that "maybe something like that happened".

10) Completely absolve those involved in the killing of 78 protestors.

11) Disallow a foreigner to own even 1 rai of land to have a house on, and then state that foreigners who buy property through the LEGAL SPOUSE can have it confiscated by the state.

12) Hold responsible any foreigner involved in an accident or dispute, despite clear evidence to the opposite.

13) Instead of lowering prices to encourage travelers on Thai Air, raise the prices on those who still use the airlines to make up the difference.

14) And whenever anything goes wrong, blame the foreigners.

Yeah, and they scratch their heads and wonder why tourism is down in Thailand, but is actually up in Vietnam and Malaysia.

YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

AND IF YOU CAN'T BLAME THE BURMESE, BLAME THE FARANGS.

WORK PERMITS AND VISA'S ARE SIMPLY A JOKE.

THE NEW 15 DAY ARRIVAL VISA IS THE MOST STUPID DECISION EVER.

THE SWINE FLU IS ONLY MAYBE 10% OF THE PROBLEM.

FARANGS BEING KILLED, STABBED OR BEATEN DOESN'T HELP!!!

BEING RIPPED OFF EVERYWHERE!!!

OVERPRICED....FARANGS FIRST CAME TO THAILAND BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP!...PEOPLE FORGET THAT!

FARANGS BRING A LOT OF MONEY INTO THIS COUNTRY, AND WE DO NOT EXPECT TO HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS THAI'S ETC, OR SOCIAL WELFARE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT ALWAYS BEING MADE FELT TO BE AN OUTSIDER, THE RIDICULOUS VISA SITUATIONS GETS TO YOU AFTER A WHILE, AND HAS A NEGATIVE REACTION, AS IN MY OPINION HALF THE TOURISM HERE IS RELATED TO THE EXPATS LIVING HERE. TAKE OUT THE EXPATS ---- TAKE AWAY TOURISM.

In the immigration office... still after 10 years of going the guy says to me, 'welcome to my country'...sums it it really.

I can't agree with much of what you say is accurate, BUT - the point you make is that the Thai authorities are making a good job of developing a really NEGATIVE perception for anyone visiting their country, whether as a tourist or business or potential long-term stay.....you bcan addto the list with things like import duties om personal belongings and cars, the facilities for boats, bribery and corruption - all this costs the country - yet they still persists in ridiculous and frquent changes to iimmigration laws etc - no wonder people are put off.

Edited June 17, 2009 by TVmonitor

[BigBikeBKK]

making life easier for foreigners here and not thinking we are all dam stupid, it is us that keep this country afloat and provide the services that they need aon a professinal level, teaches to teach their kids better english so they can get a better education and provide more for their family...

getting rid of the rediculous 150 baht fee that gets added onto any atm transaction on top of ur own banks fee and the currency conversion fees.....

Stupid is as stupid does. (or posts, in this case)

Indeed where would Thailand be without people like you to teach them proper English...

Get a grip! And whether you're a tourist or an expat, there's certainly nothing forcing you to stay in Thailand.

Sure the country has serious issues. If things get worse I may well decide to pack up and leave. But what country doesn't have problems these days???

If you can't appreciate the positives you are always welcome to leave. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[popshirt]

I have many Asian friends in China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. Almost all of them were planning to travel to Thailand this year but virtually all of them--at least a dozen by my recollection--have changed plans, and each has said it was because of the political unrest. The airport disgrace was bad enough but it was the lack of concern for the safety of the international leaders meeting in Pattaya that made the big news across Asia. The photos of Asian leaders being evacuated by helicopter or fleeing down the roads in their cars made a huge and long-lasting impression.

As a Hong Kong friend said to me last night, "Thailand is just too dangerous". Whether you agree or not, this is the word on the street across Asian countries.

Edited June 17, 2009 by popshirt