Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You

[DLock]

It would be interesting to know how the TAT makes up their numbers.

For example is a 3 x Visa runner counted 3 times?

Are transit passengers counted in the numbers?

Is the budget tourist still spending the same amount per day?

Do they count domestic numbers?

Assuming the TAT numbers are accurate, there could be a lot of double counting because of the 30 day artificial restriction that forces 3 trips to the border and with Suvarnabhumi becoming more of a hub for International flight, the arrivals might only be transit only.

I travel twice weekly and I never book a flight. I just turn up at the airport and have never failed to get a seat over the past 3 months - planes are sometimes quite full, but not with many tourists.

I think the numbers need more scrutiny before we can take them at face value.

[samjaidee]

If you do the maths (maths with an 's' for all you North Americans!) 600 billion divided by 15.5 million tourists - kinds leaves you gasping at how much TAT worked out they spend per capita?

Why would you be gasping at less than US$ 1,200. Not exactly a lot is it?

[kuifje]

If you do the maths (maths with an 's' for all you North Americans!) 600 billion divided by 15.5 million tourists - kinds leaves you gasping at how much TAT worked out they spend per capita?

This was in another article so time ago, here a quote :

Another poster in that topic questioned the amount spent per tourist.

Spent per capita (in Thailand) has no meaning, you have to look at the people employed in tourism & tourism related industries only.

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...

[humqdpf]

on an international flight to suvanabum airport last week arriving at 10PM, the immigration stalls were empty til our arrival. I have never ever arrived to find my flights passengers are the sole entrants.

I did the same. For the first time I could not help noticing that the queues for foreigners at the immigration stalls were about the same as the number of Thais!

Although not a scientific analysis, I noticed that the numbers in Bangkok and in Hua Hin were way down and were mainly locally based expats.

[thaibkk]

thais are so good and smart they will find another terrible thing to scare of more tourists, wanna bet ? ah yeah, betting illegal in thailand...

[lounger]

<BR>600 billion THB , of course with the actual exchange rate they can have 10 million tourist and 800 billion THB. the baht is the strongest currency in the world at the moment, incredible...<BR>

Baht is strong and about to get stronger !!!!!!

Tourism to increase?

Time to put a dampner on it.

Tsunami, SARS, see Daeng, aah I know, lets strengthen the baht. Yes put up the interest rates that should do it......

Edited July 6, 2010 by lounger

[Jimi007]

SURE.......TAT.....keep the baht strong and that will certainly lure hoards of tourists to amazing Thailand.....and Thai Airways....keep your fares 2-3 times HIGHER than every other airline and they will certainly chose to fly TA!!!!!

That would be the BOT, Bank of Thailand, not the TAT. I always wondered why all the government agencies are in the english language... I still do.

[kuifje]

I just got back from Pattaya yesterday and asking and looking at the restaurants and some of the bars, they are asking, 'where are the tourists?' Most of what I saw in my travels were expats who lived there. Seeing ten waitresses and no patrons tells you something. Walk into a beer bar and you got mobbed. Don't know where they get the stats at but they better start looking before they start with the rumor of an increase in tourism. They must be sampling too much of something.

Pattaya is not Thailand, its only one of the many destination within this country.

Their has been for a long time an oversupply of entertainment venues around some beach destinations, so this is not a good measurement.

Tourist coming to Thailand are swifting, more come from a wide variety of countries and maybe they don't enjoy the entertainment venues which are offered in Pattaya.

More & more tourists are regular holiday makers, families with children and people who come to see the attractions of Thailand.

[Thai at Heart]

It would be interesting to know how the TAT makes up their numbers.

For example is a 3 x Visa runner counted 3 times?

Are transit passengers counted in the numbers?

Is the budget tourist still spending the same amount per day?

Do they count domestic numbers?

Assuming the TAT numbers are accurate, there could be a lot of double counting because of the 30 day artificial restriction that forces 3 trips to the border and with Suvarnabhumi becoming more of a hub for International flight, the arrivals might only be transit only.

I travel twice weekly and I never book a flight. I just turn up at the airport and have never failed to get a seat over the past 3 months - planes are sometimes quite full, but not with many tourists.

