8 Billion Baht Sought For TAT's 'Miracle Thailand' Campaign

[a99az]

'Miracle' is a very risky word to use in any promo . Farangs dont believe in miracles so who told TAT to use it ?

Maybe the guy who wants 8 billion. Smart move.

[Zorne]

Frommy experience Thai have much respect for someone who respect them - I find manyof the comments in this thread and I many threads on Thavisa almost of a racistapproach . Thais have their own way of doing and thinking and western peoplethink that have better way ( some of them ) why ?

Is this what u mean by respect? :

[EyesWideOpen]

Frommy experience Thai have much respect for someone who respect them - I find manyof the comments in this thread and I many threads on Thavisa almost of a racistapproach . Thais have their own way of doing and thinking and western peoplethink that have better way ( some of them ) why ?

Is this what u mean by respect? :

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4659224

Ouch, that is harsh.... So we have the TAT spending billions of baht to convince tourists to come and visit Thailand, and at the same have tuk tuk drivers in Phuket ( The crown jewel of Thai tourism) routinely beating people to death or near death if you are lucky. How about if TAT pays the tuk tuk drivers a few million baht to simply not beat up any tourists for awhile ?? I think that would really help out their campaign......

[Zorne]

Frommy experience Thai have much respect for someone who respect them - I find manyof the comments in this thread and I many threads on Thavisa almost of a racistapproach . Thais have their own way of doing and thinking and western peoplethink that have better way ( some of them ) why ?

Is this what u mean by respect? :

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4659224

Ouch, that is harsh.... So we have the TAT spending billions of baht to convince tourists to come and visit Thailand, and at the same have tuk tuk drivers in Phuket ( The crown jewel of Thai tourism) routinely beating people to death or near death if you are lucky. How about if TAT pays the tuk tuk drivers a few million baht to simply not beat up any tourists for awhile ?? I think that would really help out their campaign......

Well, it is a fact they would get more returning visitors if the ones that do come are treated with respect instead of beeing almost killed. Unbelievable that so little is beeing done about this filth.

[SAW]

"I believe in Miracles"

"ya you sexy thing"

Wasn't that a song is that the tune they will use with it ? Lol

Boy George could be a contender, the song, the man dressed as a woman, it's got Thailand written all over it.

[Danlo]

Of course the great thing about Thailand is we all have the choice of whether to come or not as well as listen to all the cynics and nit pickers

[pepi2005]

@Danlo: indeed, the most accurate (and honest) slogan would thus be:

Thailand - up to us!

or here's another one:

Thailand - cum or stay you home cuntee!

[EyesWideOpen]

Sometimes Thailand's approach to tourists reminds me of the " Road side diner business model" . Say there is a diner by the side of a busy highway. A guy comes in and orders food. After finishing it, he declares it to be the worst food he ever ate, reluctantly pays the bill, and storms out declaring he would never set foot in the place again. The staff look at each other and smile. Then a minute later another traveler sits in the same seat and orders food........

The point being that Thailand does not really need to worry about the experiences of each individual traveler, because if you do not like it, Thailand believes another tourist will show up. This is the only explanation I can think of for the Thai government failing to stop the endless scams that drive tourists away.

[rubl]

Frommy experience Thai have much respect for someone who respect them - I find manyof the comments in this thread and I many threads on Thavisa almost of a racistapproach . Thais have their own way of doing and thinking and western peoplethink that have better way ( some of them ) why ?

It is not said that foreign or Thai way is better or worse, just different. When the TAT seeks a billion Baht budget to entice foreigners to come to Thailand for holiday and by the way spent (lots of) money, one might assume that the Thai population should be prepared to adjust a little bit in order to comply with TAT's policy. The major annoyances of foreigners need to be addressed otherwise the Thai government might as well keep that THB 8B budget

[nurofiend]

Sometimes Thailand's approach to tourists reminds me of the " Road side diner business model" . Say there is a diner by the side of a busy highway. A guy comes in and orders food. After finishing it, he declares it to be the worst food he ever ate, reluctantly pays the bill, and storms out declaring he would never set foot in the place again. The staff look at each other and smile. Then a minute later another traveler sits in the same seat and orders food........

The point being that Thailand does not really need to worry about the experiences of each individual traveler, because if you do not like it, Thailand believes another tourist will show up. This is the only explanation I can think of for the Thai government failing to stop the endless scams that drive tourists away.

very true and well put, that's the exact attitude

[David006]

Are you all ( who post replies here ) live in Thailand ? I is amazing to see how much hatered most of you have to this place or yuo just like to troll . Don't you want this campain to be a success ?

