Foreign Tourist Arrivals In Thailand Hit 15.7-15.8 Million This Year

[Seanextra]

More corruption lies and deception from the Land of Deception! Good Luck to the business owners in this country its on a slide that wont reveal itself fully for somtime and by the time the genral public fully grasp the vaccum this country is in it will be far too late and all the people that gained from it will be far away from the mess they leave behind such a shame. The powers that be may try but this country needs a shake beyond its borders to even start to set it on the correct path. It will never happen internally as most know because the rubbish will only be replaced with more rubbish the only way the systimatic collapse of the Kingdom could be haulted immediately would be for an external government to take over or for the country to turn into a socialist republic! I think the start would be sacking of all the police force and show cause for the sacking of all government officials followed by heavy testing and scrutiny of all government bodies and cival servants because from what ive seen in the public service sector here there are far more funds going out and very little effort being returned. All tests performed at just about any level of Thai services are all not worth the paper they are printed on, I am sick and tired of seeing test answers given the day before the test, No Body in this country can pass a test ligitimatly or should i say the fact is No Body can Fail ! Scariest of all in my eyes is in the medical area which i work, I won't go on about it but id never accept and credential from any Thai authorised practioner be they doctor or nurse!

[Kron]

Ah! Bonus time! Can not justify the large bonus payments with numbers that are falling

[sydneyjed]

Phuket has shot its load .(.like many of the sex tourists who used to frequent the place!)If it wasn't for Jetstar flying direct flights into Phuket from Australia at the moment they would be even in a worse situation than they already are..Reason being is ozzie dollar is one of the few currencies holding up against the thai baht on a weekly basis right now so Australians are still better off than many nationalities because of this.TAT are living in a dream world at the moment and only have themselves to blame as they cut their advertising budget in Australia by 30% last year for example ..then after the red shirt debarcle asked the Australian travel industry for ideas and submissions for kick starting a campaign again to stimulate tourism from Australia to there !Meanwhile tourism numbers for Vietnam and Fiji kept on rising here along with even Bali increasing its numbers again.Thai airways didn't help by keeping airfares high for a prolonged period after the red shirt demonstrations and only offered discounts on all in package holidays..in what was supposed to be their 50th Aniversary campaign!All in all a marketing disaster and many agents are still smarting after the double wammy of last years airport lock down and as with potential /holiday makers..can you blame them?The Thai mentality of farangs will just keep coming back regardless as before sadly isn't the reality anymore,as other destinations compete and offer more affordable value for money alternatives.Challenging times ahead in many facets of the tourist industry in Thailand right now like it or not!

Edited December 18, 2010 by sydneyjed

[Kissmehoney]

Don't know where all the tourists are but they are not in Ko Lanta, Krabi, Songkhla or Satun. Koh Lipe is dead and so is Lanta. Granted there has been a lot of rain in the south so maybe people are staying up north.

[MaxwellCM]

GF owns a few stalls in the night market area. She says biz has been down all year. A bit of pickup during the holidays like Kings B-day, Loy, etc. But other than that its either low or dead. Chinese do come to the stalls, but she says they are hard to bargain with, along with the isrealis, thus no decent profit is made.

[BlueSmurf]

No way Hosa! Unless they are all in Koh Samui....

[retell]

Yes, and one of the tourists was Elvis

Jim Morrison was behind him at immigration.

no your wrong janis joplin was kissing jimmy hendrix on the side but they where next

[NikhilBkk]

Pray, tell me where are all these tourists staying? All my clients from the hotel trade including 5 star to 2 star entities are complaining of the worst occupancy rates that they have seen...these includes hotels in Bangkok, Hua Hin,Phuket, Hadyai, etc.

[retell]

Yes, and one of the tourists was Elvis

Jim Morrison was behind him at immigration.

no your wrong janis joplin was kissing jimmy hendrix on the side but they where next

got this from wikipeaks.com

[retell]

Yes, and one of the tourists was Elvis

Jim Morrison was behind him at immigration.

no your wrong janis joplin was kissing jimmy hendrix on the side but they where next

got this from wiki.ivejustseenadeadcelebrity.com

Edited December 18, 2010 by retell

[retell]

still funky calculations seems like evry tourist spends about 12 baht

[ronz28]

Whinge Whinge Whinge. Favourite topic for a few on Thai visa.

Lets look at what Thailand has compared to say UK.

5.2 Billion Barrels of Oil reserves, against 3.2 for UK

Manufacturing: Mercedes engines built here, Nissan built here, Toyota built here, Triumph built here. Big plastics producer, light aircraft produced here.... could go on..... The UK, well they make a good curry.