I think the numbers need more scrutiny before we can take them at face value.

Have no fear, despite all anecdotal evidence that tourism numbers are down, TAT will prove otherwise with firstly a spa promotion(failed), Indian wedding promotion (failed), up market promotion (failed), down market promotion (failed).

The one they should really try is the half price 5 knuckle shuffle oily massage promotion. Now that would get the punters in.

Cheers to the 16mn arrivals next year. Chaiyo.

[sangfroid]

A good friend of mine drives a Taxi for a "well known" hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 4. A few days ago he was telling me that he has never seen things so quiet in the 25 years he has been there.

Edited July 6, 2010 by sangfroid

[Tokay]

LOL

When they named this place Land Of Smiles, it was for reasons like this.

[shadh]

There last campaign was appropriately named...

“Tourism without boundaries: The Road to Nowhere.”

[thurien]

"Meanwhile, domestic tourism will also expand by 3% next year with at least 91 million trips to be made by Thai tourists"

this increasingly is the half-drunk bunch on the roads when heading home for some holiday and, of course, plenty of

government officials, teachers and students who are TAT- induced to aimlessly travel up and down the country

[dazbandit]

i know its not really the same subject, but plz can anyone explain to me why my flights from Bangkok to Manchester uk Return, are 760 GBP, And my friends coming out to visit me on same flights from Manchester uk to Bangkok Return, are 460 GBP. im feeling kinda ripped off (AGAIN !!!)

[HarrydePotter]

The predictions will be changed too even higher numbers when the bombings start. Luckaly i didn't bought anything in Thailand.

[roamer]

I just got back from Pattaya yesterday and asking and looking at the restaurants and some of the bars, they are asking, 'where are the tourists?' Most of what I saw in my travels were expats who lived there. Seeing ten waitresses and no patrons tells you something. Walk into a beer bar and you got mobbed. Don't know where they get the stats at but they better start looking before they start with the rumor of an increase in tourism. They must be sampling too much of something.

Pattaya is not Thailand, its only one of the many destination within this country.

Their has been for a long time an oversupply of entertainment venues around some beach destinations, so this is not a good measurement.

Tourist coming to Thailand are swifting, more come from a wide variety of countries and maybe they don't enjoy the entertainment venues which are offered in Pattaya.

More & more tourists are regular holiday makers, families with children and people who come to see the attractions of Thailand.

Pattaya is not the only destination in Thailand but its regular clientele are not as easily deterred as many other tourists are. When places like Pattaya are empty it doesn,t bode well for the rest of the country. If you had read the rest of the posts you would have noticed many people remarking how empty people find Suvarnabhumi on arrival.

"More & more tourists are regular holiday makers, families with children and people who come to see the attractions of Thailand."

Where is the proof for that statement ? I've only seen evidence to the contrary, that families, "regular holiday makers" are deterred from traveling to LOS due to recent events. Chinese and Japanese tourists are avoiding it en masse . Add in economic woes in Europe and a crazily high baht rate and this statement becomes the latest bit of cloud cuckoo nonsense from TAT.

[souvenirdeparis]

there are net commercials or TV crypto commercials on visiting Thaïland now ; speaks of " luxury villa for 300 euros a month" ; along with a ' become buddhist ' instruction video(Tibetan buddhism it was , oops). I wouldn't advise a friend on going now .I expect to have to look sharp about me next time I come .

[z21rhd]

Tip: click inside this box to load the editor

Is it not amazing that tourism is improving despite Thaivisa's coverage over the last few months ??????

[londonthai]

the political situation in thailand is still volatile, so optimistic predictions for tourism might not materialise.

empty airplanes and airport, deserted bangkok, pattaya, phuket, chiang mai and hua hin, doesn't sound like tourism picked up within the last month, unless travellers has switched to the smaller resorts, away from the troubles.