Actually... judging by your MULTIPLE {I counted 13 errors!} grammatical errors, spelling errors, and punctuation errors... {just 'guessing' here} I'd guess you are a Thai?

Please allow me to explain... in the Western culture... our sense of humor is most often very dry {sounds serious but isn't, really... and you have to really THINK to understand the sometimes-hidden humor) and critical-sounding... We're really just having fun pointing out what we see as the many ridiculous natures of this campaign... and, what to us, are the absurd realities of living in this country of yours. If you can't imagine just how different our two cultures are... reading about us "venting" and having a bit of fun with this news story... should really give you some insight into how we think differently.

Trust me, we "rip apart" the MANY absurdities that exist in OUR home countries, too! It's WHAT WE DO! It's linked to our extensive training in 'analytical thinking', a 'dry' sense of humor, and a basic "irreverence" for the "establishment's standard course of BS (think strawberry!) that is fed to the masses, expecting these same masses (to be SO incredibly stupid as) to accept, believe, and support these GRAND AMOUNTS of BS... with any genuine respect, belief or reverence.

Beyond all this... we DO actually LOVE Thailand {most of us!} and genuinely DO LOVE Thai people {most of them!}, but this type of BS news story was just too juicy a prospect for having a good time poking fun at things, people, organisations, and behavior that, frankly, needs to be poked fun at...

Understand? We don't hate Thailand!

Ask yourself... Do you 'respect' key? Do you LIKE 'strawberry' behavior? (farangs.... "key" is sh*t, "strawberry" is BS)

Ah... we don't either... but we really aren't trained, culturally, to just "go along" with strawberry BS, and just stay silent, without feeling it our duty and obligation, as responsible beings... to respond. Our response, veiled in our humor, is our venting; our read on reality, our ability to really see the grand degree of HUMOR within the AMAZING press release.

Relax... suh-bai, suh-bai.... don't take all this 'serious'... not meant 'serious'

And finally.... YES.... YOU IS AMAZING!!! hahaha... WE IS ALL AMAZING!!! IT'S WHY we continue to live in AMAZING Thailand. Given all it's faults and shortcomings (and speaking from my own personal point of view) it's STILL better living HERE than it would be living in our home country.

STILL! We complain! It's our nature, it's in our blood, it's "what we do"; we're not so inclined to all line up together in a neat line... and say "Yes sir, that's fine, sir, can I have some more, sir?"

Sometimes you just have to admit... even being a Thai... that KEY is... at the end of the day... just KEY. Chai or Mai-Chai?????

Oh, and yeah... we really don't give a flying <deleted> whether this (so-called) "campain" (as you called it!) sinks or swims, couldn't care less, really, but it's amusing to poke fun at!!! lol

Let us have our simple pleasures, without being so.... {what? xenophobic?} to call us "hateful", in the process. The hatred you feel, may be within yourself...

:cheesy:

well put mate ...

I need a #$%^&* miracle...... stop #$%^ raining!!!

[Beetlejuice]

Miracle Thailand: the place where nobody is too fat, old, ugly or smelly to have sex. Truly a miracle.

I`m not fat, I`m youngish, and I`m not smelly.

But please don`t hold being ugly against me, just the way I was born.

[mca]

SLOGAN

Miracle Thailand - Come and have a great time. The chances are you won't get ripped off, scammed, murdered,attacked by red shirts, mugged by a rabid buffalo, etc. and just have a nice holiday.

[Chupup]

Sexy-time Thailand (with Borat as the voice-over)?

How about 'Tatty Thailand '

[abcz9]

for some poor rice farmers who go to pattaya with 100 baht in there pocket and within a year got new car new house couple mil in bank some would say thats a miracle.

[biplanebluey]

Are you all ( who post replies here ) live in Thailand ? I is amazing to see how much hatered most of you have to this place or yuo just like to troll . Don't you want this campain to be a success ?

NO

Edited August 30, 2011 by metisdead
Font resized.

[phanangpete]

it will be a miracle if anyone comes here based on the advertising produced by them

the last campaign featured some brit chav looking tosser, covered in tattoos, in a Singha wife beater, wearing his battered baseball hat back to front

when asked what he thought of Thiland you would not have been surprised if he had said, ''its great you can get cheap drugs here''

the mere image of him would be enough to turn away any good business

TAT should look at the Malaysia-Truly Asia campaign

now theres quality tourist advertising that actually makes you want to go there................