Tourism: In light of a massive recession that has hit the West 15mil is up there with the best.

Thailand reminds me of Singapore 30 years ago. If Thailand grasp that English as a 2nd language is a plus for Thailand who knows how far this country could go?

Right that's the kiss of death given, time to sell up and move on LOL

Cheers

Dr Plumb

Doc, I think someone slipped a digit on your statement regarding Thailand's oil reserves. It appears they have about 583 million not 5.2 billion barrels based on information at

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_res-energy-oil-reserves.

Your other information is interesting as I had heard of Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and chemicals production in Thailand, but was not aware of the Mercedes and light aircraft production. Go Thailand!

[stepenwolf1958]

More corruption lies and deception from the Land of Deception! Good Luck to the business owners in this country its on a slide that wont reveal itself fully for somtime and by the time the genral public fully grasp the vaccum this country is in it will be far too late and all the people that gained from it will be far away from the mess they leave behind such a shame. The powers that be may try but this country needs a shake beyond its borders to even start to set it on the correct path. It will never happen internally as most know because the rubbish will only be replaced with more rubbish the only way the systimatic collapse of the Kingdom could be haulted immediately would be for an external government to take over or for the country to turn into a socialist republic! I think the start would be sacking of all the police force and show cause for the sacking of all government officials followed by heavy testing and scrutiny of all government bodies and cival servants because from what ive seen in the public service sector here there are far more funds going out and very little effort being returned. All tests performed at just about any level of Thai services are all not worth the paper they are printed on, I am sick and tired of seeing test answers given the day before the test, No Body in this country can pass a test ligitimatly or should i say the fact is No Body can Fail ! Scariest of all in my eyes is in the medical area which i work, I won't go on about it but id never accept and credential from any Thai authorised practioner be they doctor or nurse!

Unfortunately you are right. In most of things you said, i could see a good observation. Even all your post could look like too much bold to some one. But i hope no more pink colored eyeglasses people there.

[Just1Voice]

Close friend of me and wife had a booth at the CM Night Bazaar. She had to shut it down because she was losing money every day she was open. Also know of 2 others there who had to do the same.

Have another friend who is manager of the massage facilities at a 5-Star. She told my wife today that they have almost no customers, and what few tour groups they get in are "Cheepo Charlies" who act like you're trying to rob them if they have to give the massage girl more than 10baht for tip. And some feel like they don't have to tip at all because the price of the massage is included in their tour package. They used to have 8-9 girls working all the time. Now they have 3.

Half of that hotel has been closed down to try and save money, but they are just barely able to pay the electric bill for the half that's open, and some employees haven't been paid in a couple of months.

Yeah, TAT, tell us another joke.

[stepenwolf1958]

Close friend of me and wife had a booth at the CM Night Bazaar. She had to shut it down because she was losing money every day she was open. Also know of 2 others there who had to do the same.

Have another friend who is manager of the massage facilities at a 5-Star. She told my wife today that they have almost no customers, and what few tour groups they get in are "Cheepo Charlies" who act like you're trying to rob them if they have to give the massage girl more than 10baht for tip. And some feel like they don't have to tip at all because the price of the massage is included in their tour package. They used to have 8-9 girls working all the time. Now they have 3.

Half of that hotel has been closed down to try and save money, but they are just barely able to pay the electric bill for the half that's open, and some employees haven't been paid in a couple of months.

Yeah, TAT, tell us another joke.

You don't believe to TAT?(\Let me remind you:they are authorities(!) and they are Government, so if they said so-it must be truth. That is because they are responsible people and professionals, right?

After all, they are Democrats and Democrats never lie, right?

Or that journalist spread lies as he is red shirt follower so, this way he want to damage highly good reputation and success of rulling Democrats?

[moskito]

We own a small Thairestaurant on Phuket and since it is in a tourism area I spoke to many of tourists in the past days. They all find Thailand expensive and it is

not cheap here anymore like some years ago. The 20 percent rise of the Thaibaht against the Euro or the USD in just one year does the rest, they are just not willing

to spend something anymore, except for the normal required things of living.

I want to buy a backbag yesterday in Phuket Town. Prices are redicilous, starting at about 1200.-Baht (30.-!!!EURO or 40.-USD) Excuse me, but for that amount of money

I can buy two in Germany and get a warranty if they are broken after a week.

I really wich we will see a year without any tourists here in Thailand, maybe TAT will wake up then...but honestly I doubt it.