[djayz]

ah, so THAT'S how they come up with these utopian figures! I've always wondered where they get their statistics from... hmmm, learned something new today. Joking aside: I just don't see it happening... most Western countries are still suffering from the debt crisis, add the very strong Baht PLUS the recent images of "Bangkok Burning" and I honestly can't. see too many tourists booking their flights to Thailand just yet... Edited July 6, 2010 by djayz

[Jimi007]

Hold on. I just spotted one tourist at the oldest local "supermarket" in town. I could tell he was a tourist as he wasn't wearing a shirt into a market. On the way there I saw a lot of local Thais I know that have lived here for ever that beeped and waved to me. I predict tourism is up, by at least one person.

[TheBarbarian]

Maybe they can make a kind of Disneyworld out of Thailand. In Disneyworld the authorities also always make it look like the good news show, where everything is peaceful. Abhisit will prey for world peace and the soldiers can shoot people. After all in the end it is all not true anyhow. Just like the statistics used by TAT chiefs of course.

Who still believe in fairytales?

[Foggy Bottom]

He projected the foreign arrivals would reach 16 million, earning the country at least Bt600 billion, on the assumption that Thailand's political situation is stable.

And there is the real purpose of this announcement - the government is telling the red shirts "stay quiet or stay poor" - I don't believe their predictions will come true other than through cooked books or further shortening of visas on arrival in order to create more border hopping and thus multiple entries per 2-week tourist.

There were three months of the year totally trashed arrivals-wise by the red shirts ( a quarter of the year) yet they expect this year's numbers to be higher than last years? OK, the global economy may be a little better this year, but the red rampage is going to need longer than a couple of months to be erased from the memories of better educated and better informed populations than Thailand's.

Amazing Thailand always Amazes - sure does, that the country is able to churn out such gibberish and that so many people swallow it.

91 million domestic tourism trips this year? That's 1.5 trips for every man woman and child of Thai nationality, of any age, whether or not living in Thailand. Mmmmm - nah! Not unless a visit to the somtam stall in the next village counts as a domestic tourism trip?

[Jimi007]

Maybe they can make a kind of Disneyworld out of Thailand. In Disneyworld the authorities also always make it look like the good news show, where everything is peaceful. Abhisit will prey for world peace and the soldiers can shoot people. After all in the end it is all not true anyhow. Just like the statistics used by TAT chiefs of course.

Who still believe in fairytales?

Amazing farang with red glasses came to this thread to post this.

[HOOD Robin]

Regardless of what TOT says, or maybe in spite of it, Insurance companies will not issue travel insurance to anyone traveling to a country that is under a State of Emergency. And while some governments may have eased their travel warnings, that hasn't necessarily alleviated the situation, and until those warnings are petty much downgraded to "normal", most tour operators won't even bother trying to book tours to Thailand, and will, instead, encourage their travelers to try other destinations. Such as Vietnam, Bali, Malaysia, Indonesia.

The one thing I find truly "Amazing" about Thailand is their ability to act as if absolutely nothing is wrong, everything is perfect, and everyone loves them. I live in Chiang Mai, and while I realize this is "low season", this is the lowest I've seen it in the last 3 years. I'd like to know where the 7.5 million tourists so far this year went, as most of the major hotels here are running at around 20% occupancy, which is very low, even for this time of year. When I go into town near the mall, I see twice as many tuk tuks sitting idle than I do on the street with customers, and most of those customers are Thai.

Yeah, it's "Amazing" all right.

Dear friend, you are completely right !!! All those so called TOT officials and other dum "colleagues" don't even know what it means "Amazing Thailand" ! They are, together with so many other officials, mostly dressed in a nice suit or what is more important to them in a nice UNIFORM ( with stars and bells and stripes all over the place ) the "amazing jokers" that we farangs are aware off that they make themselves ridiculous, only the poor important people i'm talking about, don't know it themselves, and they will NEVER know... hahaha.... talking about a country with dum people ! It's really a pitty for such a nice country, but since the uneducated people will always be kept dum ( and dummer ), and over 80% of Thai teachers even do NOT get the minimum in their "official" tests, what can we expect of a bunch of idiots that are meeting every day in places like TAT rooms and so many other "official" places !? Poor Thailand.....

