Global Drive To Bring Back Tourists To Thailand

[impulse]

I've been on a few holidays in my life. Some were dirt cheap and some were pretty expensive. To be honest, I don't remember which was which in many cases because my memory of prices fade with time.

The places I will return to aren't the ones that had the cheapest beer and lowest price on hotel rooms because I don't even remember the prices.

What I do remember is the places where the streets stank of dumpster, taxi's were unscrupulous and traffic dangerous, and the beaches and hillsides were trashed. I also remember the places where I was well treated, felt safe and was awed by the scenery. Clean beaches and hillsides, safety (or at least the perception of...), transparent (high or low) pricing and ethical treatment is what brings me back.

I think that TAT is in a pretty limited position to control the exchange rate and the price of beer and food- and that's okay. If they focus on the quality of the tourist experience, the price of beer won't matter for the tourists they really want to attract. I love interacting with backpackers, and I've been on a few shoestring budget trips myself. But folks (including myself) that have to look into their wallets and worry whether beer is $1 or $3 just don't pump much $$ into the economy relative to their wear and tear on the infrastructure.

I've been working in Thailand for only 6 months so I'm not qualified to pass judgment on "good or bad", or what the trend is. Judging from some of these posts, I think I'm tempted to try Vietnam or Cambodia and that's a shame. It's just a case of "the grass is greener".

I live where people pay thousands of dollars to spend a few days or weeks. And they mail my paycheck to me here. What a deal.

Edited November 30, 2011 by impulse

[moskito]

I would suggest TAT could arrange a few free and easy improvements for tourists.

Relax the silly drinking hours laws, make alcohol sales 24 hours.

More immigration staff at airports and regional offices.

Make visa runs 30 days minimum.

Let Chiang Mai beer bars open after 12pm like the rest of the country.

since PM Yingluck is on duty the immgration counters in Phuket are full with immigration officers, never had a smoother and faster

entry as 4 weeks ago, waiting time no more as 10 min.

The other things what concerns me more is that Phuket become more like a Spanish Mass Tourist destination, Thais give a sh1t on

the enviroment when it comes to making money, too many cars, too many accidents with to many seriously injured people, too many

dirty beaches and too many houses, no walkways for walking tourists etc etc....Patong and Rawaibeach smell like not even Cala Millors

Mallorca ever did....Thailand is overcrowded in the tourist areas and its by far not beautiful anymore.

[virtualtraveller]

I read that the hotel association wants to raise rates 20% because they say to align with rates in surrounding countries. Hmmm. I feel for them, but fear that the move will not help generate more visitors.

Which surrounding countries have higher rates?

Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao?

Even in Malaysia I got very cheap deals and lower other costs+more safety from scam+better enviroment....

Well put...Here in Sihanoukville (Cambodia) I pay $.50 per beer and $.35 per pack of smokes...Life long visa and life is wonderful...

Sihanoukville is a dump, the best beaches have been sold to Russian developers.

[KKK]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

Very true ...

And the Farang annual retirement visa extension requirement is 13x that......

[Chupup]

my parents were going to visit us in thailand this xmas until i told them the

exchange rate, they are now going to malaysia and we are hoping to go visit them

there , .....i spend most of my time here in rayong, the average price of a beer

on entertainment street is 120B !!,...... for a small one , thats nearly £5 per

pint !!......... its becoming like the UK now , i buy from the supermarket and

drink at home or on the beach , the average thai on 275B per day , they have a

choice,.eat OR drink !!!

Which exchange rate do you use? I thought the BHT v's GBP = 48/49THB

Okay just noticed a pint would normally equal two bottles.

I get a laugh when people from other countries complain about Thailand, the costs and other problems, like floods and demonstrations.

People leaving and arriving in England are having a problem with the STRIKE by Government workers at the Immigration Dept. That does not help tourism. Costs in London are unreal, extremely expensive. Terrorists attacks-ugh. England has problems same as Thailand but they never talk about problems in their country, just complain about cost of beer and cheap hotels. Thailand is a major tourist attraction in Asia and it's prices do not reflect that. Problem with those complaining is that they want everything for almost nothing. I would hate to think what a tourist pays for a beer in London.

