Rawai Area A Ghost Town, How Is Kata, Karon, Patong This High Season?

[BillR]

Seems the high season is basically over. My 3rd one here and never seen it so bad in the Rawai area as far as restaurants and bars go. Some bars lasted all of 2 months and are now for rent. How is Kata area and patong? Ive heard they were pretty dead too but haven't been to see for myself.

Of course, most business owners won't admit they're hurting but the writing is on the wall.

Thoughts?

[stevenl]

Yes, it is quiet.

For Rawai though I don't agree with you, I think there are more people in Rawai than in previous years, either just for the day or in accommodation. I just feel there are more bars, and with (maybe) a few more people that is not enough to accommodate all the venues, so some/most will suffer.

[amyb]

Yes, it is quiet.

For Rawai though I don't agree with you, I think there are more people in Rawai than in previous years, either just for the day or in accommodation. I just feel there are more bars, and with (maybe) a few more people that is not enough to accommodate all the venues, so some/most will suffer.

i agree with stevenl on this one.

this high season is very, very quiet. i work in the hospitality & tourism industry, and our occupancy numbers in the hotel are shockingly low. however, i feel that rawai/nai harn have a lot of foot traffic going through--both nai harn and ya nui beach have been very busy on the weekends. many of my favorite local restaurants are packed most nights, and so are some of my favorite watering holes.

i think if you drive around, you could very well get the feeling that there was no one around, and that i feel is due to excess development and a new bar, shop house or restaurant opening every other day...the new places aren't busy, or have few customers and that's why it may seem no one is around.

i was in kata on monday evening and it was busy---beach road was busy, lots of tourists wandering around and capaninna had a full house.

[LivinLOS]

More people, but even more wannabe business owners setting up shop in high competition business, spreading the customer base ever thinner.

Larger pie but smaller slices.

[LivinginKata]

More people, but even more wannabe business owners setting up shop in high competition business, spreading the customer base ever thinner.

Larger pie but smaller slices.

Yes, I would agree. The cake is not really getting bigger any more, just more and more businesses taking smaller slices. I know 2 long time restuarant owners and 2 bar owners in Patong just gave up when their 3 year leases expired, owner wanted big big key money increase and these guys were struggling already.

[ScubaBuddha]

The beaches are packed, but they are all hotel-beach-hotel type tourists. Not spending much money or getting out of the hotel much.

[barney42bb]

Yes, it is quiet.

For Rawai though I don't agree with you, I think there are more people in Rawai than in previous years, either just for the day or in accommodation. I just feel there are more bars, and with (maybe) a few more people that is not enough to accommodate all the venues, so some/most will suffer.

Quiet in Patayya also...but business pretty good...as they have a far better business accumen than the greed culture of Phuket.

Fortunately here...they have adjusted accordingly with the world recession...and do more to accommodate the ailing tourist with weak currrency exchange.

Phuket would do well to take a good look here...and adjust their prices accordingly...Then they may attract some past frequent visitors that have given up...or found it too expensive to dwell there.

[KarenBravo]

At last! At last!

A semi-interesting thread on the Phuket forum.

Thank-you, thank-you BillR.

Agree with everyone else. About the same number of tourists as last year, but, far more businesses competing for them.

[madmitch]

The high season in Karon took a while to get going, basically from Christmas Eve. Room occupancy rates now seem pretty high but definitely fewer people in the restaurants and bars than in previous years.

[snamos]

Good, hopefully the prices will come down to normal levels. More competition is better for the punters....as thats what Phuket is all about...keeping the visitors happy.

[BillR]

as a side note, and as maybe an indication of the world's economic woes, Ive had several customers at one of my businesses (not bar, restaurant) ask if we take credit cards, where in years past, never.

[stevenl]

as a side note, and as maybe an indication of the world's economic woes, Ive had several customers at one of my businesses (not bar, restaurant) ask if we take credit cards, where in years past, never.

I won't speculate about the reason of it, but I also have had more payments by credit card than in recent years.

[woodyleonhard]

We're very busy in Patong and Chalong. Cherng Talay isn't quite as packed, although Christmas/New Year in all of our shops was wall-to-wall.

Getting more long-term foreigners in Patong than before - staying for two or three months or more.

The beach in Patong is packed, too, as long as the weather's good.

[CMFubar]

this is my first high season in rawai but i'm not sure nai harn could get any more packed than it has been on some days..

not enough of a long termer to really speculate on other stuff, but if there's not an oversupply of bars, i think the area would be quite frightening in a busy high season =p

[katabeachbum]

At last! At last!

A semi-interesting thread on the Phuket forum.

Thank-you, thank-you BillR.

Agree with everyone else. About the same number of tourists as last year, but, far more businesses competing for them.

large increase in middle east and huge increase in russians, but both groups spend less outside hotel

in addition Scandinavians and other returning guests are here on the same budget in home currency, having 20-40% less baht to spend.

