Tourism Authority Of Thailand Expects 2011 Tourism Income To Top Bt1 Trillion

[webfact]

TAT expects 2011 tourism income to top Bt1 trillion

By SUCHAT SRITAMA THE NATION, Pattaya

BANGKOK: -- The Tourism Authority of Thailand has projected that revenue from the international and domestic markets will reach Bt1 trillion in 2011, up from the Bt943 billion forecast for this year.

TAT governor Suraphon Svatasreni yesterday expressed hope that international visitors would total 15 million in 2011, up from the 14.4 million targeted for this year.

Revenue from overseas markets is expected to be Bt573 billion, against this year's projection of Bt540 billion.

The agency meanwhile forecasts domestic travel will see 91 million trips and generate Bt432 billion in 2011. This year, the local market is projected at 90 million trips and revenue of more than Bt500 billion

TAT officials from the overseas and domestic markets are meeting in Pattaya this week to discuss next year's business and marketing plans.

Suraphon said the government had already granted more than Bt5 billion for the agency to conduct marketing events and activities. The TAT will, however, ask for an additional budget to help operators who were hit by the Bangkok rioting in April and May.

"For the tourism sector, political instability is the only threat factor that is still troubling the industry. If the problem can be resolved, we should reach next year's targets," he said.

He added that the TAT would focus more on niche target groups, such as female travellers, as well as wellness and spa and leisure travellers.

To achieve the targets, the TAT will also seek to increase the level of the country's tourism competitiveness, which is another matter being discussed in Pattaya.

Chumpol Silapa-archa, the minister of tourism and sports, asked TAT officials from overseas to engage in hard sales campaigns and create new marketing strategies to lure tourists back to Thailand.

"We need to make this year's low season shorter by filling up with more tourists during the period,"he said.

Chumpol said he hoped to see the sector's full recovery within the third quarter of the year, and added that the number of tourists from key Asian markets like Japan, China and South Korea was expected to exceed 1 million this year.

Srisuda Wanapinyosak, director of the TAT's New York office, said it had recently conducted a confidence-rebuilding campaign called the "Mini Road Show" in New York, Boston and Washington DC with a view to luring back American visitors.

It also plans to hold two more familiarisation trips to Thailand |soon.

Wiyada Srirangkul, director of the TAT office in Rome, said she is working with Thai Airways International to offer special round-trip |air fares at US$740 (Bt24,000) between Bangkok and Southern |Europe.

The TAT will also host two more familiarisation trips from Italy and Turkey to Thailand next month, with the aim of reclaiming European tourists back to Thailand.

Wiboon Nimitrwanich, director of the TAT office in Kuala Lumpur, said his office was working with four travel companies, offering Thailand travel packages for three months.

More than 4,000 Malaysians are expected to take advantage of the campaign.

-- The Nation 2010-06-29

[basjke]

Maybe they could add another attraction like the one they had going on for 2 months in the ratchaprasong area.It makes tourist figures rise out of the pan.

[landofthefree]

Maybe they could add another attraction like the one they had going on for 2 months in the ratchaprasong area.It makes tourist figures rise out of the pan.

This article should read TAT anticipates the launch of Flying pigs airlines an imaginary airline to bring in imaginary tourists. I think this is more likely to happen than the numbers of tourists that they"predict' will now forget about the near civil war and come to Thailand, never mind I'm sure their forecasts are based using scientific methodology such as looking into their crystal balls. I'm looking into mine and for next year I see a group of people wearing the same colour shirts (cant tell which colour yet) sending tourists away again.

Edited June 29, 2010 by landofthefree

[dumball]

I have a feeling they use elastic statistics that can keep up with their elevated egos and rampant imaginations , better to under estimate and save 'Face' rather than show their incompetance and wishfull thinking . As to special airfares from Thai airways , from what I read about them on this forum , that provided the biggest belly laugh for me , that reminded me of the oft quoted SALE attached to many things , this is taken by many to mean CHEAPER when in fact it only pertains to "we gotta get rid of this s#@%t .

[BigC]

Maybe they could add another attraction like the one they had going on for 2 months in the ratchaprasong area.It makes tourist figures rise out of the pan.

sounds like the biggest pollitical spin i have ever herd. every where i have been is dead. hotels with 40 rooms with 1 room being rented. Phuket is dead samui population of tourists is the lowest i have ever seen. unless all the people from the samui islands and phuket are somehwere else in thailand then this artical is nothing more than a spin. if they want people to come back they should try to weaken the Thai baht. Thailand isn't the nice relaxing affordable place that it used to be.

beore the expensive thing about thailand was the plane ticket. now the ticket price from europe and england is nearly double then high prices when they get here.

what a load of rubbish. everyone here is feeling the pinch. everyone invloved in tourisme i cannot beleive this post everyone knows that it is twadle why even write it.

