Tourism plunges 22 per cent

[henryalleman]

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.

the jet set goes to marrakech Morocco. it's an other destination

You ever been Marrakech and see any Jetset

Edited July 23, 2009 by henryalleman

[SteveH]

I don't think that Thai tourists are staying in boutique hotels in Europe for 800 or 1,900 baht per night.

No, but they don't get charged double because of the colour of their skin in Europe . Foreman's experience is another reason why the Thai tourist industry is biting the hand that feeds. It really is quite nonsensical.

Thai tourists are generally charged at least 5 times more in Europe than farang in Thailand. Let's not even get started on the double standards in wages.

Sorry but you are missing the point, Thai tourists aren't charged more in Europe than European tourists we are charged the same, that's all we ask to be treated equally, after all, people on a low budget go on holiday to where they can afford it, that's why I come to Thailand and not the south of France etc. The fact that I earn more in Europe has nothing to do with it, and don't forget it costs many many times more to live in Europe, disposable income is relative.

Surely the Thai tourist industry and government should be doing all possible to emphasise the great value holidays that Thailand offers, if they ensure tourists are treated well and offered great value then they will return again and again, everyone gains the tourist and Thailand and its people.

[Oberkommando]

How on earth Mr Kongkit can expect Thai folks to spend 430 Billion baht, based on the above figures, frankly beggars belief. Apart from trips organised by the local temple, (where the folks on holiday stay in a temple, not a hotel), this is the first holiday any member of my wife's family has been on, apart from those I paid for.

You've just answered your own question.

[samjaidee]

Vietnam? Have you ever been there? Beautiful scenery in some places but to compare it with Thailand in regard to expat living is just a joke.

I lived there for 8 months, in Hanoi admittedly, but it is just not Thailand - if you require further reinforcement try and live there - The locals of Hanoi make the Thais look like saints -

Agreed, the aggression level in VN seems quite a bit higher than in the other SE Asia mainland countries (there are always exceptions, of course). Been visiting VN since '99 but have been put off from my last visit.

I'd like to stress, I do not think it's a bad place at all in general. Maybe not for the uninitiated.

I've lived in HCMC for 4 years now, after 6 years in Thailand, and find any suggestion that the people Vietnam are more aggressive than those in Thailand extraordinary.

The people here seem to go out of their way to avoid confrontation unlike Thailand where many people thrive on it.

Theft yes, esp. from moving motorbikes but violence, rarely.

[cyborg22]

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.

the jet set goes to marrakech Morocco. it's an other destination

You ever been Marrakech and see any Jetset

That really depends on where the 22% drop originates from.

If it comes from the higher end of the tourist market, ie from EUROPE/USA (the bigger spenders) The incoming revenue is going to drop markedly.

[Johpa]

The scams, the sex trade, the corruption, political upheavals, the double pricing are nothing new and have been around seemingly forever. None of these ever mattered much to the vast majority of the ex-pats who post here nor to the vast majority of the tourists who kept on coming. The problem is that a relatively small group of organized criminals within the financial sector infiltrated the highest levels of the US government, scammed the world, took a lot of money for themselves, and then caused a significant contraction of the money available to everyone else. It is the resulting global recession/depression that has caused the large downturn in tourism, and not any of these trivial pet peeves that ex-pats have been griping about ad nauseum for decades.

[sukeroku]

When foreigners come to Thailand they are charged far less than Thais lodging in Europe. Foreigners are paid far more than Thais, in general. One would think foreigners would enjoy their position of relative economic power instead of whinging and insulting the local population. There are about 220 countries in the world and all of them have pros and cons of travelling and lodging in them. Either go or don't go, but go with a smile, please. You look ugly when you complain.

[mrtoad]

Many farangs already left Thailand, and many more will follow ! And still they wonder why..... silly bunch of apes !

I would guess with such a crass statement as yours, that apes are indeed more intelligent than yourself. Take your racist stereotyping elsewhere.

[sukeroku]

Many farangs already left Thailand, and many more will follow ! And still they wonder why..... silly bunch of apes !

I would guess with such a crass statement as yours, that apes are indeed more intelligent than yourself. Take your racist stereotyping elsewhere.

I believe he was referring to the farangs that have left Thailand as a silly bunch of apes. In that case, I'd have to agree!

[cyborg22]

Many farangs already left Thailand, and many more will follow ! And still they wonder why..... silly bunch of apes !

