Poll: Would It Be Good For Business In Thailand To Change The Name To Siam?

[pipo1000]

Sex tourist haven: Mostly exaggerated hyped up narratives from the Western media to discredit Thailand. What about the red light districts of Holland and Germany, the legal brothels of Sydney, Australia and in some States of America.

I also don't understand where they got that sex tourism label,must be over blown ( no pun intented ).

[pipo1000]

I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma

I've lived in the North (CM) for more than a decade and never heard anything else than Myanmar.

I live in Thailand for almost 2 decades and only hear Myanmar referred to as Burma by the Thais.

Did you mean Canada Montreal with the North ( CM) ?

[Beetlejuice]

I don't buy the "imperial name" thing as any kind of argument. What the name pushed by a fascist dictator is better? Come on now ...

And do you really believe that a change of name is going to diminish a country’s turbulent history or reputation around the world?

The problem is the examples you have quoted for reasons why Thailand should revert back to it`s previous name of Siam, quote: Sex tourist haven, tsunami, financial crisis, land of scams, land of IP theft, floods, corruption, riots, coups, etc. is typical of the impressions that many Westerners have of the country, mainly bad propaganda fed to the public by the Western media and of course like you, many believe this as being fact, or in other words, I saw it on TV or read in a newspaper, so it must be true.

If this is what the West wants to believe regarding the Thai nation as a whole, than I would guess that according to the Thais, that’s our problem and I very much doubt they have concerns regarding our opinions of Thailand and the Thai people, especially considering that most of this trash is only half baked truths anyway and has been well exaggerated and taken far out of proportion over the years.

[Jingthing]

I don't really believe anything. I've always fancied the old name -- Siam. I know a lot of Thai people do too!

[highonthai]

Don't think it would serve any benefit, other than some of my geographically challenged friends back in the states would stop asking me about life in Taiwan!

[Payboy]

Don't think it would serve any benefit, other than some of my geographically challenged friends back in the states would stop asking me about life in Taiwan!

Change it to Siam and get ready for questions about Angkor Wat.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

All the old baggage, the hooker jokes, just don't work the same with the word Siamese instead of Thai.

Sure they would. (So that's not a reason not to change back to Siam. )

which sounds like it was invented by a fascist dictator, Thailand (land isn't a Thai word) to something sexy ...

I don't think it matters much who invented it. It's not like Thailand has ever had democratic leadership.

As for 'land isn't a Thai word'... Come on.. 'land' is also not a Finnish word or a Polish word; it's just what those places are typically called in English. Thailand is of course called 'Prathet Thai', currently. That's what it says wherever the country name appears officially. (With Prathet of course meaning 'land', from the Sanskrit word pradesha, which appears in the names of lots of regions in Asia.)

All of that said, I approve of changing it back to Siam; it just sounds better. Please proceed at your earliest convenience.

[trainman34014]

I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma

I've lived in the North (CM) for more than a decade and never heard anything else than Myanmar.

Then you don't get out often enough !

[Semper]

I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma

I've lived in the North (CM) for more than a decade and never heard anything else than Myanmar.

Then you don't get out often enough !

Guess you're right, it's been rather hot lately.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

So while we're now going to change it back, it's quite the administrative effort.

First of all, this will become the SiamVisa forum.

(George: I just registered it on GoDaddy. Name your price. )

But that's the easy one; it will be trickier to change all the Thai websites from .th, this because .si is in use for Slovenia, sa is in use for Saudi Arabia, and .sm is in use for lots of naughty sites, including San Marino. Then .am is in use by Armenia, which leaves .ia ... I think I speak for everyone when I say "Meh." to that one.

So let's go with .ks (for Kingdom of Siam).

Then everyone will need new business cards and letterheads.

Not sure if there's anything else?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma

I've lived in the North (CM) for more than a decade and never heard anything else than Myanmar.