[kuffki]

I think its very realistic. Just set the goal, put up the prices to make sure you reach the goal and all is sweet

[Mosha]

I think its very realistic. Just set the goal, put up the prices to make sure you reach the goal and all is sweet

Exactly what I was thinking.

[lensta]

When was the last time one of TAT's projections was even close to being correct? What a load of cra p

Edited June 29, 2010 by lensta

[basjke]

"For the tourism sector, political instability is the only threat factor that is still troubling the industry. If the problem can be resolved, we should reach next year's targets," he said.

Oh good to know that the worldwide economic and financial crisis is non existing.

[frankman]

Easy:

so if they have less tourists,

they will just double the prices.

[cheshiremusicman]

When was the last time one of TAT's projections was even close to being correct? What a load of cra p

Tell the Thai's what they want to hear and all will be well. I think it's going to snow tomorrow! but don't tell the tourists or they might not come - total crax!!

[Thailand]

Put the words "pie" and "sky" in to a well known phrase or saying.

[Thaihog]

If tourism only accounts for 6% of Thailand's GDP and the TAT are talking about 1 trillion baht, then the export market must be worth telephone numbers,lol.....

These govt. officials really need to get out of their plush offices more often and see what real life is like...

[bkkjames]

If tourism only accounts for 6% of Thailand's GDP and the TAT are talking about 1 trillion baht, then the export market must be worth telephone numbers,lol.....

These govt. officials really need to get out of their plush offices more often and see what real life is like...

Purely an exercise to get the cabinet to boost the budgets to the few, the proud, the unseen's. 

[lonewolf99]

I wish I owned the Rose Tinted crystal ball that TAT use.....If tourism is 6% of GDP...how come it is always 6%...especially with the rapid decline in numbers over the last 5 years...? Even the Bloomberg channel still states it is 6% !!!

Fudged figures me thinks..

[samuibeachcomber]

Package tours from asia might do it,but they wont fill the pockets of bar,restaurant and shop owners.Perhaps these people go to their local Wat for guidance,and the monks knowing which side their bread is buttered just tell them what they want to hear.Having said that i have been told that the Amari resort in chaweng north on Samui has 90% occupancy right now,so some are doing ok,probably good resort chain marketing in this instance.

[nickjam]

I've read some big piles of poo in my time but this one takes the biscuit. All of my friends with businesses from Chiang Rai to Bangkok to Phuket have said this year has been a total bust (generally 50% down on last year). With the strong baht and spiraling prices this figure is, as many have said before me, pie in the sky. Fingers crossed for some good hotel deals.

[Thaihog]

1 trillion baht would require 20,000,000 people spending an average of 50,000 baht.

Obviously the person that came up with the trillion baht forecast didn't pass high school maths...

[Thaihog]

..

Edited June 29, 2010 by Thaihog

[Garry]

1 trillion baht would require 20,000,000 people spending an average of 50,000 baht.

Obviously the person that came up with the trillion baht forecast didn't pass high school maths...

Agreed, absolute nonsense figures..USD$30,000,000,000. If only Kuhn Thaksin gets to visit on a tourist visa and spend some tourist moola perhaps.. NOT..!!! :jap:

[yesdavy]

What you have is a tourism ministry that appears unusual compared to other tourism ministries in the world. The first clue is evident in their quoting of domestic tourism statistics. What is a tourism ministry doing selling Thailand to Thai people or taking credit or being budgeted for domestic travel? This is like the marketing department at Toyota budgeting for advertising to Toyota employees, or Phuket budgeting to advertise Phuket to people that live there. It is, if nothing else, unorthodox. Tourism ministries in the global marketplace promote their country as a whole and feature popular destination attractions, competing against other countries to increase their market-share of inbound arrivals from the global marketplace. It is the responsibility of each destination in the country to then compete for market-share of the inbound arrivals and for market-share of domestic tourism. One reason the destinations place high priority on inbound travelers rather than domestic is that domestics often stay with friends, or relatives, or in budget inns, travel by car, eat at food stands, and visit free attractions. Inbound arrivals actually generate incremental revenue for the national economy, which the domestics do not, and they stay in hotels, rent cars, use airlines, eat at hotels and tourist restaurants, and visit the high-end attractions. To advertise a country to its own citizens is at best, impractical. You will hear it justified as a strategy to keep Thais from traveling to other countries, which is like Khon Kaen justifying an advertising budget for marketing Khon Kaen to people that live there so they don't take a trip to Udon Thani. It just does not compute.

