High Season, Touristic Season

[francois]

As far as people remember, (source from Thai friends)

they had never seen such a low season at the time that streets should be full of people, and bars, restaurants too, there are a real few to work properly, and most of them are "old" place here for so long time that they are part of the visiting places, like a few restaurant in Chiang Mai ...

I have been in BKK for a couple of days, and what I saw was the same, tourists, but far to be be a lot of them ... same as in the north, a friend of mine is living in Pattaya, he said to me, the streets are looking like a desert if you compare to last year ...

what' happening?

some guys that I know, told me, that they did not take a visa from europe, (too expensive), they got one at the airport!

bar closing at 2am, now talking about midnight, even in Pattaya ... some talk about 10pm ... is Thailand going for a suicide?

everyone I met the past days told me the same, "it's over" ... disgusted by the situation ...

we all say, someone on the top is acting like a fool ... but it's just an opinion.

we would like to see the real results of this season, how much did they loose?

or how are they going to hide such a failure?

anyone have an idea?

francois

[marquess]

The gov,don't really care, as long as they can impose their "Social Order Campaign" The present gov seems to be more intent than previous ones, at wanting to treat people like sheep. Sad thing is that they themselves are allowing it.

[Doi Thong]

Very true...even Phuket looks bad this year.Less farang,more Chinese,cheap packages etc...Hmmm so it's not the SARS and war and all the bullshit of this year,the things are changing...:-(

[TRIPxCORE]

I would have to say that I would actually be quite pleased if there were LESS people in Thailand. There are enough already as we all know so I cant see any problem with it. On the other hand, I haven't seen any evidence of this. Compared with when I first started going to LOS, there are many more farang now enjoying Thailand. Only reason I guess at is because of Survivor TV shows and Leonardo DiCaprio movies making the place more noticable.

[maerim]

Re Tripxcore would like to see less people in Thailand.

It looks like Meechai's campaign for condom use is working then.

Sounds to me like, just enough of me a little too much of you and I can just see the hi-end (whatever that means) tourists being thrilled to bits on a diet of raw shellfish and living in a bamboo shelter for two weeks and don't forget the factor 15 sun block cream.

[HonoluluJimmy]

3Xcore,

I can think of many reasons for a good high season.. Myself, Not having to run from the <deleted> weather at one's home I get to shuffel my visits across the annum.. I do avoid the Nov,Dec, Jan zone as seeing the amatures run amock over a wonderful little slice of planet earth. These people need money and we sanookers bring baht.

So I would hope that things go well, even thought reports indicate eslewise, my heart goes out to the Darling of Thailand. I hope they have a great high season!

I'll be making that high a little higher soon enough!

[maerim]

I'll be making that high a little higher soon enough!

Be extremely careful at customs as you know the penalties for importing good weed here!

Higher and higher.

[monitorlizard]

I was just in the South and I noticed that the tourist population was very mixed at different locations. My friends and I sailed to Raliegh Beach (expensive rooms all full 1200-2000 baht per night and cheap rooms with fan, no mos net, 700 baht had vacancies). Later we spent a night at PPDon and I noticed a much smaller crowd of Swedes. The island was quite pleasant for a change. I did notice that Ao Nang and Krabi Town was empty. I saw a few people with island info hitting the downtown streets (not the pier area) which is a bit unusual.

Personally, I hope the cheap bamboo resorts (150 -400 baht a night) go out of business. My favorite island (sorry no name given) grew from 3 resorts to over 10 these last 4 years. I think this causes great environmental damage. I pray that my island will return to the good 'ol days of being an island of fishing villages. Sorry to say but I think the backpackers cause more damage than good. There is an excellant book written about the harm and damage by backpackers to cultures all over the world.....I wish I could remember the title and author. Anyway, the author made the point that backpackers are killing local culture with their McDonalds or Starbucks franchise mentality of cheap places and cheap eats. The point is that backpacker areas in Nepal, India, Thailand, Africa, Latin America all serve the same western menus and all look/feel the same. So sad.............

I am so happy that Bhutan put up the no entry sign for backpackers! I wish Laos and other places start before the damage becomes too great.

I will be happy to see less drunk people at night crowding bars with music blaring and hordes of people watching a video during the day on beautiful islands in the south.

[sbk]

OH right, like high-end tourists don't get drunk and obnoxious?? Of course not, high end means high class, right?? Please, I would rather have backpackers than sex tourists with money any day.

[maerim]

Anyway, the author made the point that backpackers are killing local culture with their McDonalds or Starbucks franchise mentality of cheap places and cheap eats.

I don't get this, as a franchise for one of these gastronomical delights is many millions of baht.

What are you trying to say? that backpcakers are the cause of these eating disasters?

I would put point the finger in the general direction of corporate America the origin of these cheap labour,high fat,high salt outlets of quality cuisine.

Som tam anyone?

