Thai PM Abhisit flies tourism flag

BEIJING: -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday praised Thailand as a tourist destination and tried to boost China's business confidence in the Kingdom.

In his luncheon address, "Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value and Confidence in Thailand", given to about 500 participants in Beijing, Abhisit said nearly 1 million tourists from China visited Thailand annually. However, Thailand has experienced a drop in the number of tourists in recent months, due to a 20-per-cent drop in global travel.

"To boost our tourism industry, we have undertaken several actions, such as waiving visa fees from March to June, and we are now in the process of extending the waiver until March 2010," he said.

Moreover, the Cabinet has also approved a scheme to provide travel insurance for foreign tourists, in case of an unexpected event like the political rally in April, Abhisit said.

He said Thailand was the right destination for investors.

"Despite the economic downturn, which caused many firms - even big ones - to close down or lay off their employees, General Motors has opted to expand its plant in Thailand and make it a hub for the Southeast Asian market," he said.

To instil Chinese confidence in Thailand, he said he set two priorities after taking office six months ago. One is to achieve reconciliation in the country, and the other is to lead it out of the economic crisis.

On the first day of the prime |minister's visit to China, Thailand signed an agreement to expand and deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation with the Chinese government.

Among other provisions, the agreement will allow Thai operators to increase their exports of fruit to some provinces in China.

Both countries are keeping to their targets of boosting the value of bilateral trade to US$50 billion (Bt1.71 trillion) by next year, boosting investment in each other's economies to $6.5 billion and increasing the number of tourists between the two countries to 4 million annually.

-- The Nation 2009-06-26

I am happy Thailand is doing business with China. I mean... it would be looking REALLY bad if CHina wouldn't, right?

I find it a bit surprising GM is actually still in business.

Just wish they'd do something about tourism and their general aproach towards foreigners and especially expats that fuel their economy the most.

Waiving visa fees is clearly a desperate move that shows how disconnected they are from the real world. Foreigners who spends several hundred Euros to come to Thailand and spends at least twice as much while being here really do not care about a visa fee, now do they?!

Thailand is (just like the common Thai national) thinking about today, not tomorrow or god forbid the future.

What Thailand needs is a reality check, quickly, or they will start thinking about the past... a lot...

p.s. Got to add this, I saw Abhisit a while back on Hard Talk, I really like him. He's a very clever person, someone who can really turn things around (I hope/wish/pray for)

Edited June 25, 200917 yr by jbhh

if he is no longer Prime Minister he can always make a career as comic :

"Thailand was the right destination for investors"

"reconciliation in the country"

"to lead it out of the economic crisis"

"To boost our tourism industry, we have undertaken several actions, such as waiving visa fees"

"the Cabinet has also approved a scheme to provide travel insurance for foreign tourists, in case of an unexpected event"

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

They are the cheapest tourists on earth! There is no way the average chinese tourists spends as much as a farang tourist. They all do the bus tours, eat at buffets that give discounts or do sack lunches...comeon man, experience Thailand!

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

They are the cheapest tourists on earth! There is no way the average chinese tourists spends as much as a farang tourist. They all do the bus tours, eat at buffets that give discounts or do sack lunches...comeon man, experience Thailand!

You couldn't be more wrong.

I'm always surprised that some people write something without checking the facts.

I wrote about this already quite some time ago.

A Chinese tourist (2007 figures) spends more per day -Baht 4.397,51/day- than any European tourist;

only the USA tourist spends more -4.694,16-, next to tourists from India -4.700,76, Australia -4.567,65-, some Middle East countries and S. Africa.

Here you go:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/So-farang-To...32#entry2129232

LaoPo

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

They are the cheapest tourists on earth! There is no way the average chinese tourists spends as much as a farang tourist. They all do the bus tours, eat at buffets that give discounts or do sack lunches...comeon man, experience Thailand!

You couldn't be more wrong.

I'm always surprised that some people write something without checking the facts.

I wrote about this already quite some time ago.

A Chinese tourist (2007 figures) spends more per day -Baht 4.397,51/day- than any European tourist;

only the USA tourist spends more -4.694,16-, next to tourists from India -4.700,76, Australia -4.567,65-, some Middle East countries and S. Africa.

Here you go:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/So-farang-To...32#entry2129232

LaoPo

For "family" tourists I may agree LaoPao, but based only on that chart as evidence I would guess from looking at those figures that the entertainment figures do not cover the "hidden" entertainment of the other "sex" tourists as the amounts listed would not even cover a short time bar fine, let alone the money for the girl (or so I'm told ). I would guess that many US, UK, and other European tourists are more likely to partake in this comparatively "expensive" daily entertainment than the "average" Chinese tourist, therefore the figures may be a little off depending on how they were calculated and the accuracy of their source(s). I will leave the debate over how much of a variance this would make and numbers involved to other more knowlegable tourist counters.

Just my tuppence: take it or leave it.

