Worldvisitor Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It might be a 49 month low, it would sort of coincide with SARS, tsunami, war, etc.. I don't know... the article as usual is bogus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprq Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Someone with a big job title says something, Bangkok Post journalist writes it down, doesn't question it, editor doesn't question it, result is like this, every day. Farang reads "49-year low", immediately sees something wrong, although never been a journalist. TIT. You have to do the journalist's job yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerchang Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Holy sh*t, only 11 tourists! Wouldn't mind being on that plane for the long haul . Tourism is down everywhere but the extortion going on hitting the news certainly isn't going to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatchamacallit Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I really don't think there were more than 11 million tourists 48 years ago in Thailand. Or 47, or 37, or 27, or 17 or even 7 years ago. What a crock of sh#t piece of journalism. It's Voodoo (sp) Economics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuchaomk Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Amazing, it is all going to be solved in the next 4 months. Funny how the benefits of Tourism are always downplayed by the sock puppets, but in reality it is starting to bite. Well done, keep up the scams an other associated nonsense and they might even exceed these figures next year. ....."other associated nonsense" = Tourist Visa policy............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunray69 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) The Land of Smiles is turning into the Land of Greek Tragedy - sad but true This is really insulting for Greece and all the greek people, Thailand will never be like Greece and surely not its people like the greek people are. Do you really know what is a Greek tragedy ???? Edited July 23, 2009 by sunray69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmax Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Most of the news coming out of Thailand at the moment is BAD news ,young boy drowns in Pattaya fun park ,woman arrested for stealing beer mat, king power fiasco at the airport . now much of it is actually the fault of the tourist ,such as the woman was drunk and abused the police but the papers do not report it that way ,now the Danish govt are warning tourist of scams and corrupt police in the airport . The tourists are few and far between here in Pattaya and if they think its all going to be O K in 4 months ,well then collectivly they are burying their head in the sand and talking out of their a-ses. hahahahaha som nam na.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiRack Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism could easily be down to a 49 year low. Of course the figure won't be based on a like-for-like comparison of numbers. That's absurd. It'll be a relative or percentage calculation, same as pretty much any other tourism statistic that covers a period of time greater than 5-or-so years for any other country in the world. ... and if it is indeed a decree from the MOT, then it's probably just a very, very misguided and short-sighted way of boosting Thai Airways' custom, by making loads of people fly back to their home countries to get visas. Am I being too cynical? Probably. But just in case I'm right, spite them by booking flights with other carriers from KL or Singapore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lawrence Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I really don't think the tourism decrease can be attributed to the polical unrest and swine flu. Maybe to a small degree, but not to an all time low. I think this government needs to look at several items.The exchange rate for the baht is horrible The prices for lodging and services is becoming outrageous. $100 a night for hotels in Thailand. Please Thai Air is probably one of the highest priced airlines going in th world right now. ANd then there is the problem of gaining a visa, dual entry, just not conducive to the tourist. As a farang married to a Thai lady, the fact that they are making it harder for us to buy property or transferring money just to support our wives and children has alot to do with why go to Thailand? They have made a very unappealing place to come to. The Thai governement needs to wake up and smell the coffee, there are places such as Vietname to visit that are just as nice and far less expensive same with the Philippines. Thailand is pricing and governing themselves out of the tourism market. I hope someone from the government is listening. Agree with this. It all depends how the Govt really wants to perceive itself; a tourist economy or start to be focused on their manufacturing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuian Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Amazing, it is all going to be solved in the next 4 months. Funny how the benefits of Tourism are always downplayed by the sock puppets, but in reality it is starting to bite. Well done, keep up the scams an other associated nonsense and they might even exceed these figures next year. ....."other associated nonsense" = Tourist Visa policy............ .... 150 ThB ATM Withdrawal charges .... 30 Days Entry Visa... ....the Panda Cub... ...the political turmoil... ...the prices.. ...the rip off schemes.. ...the beer prices.. ....the suvannbhum taxi scam.. ...the poisonous snakes... ...the bad weather... ...the ahh' well, some people simply "know it all"... and got an anser to everything ...at least they claim to! ANY SOLUTIONS ANYONE OF YOU? Edited July 23, 2009 by Samuian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonWong Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 49 year low? I don't believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuchaomk Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I would like to know how they came up with the "49-year low" claim. Weird statistical twisting if true. Perhaps based on the %age year-on-year drop. I can say that all the statistics made in here are strange...based on doubtful calculations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlexo Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It looks to me that the world is slowly waking up to the many negative factors ("things wrong") in this amazing land of smiles. I have never seen so many critical reports/articles/comments in reputable publications as during the last 18 months. There is plenty of better destinations for somebody to spend his vacation. JL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuchaomk Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Amazing, it is all going to be solved in the next 4 months. Funny how the benefits of Tourism are always downplayed by the sock puppets, but in reality it is starting to bite. Well done, keep up the scams an other associated nonsense and they might even exceed these figures next year. ....."other associated nonsense" = Tourist Visa policy............ .... 150 ThB ATM Withdrawal charges .... 30 Days Entry Visa... ....the Panda Cub... ...the political turmoil... ...the prices.. ...the rip off schemes.. ...the beer prices.. ....the suvannbhum taxi scam.. ...the poisonous snakes... ...the bad weather... ...the ahh' well, some people simply "know it all"... and got an anser to everything ...at least they claim to! ANY SOLUTIONS ANYONE OF YOU? I totally agreee.......................mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just1Voice Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 At a time when Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Bali, and even Cambodia, are doing all they can to encourage tourists and their money, and teaching their people to be "tourist friendly", Thailand, of course, falls back on their old saying: "We're Thai. We do things differently", and do all they can to screw over the tourists every way they can. And then have the stupidity to wonder why tourism is dropping like a rock tossed from the top of Mt. Everest. 1) Cut 30 day Tourist Visa to 15 days. 2) Raise the prices on visas 3) Cut down, or cut out, visa runs for longer stays. 4) Blatantly have two-tier pricing for farang and Thai 5) Have people walking down the street with their families, including children, being accosted to buy sex merchandise. 6) Have motorbike "gangs" that deliberately target farang on motorbikes, especially at night, to beat & rob. 7) Have women proposition men on the beach for sex, and when they refuse, the "boys" move in to beat & rob him. 8) Raise the price of rooms in hotels to outrageous levels, while cutting the services down to practically nothing. 9) Besiege people from the moment they clear customs at the airport with "taxi pimps" who try to steer you to their taxis that refuse to turn on the meters, and will even tell you that the hotel you are booked into burned down last night, but they will take you to another one just as good, but have it turn out to be worse, but cost you more. 10) Have blatant scams in the airport that accuse people of stealing, and then forcing them to pay huge sums to be "cleared" of the charges and let go. And this doesn't even include all the political B.S. that goes on. Oh, Yeah, Thailand, you're really encouraging the tourists - to go someplace else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukeroku Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It looks to me that the world is slowly waking up to the many negative factors ("things wrong") in this amazing land of smiles. I have never seen so many critical reports/articles/comments in reputable publications as during the last 18 months. There is plenty of better destinations for somebody to spend his vacation. JL. Of course, we want to agree with you, and know that things will be better for all of us here in LOS if more folks go elsewhere for their vacations! It's an awfully big world out there; enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SantiSuk Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 22 per cent is a steep decline, but not the catastrophic end to tourism most of you guys seem to want to justify your views on the minor hassles of being a falang here. Anybody have any comparitive data for other tourist destinations. I suspect they will be of the same order for longhaul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padrino Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism may be at an all time low but there will always be a guaranteed number of people coming here every year and newbie’s as well. Sex pests will always visit Thailand and every year new perverts will discover the delights on offer. This sort of person doesn't care about red or yellow shirts, or swine flu...they would risk getting HIV if it meant a sordid encounter. It is families and those travellers interested in Asia per se and culture etc that have fallen in numbers - Nana/Patpong/Cowboy Pattaya/the islands etc will still be attracting a continuous flow of creepy slime balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givenall Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism hit 49-year lowBANGKOK: -- The tourism industry has hit a 49-year low and is expected to plunge by 22 per cent this year, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. Besides the global economic crisis, the country's continuing political turmoil had contributed to the sharp decline in tourism, Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkit Hiranyakij said on Thursday. The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from 14.1 million to 11, he said. The A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three to four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200 billion baht of tourism revenue this year, he said. Last year, Thailand gained 540 billion baht in tourism revenue. "If the government can solve its political problems and is able to host the Asean meetings successfully, tourism should be revived by the end of this year or the beginning of 2010," Mr Kongkit predicted. However, he said Thai tourists would help generate 430 billion baht in revenue this year. -- Bangkok Post 2009-07-23 Don’t forget all the scams that are orchestrated by police and other officials, which are the reasons the authorities do not do anything about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebelone Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Its not surprising, what with the problems with Kingpower, and changing the visa rules,I just wonder if anyone really cares in the Thai government,suddenly they change the visa rules for border crossers,from 4 weeks to 2, then only 4 times,no wonder there are so many overstayers or illegals working,instead of changing the rules they should do the same as malaysia,farangs no matter what spend their money in thailand,they dont send it back overseas, mainly because theres never enough of it,but the country would rather take a million illegals from their neighbours,and allow them to send most of their hard earned money back to where they came from,the current Thai P.M. is well educated so he must have some idea of what goes on in his own country,Perhaps the people who are incharge of immigration etc, are working to some hidden agenda? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiconsul Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 For the record, number of tourist visas issued by the Royal Thai Consulate in Hull (UK) between 01 Jan and 30 Jun 2009 are up by 17% on the same period in 2009. Figures for July 2009 so far indicate they will be up by 15% on July 2008. Royal Thai Consulate, Hull, UK 23 Jul 2009 post =2890846 Tourism hit 49-year low BANGKOK: -- The tourism industry has hit a 49-year low and is expected to plunge by 22 per cent this year, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. Besides the global economic crisis, the country's continuing political turmoil had contributed to the sharp decline in tourism, Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkit Hiranyakij said on Thursday. The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from 14.1 million to 11, he said. The A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three to four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200 billion baht of tourism revenue this year, he said. Last year, Thailand gained 540 billion baht in tourism revenue. "If the government can solve its political problems and is able to host the Asean meetings successfully, tourism should be revived by the end of this year or the beginning of 2010," Mr Kongkit predicted. However, he said Thai tourists would help generate 430 billion baht in revenue this year. -- Bangkok Post 2009-07-23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sangercat Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 make some more visa problems,maybe can brake the record to 59 years low! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaoPo Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism plunges 22 per cent Writer: BangkokPost.com Published: 23/07/2009 at 03:07 PM The tourism industry has suffered its deepest slump in many decades with the number of visitors expected to be down 22 per cent on last year, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkit Hiranyakij. It was the biggest plunge in tourism growth in 49 years, he said. <snip> The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from the expected 14.1 million to 11 million, he said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...ges-22-per-cent -- Bangkok Post 22 July 2009 Note: Earlier this year I predicted tourism would fall below 10 million....it will. Many forget that East and South Asian tourism to Thailand is more than 60% of the grand total of Thailand's inbound tourism. Tourism from the major inbound tourism countries like S Korea, China, Japan, HK. Taiwan and Singapore dropped already severely and will continue to do so for the remainder of 2009 and 2010. Those countries alone brought more than 4 million tourists in 2007. Add 1,5 miilion from Malaysia and one doesn't have to be a son/daughter of Einstein to conclude that tourism will be hit a lot harder than Mr. Kongkit predicts; but...than again, his job is on stake if he would predict that tourism would fall even lower than "his" expected 11 million. LaoPo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SantiSuk Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism may be at an all time low but there will always be a guaranteed number of people coming here every year and newbie's as well. Sex pests will always visit Thailand and every year new perverts will discover the delights on offer. This sort of person doesn't care about red or yellow shirts, or swine flu...they would risk getting HIV if it meant a sordid encounter. It is families and those travellers interested in Asia per se and culture etc that have fallen in numbers - Nana/Patpong/Cowboy Pattaya/the islands etc will still be attracting a continuous flow of creepy slime balls. Steady in mate - live and let live. You are addressing at least half the population of TV.com (?) with your invective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samjaidee Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Making it hard to own property = YESmaking it hard to transfer money = NO - NEver had any issues wiring decent amounts of cash into the country. Correct, in no problem, try taking it out !,. like everyting else money related in thaiiand its on a one way ticket and in their favour,. I live in Vietnam now where it is just as hard to buy land as in Thailand. You are able wire transfer money out of Vietnam as long as you have evidence that it originally came into Vietnam from overseas or that it has been earned legitimately and that tax has been paid on those earnings. Isn't Thailand the same? What's wrong with that? Surely you're obliged to pay tax in western countries as well. It would be a sensible policy for any government to adhere to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kdude Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I don't believe that tourism will be picking up any time soon. The news is out on Thailand and the extortion and harassment tactics that are being used on foreigners. Thailand now has a BLACK eye and it will take some time to recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyman Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Tourism hit 49-year lowBANGKOK: -- The tourism industry has hit a 49-year low and is expected to plunge by 22 per cent this year, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. Besides the global economic crisis, the country's continuing political turmoil had contributed to the sharp decline in tourism, Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkit Hiranyakij said on Thursday. The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from 14.1 million to 11, he said. The A(H1N1) flu outbreak could make tourism contract by three to four per cent, causing the country to lose up to 200 billion baht of tourism revenue this year, he said. Last year, Thailand gained 540 billion baht in tourism revenue. "If the government can solve its political problems and is able to host the Asean meetings successfully, tourism should be revived by the end of this year or the beginning of 2010," Mr Kongkit predicted. However, he said Thai tourists would help generate 430 billion baht in revenue this year. -- Bangkok Post 2009-07-23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun240Z Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Well people change you know, newer generations are more aware of what's happening in the country and tend to stay away if not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBikeBKK Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Agree with this. It all depends how the Govt really wants to perceive itself; a tourist economy or start to be focused on their manufacturing. I trust you realize that even in the "boom" years that tourism has never accounted for more than 6-7% of Thai GDP. Feel free to google it. I love Thailand without all the tourists- the "low season" deals this year are amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glegolo Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Cut the value of the baht by at least 25%, so we are back to normal again. Than we can start to talk about tourism.... People look more for money than for any dam_n red shirts. Glegolo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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