[taxexile]

many negative stories in the european press,tv and on websites about thailand, the perception that thailand is no longer the "cool" destination it once was because everybody has been there by now,its not so cheap anymore for a tourist, its too crowded,too many rip-offs,too many disappointments for westerners expecting western standards,people not really as friendly as we have been led to believe,sex tourism image,rising crime rates,yobbish and drunken behaviour around entertainment areas,bad reports from returning holidaymakers,travellers etc.,the opening up of new s.e.asian destinations that are relatively "unspoiled" and "starbucks free", i.e. more exotic to the western eye.

these i believe are some of the reasons why euro- tourists are starting to look elsewhere for their trips.

thailand has been done to death.and then some.

it needs to "re-brand" as the marketing men would say.

as thailand becomes more western,it becomes less attractive to those who seek the exotic asian destination.

it will become a stopover for those on their way to cambodia,laos,burma,vietnam,until those countries become too western.

[Guest IT Manager]

I would like to quote number 2 son... after a feed at McDonalds, like 20 minutes after "Papa where are we having dinner?"

Said it all for me.

BTW most city location hotels in CM are running between 93 and 97% occupancy... low sort of high season, not IMHO.

Just a thought

[Georgie-Porgie]

What is BTW?

What is IMHO?

[Axel]

What is BTW?

What is IMHO?

What is BTW? Try Bangkok Toll Way

What is IMHO? Immigration Head office?

By the way (BTW) In my humble opinion (IMHO) I am just joking

[p1p]

IT-M I accept your figures for hotel occupancy, but I would be interested in a breakdown by nationality/indipendant or group tourist or business related travel etc.

I have been visiting a few hotels recently and been surprised at the high number of Thais holidaying in Chiang Mai. Also seen a lot of other Asian tourists.

It seems Toxin Shinybut's idea to promote CM to Thai tourists is working, the pandas etc. are a great draw.

However in my street there are many businesses for sale and at least two that changed hands in the last two months are on the market again.

I thank the spirits that my business is well known and we are not as dead as others. Down on last year?? Yes.....

[TizMe]

Any one heard how neighbouring countries are doing during the high season?

The Malaysian currency is tied to the US dollar, so it has become relatively more cheaper as a tourist destination.

I guess that some (maybe even most) other neighbouring countries are also tied to the US.

[monitorlizard]

what I mean by the McDonalds and Starbucks mentality is that like backpackers they are creating franchises all over the world. You go to one McDonalds anywhere in tthe world and it is the same. It is the same for a backpacker place....you can be in Katmandu, Koh Sand Road, etc, etc, and you will find the packaged franchise of cheap lodging, restaurants serving muslei and yohurt, burgers, etc, and a group of 30-40 backpackers watching a video. I sometimes wonder if the videos shown are on a schedule. Monday in Calcutta is "The Beach", Tuesday in Katmandu is "MIssion Impossible", etc.

I find that when I go to an island in the south, I like most other people like peace and quiet. Why bother to come in the first place if you want to get wasted and listen to "Hotel California" on the highest volume possible? I was just pointing out that PPDOn seems to be less populated by Swedes who are bent on getting drunk out of their minds. I use to live in Sverige and the booze at systembolget is very expensive! Just a fact.

Anyway, I am just pointing out that I rather like the islands quiet and without the hum of overworked generators. Yes, I agree that the backpackers are looking for a more exotic place to ruin. The expansion continues. Our only hope is for more countries to adopt the policy of Bhutan and bar backpackers looking for cheap places to get drunk, stoned, and munch out. And take lots of pictures at the exotic culture to show to your friends back home.

Note that I do make a distinction between travelers and backpackers. It has nothing to do with how much money is in your pocket. Its about taking a bath, respecting other people's culture, and not frying your brains out on booze and drugs.

I know it is a very hard concept to accept that McDonalds and middle class backpackers (experiencing the novelty of self-imposed poverty) are the same destructive force that are hellbent on making everywhere bland with "sameness".

Anyway, I prefer Burger King.

Enjoy life, its not how much you have in your wallet but in your heart!

[joinme2leave]

just have a look on airline ticket rates nowadays...

my last LOS trip (june 2003) was EUR 350,00++ on LaudaAir (Austrian Airlines). Tried to book again for either nov this or mar next year. IMPOSSIBLE under EUR 700,00 now!!!! Reason is that airliners did reduce their continental european destination) ticket prices due to cheap carriers such as RyanAir and others. As there is far less competition on long distance travel rates increased to dble price. And - as far as I have heard from several travel agents - prices will increase EVEN MORE the coming year. Maybe we should consider swimming to asia soon?

[PvtDick]

I bet less than 1% of tourists visiting Thailand can even name the Thai Prime Minister or anything he's done. If there's fewer of any single type of tourist this year, it's sex tourists -- in other words, exactly the people who Taksin hoped to get rid of -- and without whom the Thai people will be much better off in the long run.

