Thailand's Image And Tourism

[webfact]

The Country's Image and Tourism

It is a common knowledge that Thailand has just gone through a difficult period and is struggling to propel itself forward, even though it may take some time. Currently, everyone is trying to restore the country, firstly by attempting to rescue the sluggish economy.

One of the most lucrative industries with no need for further investment is tourism. Thailand is well endowed in breath-taking natural resources and wondrous tourist destinations, with hill ranges that stretch from north to south, the lush jungles, spectacular waterfalls and indigo seas. Many tourists abroad are hoping to come visit Thailand at some point in their lives.

Even though no additional investment is needed for the tourism sector, we have to do something to restore tourist confidence. We must ensure our visitor's confidence that their lives and properties will be safe in Thailand.

In the time when everyone in the country is working together, the tourist police must work even harder. While the local police need to provide safety and security at tourist destinations, the Thai public themselves should also act as the eyes and the ears for the security agency.

Almost every year, the country has to face tourist-related crimes. Many could still remember the case of Christy Sarah Jones, a British university students who was raped and murdered in her guesthouse room in Chiang Mai in 2000. Even today, the police haven't yet been able to bring the person responsible to justice.

Also, the case of Joanne Macheder, a British tourist who was murdered in Kanchanaburi province in 1996 and the case Katherine Elizabeth Horton, who was sexually assaulted and murdered on Koh Samui, Surat Thani province.

Not to mention the shooting of two Russian female tourists while they lying on beach chairs in Pattaya in 2006 and the case of Tomoko Karashita, a Japanese tourist murdered inside a historical park in Sukhothai.

Not to mention other less shocking crimes such as thefts, robberies, drug abuse, frauds and many more. Even though in some cases, the criminals have been brought to justice but by then the irreparable damages have already been done.

Once these stories have been circulated outside the country, Thailand is the only one who stand to lose. If Thailand is serious about trying to breathe live back into the tourism sector, the government must be more sincere about solving these problems.

We cannot only think about taking their money without providing them safety and security. Nobody wants to go to a dangerous place.

Taken from Lieb Kye by Mattaya Inma, Kom Chad Leuk Newspaper, Page 2, June 17, 2010.

Rewritten and Translated by Kongkrai Maksrivorawan

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network .

-- Tan Network 2010-06-18

[Suttisan]

It's not just the murders but the justice for the murderers, an Australian only got a year for murdering an Amercian guy because he didn't like him, and what happened to Kate Horton's killers, are they even still in prison?

[Capealava]

Are you kidding me?? Not to many people are basing there vacation to Thailand on old crimes. Most people do not even know of these incidents. The image of Thailand has been tarnished more by the recent conflict. Do I want to visit a country that just killed over 80 of it's own People? A country that is repressive in free speech and actually will go so far as to try and buy a satellite to restrict anti-government venues. I am not a red shirt supporter by the way before you blast into me. This tourism article is misplaced and I think it is trying to shift the lack of visitors to Thailand away from ' Reality"

[Hyponeros]

Funny that they didn't mention all the scam, double pricing, tuk tuk mafia, police corruption, etc... basically all the problems that tourists really face everyday!

[anotheruser]

okay......

[jonclark]

The situation with tourists in Thailand resembles that of the tradegy of the commons. All toursist are simply resources that are to be exploited. What do tourists in Thailand and Yellowfin Tuna both have in common? - They are both on the verge of becoming an endangered species.

[ozzieovaseas]

" We cannot only think about taking their money...."

If anyone ever doubted that this thinking seems to be the national mindset, even with best intentions intended, this (thai?) person certainly has removed all doubt.

My mind and heart goes out to the Aussie guy that was accosted by two thugs on a motorbike in Prasat recently.

Slashed with a machetes and died later as a result of the injuries and the insistence of an Aussie insurance company for him to go back to Australia for treatment.

I think its been over 2 months now and very little news heard.

Australian Tourist Dies After Thai Street Attack - Thailand Forum

[frankman]

20 years ago thailand was a dream.

Today it is a dream burried in trash of all kinds.

Crime, exploiting tourists, greed(!!!) , plastic bottles, uneducation, ignorance and arrogance.

And to be so proud of being a thai in thailand.

Sad , but many are leaving elsewhere,

where they feel welcome,

like here 20 years ago...

[Hyponeros]

And to be so proud of being a thai in thailand.

If you want to laugh a bit, ask a thai why he is so proud of being thai!

Either they have ONE lam reason or they don't know!

[frankman]

And to be so proud of being a thai in thailand.  

