Tourist Confusion Rampant, Say Thai Hoteliers

[philw]

My advice to tourist, Simply stay away until atleast next year.

There are so many shortages and closures. Tourist only add to the problems.

No detour signs in English and no help from Government officalls

Repairs will take months to get things back in order just like in Phuket years back

your life and safety are really at risk.

Sorry, but I would call that really bad advice. The livelihood for many depends on tourists and much of the tourists destinations happen to not be in the flood zone. if tourism drops, a lot of people suffer.

As for recovery, some things will take time, however, once the water is gone, many places will bounce back into functional shape in a matter of days, not months.

With respect, what is it with people making these statements about people's livelihood?

There are so many things wrong with these statements.

1. Are tourists expendable?

You would have people come over and be put in harms way or face having a terrible, unpredictable time? At the very least, tourist will feel some general malaise in the population as so many people are affected.

2. What of the assumption that all tourists visit Thailand PRIMARILY to support people who rely on tourism??? That's such an odd assumption, man. I love the idea of helping 'people less fortunate', but I have NEVER gone anywhere PRIMARILY because I wanted to support someone who I anticipated was worse off. I mean, how the heck would I even know who's worse off? I mean absent someone's financial statement, I can't know if they are worse off or better off, right?

3. Just because some tourist spots are not in the flood zone at present, is that the only variable you would use to judge the feasibility of a trip? I know it can't be. The crisis is still unfolding and bearing down on the political and economic capital of the country. There are food and water sanitation and distribution issues. What happens IF the main airport gets hit and if a bunch of tourists need to get out? At a bare minimum, it will be a nightmare for them. What of the potential health risks with this disgusting, fetid water?

Would you tell someone you love or care for very deeply to visit Thailand now or to hold off until some time in the future?

Tourists are NOT expendable, and I tire of seeing people encouraging them to come here while this absolute mess of a national disaster is unfolding.

For gods sake.........

You could have caught a cold on the plane............

It's a generally .3 to 1 metre flood not the bubonic plague.

[tlansford]

My advice to tourist, Simply stay away until atleast next year.

There are so many shortages and closures. Tourist only add to the problems.

No detour signs in English and no help from Government officalls

Repairs will take months to get things back in order just like in Phuket years back

your life and safety are really at risk.

Sorry, but I would call that really bad advice. The livelihood for many depends on tourists and much of the tourists destinations happen to not be in the flood zone. if tourism drops, a lot of people suffer.

As for recovery, some things will take time, however, once the water is gone, many places will bounce back into functional shape in a matter of days, not months.

I rarely agreew with tlansford on anything besides time of day,

but in this case I agree with him.

There are plenty of places water free, and with few gross long term shortages. Certainly not enough to ruin a vacation because you didn't get the right cut of meat for dinner.

Coming to Thailand is either

High End, and those places will still be high end, maybe with a truncated menue.

The other scheme is backpacker or rough n tumble

and both of these groups will have a fine time in much of the country. As long as busses and trains are not your primary mode of transport.

Minivans will get from A-B.

Main point is 'The Country Needs Tourist Money NOW', not next year.

If it was so bad I'd have left for Malaysia. Ain't close to that by far.

If you are willing to forgo a few amenities then you can help the Thai peoples lives and general economy, and have a fine time too.

Likewise, rarely agree with you Animatic but on this you are dead right.

The show goes on and it's still a good one.........

jeez, should the 3 of us now synchronize our watches?

[xthAi76s]

My advice to tourist, Simply stay away until atleast next year.

There are so many shortages and closures. Tourist only add to the problems.

No detour signs in English and no help from Government officalls

Repairs will take months to get things back in order just like in Phuket years back

your life and safety are really at risk.

Sorry, but I would call that really bad advice. The livelihood for many depends on tourists and much of the tourists destinations happen to not be in the flood zone. if tourism drops, a lot of people suffer.

As for recovery, some things will take time, however, once the water is gone, many places will bounce back into functional shape in a matter of days, not months.

With respect, what is it with people making these statements about people's livelihood?

There are so many things wrong with these statements.

1. Are tourists expendable?

You would have people come over and be put in harms way or face having a terrible, unpredictable time? At the very least, tourist will feel some general malaise in the population as so many people are affected.

2. What of the assumption that all tourists visit Thailand PRIMARILY to support people who rely on tourism??? That's such an odd assumption, man. I love the idea of helping 'people less fortunate', but I have NEVER gone anywhere PRIMARILY because I wanted to support someone who I anticipated was worse off. I mean, how the heck would I even know who's worse off? I mean absent someone's financial statement, I can't know if they are worse off or better off, right?

3. Just because some tourist spots are not in the flood zone at present, is that the only variable you would use to judge the feasibility of a trip? I know it can't be. The crisis is still unfolding and bearing down on the political and economic capital of the country. There are food and water sanitation and distribution issues. What happens IF the main airport gets hit and if a bunch of tourists need to get out? At a bare minimum, it will be a nightmare for them. What of the potential health risks with this disgusting, fetid water?

Would you tell someone you love or care for very deeply to visit Thailand now or to hold off until some time in the future?

Tourists are NOT expendable, and I tire of seeing people encouraging them to come here while this absolute mess of a national disaster is unfolding.

For gods sake.........

You could have caught a cold on the plane............

It's a generally .3 to 1 metre flood not the bubonic plague.

... If you were making an attempt at humor, I am probably too tired to get it, so my apologies in advance. But, if you were trying to make a serious point, then I'm not sure how anything you posted is relevant to my post.