[kuifje]

Dear friend, you are completely right !!! All those so called TOT officials and other dum "colleagues" don't even know what it means "Amazing Thailand" ! They are, together with so many other officials, mostly dressed in a nice suit or what is more important to them in a nice UNIFORM ( with stars and bells and stripes all over the place ) the "amazing jokers" that we farangs are aware off that they make themselves ridiculous, only the poor important people i'm talking about, don't know it themselves, and they will NEVER know... hahaha.... talking about a country with dum people ! It's really a pitty for such a nice country, but since the uneducated people will always be kept dum ( and dummer ), and over 80% of Thai teachers even do NOT get the minimum in their "official" tests, what can we expect of a bunch of idiots that are meeting every day in places like TAT rooms and so many other "official" places !? Poor Thailand.....

I think your post is one of bad taste.

If you chose to live in Thailand, it is not appropriate to call the people of this country what you called them.

I think all the people of TOT try to do an amazing job, giving the circumstances created by the Red Shirt Terrorist/Criminals.

[Shiver]

Here in Udon it's the quietest I've seen in in the 4 and a bit years I've been here. Looks to me like there's only the regular expats, and almost no tourists at all (not that it ever was a tourist hub - the concept of high and low season here is laughable). Of the expats, more are spending more time in their home country as their money doesn't go as far as it did.

I've only been to Pattaya fairly recently, and mostly only in the daytime, so have nothing to compare it with, though there are some familiar faces there. Makes me wonder if some of the people who used to stay in Udon that have plenty of spare cash have just got bored with how empty their watering holes are, and have regrouped in Pattaya and other places where there's a bit more going on. Of the two main farang bar 'streets' here, it's not unusual to be able to count 3 empty bars for every bar that has at least one customer, many places close 10-10:30pm because there's just nothing doing. Lots of staff, all sitting waiting and wondering if and when the next customer will come. The staff/customer ratio when aggregating the bars I would guess is something like 7/1, so plenty of time on their hands.

I'm not sure who's funding these places or why, but there still seems to be a stream of people who have the wonderful idea of opening yet another bar the moment one closes. There's more people than I care to hear about that are clinically depressed, counting baht coins as the notes are finished, and suicide attempts (self instigated, not the jumping from buildings variety).

[jayjay0]

quote<br><br>

{TCT President Kongkrit Hiranyakit said the overall tourism situation

this year had recovered promisingly as evident in the number of foreign

tourists visiting Thailand in June. He anticipated the number to rise

by another 5-10% from a total of 14.1 million visitors last year.}<br><br>

Now there is a stroke of genius. Red Shirts take over the capital,  raid hospitals kill soldiers with guns they really don't have[ forget the videos and pictures just ask them ], Try to burn the city down and refuse to negotiate and these nimrods think that had no effect on tourism. Of course the number of tourists is going to go up when the government finally a month and a half late put a end to it.

What is over looked by every one is the people that got hurt and will continue to hurt from this. Tourism accounts for %6 of the economy. But I would bet it affects %20 of the labor force. And yet the government says nothing about that.

[Rabbi]

I just want to put a few simple points and will not get involved with the politics

• This is the lowest low season in 10+ years in Pattaya, and I understand Bangkok as well,in so far as tourist & golfing for general bar, food accomodation sales and green fees.
• From surveys I have done based on current actual turnover/revenue it appears on average the tourist numbers and spending is down 65-70% on average 5 year High Season and down 45% on average 5 year low season.
• Individual spending per Expat long termers is down approximately 65% due to caution and Forex rates particularly for Europeans
• High Season instead of being from November to April [6 months] for 2 years has been mid Dec to Mid Jan [2 months
• TAT's statistics seem to be based on their budget forecast and I can not see that there is any relevance to actuals
• 600 Billion expected income from 15.5million expected tourists equates to 38.7 million Baht per toursist !!! - I and every SME [Thai or Foreigner] in this sector would have no complaints if this bore any semblance to the truth

It seems the age old adage "... well I read it in the paper [or now on the net] or saw it on TV so it must be correct....!!!" When will people ever learn?

Thanks for taking the time to read this... I know it will not acheive anything expect give you some other figures to ponder while we are Guests in Their Kingdom..

[Pakboong]

The ball game still gets played whether there are 10 or 10,000 in the stands to watch. Personally, I like having more seats to choose from and not having to fight traffic to get home.