If you want to laugh a bit, ask a thai why he is so proud of being thai!

Either they have ONE lam reason or they don't know!

May be it's the allways "mai mie or mai dai" thing which they think is something to be proud of. If not that, it's "mai ruu" to be proud of...

[givenall]

And to be so proud of being a thai in thailand.

If you want to laugh a bit, ask a thai why he is so proud of being thai!

Either they have ONE lam reason or they don't know!

Don’t worry, thanks o internet and TV, we will all be the same very soon, given-take 15 years

[richieudon]

The internet has opened every ones eyes. Before nobody got to hear of all the things going on but now thanks to sites like TV everybody can see.

Those in charge will bury their heads in the sand as usual and hope things pick up.

[lazygourmet]

Unfortunately, TAT will never use the service from a proper Destination Marketing consulting agency

There are genius... and that's why they are paid for!

[Tejas]

The situation with tourists in Thailand resembles that of the tradegy of the commons. All toursist are simply resources that are to be exploited. What do tourists in Thailand and Yellowfin Tuna both have in common? - They are both on the verge of becoming an endangered species.

I miss Garret Hardin...........he spoke the truth about population, resources, sustainable economics, etc.

That aside...........especially over the past ten years, the govt. has done everything in its power to give tourists/foreigners the impression that they are not wanted.

Much of this is centered in a social engineering program that has backfired.

Of course, crime has increased over this same period with globally distributed horror stories (in truth, Thailand is safer than Zimbabwe ).

And the constant stream of political instability and street riots is not helping (not to mention closure of Thailand's major airport a while back).

And xenophobia has increased.............reflected in service at hotels, restaurants, etc.

Solution? My guess is that nothing will be done...............just intensify the same approaches that have not worked.

[boggle]

"Once these stories have been circulated outside the country,"

Its ok if these "stories" circulate only in Thailand then? How about if these "stories" circulate outside of Thailand with a

Just ending in a reasonable time?

I think I could be on the wrong track here. How about sensoring the the media and blocking any web sites that discuss

these matters. Nut, that would be limiting freedom of speech.

[kuifje]

Sorry people,

Tourist are already coming back, most people in other countries do not base their holidays on temporary political unrest in a country.

They base their holiday destination on the proposals of travel agents, and Thailand has so many thing to offer, and the prices are still very reasonable.

Only during the height of the protests and all the biased media attention their where less bookings from immediate travelers.

Even cancellations where limited, people already booked and will have the attitude of wait and see what happens.

After about May 25 all the attention about Thailand died in the international media.

And the other things which are mentioned in some posts, stories of crime, cheating of tourists, etc will happens in every tourist destination.

[kuffki]

Are you kidding me?? Not to many people are basing there vacation to Thailand on old crimes. Most people do not even know of these incidents. The image of Thailand has been tarnished more by the recent conflict. Do I want to visit a country that just killed over 80 of it's own People? A country that is repressive in free speech and actually will go so far as to try and buy a satellite to restrict anti-government venues. I am not a red shirt supporter by the way before you blast into me. This tourism article is misplaced and I think it is trying to shift the lack of visitors to Thailand away from ' Reality"

Nice way to turn thread from informational to political.

I am sure there are millions of travelers who sit at home and prior to booking a holiday consider all of the facts you stated.

-No freedom of speech-off the list, not going there

-Government block anti-gov tv station-off the list not going there

-80 protesters killed in the clashes-off the list not going there.

Get real! no one cares about political situation in the country when they booking a holiday, last thing on anyone's mind is to go to protests and run a risk of being hurt.

People look at value and what destination has to offer and how safe it is.

80 people are killed in the afternoon alone daily due to car or motorcycle accidents.

By now the whole world knows of all the scams and attacks and extortion such as airport scam, tuk tuk scams etc..

Thailand would have to turn itself upside down sideways to change the image-which means basically it will never happen.

PS. On a personal note, just the other day, i was ran off the road by a car, i am all @%@%# up and car did not even stop, and police could not even be bothered to take a report or question witnesses. So not only i am living on vicoden, covered in bandages from head to toe, blood all over my body but i also have to pay for daily hospital visits to clean the wounds, while the car driver who is Thai is free to keep driving around and injury other people, i only hope he does not kill someone. If i was a tourist-this would of been my last trip to this country and i be making sure that all my friends were aware.

Edited June 18, 2010 by kuffki

[kuffki]

Sorry people,

Tourist are already coming back, most people in other countries do not base their holidays on temporary political unrest in a country.