I would guess with such a crass statement as yours, that apes are indeed more intelligent than yourself. Take your racist stereotyping elsewhere.

Is it any wonder that farang are treated as they are, With comments like that?

Maybe you should follow those leaving and keep racist comments to yourself.

Now heres a thought if you left thailand you wouldn't have anything to moan about, give it some thought please.

[WeeGB]

How on earth Mr Kongkit can expect Thai folks to spend 430 Billion baht, based on the above figures, frankly beggars belief. Apart from trips organised by the local temple, (where the folks on holiday stay in a temple, not a hotel), this is the first holiday any member of my wife's family has been on, apart from those I paid for.

You've just answered your own question.

OOOh you're very quick, and catty too!

I should have phrased it better.

The only holidays my wifes' family have been on, were 9 years ago, which cost a total of around 5000 Baht, for three days, and one trip to Singapore for my mother-in-law, as a treat, for my visa run, a couple of years ago. I do not expect to be paying for any more holidays in the future, so I won't be contributing to Mr Kongkits wild economic fantasy.

You are of course welcome to contribute to the "holiday for WeeGB's Thai family" fund, - cheques payable to Bank Of Nigeria.

[looping]

Unbelievably I've read a couple of PRO-THAKSIN comments!!!?? I MEAN REALLY UN-F######-BELIEVABLE. He SO doesn't care about Thailand AT ALL. Grrrrrrrrrr, makes me so angry. Oh hang on...yeah; "yai yen yen, mai ben rlai"...that's better, now I'm thinking like a Thai!

Sounds like someone has been drinking Sondhi's right wing elitist drivel...

Right on man! Cos Thaksin isn't elitist at all, he cares for the people, not himself at all, he just wants to help the poor ...HAHAHAHAHA...!

[cyborg22]

Many farangs already left Thailand, and many more will follow ! And still they wonder why..... silly bunch of apes !

I would guess with such a crass statement as yours, that apes are indeed more intelligent than yourself. Take your racist stereotyping elsewhere.

I believe he was referring to the farangs that have left Thailand as a silly bunch of apes. In that case, I'd have to agree!

No he most certainly was referring to thai nationals.

[Lopburi99]

The expected number of tourist arrivals had been reduced from 14.1 million to 11

That is '11' tourists not 11 million, hence the 49 year low. 1950 was a crap year for visitors, well down on the 17 who arrived in the boom year of 1949. Those were the good old days.

Just got up, it's morning in America. Chuckling already on TV even before I have my first coffee!

You guys are hilarious. I come to the States for holiday, but still spend hours on TV every day.

[cyborg22]

Unbelievably I've read a couple of PRO-THAKSIN comments!!!?? I MEAN REALLY UN-F######-BELIEVABLE. He SO doesn't care about Thailand AT ALL. Grrrrrrrrrr, makes me so angry. Oh hang on...yeah; "yai yen yen, mai ben rlai"...that's better, now I'm thinking like a Thai!

Sounds like someone has been drinking Sondhi's right wing elitist drivel...

Right on man! Cos Thaksin isn't elitist at all, he cares for the people, not himself at all, he just wants to help the poor ...HAHAHAHAHA...!

sarcasm is supposed to be the lowest form of wit, But it's fun isn't it?

[mrtoad]

Many farangs already left Thailand, and many more will follow ! And still they wonder why..... silly bunch of apes !

I would guess with such a crass statement as yours, that apes are indeed more intelligent than yourself. Take your racist stereotyping elsewhere.

I believe he was referring to the farangs that have left Thailand as a silly bunch of apes. In that case, I'd have to agree!

You obviously don't have very good reading comprehension then do you?

A disgusting statement from Hood Robin.

[animatic]

When foreigners come to Thailand they are charged far less than Thais lodging in Europe. Foreigners are paid far more than Thais, in general. One would think foreigners would enjoy their position of relative economic power instead of whinging and insulting the local population. There are about 220 countries in the world and all of them have pros and cons of travelling and lodging in them. Either go or don't go, but go with a smile, please. You look ugly when you complain.

AGAIN you miss the point EVERYONE pays 5 times as much in europe for lodging.

Thais are NOT singled out for higher prices, rarely is ever a non-euro country national

charged more for anything. It's just bloody expensive there.

Just because the standard of living, IE. basic cost for existence is less here,

does NOT justify charging near Eurpean price to JUST those not from Thailand.