The Malaysians quietly go about their promotions and actually deliver once you arrive.Thailand is slowly trashing every island and natural places of beauty. Promoting Pattaya as a family destination is the biggest laugh of all.They havent got a clue and still believe the majority of people come here to trapse around temples.

Is'nt it so true, Malaysia dosen't talk crap about their beautiful beaches, they are. Here in Pattaya the unsuspecting tourists are swimming ,still, in human waste !

Thats the main beach ,off Beach Road and Wongamat Soi 16. It is Amazing TaT this is still happening, and it will take certainly a meracle to sort it, ill let you all know when they do........................ not in my lifetime haaaaaa !!

[phanangpete]

it will be a miracle if anyone comes here based on the advertising produced by them

the last campaign featured some brit chav looking tosser, covered in tattoos, in a Singha wife beater, wearing his battered baseball hat back to front

when asked what he thought of Thiland you would not have been surprised if he had said, ''its great you can get cheap drugs here''

the mere image of him would be enough to turn away any good business

TAT should look at the Malaysia-Truly Asia campaign

now theres quality tourist advertising that actually makes you want to go there................

The Malaysians quietly go about their promotions and actually deliver once you arrive.Thailand is slowly trashing every island and natural places of beauty. Promoting Pattaya as a family destination is the biggest laugh of all.They havent got a clue and still believe the majority of people come here to trapse around temples.

Is'nt it so true, Malaysia dosen't talk crap about their beautiful beaches, they are. Here in Pattaya the unsuspecting tourists are swimming ,still, in human waste !

Thats the main beach ,off Beach Road and Wongamat Soi 16. It is Amazing TaT this is still happening, and it will take certainly a meracle to sort it, ill let you all know when they do........................ not in my lifetime haaaaaa !!

Oh sorry, i forgot, im really glad to see that Thai's are reading this forum ! yes the truth may hurt but it is the truth and nothing but the TRUTH !

[phanangpete]

Thailand. Always Happy Endings.

I have a shop in a big Pattaya shopping mall, and seen the amount of tourist in the last few months dropping like a brick, TAT have it all wrong. We need not just more tourist, but ones that spend, not club together for a bottle and 5 straws from 7

That would be mainly the Russky's then, I remember about 3 yrs ago , most of the Thai restaurants changed their menus outside to Russian and then i noticed a lot had changed back to English, big drinkers my arse, maybe in their rooms, with the 'all inclusive ' package. Ah well id no sympathy, they have the, T's, that is, no loyalties, proven over and over again .

Edited August 30, 2011 by phanangpete

[pepi2005]

Sometimes Thailand's approach to tourists reminds me of the " Road side diner business model" .

very accurate, I agree.

The only flaw in the comparison is that the owner of the road side restaurant completely ignores the fact that whole documentaries about the methods of his restaurant have been filmed and are available on the web, as there are thousands of reports, videos and even whole websites dedicated to the 'surprises' a visitor of this restaurant has to expect.

In most other countries (restaurants) with a manager in charge who has an IQ over 90 - or feels truly responsible for the future of this restaurant -, this would ring alarm bells and the management (i.e., government) would do their best to cut down on the problems. In TH, however, nothing happens at all. Which leads to the conclusion that it is either an IQ problem visitors of this 'miraculous' country are dealing with, or worse, ignorance and quiet acceptance of the ripoffs and scams. This matches exactly the results of surveys showing that most Thais accept bribery and graft as long as it helps themselves to achieve their goals. It is sad to say, but they seem to either lack of the IQ or the mental horizon to understand the long-term damage they are doing to themselves and their country.

I'd guess that Thailand has another 5-10 years until the last 'Chinese grandpa' and 'horny Brit' have learned their lessons, after that, Thailand will have to face an uncomfortable wakeup (of the tourism sector). A positive image is easily ruined, a negative one takes a very long time to repair as real marketing experts will definitely know.

Edited August 30, 2011 by pepi2005

[cloudhopper]

I assume the Vatican has been informed.

[lannarebirth]

Sometimes Thailand's approach to tourists reminds me of the " Road side diner business model" .

very accurate, I agree.