Then there is the mention in this article about a 2011 forecast that is compared to a 2010 forecast, as though the 2010 forecast, as a basis for comparison, is on schedule or has been met--when the year is not over and the 2010 forecast has steadily spiraled downward. Then in the following sentence the governor states that TAT officials plan to meet and discuss next year's business and marketing plans. So, what is the basis for the forecasts? Using the stated figures for 2011, each of the forecast 15M inbound arrivals will spend 38,200 baht and each of the 91M domestic trips will spend 4,748 baht. Will 38,200 baht buy a round trip plane ticket from developed countries? Probably, but there wouldn't be much left over. Will 65M people--every man, woman, and child in Thailand--take 91M tourism trips in 2011 even if they each traveled individually? How can that be when they travel in family groups, and when 11.5% of the population lives on less than US$ 2.00 per day and 13.6% of the population live below the poverty line? So the question keeps coming back to why a national tourism ministry requests and receives budgeting to promote domestic tourism to Thai people so that they do not vacation in another country when such a tiny fragment of the population have the financial resources to even make outbound trips?

Regarding political instability being the only threat factor still troubling the tourism industry, does the governor mean that all the threat problems in the south have been resolved so that nobody will read of bomb attacks and murders? Does the governor discount the surge in dengue fever and malaria as not being deterrent threats?

Regarding the governor's focus on niche groups, it comes as a surprise to hear him consider women and leisure travelers as niches? These are about as broad, no pun intended, categories as you can get--if you are not a woman you are a man and travel is either for leisure or business. As for targeting wellness and spa travelers, by wellness, it is supposed that he means medical travelers, which are traveling out of necessity and facing medical costs, not exactly the stuff that vacations are made of. Medical travelers may not be able to get around much due to their infirmities and often reside in hospitals rather than hotels. While it does bring incremental revenue into the national economy, most of the revenue goes to hospitals and is of very little benefit to the tourism industry or any tourism destinations. Thus, one would expect the promotion of medical travel to be funded at least jointly by medical and hospital associations. The notion that spa travel is a niche begs clarification, since it is at best an amenity. What seems to be overlooked is that international tourism decisions begin with what country to visit, and then which destination(s) and attractions to visit, and finally which hotel(s) to book. It would be most interesting to see research substantiating these stated marketing-target decisions as viable. While you might find a person that would come to Thailand only because a certain spa is here--hotels everywhere have spas--is this really a viable market to budget as a priority?

It is interesting that a tourism minister would ask his subordinates in overseas offices to create new marketing strategies when that is clearly the responsibility of a tourism ministry. Having offices in neighboring countries in Europe, or in North American cities, independently taking marketing messages to consumers and travel planners is counterproductive, due to inconsistent positioning and mixed messages that undermine the process of accumulative impressions that makes advertising work. As an aside, is there any reason why sports and film festivals fall under the aegis of a tourism ministry? How do sports and film festivals represent any kind of viable tourism market? And, the minister's use of the the phrase to lure tourists back to Thailand is a curious one, since to lure means to induce pleasure and a lure is a decoy to trap animals, or artificial bait. Perhaps, it is an inadvertent poor choice of words to give to the media, rather than a mandate to his subordinates to induce pleasure travel or to trap tourists.

.

Edited June 29, 2010 by yesdavy

[kuifje]

1 trillion baht would require 20,000,000 people spending an average of 50,000 baht.

Obviously the person that came up with the trillion baht forecast didn't pass high school maths...

You should read the article again ;

14-15 million targeted to spent about 550 million, which is about 35.000 per person.

This is not crazy, most package tours of 02/03 weeks will cost around 20.000-25.000 per person for hotels, transport & excursions, excluding international airfares.

The rest will go into expenditure for food & souvenirs.

90 million local domestic tourism trips (by Thai families), probably just a few days of maybe 1 week will generate about 450-500 million.

This is just 5000 or 6000 baht per person/trip, also not crazy if you see (Thai who can afford domestic travel) they mostly stays in nice hotels or resorts.

Also they spent a lot on food & souvenirs.

Probably in this (90 million trips) are also the seminars, meeting, incentives, etc.

