Tourism Authority of Thailand targets high-end travellers

[Thai at Heart]

Considering this is probably the 20th effort to attract high end tourists. Did anyone notice an increase?

[horsewell]

Search Google site:thaivisa.com "High end tourists" and found on the second page a post from 2004. It's been an almost ten year push for the high end.

[dudu]

Dam it, i can't find the yawn smiley.

[ronthai]

Can we just repeat the same thread from about 6-12-18-24..... months ago

[Jim walker]

Oh no more rich High End tourists please, soi 6 and 7 is already so busy in Pattaya.

[TomAikins]

The morons at TAT have been saying the same thing for the last 15 years. They wouldn't know how to target something if they were standing on top of it anyway so it really doesn't matter what market they say they're going after. What they fail to realize is that high-end travelers don't WANT to come to Thailand in general. Thailand's international reputation as a sex tourism haven is one reason and the other is that there is nothing here that these people want to see. Do they want to go to see a few temples, go to a jewelry store, buy overpriced high-end brand name merchandise somewhere, eat in the, mostly, mediocre restaurants here, pay absurd prices for a decent glass of wine, etc, etc, etc? What is it that the TAT thinks these people want to do here? If the TAT yoyos were really smart they'd get the government to legalize prostitution, regulate and help the sex workers and promote Thailand as the sex capital of the world. Tourism would double. Think of all that money. Obviously it would never happen but what they're going to do instead is absurd and will be a total waste of time. TIT

[harrry]

I think that it's a great idea and TAT will win out! Thailand has a great deal to offer including low prices. I like the slogan "Happiness You Can Share" and I think that we all need to understand that "Thailand" is not just the type of joint that you can find in Phuket or Pattaya where, the TAT slogan should be "happiness you can drink"

While I agree with you to about the two Ps I am not sure that Thailand will ever attract very many real high end tourists. Yes there are a few. I believe KohSamui has been successful in attracting Indian marriage business which is good for the bottom line but not for the high end.

There already are a few high end people who have homes in various parts of Thailand either to live but mostly to visit.

High end can be supported in a very few places, small isolated and where customers can be safety transferred to view sites.

I just do not think the numbers are there to replace the money bought into the normal economy by current tourists.

Edited August 15, 2013 by harrry

[PoodMaiDai]

"It has created a number of online campaigns, such as the "Happiness You Can Share", "Find Your Fabulous" and "Experience Sharing" projects, in order to provide real experiences for travelers and allow and them to explore exciting discoveries."

"Happiness You Can Share" Sounds reasonable.

"Find Your Fabulous" You're Absolutely Fab? Your Fabulous What?

"Experience Sharing" A tuk-tuk, a soapy bathtub, a bowl of kwaiteow?

"Enjoy the scams!"

"Hey, watch out! That tuk tuk driver is about to hit you with a pipe!"

[Songhua]

Considering this is probably the 20th effort to attract high end tourists. Did anyone notice an increase?

And how do they know who is clicking the like buttons? I doubt the high-enders they're hoping to woo are spending their time liking Thailand on Facebook - but backpackers and families (you know, the types who already come) might.

[bangon04]

high end tourists who like to be harassed every day in the street by taxi thugs. which country might they come from?

Taxi problems solved. Hi-end quality tourists do not use street taxis or tuk-tuks they use the limousines provided by their five-star hotels.

That would be a reason for a blockade in some places.....I can see the rip off taxi drivers in Suk Soi 11 bringing all their friends to blockade the sidewalk and the soi outside all the hotels...oh they do that anyway..

[carib102]

The morons at TAT have been saying the same thing for the last 15 years. They wouldn't know how to target something if they were standing on top of it anyway so it really doesn't matter what market they say they're going after. What they fail to realize is that high-end travelers don't WANT to come to Thailand in general. Thailand's international reputation as a sex tourism haven is one reason and the other is that there is nothing here that these people want to see. Do they want to go to see a few temples, go to a jewelry store, buy overpriced high-end brand name merchandise somewhere, eat in the, mostly, mediocre restaurants here, pay absurd prices for a decent glass of wine, etc, etc, etc? What is it that the TAT thinks these people want to do here? If the TAT yoyos were really smart they'd get the government to legalize prostitution, regulate and help the sex workers and promote Thailand as the sex capital of the world. Tourism would double. Think of all that money. Obviously it would never happen but what they're going to do instead is absurd and will be a total waste of time. TIT

And they would add some form of regulated casinos and provide air conditioning in all the "cultural" attractions. Maybe adding a decent museum or two could help as well...there has to be some art that could be added to such a place...isn't there?

Honestly I don't think TAT even knows what a high end traveler desires or requires (even those from their own backyard of Singapore and China), so how could they possibly target those high end travelers? Maybe they should take a trip to Singapore, Macau, or Hong Kong instead of wasting their budgets in Samui and Phuket. They might learn something if they are able to take off the Thainess blinders.

I'm reminded of a trip my wife and I took to Playa del Carmen (certainly not high end...more upper middle class I think). Her question was "why won't Thailand do something like this?" THIS is restaurants that serve decent and in some cases awesome food at reasonable prices, clean beaches and sparkling water without trash floating in it, beaches that require a small fee, but have excellent service and no touts, clean streets, a walking street that is actually closed to cars and motocys, and no visible crime or scams. I could also mention the excellent service we received from people who could actually communicate with us in our native language. Yes, as an expat in Thailand I appreciate the need to learn Thai as a sign of respect if nothing else, but a tourist should never be subjected to this kind of expectation.

[culicine]

Krabi incident(s)...

Phuket Taxi scam....

Jet Ski Scam...

Chiangmai Hotel chem. spray....

not to mention the daily beat down and crime in Pattaya...