They base their holiday destination on the proposals of travel agents, and Thailand has so many thing to offer, and the prices are still very reasonable.

Only during the height of the protests and all the biased media attention their where less bookings from immediate travelers.

Even cancellations where limited, people already booked and will have the attitude of wait and see what happens.

After about May 25 all the attention about Thailand died in the international media.

And the other things which are mentioned in some posts, stories of crime, cheating of tourists, etc will happens in every tourist destination.

Thailand has so many things to offer

1. Get extorted in the airport

2. Get scammed and assaulted by the tuk tuk drivers

3. Get scammed by the jet ski operator

4. Get extorted by the police while riding around

5. Get run off the road by a drunk driver and spend some time in the hospital

6. Get robbed by the hotel cleaners

7. Get attacked by the monkeys

and the list goes on.

And all that is for a bargain price of 20% more expensive in Euro about the same for pound, AU$, US$

Where do i sign up???

[kuifje]

This forum is about Image and tourism,

All the small scams which are mentioned will not tarnish the overall Image of thailand, tourist will and are coming back.

Their are not so many destinations in the world which can offer outstanding accommodations, very good food, and many, many different tourist attractions.

Even if tourist are overcharged or scammed (by expat standards), mostly it is small amount (compare to the expenses in their home country).

Most holiday makers who come to Thailand for some weeks, are very happy with their stay and experience from Thailand and have the desire to come back some day.

[kuffki]

This forum is about Image and tourism,

All the small scams which are mentioned will not tarnish the overall Image of thailand, tourist will and are coming back.

Their are not so many destinations in the world which can offer outstanding accommodations, very good food, and many, many different tourist attractions.

Even if tourist are overcharged or scammed (by expat standards), mostly it is small amount (compare to the expenses in their home country).

Most holiday makers who come to Thailand for some weeks, are very happy with their stay and experience from Thailand and have the desire to come back some day.

And where are you getting your facts from?? or is it just your personal thoughts and believes?

[neverdie]

We must ensure our visitor's confidence that their lives and properties will be safe in Thailand.

]

No matter how far from the truth it may be, 'We must ensure our visitors confidence.....'

Ohhh of course its safe

[neverdie]

PS. On a personal note, just the other day, i was ran off the road by a car, i am all @%@%# up and car did not even stop, and police could not even be bothered to take a report or question witnesses.

My Goodness Kuffki. If you're not getting parking tickets you're destroying the equipment. You arnt the first victim of this type of wreckless behaviour and you won't be the last. Glad you lived to tell the tale & I hope you make a speedy recovery.

Of course Kuffki points out something very important, its not just financial scams you need to be wary of, the road toll here is frightening and many tourists/expats leave los in a timber box because of it.

[gemini81]

And to be so proud of being a thai in thailand.

If you want to laugh a bit, ask a thai why he is so proud of being thai!

Either they have ONE lam reason or they don't know!

When they don't provide good reason, I tell them Thai is a mix of a lot of people and a lot of cultures. If they started thinking that way, it would cause less division, and for sure stabilize the country a lot more. But thats generations away I think!

[LevelHead]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

[kuffki]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

STOP WITH YOUR POLITICAL BULLSHIT!

Thai government has nothing to do with image of tourism, as already stated before tourists do not book their holidays taking into consideration politics and what government did/does/has done etc that did not please red, yellow, black or pink or whatever color you prefer shirts.

Not only that but 99.99% of the people do not give a ^%&* about Thailand and its political problems, all people care about is having a good holiday.

Thai government does not promote child labour or slavery, so your ideals of suppressing the "poor" is really no concern to people with half a brain. Every single country in the world has poor people. Rich do not get their money falling from the sky-they work for it. The ones who do not have the half-usually do not travel.

Your political propaganda and support for the red is rather annoying already, if you feel that strong about democracy and everything else related-make a move to Burma and start your revolution there.

[gemini81]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

actually, your group shat in their own oasis. They turned a nice place into an inferno with fear and terror.

There were no innocents killed, as investigation revealed controlled shots on main insurgents and rioters. Any journalists took their own chances, going where they were forbidden to go. The gov't showed a lot of restraint. Just remeber anywhere else, everyone participating wouldn't live to tell about it.

I'm sure you know your cause is a lost cause though.

The gov't is left to pick up the pieces, keep it together, and get back to normal everyday life.

[gemini81]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

Lost cause, Buddy.

They discredited themselves. The war is over.

[surangw]

probably typical scenario

family planning a vacation, investigating thailand or bangkok using google ( and for fun using the term scam in the search)

probably will not plan on thailand if the read much further

[gcrepos]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

Lost cause, Buddy.