[mungostjohn]

If they make it 7 days instead of 15 days for land crossing entries, they could double the number of tourists!

[kuifje]

What you have is a tourism ministry that appears unusual compared to other tourism ministries in the world. The first clue is evident in their quoting of domestic tourism statistics. What is a tourism ministry doing selling Thailand to Thai people or taking credit or being budgeted for domestic travel? This is like the marketing department at Toyota budgeting for advertising to Toyota employees, or Phuket budgeting to advertise Phuket to people that live there. It is, if nothing else, unorthodox. Tourism ministries in the global marketplace promote their country as a whole and feature popular destination attractions, competing against other countries to increase their market-share of inbound arrivals from the global marketplace. It is the responsibility of each destination in the country to then compete for market-share of the inbound arrivals and for market-share of domestic tourism. One reason the destinations place high priority on inbound travelers rather than domestic is that domestics often stay with friends, or relatives, or in budget inns, travel by car, eat at food stands, and visit free attractions. Inbound arrivals actually generate incremental revenue for the national economy, which the domestics do not, and they stay in hotels, rent cars, use airlines, eat at hotels and tourist restaurants, and visit the high-end attractions. To advertise a country to its own citizens is at best, impractical. You will hear it justified as a strategy to keep Thais from traveling to other countries, which is like Khon Kaen justifying an advertising budget for marketing Khon Kaen to people that live there so they don't take a trip to Udon Thani. It just does not compute.

Then there is the mention in this article about a 2011 forecast that is compared to a 2010 forecast, as though the 2010 forecast, as a basis for comparison, is on schedule or has been met--when the year is not over and the 2010 forecast has steadily spiraled downward. Then in the following sentence the governor states that TAT officials plan to meet and discuss next year's business and marketing plans. So, what is the basis for the forecasts? Using the stated figures for 2011, each of the forecast 15M inbound arrivals will spend 38,200 baht and each of the 91M domestic trips will spend 4,748 baht. Will 38,200 baht buy a round trip plane ticket from developed countries? Probably, but there wouldn't be much left over. Will 65M people--every man, woman, and child in Thailand--take 91M tourism trips in 2011 even if they each traveled individually? How can that be when they travel in family groups, and when 11.5% of the population lives on less than US$ 2.00 per day and 13.6% of the population live below the poverty line? So the question keeps coming back to why a national tourism ministry requests and receives budgeting to promote domestic tourism to Thai people so that they do not vacation in another country when such a tiny fragment of the population have the financial resources to even make outbound trips?

Regarding political instability being the only threat factor still troubling the tourism industry, does the governor mean that all the threat problems in the south have been resolved so that nobody will read of bomb attacks and murders? Does the governor discount the surge in dengue fever and malaria as not being deterrent threats?

Regarding the governor's focus on niche groups, it comes as a surprise to hear him consider women and leisure travelers as niches? These are about as broad, no pun intended, categories as you can get--if you are not a woman you are a man and travel is either for leisure or business. As for targeting wellness and spa travelers, by wellness, it is supposed that he means medical travelers, which are traveling out of necessity and facing medical costs, not exactly the stuff that vacations are made of. Medical travelers may not be able to get around much due to their infirmities and often reside in hospitals rather than hotels. While it does bring incremental revenue into the national economy, most of the revenue goes to hospitals and is of very little benefit to the tourism industry or any tourism destinations. Thus, one would expect the promotion of medical travel to be funded at least jointly by medical and hospital associations. The notion that spa travel is a niche begs clarification, since it is at best an amenity. What seems to be overlooked is that international tourism decisions begin with what country to visit, and then which destination(s) and attractions to visit, and finally which hotel(s) to book. It would be most interesting to see research substantiating these stated marketing-target decisions as viable. While you might find a person that would come to Thailand only because a certain spa is here--hotels everywhere have spas--is this really a viable market to budget as a priority?

It is interesting that a tourism minister would ask his subordinates in overseas offices to create new marketing strategies when that is clearly the responsibility of a tourism ministry. Having offices in neighboring countries in Europe, or in North American cities, independently taking marketing messages to consumers and travel planners is counterproductive, due to inconsistent positioning and mixed messages that undermine the process of accumulative impressions that makes advertising work. As an aside, is there any reason why sports and film festivals fall under the aegis of a tourism ministry? How do sports and film festivals represent any kind of viable tourism market? And, the minister's use of the the phrase to lure tourists back to Thailand is a curious one, since to lure means to induce pleasure and a lure is a decoy to trap animals, or artificial bait. Perhaps, it is an inadvertent poor choice of words to give to the media, rather than a mandate to his subordinates to induce pleasure travel or to trap tourists.

