TAT Lowers Tourist Arrival Target For 2009

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2. If someone see those numbers (especially the expats) it's hard to believe that more than 55% of the total tourism to Thailand is coming from East Asia: meaning: 7,981,025 tourists (from 2007 numbers when Thailand had 14,464,228 tourists).

25,5% is from Europe and the rest is divided by The Americas -just 5,65%- South Asia -4,74%- Oceania -5,06%- Middle East -3,14%- and a few from Africa.

This number contains also more than 3,2 million so called "tourists" from countries like Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; hardly the kind of tourist the western expat has in mind when he thinks of tourists.....

Huh? Do you mean that a westerner living in Germany doesn't think he is a tourist when we visits France or Poland!?

There is nothing strange or confusing in those number. Thailand is a Asian country, it's natural that most of tourist come from Asia. Similarly, world's most popular tourist country is France in Europe, and most of tourists coming to France come from Europe, instead of Americas, Asia, or Africa.

When making those statistics, I guess that everyone who says that he is a tourist in the immigration card is counted as one. There is no way to easily get an accurate number otherwise.

Comparing a German tourist, visiting another European country, driving in his Benz or BMW with a Malaysian, Burmese or Laotian and Cambodian "tourist" is a bit odd, don't you think

Maybe you've never heard of Thailand's neighboring country-"tourists" who indeed cross the borders but not exactly as a tourist but just for any other reason ?

That's why I wrote: "...hardly the kind of tourist the western expat has in mind when he thinks of tourists....."

Personally, I never met a tourist from one of those countries, relaxing on a beach in Thailand or visiting one of the thousands of temples....let alone driving in a nice Toyota or other Japanese car.

LaoPo

I still don't understand why calling Malaysian, Burmese or Laotian and Cambodian is odd in any way. Tourism is tourism, it doesn't matter if one visits temple, shopping mall, beach or karaoke bar on his trip. I also fail to see how the brand of the car effects if the person is tourist or not.

By the way, TAT statistics have also figures for the average length of stay, which was about 9 days in 2007. So clearly, most of tourist do not come only for a weekend.

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2. If someone see those numbers (especially the expats) it's hard to believe that more than 55% of the total tourism to Thailand is coming from East Asia: meaning: 7,981,025 tourists (from 2007 numbers when Thailand had 14,464,228 tourists).

25,5% is from Europe and the rest is divided by The Americas -just 5,65%- South Asia -4,74%- Oceania -5,06%- Middle East -3,14%- and a few from Africa.

This number contains also more than 3,2 million so called "tourists" from countries like Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; hardly the kind of tourist the western expat has in mind when he thinks of tourists.....

Huh? Do you mean that a westerner living in Germany doesn't think he is a tourist when we visits France or Poland!?

There is nothing strange or confusing in those number. Thailand is a Asian country, it's natural that most of tourist come from Asia. Similarly, world's most popular tourist country is France in Europe, and most of tourists coming to France come from Europe, instead of Americas, Asia, or Africa.

When making those statistics, I guess that everyone who says that he is a tourist in the immigration card is counted as one. There is no way to easily get an accurate number otherwise.

Not to mention the thousands of young Malaysians who cross the boarder every weekend to get drunk, laid etc in the Karaokes and Massage parlors located near the border.. Yes they are tourists.. sex tourists But counting the same guy over and over again every weekend does tend to cook the books a bit. Likewise the thousands of border runners and travellers heading thru .. Once again it's all down to face.. Thailand would never admit they have cooked their golden goose.. Turned lovely beach paradises into over developed slums.. poluted the water, stacked the roadsides with trash and pissed alot of visitors off with doube pricing, scams, tailors, traffic jams, rudeness and violence... The internet and communication has made many of their traditional customer base aware...

My own ancedotal evidence is the lack of shirtless pissed farangs in the beach side bars of Pattaya when I go for my morning run.. It's December but the bars are still empty.. In the past they were full of all night and early morning revellers... No more.. High season will only be a week long this year.. 24th Dec to 2nd Jan.. enjoy !