It's called 'Phama' in Thai.. Closer to 'Burma' than Meeyaanmaar.. whoever dreamed that one up.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Sex tourist haven: Mostly exaggerated hyped up narratives from the Western media to discredit Thailand. What about the red light districts of Holland and Germany, the legal brothels of Sydney, Australia and in some States of America.

I also don't understand where they got that sex tourism label,must be over blown ( no pun intented ).

Actually if they made it legal and properly regulated it so it were safe and clean and honest I'm sure the country's reputation - and economy - would benefit enormously.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Sex tourist haven: Mostly exaggerated hyped up narratives from the Western media to discredit Thailand. What about the red light districts of Holland and Germany, the legal brothels of Sydney, Australia and in some States of America.

I also don't understand where they got that sex tourism label,must be over blown ( no pun intented ).

Actually if they made it legal and properly regulated it so it were safe and clean and honest I'm sure the country's reputation - and economy - would benefit enormously.

[samsiam]

Hi...its me.....guess I got the OP thinking.

[theblether]

Image.

Thailand has image problems from the past.

Sex tourist haven, tsunami, financial crisis, land of scams, land of IP theft, floods, corruption, riots, coups, etc.

OP............you live in Thailand, what reaction do you think you would get by making public your proposal? Would you be prepared to stand in front of a TV camera and spout that quote out to the Thai public?

I think not, you know it is a ridiculous proposition, an offensive proposition, and a proposition liable to create civil unrest.

There are plenty of people that visit Thailand every year and don't come away with the impression you seem to have of the country, plenty of people I speak to have visited Thailand with their families, wives and girlfriends and they rave about how beautiful, how friendly, how amazing the country is.

I believe last year there about 18 million foreign tourists visisted Thailand and I lay you odds a minority visited a girlie bar, some that did regard it as a tourist attraction similar to the red light area in Amsterdam, they walk down the street and gawp and scurry out as soon as possible laughing at what they have seen.

The tsunami was regarded as a natural disaster, and brought empathy and sympathy to the people of Thailand, no one holds the tsunami against Thailand, the same goes for the floods.

The financial crisis ( I think you are referring to 1997 ) does not figure in the the thoughts of 99% + of the tourists to the country, especially in this day and age when the West is suffering from the same thing.

Land of IP theft?.......eh? Corruption?.......do you really think that is on the international radar? Even scams, in as much as they are a deep irritation for people it is no more endemic that many other countries.

I agree that the riots and coups have a negative effect, however they tend to be short term effects and are primarily media led. The impression given during the last riots was that the whole country was in a state of unrest, instead of a relatively compact and brutal stand off in central BKK. The media gave the impression that the whole of the UK went up in flames last summer, pathetic dribbling sensationalist garbage.

Even the coups tend to pass off relatively unnoticed by the international mainstream, they make third place on the news at best and are forgotten a couple of days later. Ask any tourist when was the last coup in Thailand and they will blink at you

I do get annoyed at people constantly mentioning to me Ladyboys, Thai wives, and sex tourism. It's assassination without investigation, and I was guilty of it as well, however now I know better.

So the idea of rebranding is palpable nonsense, and just to prove the point, how long after the rebranding do you think it would be before there was another political upheaval / flood / coup / documentary about sex tourism in Siam?

What do we do then, rebrand the country SaiThai? Thai-am? I think not.

[zzaa09]

I don't really believe anything. I've always fancied the old name -- Siam. I know a lot of Thai people do too!

I believe the truer ideal of what a "Siam" might have been was an outsider idea.

Local folk considered their country as "Mueang Thai", less the romantic notion of Sayam, Siam.

[travelmann]

The first thing I would do is take the kok out.

What you do in your private life is of no interest to anyone here.

Oh I don't know, I for one would like to see him take his Kok out of his Bang, childish. I know. I know............

[smokie36]

OP.

There is a place called Chinese Taipei. So how about Chinese Siam?

Only if it involves a massive sponsorship deal. If there is more cash on the table I would go for Sky Thai or Pepsiam.

[Boater]

OP.