Same price as everyone else, local or tourist

[virtualtraveller]

Let's put things in perspective shall we; Thailand is the 10th biggest tourist destination in the world, receiving 15 million people a year, Bangkok is third most popular tourist city (google some stats if you don't believe that), geographically, if it was nearer Europe it would be getting the 40 million 'visits' that France does. You can still stay in a 5 star hotel here for less than a B&B in the Cotswolds. New Zealand, which recently hosted the World Cup Rugby gets about 2 million tourists a year, similar to Cambodia, and a beer there costs $8 on average. The price of beer hasn't changed in baht, the $, Euro and £ are at their weakest in 14 years against Asian currencies in general. Vietnam prices might be cheaper but its tourist infrastructure and comfort has a long way to go still. That country's tourism may be booming but it's still only 6 million in arrivals. Until these tourist dollars grow strong again, tourism will remain 'down' - people still find the money for a Thailand holiday, they just spend less while here, so it's felt by all.

Of more concern is the political instability, much that TAT has a budget and a responsibility to promote the country, it's probably all a silly waste of time and money if you know very well that the country is most likely going to erupt in strife, protest and confrontation some time next year when you know who comes home. If it happens in the low season we'll be lucky, then TAT can justify another enormous budget to run CNN ads: 'Thailand - just the same as you always remember it'. CNN must love Thailand as a customer.

[Ulysses G.]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

Very true ...

And the Farang annual retirement visa extension requirement is 13x that......

You have to have the funds available to get a longterm visa - like most countries - but there is no requirement to spend even one baht of that.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[digibum]

...and now why is it that some people think that "why don't you go home?" is actually a valid argument?

It just shows how shallow thee arguments of some people can be - do you not know how laughable that is????

I don't see how you can object to posters who tell you to move on if you don't like it, sounds logical enough to me, cos if I didn't like it, I'd move on !

Whats stopping you doing the same ?

Because part of any healthy society is the freedom to express yourself. If you don't like something the only way for things to get better is to voice your concerns. Telling people to shut up and leave if they don't like it is very closed minded.

If you refuse to accept something, then maybe it is better for you to move on. But to be critical is not a reason someone should have to leave.

The "then you should go home" is a cop out for people who can no longer defend their position. In America it's called the "love it or leave it" attitude. It's totally anti-democratic. If your choices are love it or leave it no government would have any opposition because those who are not in power would have to leave since they hold different political philosophies than the ruling party.

[ludditeman]

my parents were going to visit us in thailand this xmas until i told them the

exchange rate, they are now going to malaysia and we are hoping to go visit them

there , .....i spend most of my time here in rayong, the average price of a beer

on entertainment street is 120B !!,...... for a small one , thats nearly £5 per

pint !!......... its becoming like the UK now , i buy from the supermarket and

drink at home or on the beach , the average thai on 275B per day , they have a

choice,.eat OR drink !!!

Which exchange rate do you use? I thought the BHT v's GBP = 48/49THB

Okay just noticed a pint would normally equal two bottles.

I just paid 139bht for 3 large bottles of Chang (+20 for ice), served and poured by a series of 20yo(ish) university students, in an entertainment area of CM.

I suggest you visit entertainment areas aimed at Thai customers where the foreigners are not being fleeced.

[KKK]

I think the money that the TAT is planning to spend is going to be wasted is if all they can do is more of the same on CNN. I mean how many people do they think they can fool into coming here with phrases like "Miracle Thailand", "Amazing Thailand" etc., images of deserted beaches taken more than a decade ago, the fake Thai smile, the delicious looking street-side food where the flies have been photo-shopped out.

Far better would be to spend it on getting rid of all those elements who seem intent on ruining someones holiday; the rip-off merchants, the double price schemes, the jet ski and tuk-tuk criminals. Now that would be money well spent.....

I can recall 25 years ago friends in the UK trying to book a honeymoon trip here. Part of the tour was to include time in Pattaya to visit with me. "Oh no" the travel agent said "I'll not organize you to go to Pattaya, they have a running water shortage, you'll come back and sue me for sending you there where you couldn't take a shower for a week". 25 years later and there is still a water shortage with trucks going around delivering foul smelling, filthy water to hotels and guesthouses.