1. I'm not a tourist, so the post wasn't about me.

And

2. If you're implying that the risk associated with coming here is similar to the risk of riding in an airplane, I'd have to take your word for it, as I'm not trained to perform such a statistical calculation. But, it's still irrelevant assuming most tourists also do not make such calculations and instead compare the perceived risk or relative risk -- like 'did it seem safer last year when there wer no major catastrophic floods?' or 'doesn't it seem less risky to go when all this is cleared up'?

[tlansford]

My advice to tourist, Simply stay away until atleast next year.

There are so many shortages and closures. Tourist only add to the problems.

No detour signs in English and no help from Government officalls

Repairs will take months to get things back in order just like in Phuket years back

your life and safety are really at risk.

Sorry, but I would call that really bad advice. The livelihood for many depends on tourists and much of the tourists destinations happen to not be in the flood zone. if tourism drops, a lot of people suffer.

As for recovery, some things will take time, however, once the water is gone, many places will bounce back into functional shape in a matter of days, not months.

With respect, what is it with people making these statements about people's livelihood?

There are so many things wrong with these statements.

1. Are tourists expendable?

You would have people come over and be put in harms way or face having a terrible, unpredictable time? At the very least, tourist will feel some general malaise in the population as so many people are affected.

2. What of the assumption that all tourists visit Thailand PRIMARILY to support people who rely on tourism??? That's such an odd assumption, man. I love the idea of helping 'people less fortunate', but I have NEVER gone anywhere PRIMARILY because I wanted to support someone who I anticipated was worse off. I mean, how the heck would I even know who's worse off? I mean absent someone's financial statement, I can't know if they are worse off or better off, right?

3. Just because some tourist spots are not in the flood zone at present, is that the only variable you would use to judge the feasibility of a trip? I know it can't be. The crisis is still unfolding and bearing down on the political and economic capital of the country. There are food and water sanitation and distribution issues. What happens IF the main airport gets hit and if a bunch of tourists need to get out? At a bare minimum, it will be a nightmare for them. What of the potential health risks with this disgusting, fetid water?

Would you tell someone you love or care for very deeply to visit Thailand now or to hold off until some time in the future?

Tourists are NOT expendable, and I tire of seeing people encouraging them to come here while this absolute mess of a national disaster is unfolding.

Hi Thailandman, for sure people should not be heading for vacation where the trouble is happening now. And no, tourists are not expendable - quite the contrary!

And no, tourists do not come here in order to help the Thai tourism industry, you are right. The point is that it would be fairly stupid to scare off tourists unnecessarily. Of course one should consider the trip logistics and also "what if" scenarios, but it is perfectly clear that the Christmas season for all of Thailand is going to be terrible if there is not some serious marketing effort by TAT.

In the tourist destinations, there are plenty of ways to get in and out - even for people who do not want to travel through the BKK airport. With several regional airports in the south, for example, you have a lot of flexibility for different international destinations - so people can still travel easily.

As for encouraging some one I love to visit Thailand right now? You bet. It is no problem at all. The way things are looking now, if people book for one of the islands down south for Christmas now, not only will they find great deals, they could very well have the place to themselves. This is not just make-believe - this spring after the flooding, Koh Tao was almost empty for most of April/May/June, but the flood recovery was done, the weather was great, the seas were calm, ... basically it was a great time to be there. But the tourists were still being steered away because of the flooding back in March.

That was a real economic blow to everyone from the Thai resort owners, to the small shop owners, to the people working at the resorts and restaurants. They had a terrible spring, a mediocre summer, and now they face a potentially dead Christmas, just because there is flooding 600 km away in Bangkok.

[animatic]

Cholera and dysentery happen from exposure to sewage ridden water. If you stay in the large sections of non flooded Thailand, you will not get either. Please use some common sense, and basic medical theory when posting.

Direct flights from Singapore and Hong Kong come to Samui and Phuket. Utapao at Pattaya and Chaing mai, have regional and international flights. There is no flooding. No need or reason to be anywhere near flooded areas, while still having a fun vacation stay.

Edited November 5, 2011 by animatic

[RichardL]

I'm arriving on the 30th and to be frank, I've no idea what to expect. I read reports that make me think thinks are on the brink or easing, and on the brink of getting much worse, seemingly every day.

I'm lucky in a sense that after avoiding the place in two previous trip to Thailand, I'm spending several days in Pattaya before arriving in Bangkok. I do have the option of booking an extra 5 nights there if the worst comes to the worst, but I want to come to Bangkok unless it's foolhardy to do so. At the moment, I'm just not able to make that judgement.

I don't really have the option of re-arranging, as it's only the last 5 nights of a 3 and a half week trip that have a problem. I can fully understand someone faced with the option of arriving at the start of December, not knowing what state the place will be, or maybe putting things off until January, would opt for postponing.

OK, I've been to Bangkok before. I've been to Ayutthaya and Lop Buri before. I've even been to the flooded temple at Laksi, and there are no sights I'm desperate to see, but it would still cloud my overall trip if I had to avoid the city. For someone who has never been before, it could ruin their trip.

Really, if you knew someone had the option of postponing their trip for a month or two, why would anyone suggest they don't do so?

[473geo]

If I didn't live here, I wouldn't be coming here.

That should be the advice given to all tourists.

At the moment, anything could happen, food shortages, civil unrest, transportation difficulties, serious outbreaks of disease.

The water could start to go down.......and things could improve.......

[473geo]

Everybody appears preoccupied with constant updates on the flood.....well here is a final update for you all......a little Thainess for you all as you live in Thailand

When the water goes.........it will be gone.......

What else do you really need to know!!