The only flaw in the comparison is that the owner of the road side restaurant completely ignores the fact that whole documentaries about the methods of his restaurant have been filmed and are available on the web, as there are thousands of reports, videos and even whole websites dedicated to the 'surprises' a visitor of this restaurant has to expect.

In most other countries (restaurants) with a manager in charge who has an IQ over 90 - or feels truly responsible for the future of this restaurant -, this would ring alarm bells and the management (i.e., government) would do their best to cut down on the problems. In TH, however, nothing happens at all. Which leads to the conclusion that it is either an IQ problem visitors of this 'miraculous' country are dealing with, or worse, ignorance and quiet acceptance of the ripoffs and scams. This matches exactly the results of surveys showing that most Thais accept bribery and graft as long as it helps themselves to achieve their goals. It is sad to say, but they seem to either lack of the IQ or the mental horizon to understand the long-term damage they are doing to themselves and their country.

I'd guess that Thailand has another 5-10 years until the last 'Chinese grandpa' and 'horny Brit' have learned their lessons, after that, Thailand will have to face an uncomfortable wakeup (of the tourism sector). A positive image is easily ruined, a negative one takes a very long time to repair as real marketing experts will definitely know

.

I imagine by that time the number of Chinese visitors will have grown exponentially and they will consider this place a paradise on Earth. We'll be posting about dodging their spit.

[rubl]

Only looking at numbers I guess it's good to look at China as potential for tourists coming to Thailand. Being the country with the largest number of people on Earth both in percentage and absolute, getting only 1% of them coming to Thailand once a year would already make the country feel like overcrowded, or should I say 'a popular holiday destination'. Maybe spending pattern should be made part of the equation

[Yeppe]

Miracle Thailand? Oh c´mon, Corrupted Thailand would sound honest....

[housepainter]

We've left.

The only miracle being I was still wearing the shirt on my back.

Dual pricing did its best to rid me of my healthy bank balance.

The Thai dialogue that was delivered to my Thai wife was to the effect that: 'you have falang. You help me. 200 baht.' This would be for a litre of diesel oil - around 95 baht. It was not a conversation. It was a demand. Of course, delivered smilingly, as they do.

Thais assume so much. For example, that I, the farang would understand the language. Wrong.

Pattaya is rotten from top to bottom. The City Hall down are corrupt. Phuket has its mafia as does Koh Samui. All of them have their none stop murders and rapes of farangs. It would be a miracle if no one got killed. But they do. Suicides are usually by way of strangers breaking in and beating you to death.

My wife's impressions of the UK so far? The first and overwhelming one is how clean it is everywhere. The standard of the cars and lorries. How well everyone drives. The road signs, moving traffic, school buildings and wealth everywhere. Pedestrian crossings that work. Ambulances passing unhindered. The burglar alarm.

She searched for the word 'civilised'.

She found it. In the UK.

Hardly a miracle.

[draftvader]

I really have to laugh at their figures for tourism. My wife has a cousin who works for Immigration, although I'm not sure what he does, but his family was here one day and I managed to ask him some questions about how they come up with their figures for tourists. His English is surprisingly good, and here's what he told me.

Everyone getting off a plane in Thailand, who passes through Thai Immigration, even if they are only waiting to board a plane to somewhere else, is counted as a tourist.

Every weekend at the border with Malaysia there are bus loads of people who come to Thailand for a 1 day shopping trip. They are counted as tourists.

Every "border runner", as soon as he comes back into Thailand, is counted as a Tourist.

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but here in Chiang Mai I know of two 5-Star Hotels who have had to close off half their rooms in order to stay open. At one of them they lost all of their Thai Massage girls (6) in one day when they all up and quit. The reason is that a "free massage" is included in the tour package, which is fine, except that the people on the tours never bother to tip the girls, who work for tips and do not have a salary.

I know of two people who had fairly successful booths at the Night Bazaar who had to close due to lack of business.

I see a number of tour bus's that are filled with Asians, but almost never with Westerners. Friends in the tour business say the Asians, mostly Chinese & Korean, are all "packaged" tours, stay only at certain hotels, travel in arranged and managed groups in the mini vans to their destinations, and are extremely cheap.

As mentioned above, there are now countless websites devoted to the scams and ripoffs by Thai on foreigners, not to mention the seemingly increase of deaths, that people are becoming more and more aware of. Those of us who live here do so because we love the country, and the people to some extent, but we also see what Thailand is, and what it COULD be if not for completely misplaced "Thai pride" and a seriously endemic case of "National Stupidity".