Consider...25 years ago....no internet...no email....no satellite TV....limited and expensive international phone communications...but the bad news still leaked back. Today everything that happens in Thailand can be known about worldwide in seconds.

TATs budget should be spent on image cleansing rather than false advertising......how about your money back if not satisfied.....put your money where your mouth is, don't wipe the other end with it...

[digibum]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

True but if you actually read the thread it's about tourism. The price of living in a wooden shack with spaces in the walls where the 2x4's have shrunk and they have to cover the sides of the home with tarps is not exactly what most people are thinking about when it comes to tourism.

Stop comparing what it costs locals to live here to what it costs tourists to come visit here. They are two different costs.

[KKK]

...and now why is it that some people think that "why don't you go home?" is actually a valid argument?

It just shows how shallow thee arguments of some people can be - do you not know how laughable that is????

I don't see how you can object to posters who tell you to move on if you don't like it, sounds logical enough to me, cos if I didn't like it, I'd move on !

Whats stopping you doing the same ?

Because part of any healthy society is the freedom to express yourself. If you don't like something the only way for things to get better is to voice your concerns. Telling people to shut up and leave if they don't like it is very closed minded.

If you refuse to accept something, then maybe it is better for you to move on. But to be critical is not a reason someone should have to leave.

The "then you should go home" is a cop out for people who can no longer defend their position. In America it's called the "love it or leave it" attitude. It's totally anti-democratic. If your choices are love it or leave it no government would have any opposition because those who are not in power would have to leave since they hold different political philosophies than the ruling party.

Here..here..well said...I think the people that should go home are those that continually say go home...except me of course

[KKK]

my parents were going to visit us in thailand this xmas until i told them the

exchange rate, they are now going to malaysia and we are hoping to go visit them

there , .....i spend most of my time here in rayong, the average price of a beer

on entertainment street is 120B !!,...... for a small one , thats nearly £5 per

pint !!......... its becoming like the UK now , i buy from the supermarket and

drink at home or on the beach , the average thai on 275B per day , they have a

choice,.eat OR drink !!!

Which exchange rate do you use? I thought the BHT v's GBP = 48/49THB

Okay just noticed a pint would normally equal two bottles.

I just paid 139bht for 3 large bottles of Chang (+20 for ice), served and poured by a series of 20yo(ish) university students, in an entertainment area of CM.

I suggest you visit entertainment areas aimed at Thai customers where the foreigners are not being fleeced.

And that was only 15 minutes ago...about 8:45 am...yikes you start drinking early...cheers

Edited December 1, 2011 by KKK

[digibum]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

Ditto for me.

I find it interesting to see so many people bitching about the poor exchange rate and then blaming Thailand for decreasing quality of life experiences, instead of blaming their home governments for mismanaging the currencies into oblivion.

Several members of my family recently came to Thailand for the first time for my wedding. They had a great time, seeing everything from country life, the old city area of Sukothai, nice hotels in several locations, good food and entertainment, etc. There wasn't a single complaint about cost, rip-offs, quality of accommodation/food/drink, hotel services, ground transport, air transport and so on. One member of my family declined to come, citing risks of problems with the flooding. So be it. All they did was miss a great time.

I'm tired of reading all the whinging.

Thailand needs to promote tourism to counter the effects of the flood and political unrest, but that's about it. Thailand doesn't need to apologize or compensate for poor exchange rates. Sure food costs are up, diesel costs are up, and other costs are up. But these mostly impact the local economies, which affects me and my family, but the average tourist is more or less immune to it. From my perspective, there are still bargains galore throughout Thailand, for tourists and non-tourists alike.

If a tourist wants a "Sandals" type vacation experience, then go to a "Sandals" type destination. If a tourist wants some adventure and an unique life experience, then Thailand has been and remains a great place to go. Thailand has all of this and more, for practically every type of tourist budget there is. How many tourist destinations can claim the same thing?

I think you're missing the point. The rising prices will eventually impact everyone. How do you think food gets into Bangkok or Phuket? They have to transport it in which means that the rise in price of diesel eventually gets factored into the price of food, water, or anything else that isn't locally (as in, that specific town, not the country) produced.