We usually DO smile here, all the time, until we run into entrench PREJUDICE against us,

in which case we stop smiling,

and I bet you do too when faced with the same treatment.

Or do you accept prejudice against Thais in other lands as being OK?

[DumbFalang]

My guess is the Thai's have finally got sick to the back teeth of obnoxious western tourists. I don't know what took them so long ?

I can understand all the complaints from people who live in hel_l holes like Pattaya and Phuket, but spending most of my day to day life in Chon Buri and trips into Bangkok with the wife and kids at weekends - it's fun loving, respectful Thailand as normal for me

I'm a Brit and have been away from the UK for 7 years and go back rarely. If you are a soccer crazy, celebrity loving, designer brand wearing property tycoon, then I'm sure it's England as normal for you, but for me it has deteriorated beyond repair. You can keep your car thieves, hoodies and "single-tier" pricing - I will raise my young family in Thailand any day.

[hervelon]

the one thing they should try to do for a start to revive tourism industry is to encourage people who bought holiday home in thailand to remain longer...instead of the strict visa rules they enforced regardless of the fact you have invested millions of bahts in the country ...why cant people with property investment in Thailand have a year visa like in Dubai !!! after all we are contributing to the economy in a substantial way...!! until the government change its attitude towards people in my situation they will be putting a break on tourism...

Herve

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

[Unex]

I came to Thailand with a good heart and tried to help many people. After 4 years of smiles and lies and scams, I left.

I will never return.

[cyborg22]

My guess is the Thai's have finally got sick to the back teeth of obnoxious western tourists. I don't know what took them so long ?

I can understand all the complaints from people who live in hel_l holes like Pattaya and Phuket, but spending most of my day to day life in Chon Buri and trips into Bangkok with the wife and kids at weekends - it's fun loving, respectful Thailand as normal for me

I'm a Brit and have been away from the UK for 7 years and go back rarely. If you are a soccer crazy, celebrity loving, designer brand wearing property tycoon, then I'm sure it's England as normal for you, but for me it has deteriorated beyond repair. You can keep your car thieves, hoodies and "single-tier" pricing - I will raise my young family in Thailand any day.

WOW

At last a sensible non racist post from a newbie farang. Can't you just smell that breath of fresh air?

[sukeroku]

When foreigners come to Thailand they are charged far less than Thais lodging in Europe. Foreigners are paid far more than Thais, in general. One would think foreigners would enjoy their position of relative economic power instead of whinging and insulting the local population. There are about 220 countries in the world and all of them have pros and cons of travelling and lodging in them. Either go or don't go, but go with a smile, please. You look ugly when you complain.

AGAIN you miss the point EVERYONE pays 5 times as much in europe for lodging.

Thais are NOT singled out for higher prices, rarely is ever a non-euro country national

charged more for anything. It's just bloody expensive there.

Just because the standard of living, IE. basic cost for existence is less here,

does NOT justify charging near Eurpean price to JUST those not from Thailand.

We usually DO smile here, all the time, until we run into entrench PREJUDICE against us,

in which case we stop smiling,

and I bet you do too when faced with the same treatment.

Or do you accept prejudice against Thais in other lands as being OK?

Whether I like it or not, Thais will always be charged more for most things in farang countries than farangs will be charged for similar things in Thailand. It's not up to me. What is up to me is the maintenance of my spiritual condition. With the right attitude, one can be very happy in Thailand; with the wrong attitude, one can be quite miserable.

[Oberkommando]

I'm a Brit and have been away from the UK for 7 years and go back rarely. If you are a soccer crazy, celebrity loving, designer brand wearing property tycoon, then I'm sure it's England as normal for you, but for me it has deteriorated beyond repair. You can keep your car thieves, hoodies and "single-tier" pricing - I will raise my young family in Thailand any day.

Good luck to you sir. I hope they aren't disadvantaged by Thailand's substandard, second rate education system.

You could do what all the Thais with money do and send them abroad to the UK, Australia or the US though.

[hardy1943]

Hi.

Who is beating the dead horse with The Airport Blockade™ again..??

It says it all that i received two "breaking news"alerts today in my inbox.

First one: "Crackdown on back-to-back tourist visas"

Second one: "Tourism at 49-year low"

Any more questions? They are slowly making it illegal to even set foot in this country, let alone stay for longer - and then wonder why nobody comes..??