BTW, cant remember the last time when THAILAND made a positive headline somewhere in the world. :jap:

[khaowong1]

Interesting all the trouble we have had this year and we get 15.7 million tourists.

Forecast for next year 15.5 million.

Wonder where the 200,000 tourists they are predicting we will lose are going.

Wonder if they know something we don't know.

I really don't know about numbers but here in Chiang Mai the Night Bazaar is the busiest I have seen it in a long time. (Three years)

I would guess,...unless your an expert on Thai tourism and the economy, working for the Thai government, and with access to all the data they have....they probably know quite a lot we don't know.

and my guess is, the tourism bureaus just makes these numbers up..

[OZinBKK]

Fatties get counted twice and if they think your pregnant they assume it's octoplits.

But all in all I hope it's true - more the merrier.

[hardy1943]

At least in Thailand, Thai nationals own 51% of the business.

and 95% out of this 51 are Chinese Thai and the shops where they HAVE to buy, the hotels where they HAVE to sleep and the restaurants where they HAVE to eat are owned 100% by some Chinese bigheads.

All in all the Chinese are making good money out of the tourism while the normal Thais make nothing at all out of the Chinese groups. But who wonders in a country ruled by Chinesethais? I just wonder why still some ppl here doesnt understand the reds and think the yellows are better.

You hit the nail on the head. You not supposed to tell everyone that the Chinesethai been running and owning this country for centuries.

[truethailand]

I know a guy who replies to english emails for a hotel (only bcos the thais delete them) and he said last December he took over 60 bookings, this December he has taken four upto today. Who are these plonkers kidding. Thailand, for now, is in the toilet and guess what, look forward 1 year and I can only see it getting a lot worse

[jayjay0]

Some one should to wake up Minister of TAT or to say to him to don't lie.

Obviously TAT believe in saying of Joseph Goebbels: "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth."

Thai hospitality is very questionable. Why? Simply because it is not well enough to have just a smile(if so at all) so to conclude about hospitality.

If nothing else, that can not be the main reason to attract tourists, Minister of TAT should to know.

Next, assupport to TATA, synchronized acting and good interaction between 2 Ministers(TATA and Immigration) would be very nice to see and could give some very good results.

This way-no way...

P.S.

Several friends left Thailand. They left families here, because of complicated procedures in Immigration which made them feel like some backpackers. So they left.

Minister, TAT, should to say how many people, foreign residents, left. That number could be the key for problem.

Can you explain more about complicated procedures in Immigration. Making them feel like back packers. Maybe I have been spoiled I live in Chiang Mai and have heard people say it is the best. I don't know.

How can any one stay here long enough to have a family and not understand the visa system. I dislike it but it is only a short time out of my day every 90 days and a bit more once a year..

Maybe I misunderstood you and you meant complicated procedures in Immigration in your home country. I know the States and Canada are not only long and complicated they are hit and miss. I have heard of cases where immigration in the states turned a tourist from Lao around and sent her back even though she had a visa obtained through the consulate.

[jayjay0]

Close friend of me and wife had a booth at the CM Night Bazaar. She had to shut it down because she was losing money every day she was open. Also know of 2 others there who had to do the same.

Have another friend who is manager of the massage facilities at a 5-Star. She told my wife today that they have almost no customers, and what few tour groups they get in are "Cheepo Charlies" who act like you're trying to rob them if they have to give the massage girl more than 10baht for tip. And some feel like they don't have to tip at all because the price of the massage is included in their tour package. They used to have 8-9 girls working all the time. Now they have 3.

Half of that hotel has been closed down to try and save money, but they are just barely able to pay the electric bill for the half that's open, and some employees haven't been paid in a couple of months.

Yeah, TAT, tell us another joke.

I live here in Chiang Mai in the Night Bazaar area. What you say was true. I couldent believe the number of stalls that were shut down. But now I see more tourists than in the last three years.

The difference being they don't spend like they did before.A friend of mine with a book store told me they are a different type now. A lot less family people and a lot more back packers. Hense the vacancy in the up scale hotels.

I am not sure of the numbers but when you compare them to other years they look hopeful. When they compare the numbers they use the same sources as every other year.

People are being led down the garden path by those who would for one reason or another criticize Thailand every chance they get.

Tourists are down because the world is in or coming out of a depression and people don't have the disposable cash they had five years ago.

Also as much as a lot of people would like to deny it Thailand is doing very good. Hence there money is worth a lot more today than it was five years ago. And yes the red and yellow shirts have hurt the tourist industry.