Mark Twain popularized in the U.S. Benjamin Disraeli's statement, "There are three kinds of lies:lies, dam_n lies, and statistics." That sardonic journalist, author, and speaker recognized the persuasive power of authoritatively made numeric presentations to a largely innumerate public.

And Wihelm Stekel: "Statistics is the are of lying by means of figures."

.

if he is no longer Prime Minister he can always make a career as comic :

"Thailand was the right destination for investors"

"reconciliation in the country"

"to lead it out of the economic crisis"

"To boost our tourism industry, we have undertaken several actions, such as waiving visa fees"

"the Cabinet has also approved a scheme to provide travel insurance for foreign tourists, in case of an unexpected event"

You missed out on one.

General Motors will make LOS its SEA hub? Haven't they been declared bankrupt? They are the very acme of business acumen? Sorry PM. You need to get out more. I guess you ae too busy avoiding all those knives. pointing at your back.

Will one of the Yoobamrung clan be charged with setting up the travel insurance scam scheme?

if he is no longer Prime Minister he can always make a career as comic :

"Thailand was the right destination for investors"

"reconciliation in the country"

"to lead it out of the economic crisis"

"To boost our tourism industry, we have undertaken several actions, such as waiving visa fees"

"the Cabinet has also approved a scheme to provide travel insurance for foreign tourists, in case of an unexpected event"

You missed out on one.

General Motors will make LOS its SEA hub? Haven't they been declared bankrupt? They are the very acme of business acumen? Sorry PM. You need to get out more. I guess you ae too busy avoiding all those knives. pointing at your back.

Will one of the Yoobamrung clan be charged with setting up the travel insurance scam scheme?

The big pay-off in the insurance scam would come from the pay-outs. The Yoobanrung clan would be responsible for putting the insured in hospital/mortuary and then everyone would help themselves to the initial pay-out before it finally arrived in the hands of the beneficiary

Here is an idea for Abhisit, for bona fide tourists when exiting the country offer them 300 baht for each 150 baht ATM service charge in the major currency of your choice! That way, they will leave with a good feeling.

Here is an idea for Abhisit, for bona fide tourists when exiting the country offer them 300 baht for each 150 baht ATM service charge in the major currency of your choice! That way, they will leave with a good feeling.

I'm sorry - can someone explain this 150baht ATM charge to me?

Here is an idea for Abhisit, for bona fide tourists when exiting the country offer them 300 baht for each 150 baht ATM service charge in the major currency of your choice! That way, they will leave with a good feeling.

I'm sorry - can someone explain this 150baht ATM charge to me?

Yes, you are charged 150 baht every time you use a foreign origin bank ATM card in Thailand by the Thai bank. That is on top of any fee your home country bank may charge. It is taken directly out of your account, for example a withdrawal of 9000 baht becomes 9150 baht.

Edited June 26, 200917 yr by Jingthing

Here is an idea for Abhisit, for bona fide tourists when exiting the country offer them 300 baht for each 150 baht ATM service charge in the major currency of your choice! That way, they will leave with a good feeling.

I'm sorry - can someone explain this 150baht ATM charge to me?

Yes, you are charged 150 baht every time you use a foreign origin bank ATM card in Thailand by the Thai bank. That is on top of any fee your home country bank may charge. It is taken directly out of your account, for example a withdrawal of 9000 baht becomes 9150 baht.

Thanks - a bit of a premature post on my part. Just found a 52 page thread on this very topic! I suppose I'd better get on and transfer some money into my BKK bank account for my upcoming 3 month sojourn in the LOS then.

1 post and several replies to that have been deleted as the post was racist and disrupting the ongoing discussion.

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

No they can, as long the are wrapped in plastic bags

1 post and several replies to that have been deleted as the post was racist and disrupting the ongoing discussion.

The racist and what is racist should be exposed.Exposed, for everybody to see, to shame the racist and for other to learn a lesson from that example. to learn where racism begins.

With some stereotyping and other remarks, you can read here in the forum daily some users stepped over a thin line. Maybe unintentional, but expose racist comment would raise awareness and self awareness.

Is TAT still trying to prevent the Chinese bus tours that bring their own packed lunches?

No they can, as long the are wrapped in plastic bags

Hold the plastic.

To be green, wrapped in paper; prefer recycled.

There is a lot of racist Thais Hagenvon ask some on the forum why people from Bkk and the south call people from issan black's and monkeys these are terms i have heare'd said about issan people. There the nice words i can print.

The big pay-off in the insurance scam would come from the pay-outs. The Yoobanrung clan would be responsible for putting the insured in hospital/mortuary and then everyone would help themselves to the initial pay-out before it finally arrived in the hands of the beneficiary

:D

Yeah. That would work. It would be interesting to see how much each the Yoobanrungs and a certain Patty hospital got - after their dust up that is.

I just flew back from Melbourne on Thai airways. I noticed that the plane was only 1/2 full spare seats everywhere plenty of room to lay down. I also noticed that the majority of passengers where of Indian decent and I guess they were returning to India from Australia so I really wonder how many tourists are actually coming to Thai.