Counting the same guy over and over again is a standard practice. That's why France is the most popular tourist destination in the world (lot of people are making weekend trips from England, Germany, Spain, etc.). Why some people think that short holiday trips shouldn't be counted as tourism?

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2. If someone see those numbers (especially the expats) it's hard to believe that more than 55% of the total tourism to Thailand is coming from East Asia: meaning: 7,981,025 tourists (from 2007 numbers when Thailand had 14,464,228 tourists).

25,5% is from Europe and the rest is divided by The Americas -just 5,65%- South Asia -4,74%- Oceania -5,06%- Middle East -3,14%- and a few from Africa.

This number contains also more than 3,2 million so called "tourists" from countries like Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; hardly the kind of tourist the western expat has in mind when he thinks of tourists.....

Huh? Do you mean that a westerner living in Germany doesn't think he is a tourist when we visits France or Poland!?

There is nothing strange or confusing in those number. Thailand is a Asian country, it's natural that most of tourist come from Asia. Similarly, world's most popular tourist country is France in Europe, and most of tourists coming to France come from Europe, instead of Americas, Asia, or Africa.

When making those statistics, I guess that everyone who says that he is a tourist in the immigration card is counted as one. There is no way to easily get an accurate number otherwise.

Counting immigration cards is probably the least accurate way there is of accounting for people who have come into the country for tourism. Every businessman coming to Thailand for one day of meetings also fills out that he is a tourist.

They have the sections on the cards, which no one ever bothers to fill out or calculate. Knowing whether a person is a genuine holidaymaker, businessman, visa runner, or transit person is extremely important when people are trying to invest in tourism businesses. One of the most obvious screw ups is the enormous investment in 5 star hotels that has gone on in Chiangmai which are operating at way below capacity trying to sell a very premium product that no-one wants nor will many people want for a considerable time. These investments trying to sell rooms at 10k per night were dubious before the crash. Just look at the Amari and Holiday Inn about to or just come online in Pattaya. I wouldn't want to be holding the bills for those right now. The profiling of tourists drives these decisions and I don't see that relying on overland tourists from Malaysia drove those types of investment decisions.

Not many people invest in hotels in Thailand simply for business traffic, so knowing how many genuine holiday makers come to the country, how long they stay, where they go and how much they spend is much more important than knowing how many people enter from Singapore for a one day trip to have a meeting. One type of traveller is much more sensitive to his travel needs than another. Surveys of the beach resorts and cities outside Bangkok would be much more accurate in evaluating true tourists than one agglomerated figure from immigration cards.

True tourists into Thailand 8mn approx probably.

Anybody for another spa/health resort with sparse furnishing and expensive back rubs and over priced club sandwiches running at 30% occupancy?

As I said before: "There is no way to easily get an accurate number otherwise". What else the TAT could do? How to distinguish the person coming for 3 day business meeting from person coming to three day holiday?

There are also statistics about international arrivals to Thai airports, and TAT has tourism statistics for different regions. Using this data and some common sense, one could make easily an educated guess regarding the amount of rich/long term/etc. tourists. If someone has build a too expensive hotel, it's not because of TAT statistics, but because of own stupidity.

[LaoPo]

As I said before: "There is no way to easily get an accurate number otherwise". What else the TAT could do? How to distinguish the person coming for 3 day business meeting from person coming to three day holiday?

There are also statistics about international arrivals to Thai airports, and TAT has tourism statistics for different regions. Using this data and some common sense, one could make easily an educated guess regarding the amount of rich/long term/etc. tourists. If someone has build a too expensive hotel, it's not because of TAT statistics, but because of own stupidity.

I'm not sure where you're heading to or trying to say.

There are indeed airport statistics so please put the links here. I know thye are out there but don't have the time now to find them. TAT doesn't supply them anymore, it's another government authority; forgot the name.

And , please surprise us with an educated guess ?

I did already: between 7-9 million real tourists including the ones from Asia outside the Asean.

LaoPo