.

I only read your reply/opinion after my previous post.

But also want to reply to some of your points.....

First of all you wrote with some insight and your have many good points, but....

Will 38,200 baht buy a round trip plane ticket from developed countries? Probably, but there wouldn't be much left over.

The international airfare is sold in another country, and not calculated as revenue for Thailand. Only package tours, hotel, transport, food, drinks and souvenirs.

Average tourist from long haul destinations will stay probably 2 or 3 weeks, which will translate into an average of about 2000 baht/per day/tourist.

Very reasonable...

Will 65M people--every man, woman, and child in Thailand--take 91M tourism trips in 2011 even if they each traveled individually?

the 91M domestic trips will spend 4,748 baht.

Yes, also this 90 million trips are feasible, first of all you should read persons (wrongly written in the article as trips).

The Thais who can afford to travel domestic (I do not know the exact %, but I guess it will be around 15-20%), and this group will maybe travel more than once.

Look around when holiday seasons are coming up (int'l new years, songkran, long weekend for whatever reason, Loi Krathong, festivities of all kinds), Thai people travel and spent money, it all account for domestic tourism.

All larger companies, many institutions, governments, schools will have seminars, meetings, incentives, schooltrips or new year parties, when they will go for one or more days with a large group to some domestic destinations. They all stay in hotels, need to travel by bus, train or plane, undertake some excursions, eat food and buy souvenirs.

So also here the amount of about 5000 baht is not so crazy.

[iubito2001]

What you have is a tourism ministry that appears unusual compared to other tourism ministries in the world. The first clue is evident in their quoting of domestic tourism statistics. What is a tourism ministry doing selling Thailand to Thai people or taking credit or being budgeted for domestic travel? This is like the marketing department at Toyota budgeting for advertising to Toyota employees, or Phuket budgeting to advertise Phuket to people that live there. It is, if nothing else, unorthodox. Tourism ministries in the global marketplace promote their country as a whole and feature popular destination attractions, competing against other countries to increase their market-share of inbound arrivals from the global marketplace. It is the responsibility of each destination in the country to then compete for market-share of the inbound arrivals and for market-share of domestic tourism. One reason the destinations place high priority on inbound travelers rather than domestic is that domestics often stay with friends, or relatives, or in budget inns, travel by car, eat at food stands, and visit free attractions. Inbound arrivals actually generate incremental revenue for the national economy, which the domestics do not, and they stay in hotels, rent cars, use airlines, eat at hotels and tourist restaurants, and visit the high-end attractions. To advertise a country to its own citizens is at best, impractical. You will hear it justified as a strategy to keep Thais from traveling to other countries, which is like Khon Kaen justifying an advertising budget for marketing Khon Kaen to people that live there so they don't take a trip to Udon Thani. It just does not compute.

Then there is the mention in this article about a 2011 forecast that is compared to a 2010 forecast, as though the 2010 forecast, as a basis for comparison, is on schedule or has been met--when the year is not over and the 2010 forecast has steadily spiraled downward. Then in the following sentence the governor states that TAT officials plan to meet and discuss next year's business and marketing plans. So, what is the basis for the forecasts? Using the stated figures for 2011, each of the forecast 15M inbound arrivals will spend 38,200 baht and each of the 91M domestic trips will spend 4,748 baht. Will 38,200 baht buy a round trip plane ticket from developed countries? Probably, but there wouldn't be much left over. Will 65M people--every man, woman, and child in Thailand--take 91M tourism trips in 2011 even if they each traveled individually? How can that be when they travel in family groups, and when 11.5% of the population lives on less than US$ 2.00 per day and 13.6% of the population live below the poverty line? So the question keeps coming back to why a national tourism ministry requests and receives budgeting to promote domestic tourism to Thai people so that they do not vacation in another country when such a tiny fragment of the population have the financial resources to even make outbound trips?

Regarding political instability being the only threat factor still troubling the tourism industry, does the governor mean that all the threat problems in the south have been resolved so that nobody will read of bomb attacks and murders? Does the governor discount the surge in dengue fever and malaria as not being deterrent threats?

