Despite Thailand's political strife, tourism hits record high growth

[webfact]

Despite Thailand's Political Strife, Tourism Hits Record High Growth In First Nine Months of 2013
By Sophie Song

BANGKOK: -- Thailand came out on top in tourism receipt growth for the first nine months of the year at 28 percent, but if recent political strife continues in the Southeast Asian country, that growth may see a big reversal in the near future.

Overall, international tourist arrivals grew by 5 percent compared to the same period in 2012, according to the World Tourism Barometer report of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In total, destinations around the world welcomed 845 million visitors in the first nine months, 41 million more than the same months in 2012.

Growth was especially strong in Europe and Asia Pacific, where total international tourist numbers rose 6 percent.

“International tourism continues to grow above expectations, supporting economic growth in both advanced and emerging economies and bringing much needed support to job creation [read more...]

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/despite-thailands-political-strife-tourism-hits-record-high-growth-first-nine-months-2013-1512342

-- INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES 2013-12-18

[Thai at Heart]

First nine months.

It's December already.....

[Mampara]

And so it should be. This may be the last time people can visit Thailand as a free country.

[bangkokheat]

i think someone is fudging the numbers, i dont know what its like in other parts of thailand, but its plain to see tourism numbers have dropped in pattaya, you dont need stats to tell you that, unless they have found greener pastures in thailand

[selftaopath]

I wonder how many "tourists" are single men?

[casindonet]

And they keep cumming coming

[andygunther]

Who are they trying to fool?

I was in Pattaya a week ago, it was almost empty compering how it use to be this time of the year.

Sometimes I have the feeling they acting like the famous tree monkeys, don't see, don't hear, don't talk..... Ohhh Talk they do

[ratcatcher]

I wonder how many "tourists" are single men?

From an economic point of view, better than an overwhelming number of single women. Wouldn't ya say?

[andygunther]

i think someone is fudging the numbers, i dont know what its like in other parts of thailand, but its plain to see tourism numbers have dropped in pattaya, you dont need stats to tell you that, unless they have found greener pastures in thailand

I also spend 3 days there a week ago.

The first time I could move freely without crowds on walking street.

[jalansanitwong]

.....how many tourists in LOS are single men ?.............

Discussion about politics and military coups is irrelevent to the tourism industry.

Prostitution (male and female) has been the bread & butter of this countries foreign exchange takings for decades.

Take prostitutes out of the equation and Pattaya , Hua Hin Bangkok will become ghost towns.

It would also cause a massive decline in T/T remittances to all Isan provinces.

The government would be forced to look after those idiots instead of farangs.

[noitom]

And they're coming in droves to Thailand.

[chooka]

Down 400K+ but still hitting records????

Oh well I guess tourism could dry up completely and they will still be setting records on arrivals.

[ginjag]

First nine months.

It's December already.....

They only include stats that suit their silly propaganda. If it was for real why this last week they announced falling numbers of tourists--THEN the EXPECTED numbers would return, it's all B/S. Christmas slave workers -border shoppers-transits--VISA runs, any more you want to add on to the paradise land to enhance it (or do you put out the figures to secure your own jobs).

Lets start a new lot of figures shall we. All visa runs, cross border neighbor shopping, transits, migrant workers and the a.n.others. NOT to Include.

All tourist arrivals (holiday only) be counted. EASY on your entry form it asks if you are on holiday/tourist. SO you silly TAT AOT get it.?????

[alant]

Shocked at the scepticism shown by contributors, you know it is true so stop this nonsense and accept the data...

[davehowden]

Tourist figures go up and down faster than a wh..es draws!

[oldthaihand99]

.....how many tourists in LOS are single men ?.............

Discussion about politics and military coups is irrelevent to the tourism industry.

Prostitution (male and female) has been the bread & butter of this countries foreign exchange takings for decades.

Take prostitutes out of the equation and Pattaya , Hua Hin Bangkok will become ghost towns.

It would also cause a massive decline in T/T remittances to all Isan provinces.

The government would be forced to look after those idiots instead of farangs.

HOpefully other SEA countries will pay serious attention to this & start allowing their "natural resources" to be mined.

Especially Vietnam. It's such a waste.

[ginjag]

Tourist figures go up and down faster than a wh..es draws!

Winter DRAWERS on

[soi41]

.....how many tourists in LOS are single men ?.............