I agree that we can only blame our own governments for poor exchange rates.

[denishuahin]

I have lived in Thai 6 years now, I'm still a Tourist i visit many places but as most people who live here we all know that it's to expensive now.

I live in Buriram now, i can still get a large Chang for 45b. Last time i was in one of my old haunts Hua Hin, i went to the Hilton disco 3 years ago 120 small beer ( expensive ) now 180b small bottle thats extortionate, nearly £7 a UK pint ( 1 Imperial pint = 568.261485 ml )

I know the manager and he said the normal Thai thing, well we had to put the prices because not so many people now!

Once the government realises, that the Ex-Pats who live here are still tourist and spend 365 days a year here, not just two weeks maybe we will get help with visa's and many other things.

Sorry i just woke up, must have been dreaming.

Edited December 1, 2011 by denishuahin

[KKK]

I have lived in Thai 6 years now, I'm still a Tourist i visit many places but as most people who live here we all know that it's to expensive now.

I live in Buriram now, i can still get a large Chang for 45b. Last time i was in one of my old haunts Hua Hin, i went to the Hilton disco 3 years ago 120 small beer ( expensive ) now 180b small bottle thats extortionate, nearly £7 a UK pint ( 1 Imperial pint = 568.261485 ml )

I know the manager and he said the normal Thai thing, well we had to put the prices because not so many people now!

Once the government realises, that the Ex-Pats who live here are still tourist and spend 365 days a year here, not just two weeks maybe we will get help with visa's and many other things.

Sorry i just woke up, must have been dreaming.

dreaming?? in a daze more like it...how can you compare Buriram to 5 star hilton disco...of course they are gonna be different....its like trying to comare a small british country pub to a 5 star hotel disco in birmingham..no way are they gonna be the same either....get real...

[KKK]

If a tourist wants some adventure and an unique life experience, then Thailand has been and remains a great place to go.

Adventure......trying to decide which of the "girls" are real and which ones are not.

Unique life experience......finding out that the one you got wasn't quite what you expected.....

yep..Thailand sure has plenty of that.....

Edited December 1, 2011 by KKK

[digibum]

This is so true. Thailand's biggest problem is global communications. Twenty-five years ago you could get away with ripping off every farang who got off a plane in BKK because word didn't travel very fast. Nowadays word travels quickly via the internet. I have seen first-hand several cases where a farang has been poorly treated by a business here and that company's farang business dropped off significantly.

Years ago when friends would come and visit they would be total n00bs. Now when someone calls me up and says they're visiting for the first time they get off the plane already knowing about the taxi scams, the gem scams, the girls (and their assorted scams), etc, etc. The easy money is harder and harder to get.

Many Thais simply can't figure this one out. Thailand, for tourists, can best be summed up in two different things I've heard friends say:

You just have to realize that there is no customer satisfaction survey in Thailand

and

Thailand is a lot like Facebook. There's only the option to "Like" it.

Even many of the farangs take the defeatist attitude that if you don't like it here you should leave. Well, many farangs are leaving. It's costing TAT more and more to try to lure people here. Tourist dollars are way down. Believe me, I talk to a lot of the business owners who cater to farangs and without exception they all say that more and more their business is coming from expats and fewer and fewer tourists are coming in.

Sure, TAT posts some impressive numbers now and then but what they're not reporting is that the percentage of farangs is going down. More and more of those airport arrivals are from China and India and if you've ever gone on a tour trip with them you will know that they don't throw around cash like drunken farangs. I've seen a Indian family request a partial refund on their tour because they brought their own food and beverages.

The funny thing about it is that TAT has really been marketing aggressively in India and China. They've heard how the rich Indians and Chinese are spending tons of cash in Singapore and Hong Kong and they want a piece. But they're attracting China and India's version of the backpackers. They're budget tourists who spend almost nothing here compared to farangs.

And this is exactly what happens when you have the "love it or leave it" attitude. All of those complaints about the ripoffs, dangerous sidewalks, high prices, etc are hitting Thailand now. The internet is spreading the bad experiences people have had here and no amount of money spent on catchy tourism phrases like Amazing Thailand is going to reverse this trend. The only thing Thailand can do is actually improve the situation for tourists. But that will end up taking 5 or 10 years before they figure that out. By then, Vietnam will be the tourism hub of SEA.