[sirchai]

Yes, and one of the tourists was Elvis

Chinese travellers have maintained their position as the highest tourist figure entering the country. As a result, the TAT governor said his organisation will stimulate more mid-scale and high-end Chinese tourists to visit Thailand, followed by Scandinavian tourists to stay in Thailand longer due to their high purchasing power.

Don't forget Mao Tse Tung!!

What's a high-end Chinese? Stoned? Scandinavians got their high purchasing power? What's wrong with this unbelievable report? :jap:

[charmonman]

Pray, tell me where are all these tourists staying? All my clients from the hotel trade including 5 star to 2 star entities are complaining of the worst occupancy rates that they have seen...these includes hotels in Bangkok, Hua Hin,Phuket, Hadyai, etc.

On Sukhumvit Road at least, there have been quite a few new hotels opened in the last few years. Perhaps oversupply is contributing to low occupancy rather than a lack of tourists? Also, I surmise that an increasingly large portion of foreign arrivals are Chinese on package tours and tend to be concentrated in a relatively small number of places.

Personally, I think 15 million tourists is enough. Thailand is already overexposed. Here in Canada it seems everybody and their brother have been to Thailand. With so many tourists, Thai people have become jaded, increasingly rude, and the slogan "Land of Smiles" is now really just that - a slogan. To be fair, Thailand is no worse than most places in that regard, but it used to be so much better.

[simon43]

Maybe all those missing tourists are staying at my hotel??

Let's see - 100% full tonight, full tomorrow, full .... ah wait, there is a room available on 4th January, but absolutely fully booked up from now until that date.

There are tourists in Phuket, but I guess that many of the hotels do not seem to know how to attract their custom.

I'm available for consultancy

Simon

[sydneyjed]

Well maybe you should put your hat into the ring Simon for TAT then as you are obviously doing something right,as many others aren't right now!On a wider scale of things it's seems like the rest of the tourism industry is lacking any real leadership business model/plan qualities right now.Again just standing back and hoping/thinking that punters are just going to come back year in year out just isn't good enough anymore!The question is does anybody in TAT have the lateral thinking and business know how to stimulate Thai tourism and make these decisions?Obviously not if phoney reports like this keep resurfacing every few months!Flying back to Sydney 2 weeks back the Thai airways flight I was on had only a 1/3 seating occupancy..a worry!

Edited December 18, 2010 by sydneyjed

[elektrified]

Third visit in 17 mths, 90 days this time. Bangkok super, getss better each time I come - weather great just now, same as Auckland was yesterday.

Come on. You come from a beautiful place like New Zealand and call Bangkok super? Maybe check out some of the really beautiful places in Thailand!

[Kruzon]

Nice bunch of numbers. Perhaps your follow up article will compare these numbers to the same time frame over the past five years. Which then shows where tourism is at. Second if the source wasn't a Thai source but say the hotel association numbers they would have more reality to them. We all know Thai's avoid negative reality and are known to fudge things to look better than they are which makes any Thai reports suspect at best.

:blink:

[SantiSuk]

Bangkok seemed extremely busy over the last few days. Nana area stuffed full of falang like I have not seen since a New Year 4 years ago. MBK full of falang shopping like there's no tomorrow. My Nana hotel was not quite full but as someone said there are is a hell of a lot of new accommodation around. I have stayed in four hotels in Suk area this year that did not exist 4 years ago.

I expect the majority of TVers will continue to claim tourist armageddon until the day they die. Not sure what their motivation is. I too wish that Thailand were an undiscovered gem and all the girls were there just for me, but wishing it aint going to make it happen

[philhal2]

The main reasons why Thailand is still on travellers' destination lists is their impression of Thai hospitality and services along with the country's landscapes and natural resources in different regions.

Surely, they can do better than that?

I believe that the principal reason why tourists are still coming is that the large multinationals and some of the major Thai hotel investors have put together some attractive packages. This means reducing some of the tour package costs. I don't know if anyone subscribes to the Nok Air emails, but just this week, Nok was offering some attractive package deals for Chiang Mai and Phuket. Strategic marketing and business analysis.

Hospitality? Sorry, but the Thai resorts are not any better than other resorts. You get what you pay for. It's no better and no worse than elsewhere.

Services? Is that a polite term for entertainment zone companions?

Country's landscapes? Please. Deforestation, pollution & overdevelopment have made some of Thailand's gems no different than other tourist destinaions.

Natural resources? Ummm yea, ok.

Give credit where credit is due. Many of the tourist industry players scrambled to keep people coming and they sharpened their pencils, charmed some of the tour vendors and worked hard to get those numbers.