Regarding the governor's focus on niche groups, it comes as a surprise to hear him consider women and leisure travelers as niches? These are about as broad, no pun intended, categories as you can get--if you are not a woman you are a man and travel is either for leisure or business. As for targeting wellness and spa travelers, by wellness, it is supposed that he means medical travelers, which are traveling out of necessity and facing medical costs, not exactly the stuff that vacations are made of. Medical travelers may not be able to get around much due to their infirmities and often reside in hospitals rather than hotels. While it does bring incremental revenue into the national economy, most of the revenue goes to hospitals and is of very little benefit to the tourism industry or any tourism destinations. Thus, one would expect the promotion of medical travel to be funded at least jointly by medical and hospital associations. The notion that spa travel is a niche begs clarification, since it is at best an amenity. What seems to be overlooked is that international tourism decisions begin with what country to visit, and then which destination(s) and attractions to visit, and finally which hotel(s) to book. It would be most interesting to see research substantiating these stated marketing-target decisions as viable. While you might find a person that would come to Thailand only because a certain spa is here--hotels everywhere have spas--is this really a viable market to budget as a priority?

It is interesting that a tourism minister would ask his subordinates in overseas offices to create new marketing strategies when that is clearly the responsibility of a tourism ministry. Having offices in neighboring countries in Europe, or in North American cities, independently taking marketing messages to consumers and travel planners is counterproductive, due to inconsistent positioning and mixed messages that undermine the process of accumulative impressions that makes advertising work. As an aside, is there any reason why sports and film festivals fall under the aegis of a tourism ministry? How do sports and film festivals represent any kind of viable tourism market? And, the minister's use of the the phrase to lure tourists back to Thailand is a curious one, since to lure means to induce pleasure and a lure is a decoy to trap animals, or artificial bait. Perhaps, it is an inadvertent poor choice of words to give to the media, rather than a mandate to his subordinates to induce pleasure travel or to trap tourists.

.

I only read your reply/opinion after my previous post.

But also want to reply to some of your points.....

First of all you wrote with some insight and your have many good points, but....

Will 38,200 baht buy a round trip plane ticket from developed countries? Probably, but there wouldn't be much left over.

The international airfare is sold in another country, and not calculated as revenue for Thailand. Only package tours, hotel, transport, food, drinks and souvenirs.

Average tourist from long haul destinations will stay probably 2 or 3 weeks, which will translate into an average of about 2000 baht/per day/tourist.

Very reasonable...

Will 65M people--every man, woman, and child in Thailand--take 91M tourism trips in 2011 even if they each traveled individually?

the 91M domestic trips will spend 4,748 baht.

Yes, also this 90 million trips are feasible, first of all you should read persons (wrongly written in the article as trips).

The Thais who can afford to travel domestic (I do not know the exact %, but I guess it will be around 15-20%), and this group will maybe travel more than once.

Look around when holiday seasons are coming up (int'l new years, songkran, long weekend for whatever reason, Loi Krathong, festivities of all kinds), Thai people travel and spent money, it all account for domestic tourism.

All larger companies, many institutions, governments, schools will have seminars, meetings, incentives, schooltrips or new year parties, when they will go for one or more days with a large group to some domestic destinations. They all stay in hotels, need to travel by bus, train or plane, undertake some excursions, eat food and buy souvenirs.

So also here the amount of about 5000 baht is not so crazy.

[iubito2001]

The inbound tourism is still about 50 % sex and fun seekers and sex always sells. Thailand has unique position and this will prove to be some resilient factor. This will never be an official position but it is a fact.

Regarding local tourism. Here in Hua Hin the weekend trafic from Bangkok visitors is clogging up our streets and parking lots. There are plenty of Thais who can afford travel.

[asiawatcher]

And the bull behind the dyke said

believe it if you like

as a flock of polar bears flew by!

[ourmanflint]

Just saw this in the UK! Ibis chain have rooms for 100 baht per night, there's obviously no lack of tourists.

check here

[moe666]

After hurricane Katrina it took 5 years for New Orleans to recover 85% of previous tourist visits. This is 99% US travel. Bangkok not as hurt but how long will it really take for Thai tourism to recover, with the Thai pie-in-the-sky forcast who knows.

[moe666]

The inbound tourism is still about 50 % sex and fun seekers and sex always sells. Thailand has unique position and this will prove to be some resilient factor. This will never be an official position but it is a fact.

Regarding local tourism. Here in Hua Hin the weekend trafic from Bangkok visitors is clogging up our streets and parking lots. There are plenty of Thais who can afford travel.

Were do you get your figures that 50% of tourist is sex oriented, lets see some facts.