[katabeachbum]

as a side note, and as maybe an indication of the world's economic woes, Ive had several customers at one of my businesses (not bar, restaurant) ask if we take credit cards, where in years past, never.

I won't speculate about the reason of it, but I also have had more payments by credit card than in recent years.

150 baht ATM fee on foreign debet cards?

[HDRIDER]

I saw a newspaper from Europe say in the travel section, why go to Phuket when you can get it for half the price in Pattaya, this was for younger people they pointed out, people who go out every night.

[Valentine]

large increase in middle east and huge increase in russians, but both groups spend less outside hotel

in addition Scandinavians and other returning guests are here on the same budget in home currency, having 20-40% less baht to spend.

I think places like Central do well out of the middle east & Russian market. If you look at a cross section of tourists in Central I think you will find the Russians are by far the largest segment yet I read on another thread they are making it hard for Russian tourist guides to work here. I realise jobs should go to Thais wherever possible but would venture to suggest Russain speaking Thai tour guides are few & far between. Surely it would be a better idea to allow as many Russian tourist guides, in the interim until there are enough qualified Thais, to handle this large influx.

I agree with KB in that the Phuket forum has been rather boring of late.

[barka]

At last! At last!

A semi-interesting thread on the Phuket forum.

Thank-you, thank-you BillR.

Agree with everyone else. About the same number of tourists as last year, but, far more businesses competing for them.

I agree K B even the... LIARS... are telling the TRUTH...

[katabeachbum]

large increase in middle east and huge increase in russians, but both groups spend less outside hotel

in addition Scandinavians and other returning guests are here on the same budget in home currency, having 20-40% less baht to spend.

I think places like Central do well out of the middle east & Russian market. If you look at a cross section of tourists in Central I think you will find the Russians are by far the largest segment yet I read on another thread they are making it hard for Russian tourist guides to work here. I realise jobs should go to Thais wherever possible but would venture to suggest Russain speaking Thai tour guides are few & far between. Surely it would be a better idea to allow as many Russian tourist guides, in the interim until there are enough qualified Thais, to handle this large influx.

agree, both Russians and middle east spend much in Central and Jungceylon, but not much at nightlife. This years Russians do not come with cases of dollars like they used to tho. Serviced Apartments at 25k month is not affordable to many of them

denying russian to be tourguides seems silly as long as no thais want to speak russian

[LivinLOS]

Good, hopefully the prices will come down to normal levels. More competition is better for the punters....as thats what Phuket is all about...keeping the visitors happy.

As a non business owner, merely looking in from the outside.. It seems to me that the businesses themselves are not in much position to lower prices and cut costs. Its not like they are rolling in profits, the added grease of ever higher high tea money payments, of tighter application of work laws and more demanded taxes, things like additional licenses, combined with exponential costs of leases and key money simply creates such a cost structure that the pricing is almost inevitable.

The entrenched powers, the or bor tors, the land holders, and police payments are driving the inflated prices, not greed local businesses making too much margin.

[starkey_rich]

At last! At last!

A semi-interesting thread on the Phuket forum.

Thank-you, thank-you BillR.

Agree with everyone else. About the same number of tourists as last year, but, far more businesses competing for them.

I agree K B even the... LIARS... are telling the TRUTH...

Agree.Let's get another what colour Flip Flop's do you wear thread going again.

Sorry went off topic there a bit.

Look's like another slap on the wrist coming up

[keestha]

Picture painted above also applies for up and coming Khao Lak. Number of tourists not so bad, but for the continiously expanding number of restaurants, bars, diving schools, tourcounters, tailor shops and massage parlours pickings are getting meager.

[amyb]

large increase in middle east and huge increase in russians, but both groups spend less outside hotel

in addition Scandinavians and other returning guests are here on the same budget in home currency, having 20-40% less baht to spend.

I think places like Central do well out of the middle east & Russian market. If you look at a cross section of tourists in Central I think you will find the Russians are by far the largest segment yet I read on another thread they are making it hard for Russian tourist guides to work here. I realise jobs should go to Thais wherever possible but would venture to suggest Russain speaking Thai tour guides are few & far between. Surely it would be a better idea to allow as many Russian tourist guides, in the interim until there are enough qualified Thais, to handle this large influx.

agree, both Russians and middle east spend much in Central and Jungceylon, but not much at nightlife. This years Russians do not come with cases of dollars like they used to tho. Serviced Apartments at 25k month is not affordable to many of them

denying russian to be tourguides seems silly as long as no thais want to speak russian

i know 7 thais who are 100% fluent in russian...three of them work in the tour business, two in a hotel and the other two sell property. don't be so quick to judge the thais--there are a lot more of them speaking and studying russian than you might believe.