I think the money that the TAT is planning to spend is going to be wasted is if all they can do is more of the same on CNN. I mean how many people do they think they can fool into coming here with phrases like "Miracle Thailand", "Amazing Thailand" etc., images of deserted beaches taken more than a decade ago, the fake Thai smile, the delicious looking street-side food where the flies have been photo-shopped out.

Far better would be to spend it on getting rid of all those elements who seem intent on ruining someones holiday; the rip-off merchants, the double price schemes, the jet ski and tuk-tuk criminals. Now that would be money well spent.....

I can recall 25 years ago friends in the UK trying to book a honeymoon trip here. Part of the tour was to include time in Pattaya to visit with me. "Oh no" the travel agent said "I'll not organize you to go to Pattaya, they have a running water shortage, you'll come back and sue me for sending you there where you couldn't take a shower for a week". 25 years later and there is still a water shortage with trucks going around delivering foul smelling, filthy water to hotels and guesthouses.

Consider...25 years ago....no internet...no email....no satellite TV....limited and expensive international phone communications...but the bad news still leaked back. Today everything that happens in Thailand can be known about worldwide in seconds.

TATs budget should be spent on image cleansing rather than false advertising......how about your money back if not satisfied.....put your money where your mouth is, don't wipe the other end with it...

[Kilgore Trout]

a beer in london ,.........the same price he would pay in thailand if he went to tescos , but would buy wine at a fraction of the cost it is here, in a pub maybe 200B, BUT DONT FORGET, LONDONERS earn nearly twice the national average, a labourer on a building site is on 25,000B+ per week compared to a thai on 200b per day

+

LOL, good one, I am still looking for the 200.- BAHT staff...what kind of work they do and for how many hours a day???

Anyway, guess the thread here was not ONLY about beer and whine and khao pad in a Thai Restaurant.....its for sure still cheaper as in Europe.

The thread is about Thailand is trying to attract more people visiting the country....and like I said before, they are not going specially after

the always complaining cheap ass Farang. For them a Chinese, Taiwanese or Singaporean which is staying here for 3-5 days but spending the same amount of money most kiniau germans spend in 4-6 weeks is by far more attractive..... :jap: no hard feelings here about the german community members...but they and the froggies are very special when it comes to saving money in hollidays....

In my experience, the asian tourists spend a lot less money then western ones, possible exception being the japanese. Most of them come on package holiday tours with meals etc. all included, so again, pumping a lot less into the pockets of average Thais. The tour companies are the ones making t he dough.

[rockderk]

After the aftermath of the floods instead of the hotels doing promotions for accommodation I think now would be the perfect opportunity for Thailand to clean up its act regarding the Garbage & litter issues. As a long time visitor & semi resident I love Thailand & the people but the litter over the land & in the sea is a big problem that seams to be overlooked by government & Thai people alike. Was in Pattaya last month & went for a swim but keep getting tangled up in litter. I could mot believe how much rubbish I was seeing around me in the water. Thailand seems to be a big rubbish dump. Anyone else thinking the same thoughts.

First time I went to Ko Phi Phi was in '87. Back then there was one resort and several backpacker joints along Longbeach. Everyone used plastic water bottles and they would bury them -and all the other plastic bag type shit they didn't get around to burning- in big pits on the beach, or any place they could dig a nice big hole. Whenever a storm blew up, the pits would uncover and the bottles would fly around the island and out to sea leaving Phi Phi the World's Most Beautiful Garbage Tip. Swimming there was similar to Bangsaen , Pattaya and Rayong today. You'd be attacked by plastic bag fish every time you walked in the water. Have you been to Maya Bay lately? The place where they shot some of the movie ' the Beach' ? 300 tour boats full of chain smoking Chinese and Russians flicking the butts into the sea. That was the scene 2 years back anyway...I stopped going to Ko Samui and Phuket a decade ago, when driving a car was becoming like driving in Bangkok and they started looking seriously over built. Krabi, once in my world top ten, is now off the list too. So Yeah, everyone with a point of reference is thinking the same thoughts. But those who grew up tossing shit out the back of a songtheaw, anyone involved in the tourism industry, package tourists, the Bangkok elite and the general culture of superficiality should ensure that Thailand will continue to look more and more like a big rubbish dump.