T. i. T.

Thanh

Even for the Thais. It is a sad reality! We will all pay for someone else's huge mistakes and in my opinion it is time for the Government to sit down and think very seriously about solutions to save the country and its image!

Who is going to teach them how to think?

[Sturbuc]

huskerpr, agree with your comments, I also think the Bank scam of 150 baht for using ATM machines is keeping tourists away. It's been well publicised and is an unnecessary expense for someone on a couple of weeks vacation.

...

Thais have to pay when they withdraw money from an ATM overseas, so why should a farang be the exception when withdrawing from a Thai bank ? Thais get charged 100 baht in most countries, at least most countries I have been to anyway. I never seen the 150 baht ATM issue on BBC/CNN/ABC.. this was not even regarded as news.

You've got it, dude.

Very common to be charged 1 time. But now they charge me 2 times! Check your accout report and you'll find out there's a fee for using the foreign ATM as ever:

27.04.2009 THB 20150,00 Rate 46,706510

- AT 24.04.09 15.18 BANGKOK BANK THA EC-GA CARD

FEE EUR 5,99 EUR -437,41

The Big Scam is there's no chance to get some money back as long as there's NO Receipt for the additional fee!

[cyborg22]

Whether I like it or not, Thais will always be charged more for most things in farang countries than farangs will be charged for similar things in Thailand. It's not up to me. What is up to me is the maintenance of my spiritual condition. With the right attitude, one can be very happy in Thailand; with the wrong attitude, one can be quite miserable.

Sukeroku

That is a product of the cost of living in any given country and nothing to do with being scammed.

[cyborg22]

huskerpr, agree with your comments, I also think the Bank scam of 150 baht for using ATM machines is keeping tourists away. It's been well publicised and is an unnecessary expense for someone on a couple of weeks vacation.

...

Thais have to pay when they withdraw money from an ATM overseas, so why should a farang be the exception when withdrawing from a Thai bank ? Thais get charged 100 baht in most countries, at least most countries I have been to anyway. I never seen the 150 baht ATM issue on BBC/CNN/ABC.. this was not even regarded as news.

You've got it, dude.

Very common to be charged 1 time. But now they charge me 2 times! Check your accout report and you'll find out there's a fee for using the foreign ATM as ever:

27.04.2009 THB 20150,00 Rate 46,706510

- AT 24.04.09 15.18 BANGKOK BANK THA EC-GA CARD

[b]FEE EUR 5,99[/b] EUR -437,41

The Big Scam is there's no chance to get some money back as long as there's NO Receipt for the additional fee!

That last figure is that not what your countries bank has charged you? Not a thai bank.

[hardy1943]

I'm a Brit and have been away from the UK for 7 years and go back rarely. If you are a soccer crazy, celebrity loving, designer brand wearing property tycoon, then I'm sure it's England as normal for you, but for me it has deteriorated beyond repair. You can keep your car thieves, hoodies and "single-tier" pricing - I will raise my young family in Thailand any day.

Good luck to you sir. I hope they aren't disadvantaged by Thailand's substandard, second rate education system.

You could do what all the Thais with money do and send them abroad to the UK, Australia or the US though.

Could not agree with you more.I have 2 they be going to the US still have 3 professors in my family

and they can sponsor them.

[jb5music]

That's well written. But Actually seeing Bangkok and Pattaya now as opposed to 4 years ago

there are more foreigners than ever. They don't look to be poor or indigent.

Dozens of new condo projects hammering away almost done.

All shops are open and have customers going in and out.

I don't see any sign of less business activity than I saw four years ago.

There's much more actually. You know it's funny but when the media writes

something you just automatically tend to believe it but

in this case when you are out on the streets about town

there's no truth to what is written above here in reality.

(That's good though if you're in the business of selling face masks)

Edited July 23, 2009 by jb5music

[sukeroku]

Whether I like it or not, Thais will always be charged more for most things in farang countries than farangs will be charged for similar things in Thailand. It's not up to me. What is up to me is the maintenance of my spiritual condition. With the right attitude, one can be very happy in Thailand; with the wrong attitude, one can be quite miserable.

Sukeroku

That is a product of the cost of living in any given country and nothing to do with being scammed.

And we are so fortunate that we can take advantage of the cost of living differences due to the gratiousness of the Thais allowing us to live here. Unfortunately, very few Thais are afforded the same priveleges in our home countries. Let your gratitude roar, brothers!