Thai Tourism Plans Comeback After Unrest

[kevozman1]

I do not think that tourism will be hit too hard for most

tourist groups apart from Families. I can't see people

with kids being attracted to somewhere that seems as

volatile as Thailand.

Why is that ?

Speaking for European tourism to far away destinations, Thailand amongst those, sales are way down.

People are staying closer to home (within their own country or elsewhere in Euroland), the Euro is down and versus the Baht it has blown around -20% (!)since January this year making it 20% more expensive for European tourists to come to Thailand.

Traveling to the US is out of the question since the Euro is down against the US$ because of the economic worries in Euroland

The economy is extremely fragile and people are saving more money for unexpected times.

I therefore disagree with you that tourism will not be hit so hard.

For Thailand it will.

Next to that, Asian tourism to Thailand (the most important market for LOS with 60+% of TOTAL inbound tourism) will be down also; Asian countries and tourists are not too keen about unrest situations and will opt for other destinations.

The Mariana islands for instance, Indonesia (Bali is a BIG hit!) , Philippines and even Malaysia.

LaoPo

Love these know it all types.

We are all not cheap ass tourists who will not travel to a

foriegn country just because the currency is 20% down.

Especially when the country in question is a poor country

like Thailand.

Please read my post and you will read that I stated

that Thai tourism would "not be hit too hard", acknowledging

the fact that I know tourism will be affected but not I think not

too seriously.

As for this unrest (red shirt protests) it will not effect Thailand's

Tourism long term. You mentioned Bali as a alternative for Thailand

............................ was there not some bombings directed straight

at tourists there on multiple occasions over the last 10 years killing

many tourists from all over the World and people still go to Bali because

they love it there. It will be the same for Thailand.

[MaiChai]

I think you all are missing one big point. Thailand is perceived as a safe destination. The red shirt demonstration has made people think its no longer safe. The big question in my mind is will Thailand remain a safe place to visit? It all depends on how the red shirts plan to continue their campaign. I have a strong suspicion it will go underground and they will use the tactics that are used in the Muslim south by the 'insurgents'. That means unpredictable bombings, etc. But it won't be in the south far away from tourism; it will be in Bangkok, upcountry and close to Bangkok. The red shirt problem has not gone away.

[MaiThaiMai]

I found this quite amusing, a 1/3 page ad in a paper.

Hmmm...a "Red" suitcase for packing ... who has "RED" suitcases? Uhhh...nevermind

I'd like to see offer free 90-day tourist visas w/90-day option extensions or lower the 800,000 Bt bank requirement to 500-600,000 and I'd be there within a couple weeks instead of current Oct-Nov plans ...

I'll be going no matter what unless my country or ROS powels folbid foleignels, I rove Thairan , wish best for all Thai people and be plenty happy to spend my funds there sooner rather than later ...

Prease, peace spling etelnar, excep ... Lock-on

MaiThaiMai

[LaoPo]

I do not think that tourism will be hit too hard for most

tourist groups apart from Families. I can't see people

with kids being attracted to somewhere that seems as

volatile as Thailand.

Why is that ?

Speaking for European tourism to far away destinations, Thailand amongst those, sales are way down.

People are staying closer to home (within their own country or elsewhere in Euroland), the Euro is down and versus the Baht it has blown around -20% (!)since January this year making it 20% more expensive for European tourists to come to Thailand.

Traveling to the US is out of the question since the Euro is down against the US$ because of the economic worries in Euroland

The economy is extremely fragile and people are saving more money for unexpected times.

I therefore disagree with you that tourism will not be hit so hard.

For Thailand it will.

Next to that, Asian tourism to Thailand (the most important market for LOS with 60+% of TOTAL inbound tourism) will be down also; Asian countries and tourists are not too keen about unrest situations and will opt for other destinations.

The Mariana islands for instance, Indonesia (Bali is a BIG hit!) , Philippines and even Malaysia.

LaoPo

Love these know it all types.

We are all not cheap ass tourists who will not travel to a

foriegn country just because the currency is 20% down.

Especially when the country in question is a poor country

like Thailand.

Please read my post and you will read that I stated

that Thai tourism would "not be hit too hard", acknowledging

the fact that I know tourism will be affected but not I think not

too seriously.

As for this unrest (red shirt protests) it will not effect Thailand's

Tourism long term. You mentioned Bali as a alternative for Thailand

............................ was there not some bombings directed straight

at tourists there on multiple occasions over the last 10 years killing

many tourists from all over the World and people still go to Bali because

they love it there. It will be the same for Thailand.

I wrote what is common knowledge in Europe and I certainly don't claim I know it all. It's just a question of adding up facts.

I didn't write that Bali is an alternative for Thailand; you did.

I wrote that Bali is a hit amongst Asian travelers and I do know so because my wife has friends in the Japanese and Chinese tourist industry. They told her that sales are way up from the years before.

I also know for a fact that Bali is a big hit amongst Japanese tourists since my lovely elderly Lady neighbour told me so, since she's been coming to Bali since decades and has never seen so many Japanese and Chinese tourists.

BTW: there are official Inbound Tourism Data about Thailand. You might want to search for yourself and look them up and study a bit.

LaoPo