They discredited themselves. The war is over.

Safety is an issue when booking a holiday, but I am sure after the political unrest the average holiday makers care very little about the dynamics of the current political positions. Only the fact is safe now to visit & what is the likelihood of trouble flaring up in the near future would affect most decisions .

1)airport closures via protests are very important tourists don't want to lose there jobs by not being able to return to there employment

2)Scams are part & parcel of international travel

3)will my holiday insurance cover US (a real problem if it doesn't)

4)Hotel safety is a real consideration

5)Cost of local travel is important in any destination but often most tourists are in the middle of the action & often have limited contact with tuk tuks Once they realise how expensive they are its a simple matter of planning around them rather than using them same as jet ski's they are used once maybe if they are scammed these are no longer used

I would think the thai tourist industry will bounce back very quickly at lower levels of occupancy due to the strong Bhat rate providing the is no further civil unrest if there is further disruption the cycle will restart

I completely agree with the comment Ex-pats have very different Demands

[kuffki]

The Thai government has in place an emergency decree where they can lock up any Thai or Foreigner without charge and hold them for 30 days.

The Thai government has cut off access to many web sites, radio stations and other media and has in effect cut off freedom of speech and freedom of the media.

The Thai government is accused of using the army to kill innocents.

The Thai government is accused of being illegitimate by coming to power via a judicial coup and against the will of the people.

The Thai media has slammed CNN, BBC and others and has effectively called all foreigners liars as they will not accept the official propaganda of events.

With all that going on they then say "come here, we want your money"............

Is it any wonder that many hotels have their lowest occupancies in memory and people are not visiting.

Some people do have a conscience and they will not support visiting places where basic civil rights are abused and abusive propaganda has been and is in place, and where the people of the country have had their democracy stolen from them and have died trying to get it back.

Lost cause, Buddy.

They discredited themselves. The war is over.

Safety is an issue when booking a holiday, but I am sure after the political unrest the average holiday makers care very little about the dynamics of the current political positions. Only the fact is safe now to visit & what is the likelihood of trouble flaring up in the near future would affect most decisions .

1)airport closures via protests are very important tourists don't want to lose there jobs by not being able to return to there employment

2)Scams are part & parcel of international travel

3)will my holiday insurance cover US (a real problem if it doesn't)

4)Hotel safety is a real consideration

5)Cost of local travel is important in any destination but often most tourists are in the middle of the action & often have limited contact with tuk tuks Once they realise how expensive they are its a simple matter of planning around them rather than using them same as jet ski's they are used once maybe if they are scammed these are no longer used

I would think the thai tourist industry will bounce back very quickly at lower levels of occupancy due to the strong Bhat rate providing the is no further civil unrest if there is further disruption the cycle will restart

I completely agree with the comment Ex-pats have very different Demands

Of course it will rebounce but i doubt to previous high levels.

There has been enough bad news across the world about Thailand in regards to scams and murders and everything else in the past 6-12 months.

Thai baht amazingly keeps getting stronger, so holiday for Europeans, British, Australians is now more expensive and the outlook is not much brighter, unless they have enough brain cells to devalue thb

There are now new destinations such as Vietnam, Cambodia that offer similar experience but without the hassles, also mentioned country's have "stable cheap" currency so they are more likely and have been growing like crazy in terms of tourism. Do not recall source, but could of even been TV, both countries report growth of 300% in the last year.

In fact i can confirm from personal experience, Cambodian rial has not changed its value for 7 years, prices in Cambodia have not changed for 7 years. While in Thailand thb got stronger and stronger(must be magic) and prices have gone up rather then down(which again is magic) because if thb is strong all imports should be cheaper-instead its all up.

So no doubt tourism will rebound, but i do not see Thai tourism booming any time soon unless some real changes are made-which will never happen.

There are more and more first timers and you are correct they do not know everything, while there is less and less regular visitors, who simply had enough and now travel to other destinations. Even the sex tourists now prefer Cambodia, same experience but cheaper.

Another perfect example is Songkran. Not every tourist enjoys being splashed with water every 2 meters for full week(in Pattaya for 2 weeks), not to mention all the accidents on the roads. Thailand has done nothing to limit the "play area" not to piss off foreigners. Cambodia has outlawed water playing on the roads all together. Should one wish to get involved in the "games" many bars and clubs offer the experience but you are warned prior to entering and given free of charge plastic bags to protect your property

Edited June 18, 2010 by kuffki