[rockderk]

come to Thailand if you want to get drunk day and night or be an old fat fart with a 4 year educated bumpkin from the sticks to be so proud of.

I do wish people like you would not over generalise. While there maybe some in Thailand who fit your description it by no means is anywhere near the majority. I personally do not get drunk day and night,

I'm not so sure I'm actually old yet at 59,

I'm certainly not fat at 70kg, I live quite happily alone so don't have a 4-year educated bumpkin from the sticks. I would admit to some odious emissions sometimes but who doesn't...so that part of your description (fart) may be the only thing that applies and it would apply to just about anyone anywhere including yourself.

Awaiting retraction of, what I consider to be, your vastly offensive statement....

Dude, you're old.

[alexth]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

Ditto for me.

I find it interesting to see so many people bitching about the poor exchange rate and then blaming Thailand for decreasing quality of life experiences, instead of blaming their home governments for mismanaging the currencies into oblivion.

Several members of my family recently came to Thailand for the first time for my wedding. They had a great time, seeing everything from country life, the old city area of Sukothai, nice hotels in several locations, good food and entertainment, etc. There wasn't a single complaint about cost, rip-offs, quality of accommodation/food/drink, hotel services, ground transport, air transport and so on. One member of my family declined to come, citing risks of problems with the flooding. So be it. All they did was miss a great time.

I'm tired of reading all the whinging.

Thailand needs to promote tourism to counter the effects of the flood and political unrest, but that's about it. Thailand doesn't need to apologize or compensate for poor exchange rates. Sure food costs are up, diesel costs are up, and other costs are up. But these mostly impact the local economies, which affects me and my family, but the average tourist is more or less immune to it. From my perspective, there are still bargains galore throughout Thailand, for tourists and non-tourists alike.

If a tourist wants a "Sandals" type vacation experience, then go to a "Sandals" type destination. If a tourist wants some adventure and an unique life experience, then Thailand has been and remains a great place to go. Thailand has all of this and more, for practically every type of tourist budget there is. How many tourist destinations can claim the same thing?

And how would you explain the decrease of tourists in Thailand? If a tourist wants some adventure and an unique life experience??? Are you for real? Is that what you call being ripped off, mugged, hijacked, killed or kidnapped? An adventure? Maybe an unique life experience...I can't disagree, but for sure not a pleasant surprise. If you got lucky (as I did) and meet the right Thai people and got kept away from all the sh*t that's floating around (or maybe you are just another make believe kind of guy), good for you, but there's a lot of sh*t around that your Thai side of the family would never want to debate with you about, or anyone for the matter. I'd like to be more positive about Thailand than maybe you might want, I live here, it's my home and I'm just worried for my future considering the latest developments, ESPECIALLY because at least 50% of my work depends on tourists...if you'd be willing to get your head out of your lunch box, you'd realize it too

[ludditeman]

come to Thailand if you want to get drunk day and night or be an old fat fart with a 4 year educated bumpkin from the sticks to be so proud of.

I do wish people like you would not over generalise. While there maybe some in Thailand who fit your description it by no means is anywhere near the majority. I personally do not get drunk day and night,

I'm not so sure I'm actually old yet at 59,

I'm certainly not fat at 70kg, I live quite happily alone so don't have a 4-year educated bumpkin from the sticks. I would admit to some odious emissions sometimes but who doesn't...so that part of your description (fart) may be the only thing that applies and it would apply to just about anyone anywhere including yourself.

Awaiting retraction of, what I consider to be, your vastly offensive statement....

Dude, you're old.

I agree, 59 is OLD!

[KKK]

come to Thailand if you want to get drunk day and night or be an old fat fart with a 4 year educated bumpkin from the sticks to be so proud of.