Lots of cleaning up before the "luxury" tourists show... and I thought not so long ago, they were campaigning and targeting Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and... Not to be racial, but "luxury" did not spring to my mind when these groups are mentioned...

Havent looked at the amazing thailand FB page, but looks like a good opportunity to inform would-be travellers of the scams going on here, and point them out. At least the tourists could then have a better holiday without being ripped off. I wonder how long those messages would last...

[ramrod711]

The TAT is utilising new online media and social media to provide premium-destination information to high-end and business travellers - "quality" customers - she said.

Wait until one of these hypothetical high end tourists tries to buy a bottle of booze between 2:00 and 5:00 pm, or after midnight. Someone should warn them all that they can go to jail for liking something on Facebook. I've been here eight years, tired of hearing about this. No matter what the nature of the disaster, tsunami, riots, oil spills or coups, you can count on a press release from tat telling the world how many more tourists are on airplanes winging their way to Thailand.

[jabek]

These high end idiots the TAT is targeting, just bright enough to use the internet, but not bright enough to see that Thailand is the land of rudeness, racism, cheating, scams, ultraviolent thugs, ultraviolent ladyboys, police who are there to blackmail, police who think foreigners exist to be abused, jet ski thugs, tuk tuk thugs, taxi driver thugs, frequent rapes and murders and horrific assaults that are never investigated because foreigners are sub human, the land of people who regard foriegners as ATM machines that when don't payout just need to be screamed at and bashed...wow, that really is threading a needle...

So apart from that, what else attracted you to the Land of Smiles?

[carib102]

Eco-tourism and Thailand in the same article is laughable, unless the article is discussing places where eco-tourism in literally non-existent and figuratively spit upon. Honestly, the country has some of the best resources for eco-tourism and has mismanaged them worse than anywhere I can think of except possibly Haiti. Maybe they could cash in on eco-tourism oil clean up excursions to Samet? Or trash clean ups on the beaches of Phuket, Krabi, or Pattaya? Oh no, that wouldn't work because the tourists would need work permits. Carry on Thailand and soon enough your eco-tourism (and much of your other tourism) will move on to Myanmar.

[greg71]

Every year this is promoted ,does it actually work? Next story will be saying that tourist numbers are up again .Boring beyong belief

[CHANGOVER]

''High end travellers''

Pikeys with a 'jacked up' caravan

I'm sure they are here already....

[Crazy chef 1]

Sad sad sad if I think about most of the replies....why are you guys still here? Right TAT is talking <deleted> but it is what they are always doing.don't bash our beloved second home too much- for me,I still love it.may you are just at the wrong place!

[CHANGOVER]

Also the only above TAT slogan that rings true is...

'' 'apenis you can share''

[lemonjelly]

ummm…...when these hi-end tourists leave the comfort zone of their 5 star hotel, they are given a special pair of rose tinted glasses ? and what is exactly a hi-end tourist…. is a cashed-up Russian nutter on a booze driven tour of chaos also hi-end if he/she is staying in a 5 star hotel…

[harrry]

High end Maserati or Ferari owners arrive in Thailand and are ferried to the hotel in a luxury camry. Next they find they can only get around if they climb on the back of a truck. Yes there are a few places to handle them but not in big enough numbers to make a diference.

Edited August 15, 2013 by harrry

[sustento]

TAT's budget for 2012 was 6 Billion Baht and the best they can come up with is: Agency relies on social media to promote Kingdom as luxury destination...

Really? What do they do with all the rest of their budget?

Is that a rhetorical question?

[i claudius]

I believe by high end tourists,here in Pattaya they mean the ones who have the correct spelling on their tats ,and do not wear black socks with their sandals

[LuckyLew]

I've always been pretty skeptical of these arrival targets. I came back to Thailand three months ago, but have actually been in and out of the country three times. How many arrivals am I?

1 + 3 = 5

[kuiburi]

Could it be that most of the hi-so resorts and hotels belong to the people that run the country at the moment ? When Thaksin was PM he was targeting high end tourists and promoting the elite card scam

[unanimosity]

Thailand is a great place for tourists ! I dont know anyone who has been that has had anything bad to say !!

RIP tourists tell no tales.

[unanimosity]

Eco-tourism and Thailand in the same article is laughable, unless the article is discussing places where eco-tourism in literally non-existent and figuratively spit upon. Honestly, the country has some of the best resources for eco-tourism and has mismanaged them worse than anywhere I can think of except possibly Haiti. Maybe they could cash in on eco-tourism oil clean up excursions to Samet? Or trash clean ups on the beaches of Phuket, Krabi, or Pattaya? Oh no, that wouldn't work because the tourists would need work permits. Carry on Thailand and soon enough your eco-tourism (and much of your other tourism) will move on to Myanmar.

Does Myanmar have thriving sex tourism with nearly nothing out of bounds?

[mancub]

I think that it's a great idea and TAT will win out! Thailand has a great deal to offer including low prices. I like the slogan "Happiness You Can Share" and I think that we all need to understand that "Thailand" is not just the type of joint that you can find in Phuket or Pattaya where, the TAT slogan should be "happiness you can drink"

Well, I'll agree with you .......just as soon as I witness millions of quality tourists flying in to watch the rice harvesting !

[pattayadingo]

Well...... All those millionaire travellers / holidaymakers TAT hopes to get can afford the odd scam or two. Afford the rip off price of TukTuk drivers, no meter taxis, fantasy damage to jet ski's and the rest.

[Cuban]

How many "high" end hotels are owned by Thai companies?

All the big names are owned by overseas chains.

Maybe the cost of marketing is less than the cost of cleaning up the street crime in tourist areas?