[katabeachbum]

large increase in middle east and huge increase in russians, but both groups spend less outside hotel

in addition Scandinavians and other returning guests are here on the same budget in home currency, having 20-40% less baht to spend.

I think places like Central do well out of the middle east & Russian market. If you look at a cross section of tourists in Central I think you will find the Russians are by far the largest segment yet I read on another thread they are making it hard for Russian tourist guides to work here. I realise jobs should go to Thais wherever possible but would venture to suggest Russain speaking Thai tour guides are few & far between. Surely it would be a better idea to allow as many Russian tourist guides, in the interim until there are enough qualified Thais, to handle this large influx.

agree, both Russians and middle east spend much in Central and Jungceylon, but not much at nightlife. This years Russians do not come with cases of dollars like they used to tho. Serviced Apartments at 25k month is not affordable to many of them

denying russian to be tourguides seems silly as long as no thais want to speak russian

i know 7 thais who are 100% fluent in russian...three of them work in the tour business, two in a hotel and the other two sell property. don't be so quick to judge the thais--there are a lot more of them speaking and studying russian than you might believe.

I am in no way judging Thais, but the fact is there are to few Thais speaking russian wanting to work as tour guides, compared to how many needed. As long as this continues, russians with workpermit should be allowed to cover the needs, to make russians returning tourists. Most russian couples here, at least one of them do not understand english.

In addition Thailand has just stated the country and educational system is not ready for a 2nd language (english) to be taught properly to all students, so getting up the volume on foreign language speaking guides will take some time.

As long as foreign guides on work permit minimum salary is 50.000 baht, it shouldnt be diffcult for the Thais who want and qualify for these jobs to compete.

I know several Thai nationals working as guides in several languages, and they are in general much better guides as they know the culture and can spice it up with Thai language and history

[BillR]

I agree a lot of thais speak fluent russian, one of my thai staff is a former tour guide and he confirms this. But the fact remains that people are being told not to use the thai tour guides, because their whole job is to basically shuffle you from place to place where they get the highest commission, which is the rip off part of it. The thais know its a rip off, they know its bad for tourism to do this, but unfortunately they don't know how to do it any other way.

The downfall of this, in my opinion, is tourists and people who live here are pre-conditioned to hold tightly on to their cash and mostly assume that there might be a rip off built in somewhere to whatever they're doing.

Edited January 28, 2011 by BillR

[katabeachbum]

I agree a lot of thais speak fluent russian, one of my thai staff is a former tour guide and he confirms this. But the fact remains that people are being told not to use the thai tour guides, because their whole job is to basically shuffle you from place to place where they get the highest commission, which is the rip off part of it. The thais know its a rip off, they know its bad for tourism to do this, but unfortunately they don't know how to do it any other way.

The downfall of this, in my opinion, is tourists and people who live here are pre-conditioned to hold tightly on to their cash and mostly assume that there might be a rip off built in somewhere to whatever their doing.

and what makes you think the russian and scandinavian tour guides do not get 30-40% commision on all turn over they bring in to the gem shops? or the tailors........ or the restaurants...................

some of them even get commision from the taxis............................

[stoneyboy]

Seems to me last time i was in Rawai that there were actually more expats there than tourists,something that some people myself included tend to have a dislike of,its something to come all the way to Thailand on holiday in search of relaxation and rest only to come here and find ones self surrounded by Londoners who frequent the same bars daily/weekly/yearly, its a little boring to be fair.

Edited January 28, 2011 by stoneyboy

[BillR]

KBB, Im not denying that fact, of course they get commissioned, I was referencing the russian tour guides, where it was reported that they were being told to stay away from the thai guides as they would be (allegedly) ripped off.

[barka]

The Russians are following the style of the Koreans..tours..only they will end up far worse they are more agresive..you can even see this when they go shopping...i have just experianced some thing i.have not seen before..about a week ago i was waiting for a lift by the BAKE shop opposite WAT CHALONG....next door is a tourist type shop[LATEX] SHOP.. OUTSIDE 5 MINIBUSES....I walked inside ...i could not beleive my eyes..there were about 60 RUSSIANS lying on beds ..male and female using mobile phone chatting etc...there was this big Russian guy COVERED IN GOLD AND ROLEX...I was aproached by a Russian lady who spoke perfect English..given a piece of paper printed in Russian with a menu on and asked if i wanted to come on there TOUR..I DECLINED..

I went outside were i started chatting to the minibus drivers and 2 thai guides..i recognised some of them and they knew me..they tolld me they take them around the Island from one similar type of place to another and finally back to there hotel......YOU CAN NOW SEE THE INCREASE IN RUSSIANS around RAWAI CHALONG ETC....But there are 2 types of Russian tourists the rich and the package deal tourist...wether this is going to be good or bad for Phuket.. only time will tell...personally.. I DONT THINK SO...