I do wish people like you would not over generalise. While there maybe some in Thailand who fit your description it by no means is anywhere near the majority. I personally do not get drunk day and night,

I'm not so sure I'm actually old yet at 59,

I'm certainly not fat at 70kg, I live quite happily alone so don't have a 4-year educated bumpkin from the sticks. I would admit to some odious emissions sometimes but who doesn't...so that part of your description (fart) may be the only thing that applies and it would apply to just about anyone anywhere including yourself.

Awaiting retraction of, what I consider to be, your vastly offensive statement....

Dude, you're old.

Funny I still feel like a 20-year-old ... it's just that they don't seem to feel like me anymore....ha ha

[Ulysses G.]

It is so true that Thailand is very expensive!

So expensive that many Thais live on less than 5,000 baht a month and pretty much no one is hungry.

True but if you actually read the thread it's about tourism. The price of living in a wooden shack with spaces in the walls where the 2x4's have shrunk and they have to cover the sides of the home with tarps is not exactly what most people are thinking about when it comes to tourism.

Stop comparing what it costs locals to live here to what it costs tourists to come visit here. They are two different costs.

There are plenty of cheap guest houses and stands selling Thai food for next to nothing where tourists can stay and eat - because Thais have to be able to afford Thailand too. I can't think of anywhere in the world where the living standards, food and amenities are like Paris or London, but the prices are dirt cheap.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Thai at Heart]

As a long stayer, I can't say that my attitude to tourism is the same as people coming from Europe.

However, I have no issue whatsoever paying money for high end accomodation, if the "entire" experience is high end and quality. There are some stunning resorts here, but set foot outside the front gate of the resort, and it is anything but a high quality experience.

What is even more disappointing is that Thailand is definitely in a rut of "the more things change, the more things stay the same". I can't remember anywhere in the country where there have been any major changes to any of the cities or beach resorts that have made the place remarkably better. Everything is the same or worse as an overall environment from 15 years ago, and this isn't limited to high end tourists, since by definition most streets, roads and beaches in the developed world aren't filled with potholes, or covered in plastic bags and fishing nets. The overall environment of Thailand on the surface looks aesthetically pretty, but it is in a much worse state of repair and care from the West. This leaves an impression that stays.

You visit a beach, it is covered in plastic bags, no one picks them up, and no organisation has been set up to pick them up for the last 40 years. You take a walk, you fall down potholes, dodge noodle stands, street hawkers and hookers, and hold your nose from the stench of the drains, and no organisation has been set up to sort out these issues for 40 years. These are fundamental issues (and I could write 1000 more)that colour the experience of tourists and are a brake on the development of Thai tourism.

Throw in tsunamis, red shirts, yellow shirts, army coups, burning streets and now floods, how can anyone reasonably expect the numbers to be going up? They haven't even fixed the basics for the last 40 years.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[KKK]

The tour companies are the ones making t he dough.

And not the Thai owned ones either....Japanese, Korean, Chinese all keep it 'in-house'...seriously the Thais get very little from Asian tourists.....

[KKK]

general culture of superficiality should ensure that Thailand will continue to look more and more like a big rubbish dump.

I'm continually telling off the kids that live in my soi not to drop their ice cream wrappers on the street but to put them in one of the many bins available....Am I winning..NO...it's got to the point now that the kids parents are having a go at me for telling their kids not to litter. When the garbage truck does come round, about every 10 days, around 50% of what they should be picking up ends on the street together with a foul smelling liquid where they have squeezed the rubbish in an already overflowing truck in an attempt to get more in......

[David48]

Global Drive to bring back tourists. They the TAT had better get their finger out, as the OZ Gov put out a travel warning today and not a good one.

http://www.smartrave...Advice/Thailand

Ozemade ... did you read in detail what the advice actually says?

The originial advice was written on Wednesday 30 November 2011 and this was a recent update.

" The level of the advice for Bangkok and flood affected provinces has been lowered " ... admittedly from a high level.

Mate, not trying to flame you ... just sticking to the facts.

(Fellow Aussie)

[cdnski12]

I see nothing in regard to "free" tourist visa's.....

Like go figure .. do you really think the Thai's who make 100's of millions of ThB in the Farang Visa Industry are going to turn their "RICE BOWL" upside down. You one clazy falang!! Sai Bai Dee!