Discussion about politics and military coups is irrelevent to the tourism industry.

Prostitution (male and female) has been the bread & butter of this countries foreign exchange takings for decades.

Take prostitutes out of the equation and Pattaya , Hua Hin Bangkok will become ghost towns.

It would also cause a massive decline in T/T remittances to all Isan provinces.

The government would be forced to look after those idiots instead of farangs.

HOpefully other SEA countries will pay serious attention to this & start allowing their "natural resources" to be mined.

Especially Vietnam. It's such a waste.

Glad to see, that the sexbuyers are alive and well!!

[oldthaihand99]

.....how many tourists in LOS are single men ?.............

Discussion about politics and military coups is irrelevent to the tourism industry.

Prostitution (male and female) has been the bread & butter of this countries foreign exchange takings for decades.

Take prostitutes out of the equation and Pattaya , Hua Hin Bangkok will become ghost towns.

It would also cause a massive decline in T/T remittances to all Isan provinces.

The government would be forced to look after those idiots instead of farangs.

HOpefully other SEA countries will pay serious attention to this & start allowing their "natural resources" to be mined.

Especially Vietnam. It's such a waste.

Glad to see, that the sexbuyers are alive and well!!

This is the real reason why Thailand is the LOS.

Until other SEA countries wake up, Siam will continue to make tourism drawfs of them.

Nothing would change, even if BKK was hit simultaneously with tidal waves, nuclear bombs & the bubonic plaque.

Edited December 18, 2013 by oldthaihand99

[DocN]

Great...so how many more of this "news" are we to read within the next 3 days?

It's up!

No, it's down!

It was affected by the unrests!

No. it wasn't!

Blah blah blah!

Wishi- washi!

[kurtgruen]

There was a huge amount of Asian (Chinese, etc.), tourists, in Chiang Mai, earlier this year. My buddy, who runs a guesthouse and restaurant there, figures that about 80% of the tourists are Asian, these days, in Chiang Mai.

As for our little city (Chiang Dao), this year, we have very little backpackers anymore. I think, this is partially due, to the fact, that Chiang Dao is much pricier than Chiang Mai, but mainly because backpackers are finding it easier to go to Cambodia and other Countries, where the visa laws are much more relaxed (6 month business visa on arrival in Cambodia), you can own your own business there and operate, it, etc.

As for the middle class and high end tourists, established places, are booked solid, over the holiday season and have high occupancy, in high season, right now. So from my perspective, the only drop, I see, is in budget backpackers, but with the huge increase in Asian tourists, this year, this more than makes up for the losses, I think.

I took a ride up Doi Angkang, on Monday and the mountain was packed with people.

Our business (restaurant/bar), is doing as good as always, but this could be due to the fact, that we have been around for a few years and we get a lot of repeat customers.

I would say, on average, we meet two to three, new, first time tourists, every day. Most come from France, Greece and Holland. Some from North America.

I wouldn't want to make a guess, on what kind of impact the demonstrations have on tourism (I'm sure there is some). I think, the Thai Tourism industry, is not doing too bad, considering the World economy, these days. They wanted to attract higher end tourists and to my surprise, they managed to do that. There is also a lot of "medical tourism". (People coming to get their teeth fixed, hips replaced, etc.)

With minimum wage, up at 9000 Baht per month, of course, prices had to increase, for places with a small profit margin, which will deter a lot of budget travelers, from coming to Thailand.

I just returned from Nepal recently, hiking the Annapurna Circuit Trail and was surprised how cheap everything is there....

A nice, clean hotel, with private room, with attached toilet and hot shower, clean linen and blankets, from $1 - $3 US, per night. Meals from $1 - $5 ($5 got you a Pizza, or a Yak Steak, at an Altitude of around 4000 Meters. For $1, you could have a nice big curry and rice, in Kathmandu.

So, if I was a budget traveler, I would head there and if I wanted beaches, to Cambodia.

[Alwyn]

Apparently tourism accounts for 10% of Thailand's and 3% of the Thai economy (included in the tourism amount) is 3% or $4.3 BILLION per year! - not bad for a country where prostitution is illegal so the unrest and dropping tourism stats (if to be believed) could have a large on Thailand's economy. (numbers from Washington Post and Wikepedia)

[ggold]

.....how many tourists in LOS are single men ?.............