TAT can spout all the fictitious numbers they want, and tell the general public anything and will be believed, but the reality is very much the opposite of what they are saying. With all the scams, ripoffs, declining world economy, strong baht, and other contributing factors, Thailand is not the "value for money" they would have people believe.

If the mods will allow it, here's something interesting from the Vietnamese Tourism web site:

nternational visitors to Vietnam in July and 7 months of 2011International visitors to Vietnam in July estimated 460,000 arrivals, increasing by 12.2% over the same period last year. Total international arrivals in 7 months reached 3,425,820 representing a 17.3% growth over the same period of 2010

Their numbers are increasing dramatically, much more so than Thailand's. Why? much better "value for money" for starters, and you don't have all the negatives that Thailand is so well known for.

"Miracle Thailand". ??

It would be a miracle if they got rid of the tuk--tuk and taxi mafia.

It would be a miracle if they cleaned up and regulated the jet ski operators.

It would be a miracle if you could actually get off a plane and not be hounded by 50 touts.

It would be a miracle if you could find a taxi at the airport that actually used their meter, and took you to the hotel you booked and not tell you it "burned down last night" and take you to another where they get a commission for bringing you.

It would be a miracle if you could walk down the streets of Pattaya & Phuket with your family without having porn shoved in your face, including kiddie porn.

It would be a miracle if something happened and you went to the police and they actually did something about it.

The list is endless.

Bottom line, despite all their slogans and advertising, Thailand is NOT tourist friendly anymore they way they once were. Greed and corruption have taken over where short term profits and a "quick buck" far outweigh the long term picture. Where foreigners, especially Western, European and Australians are viewed as "cash cows" to be fleeced in every way possible.

Sad, because there really is a lot to offer to visitors to this country. Unfortunately, the Thai don't have a clue as to the right ways to go about it.

I have to agree with your friend's thoughts. I was contracted to do some market research for a Thai company (they didn't know that was what they were paying for and they promptly stopped my contract when I didn't walk into their resort every day with 50 gullible tourists....their occupancy rate is still under 50% 2 years later....my projected figures were for 75-80% occupancy/year after 18 months). The first port of call was TAT's yearly reports (about 3 years out of date, but it gives you a picture of your demographic) which showed that nearly 17% of the tourist figures were Laos immigrant workers crossing the border to work the paddy fields and richer Laotians crossing the border to shop in Nong Khai. This is a MASSIVE skewing of figures. For a more accurate sample set you only need to head down to the Khao San Road and see how far down you can see (from the Charkabonse end) before bodies obscure your view or stand outside Wat Pho for a day doing hourly flow modelling (boring and hot, so choose the former). Since we have been living here (nearly 4 years) I have seen this density drop to the point now where, even in peak season, you can see at least a 1/3 of the way down on a BUSY day. I realise that this is not the perfect way to analyse a market, but with "doctored" figures it is the best way to establish how your business will fare if you depend on the tourist $.

[draftvader]

The outstanding problem with all this arguing, discussion and posturing is simple really. There is an English expression which covers how Thailand's tourism industry works - "There's one born every minute". For every disgruntled educated consumer heading back through the, painfully long, queue at immigration with a frown on their face and a promise in their hearts never to visit again there is another gullible uneducated consumer "newbie" waiting in the, painfully long, queue at immigration with a smile on their face and the thoughts of beautiful, service focused, demure Asians, stunning beaches, cocktails, horizon pools and relaxation.

My money is on the uneducated consumer because, for everything else they teach you in school, consumerism in not a qualification. Here or in the West/East/North/South.

[tartempion]

Details of the 8 billion baht budget please or where will the money go?

[Buchholz]

Details of the 8 billion baht budget please or where will the money go?

Probably to the same "depository" as the 6 Billion Baht tablet program budget will go.

.

[connor6063]

If you're searching for a miracle on your holidays you need to go to Lourdes not Thailand.

Thailand is still a great holiday destination but it isn't the cheap, exotic, tourist friendly country it once was nor is it a classy up market destination either. Another problem is that whilst the people are welcoming that doesn't always go for the officials.

What will be a miracle is if Thialand's endless ambitious visitor projections ever come to fruition.

Thats a good point. But even if you can speak a little bit of Thai people respect you so much more. Personally when i was living in Thailand i felt more free than here in the Us. Also Thailand is so fun.