[HonoluluJimmy]

Ditto the above not to mention that Puritanical was too much for even TITT.

[eric1000]

I have been in BKK for a couple of days, and what I saw was the same, tourists, but far to be be a lot of them ... same as in the north, a friend of mine is living in Pattaya, he said to me, the streets are looking like a desert if you compare to last year ...

what' happening?

some guys that I know, told me, that they did not take a visa from europe, (too expensive), they got one at the airport!

bar closing at 2am, now talking about midnight, even in Pattaya ... some talk about 10pm ... is Thailand going for a suicide?

everyone I met the past days told me the same, "it's over" ... disgusted by the situation ...

we all say, someone on the top is acting like a fool ... but it's just an opinion.

we would like to see the real results of this season, how much did they loose?

or how are they going to hide such a failure?

anyone have an idea?

francois

you cannot get the flights nowadays , i used to book up 4 months ahead for a xmas flight ,now i would need to bookup 6-9 months ahead for xmas. then there is the flight prices - they go thru the roof at this time of year.

many of those on the xmas flights (Thai) are thais going home for xmas which leaves no room for tourists.

on qantas they are full of aussies going all the way home for xmas .

prolly the same on EVA with taiwanese going home for xmas .

their are heaps of asian students in europe these days learning english and they all want to go home for xmas . ] there has been an explosion of them in the last ten years .

earlier this year in february just as a matter of interest i rang a major ticket agency to see about seats for this xmas . most of the plane was booked already on Thai and BA !!! 10 months ahead !! (Lon-Bkk)

also qantas and BA have their own tour agencies that block book seats for their package tours , so these guys are on guided tours around the realm.

[The_Moog]

PDick

Don't know if I can name too much that the PM has actually DONE.

...he may have talked a lot about doing things though.

[Guest IT Manager]

IT-M I accept your figures for hotel occupancy, but I would be interested in a breakdown by nationality/indipendant or group tourist or business related travel etc.

Hi p1p, breakdowns show Thai/SEA up on last year, by room nights per around 7.43 % roughly. Showing US down substantially more than that and Euro up as well.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

PDick

Don't know if I can name too much that the PM has actually DONE.

...he may have talked a lot about doing things though.

I doubt that too many visitors to too many countries have the faintest idea who purports to run the country / countries that they are visiting.

[maerim]

I bet half the people from the country I come from the United Kingdom don't know who runs it either.

If they really want to know who does run it all they have to do is just ask George Dubious Bush.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

If they really want to know who does run it all they have to do is just ask George Dubious Bush.

If George is the answer...what was the question ?

[TizMe]

If George is the answer...what was the question ?

Who is leader of the free world and helps admin a Thailand Expat Forum is his spare time?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Oh ######...I forgot about our George. Ours is much brighter than Dubya

[NedKelly]

Ah ..... tourism...what a topic. Maybe the lack of tourists in places is a result of the opening up of new destinations in Thailand. It is possible that the obvious numbers seem to be thinning out. Especially in mainstream tourism, we now have many new hotels in Koh Chang with the new airport at Trat to ferry people down there in no time. Yes, another quiet place to be 'lost' to those who like the quietitude. Having visited that destination to check out the hotels it is obvious that little is happenning inthe way of planning and care for the environment, but that is another topic again. Trang is another place which is going to boom. Already the Amari group have built a hotel (reportedly on Nat. Park land) and there is a new ferry to Langkawi apparently. Other places like Khao Lak, Ranong, Kanchanaburi and not to forget the Mekong Region, are all getting visitors. People may also be staying shorter periods in Thailand and visiting other nearby countries. Another reason the numbers appear to be dwindling could be that people are staying away from crowded places like bars and so on deu to them being potential terrorist targets.

Communities react to tourism. Thai society is no different to any other in that they have their own ways of dealing with the impacts that tourism brings, be it official policy or just something that evolves as more tourists arrive. The Thais put up their barriers or boundaries to tourists by having rules and regulations that we have to abide by. Fair enough too. Would you like to see bare chested or bikini clad people on roller blades rolling around the Grand Palace. I have seen women in bikinis visiting hill tribe villages......they dont have much choice given their position on the roost in Thai society. What goes on in Khao San Road is acceptable to an extent at that location but outside that location the controls are far more strict. Mr Taklsins government is pursuing a more elite visitor to Thailand - why ? Well it fits in with all the social order programs they are putting in place and it is also economic sense.

Two words come to mind....Global Village.......a scary thought, but a fact. The definition of tourist in Australia is someone who travels more than 40 kilometres away from their normal place of residence. Gees I used to ddrive 500 kilomtres just to get on the piss with a mate for the weekend, so I was a bloody good tourist.

I waffle, see ya.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Did you ever think of having a drink on your own ?