There is a place called Chinese Taipei. So how about Chinese Siam?

Only if it involves a massive sponsorship deal. If there is more cash on the table I would go for Sky Thai or Pepsiam.

a country is generally named after what it is good at and know for , so Thailand it is all about Getting your leg over with a young bar girl and getting scammed on the way home

but saying that, the russians are now taking over, so you really need to put all the above in to get the name

[smokie36]

OP.

There is a place called Chinese Taipei. So how about Chinese Siam?

Only if it involves a massive sponsorship deal. If there is more cash on the table I would go for Sky Thai or Pepsiam.

a country is generally named after what it is good at and know for , so Thailand it is all about Getting your leg over with a young bar girl and getting scammed on the way home

but saying that, the russians are now taking over, so you really need to put all the above in to get the name

I'm a bit worried about all the poor bargirls getting a bad name right now in Pattaya. These middle Eastern and Indian subcontinent tourists simply aren't playing the game properly.

What is needed is something catchy to help bring back all the more proper Western tourists who will happily pay the fees.

This will reduce the crime rate back to previous happy levels and we can have a plethora of Mexican restaurants opening as well.

Win win all the way!

[DrTuner]

Oh come on, who wouldn't go for the siamese twins in Pattaya ? I'm all for the change, who's going to call Yingluck to tell her brother to get it done with, then ?

[Jingthing]

"Some poster" who I'd prefer if he remained anonymous suggested that rebranding the nation would cause civil unrest. Possibly, but supposing if the change was properly approved through democratic legal channels, its not clear to me who would feel disenfranchised by such a name change. Just talking a rebranding back to an older name, not a new country, not new borders, not a new governing system. Actually not unprecedented in recent history ... in Southeast Asia.

[smokie36]

"Some poster" suggested that rebranding the nation would cause civil unrest. Possibly, but in the context of this poll, supposing the change was properly approved through democratic legal channels its not clear to me who would feel disenfranchised by such a name change. Not talking about a new country, or new borders, just a rebranding back to an older name. Actually not unprecedented in recent history ... in Southeast Asia.

I wonder what the Burmese will choose if ever such a choice is given to them?

Not sure on the Thai front...would be fascinating if there were some more on here to give an opinion.

[Jingthing]

My feeling is that in the hearts of most Thai nationals, they feel nationalistic pride for BOTH Thailand AND Siam already. And businesspeople know the brand SIAM is always BANKABLE.

http://www.thaiasiat...en/about_us.php

New Project!

This pier signaled the beginning of international trade between the Kingdom of Siam (the former name of Thailand) and European nations and was the key to Siam maintaining the sovereignty and independence it enjoys to this day.

Old Bank!

[necronx99]

Brand Siam is currently known in the west for finicky high maintenance cats and birth defects..

Is that a good starting point?

[Jingthing]

Brand Siam is currently known in the west for finicky high maintenance cats and birth defects..

Is that a good starting point?

Hiso cats and interesting birth defects!

Then there's that movie.

[mca]

The first thing I would do is take the kok out.

As the actress said to the bishop

[mca]

Thailand it is all about Getting your leg over with a young bar girl and getting scammed on the way home

As Boater remains puzzled as to why his emails to TAT suggesting slogans to promote Thailand as a family friendly destination remain unanswered........

[KeyserSoze01]

Huh?

What possible difference would the name of a country make to its general economic wellbeing and the state of its business environment?

Image.

Thailand has image problems from the past.

Sex tourist haven, tsunami, financial crisis, land of scams, land of IP theft, floods, corruption, riots, coups, etc.

Siam is a beautiful word. It evokes romance and exoticism. It is short and sweet, perfect for a corporate rebranding ... of a country. It's old. It's new. It's everything.

All the old baggage, the hooker jokes, just don't work the same with the word Siamese instead of Thai.

Rather difficult to change the image of Thailand with a name change, unless all the underlying problems you note are removed too, diba?

[mca]

Diba?