Deficit To Worsen Without Tourists’ Return

[womble]

Thailand's current account deficit may worsen this year if tourists don't return to the country's resorts in the peak season beginning in October, the Asian Development Bank said.

“Tourism is important for Thailand to reduce its current account deficit,'' Jean-Pierre Verbiest, Thailand country director for the Asian Development Bank, pictured, said in an interview in Bangkok today. “The current account will come under pressure if the tourists don't come back to Thailand as fast as expected.''

Thailand's economic growth rate slowed in the first half of this year to 3.9 percent from a year earlier after expanding 6.1 percent in 2004 as overseas visitors stayed away following last December's tsunami. Hotel and airline bookings for the country's biggest beach resort, Phuket, were down 70 percent in the year through to June.

The December 26 tsunami killed about 5,400 along the country's southwest coast, half of them foreign visitors. The losses to Thailand's tourism industry from the natural disaster may be as much as 50 billion baht ($1.2 billion), 52 percent higher than the government had expected, Juthamas Siriwan, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said in July.

The October to December period is Thailand's peak tourism season as European tourists seek warmer climate from their winter.

Visitor spending on the island of Phuket fell 30 percent in the seven months following the tsunami, according to a study by Visa International Asia and Pacific Asia Travel Association released in July.

Direct foreign air arrivals plunged 67 percent in the first half of 2005, and total air arrivals in Phuket were down 42 percent, according to the study by Visa International Asia and the Pacific Asia Travel Association, or PATA, a group representing state tourism boards and travel companies including airlines.

Thailand will probably have a current account surplus in the second half, from a deficit in the first, on rising exports, Atchana Waiquamdee, the central bank's assistant governor, said yesterday.

Southeast Asia's second-largest economy reported a $6.4 billion current account deficit in the first seven months of this year, compared with a surplus of $3.4 billion a year earlier.

Bloomberg

[womble]

Casino's are a great way to bring in Tourists, they should ahve them in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Hua Hin etc. But I can't see them being very successful if they have to close at 1am, and can't serve alcohol at certain times.

If they want to get tourists back quickly, the first thing they should do is zone tourist areas, let them stay open till 4am, even 6am, look at singapore and Malaysia, they are going forwards, Thailand will loose many tourists in the next few years if they don't zone the tourist areas.

And testing in clubs frequented by tourists is ludicrous, this news is all around the world now, and putting off many respectable prople who would never dream of indulging in drugs.

It's not much fun if you can't have a bottle of wine with your lunchtime meal, then when you go out at night you have to pee into a bottle before being sent to bed at 1am.

The crazy thing is we all know places that stay open all night, but these are for locals mainly, not tourists.

[think_too_mut]

I have returned 5 times this year, going again in October and December. On touristy things my spendings were about 1000US$ per trip, paid directly to Thai hotelliers and others in food chain.

Could have been double had I flown Thai Airways. That won't happen until they start sending better (newer) planes my way.

Altogether, my contribution is in the range of 25+K US$ per year.

I've done my bit to help their balance sheet.

[opothai]

when my friends started coming to thailand in 2000, we were 7 in number.

we all fell in love with the golf, girls, and easy way of life. in 2000 their were 21 individual trips between us, the following year even more, then as the rules changed ie bars closing earlier, we were less in numbers, then their were the fines,no helmets and car fines for no reason, 2 of the lads have been robbed, one has been involved in an altercation, any way this year to date their have been 4 individual trips and this has nothing to do with the tsunami as we never visited phucket, now times this by the number of visitors back in 2000 and others looking at the same as us it is not rocket science to work out why the visitors are dwinling.

it is about time people stopped using the tsunami [although a grave tragedy] as the only reason tourism is down.

corruption-stupid drinking laws-TOXIN

[womble]

Might I also add that a huge problem in Phuket and Samui is the rip off Taxi's and their bad attitudes. Chaweng and Patong could clear their traffic problems overnight if the taxi's were banned from continually driving up and down looking for customers. Most of these taxi's and songtaews are epmty, they are wasting so much fuel.

They should restrict the numbers, and make them use meters, I know many tourists who bitterly complain about the way they are treated by the taxi drivers. These are the first and last people you meet in the country, it really is important these issues are sorted, tourists are already voting with their feet.

Yes they can only use the Tsunami as an excuse for so long, I wonder how long it will be until they open their eyes and see the real reason why people arn't returning is because they are fed up with being treated like kids, and being ripped off, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam only stand to gain from the current government policies.

What a shame!

[think_too_mut]

when my friends started coming to thailand in 2000, we were 7 in number.

we all fell in love with the golf, girls, and easy way of life. in 2000 their were 21 individual trips between us, the following year even more, then as the rules changed ie bars closing earlier, we were less in numbers, then their were the fines,no  helmets and car fines for no reason, 2 of the lads have been robbed, one has been involved in an altercation, any way this year to date their have been 4 individual trips and this has nothing to do with the tsunami as we never visited phucket, now times this by the number of visitors back in 2000 and others looking at the same as us it is not rocket science to work out why the visitors are dwinling.

  it is about time people stopped using the tsunami [although a grave tragedy] as the only reason tourism is down.

corruption-stupid drinking laws-TOXIN

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For me, I have no interest in bars and girls and nightlife. Still, 25K US$ a year per returning individual is something they (Thais) would want to see more of.

Before somebody asks where my money goes, it's my gf and our baby that consume most of it and it comes in hard currency.

What did Thailand do for that? Warm weather came from the God, the rest is just run of the mill and they even lost my airline ticket fares due to bad Thai Airways planes.

Opothai is right IMO although I share no same interests with him/her.

Out of 10 million people who visited Thailand in 2000, about 7 million were single men.

Getting them to pee in an epruvette while on holidays is a set back. Designate (just make it official) the zones where they would feel comfortable and let the power of Thai women sort out the rest.

Only Buriram area has seen about 3000 houses built by farang money.

"Once in lifetime" family tourists they want more of would spend nothing compared to those hooked up. Myself included.