Discussion about politics and military coups is irrelevent to the tourism industry.

Prostitution (male and female) has been the bread & butter of this countries foreign exchange takings for decades.

Take prostitutes out of the equation and Pattaya , Hua Hin Bangkok will become ghost towns.

It would also cause a massive decline in T/T remittances to all Isan provinces.

The government would be forced to look after those idiots instead of farangs.

Indeed, it might be Isaans great secret? T/T receipts made the area richer than the rice scheme maybe!

[Nibbles48]

There was a huge amount of Asian (Chinese, etc.), tourists, in Chiang Mai, earlier this year. My buddy, who runs a guesthouse and restaurant there, figures that about 80% of the tourists are Asian, these days, in Chiang Mai.

As for our little city (Chiang Dao), this year, we have very little backpackers anymore. I think, this is partially due, to the fact, that Chiang Dao is much pricier than Chiang Mai, but mainly because backpackers are finding it easier to go to Cambodia and other Countries, where the visa laws are much more relaxed (6 month business visa on arrival in Cambodia), you can own your own business there and operate, it, etc.

As for the middle class and high end tourists, established places, are booked solid, over the holiday season and have high occupancy, in high season, right now. So from my perspective, the only drop, I see, is in budget backpackers, but with the huge increase in Asian tourists, this year, this more than makes up for the losses, I think.

I took a ride up Doi Angkang, on Monday and the mountain was packed with people.

Our business (restaurant/bar), is doing as good as always, but this could be due to the fact, that we have been around for a few years and we get a lot of repeat customers.

I would say, on average, we meet two to three, new, first time tourists, every day. Most come from France, Greece and Holland. Some from North America.

I wouldn't want to make a guess, on what kind of impact the demonstrations have on tourism (I'm sure there is some). I think, the Thai Tourism industry, is not doing too bad, considering the World economy, these days. They wanted to attract higher end tourists and to my surprise, they managed to do that. There is also a lot of "medical tourism". (People coming to get their teeth fixed, hips replaced, etc.)

With minimum wage, up at 9000 Baht per month, of course, prices had to increase, for places with a small profit margin, which will deter a lot of budget travelers, from coming to Thailand.

I just returned from Nepal recently, hiking the Annapurna Circuit Trail and was surprised how cheap everything is there....

A nice, clean hotel, with private room, with attached toilet and hot shower, clean linen and blankets, from $1 - $3 US, per night. Meals from $1 - $5 ($5 got you a Pizza, or a Yak Steak, at an Altitude of around 4000 Meters. For $1, you could have a nice big curry and rice, in Kathmandu.

So, if I was a budget traveler, I would head there and if I wanted beaches, to Cambodia.

That is the Shinawatra family in hiding.

Seen Yingluck lately?

[Nibbles48]

I love the way the title reads 'Despite Thailand's Political Strife'.

lol.... there was no political strife in the first 9 months. The protests started on October 1st.

[ginjag]

Apparently tourism accounts for 10% of Thailand's and 3% of the Thai economy (included in the tourism amount) is 3% or $4.3 BILLION per year! - not bad for a country where prostitution is illegal so the unrest and dropping tourism stats (if to be believed) could have a large on Thailand's economy. (numbers from Washington Post and Wikepedia)

Agree + gambling-corruption-telling porky pies- numbers above 8 in groups protesting-money kept by the police for fines-money for votes-MPs having a police record- paying in advance for your employment- All the big noise about tourism and according to figures it is a only a very small part of the economy. (when they want it to be). NOW it is so important. ME THINKS it is a larger portion of the economy than the stats say or why the shout.

[mac1970]

There was a huge amount of Asian (Chinese, etc.), tourists, in Chiang Mai, earlier this year. My buddy, who runs a guesthouse and restaurant there, figures that about 80% of the tourists are Asian, these days, in Chiang Mai.

As for our little city (Chiang Dao), this year, we have very little backpackers anymore. I think, this is partially due, to the fact, that Chiang Dao is much pricier than Chiang Mai, but mainly because backpackers are finding it easier to go to Cambodia and other Countries, where the visa laws are much more relaxed (6 month business visa on arrival in Cambodia), you can own your own business there and operate, it, etc.

As for the middle class and high end tourists, established places, are booked solid, over the holiday season and have high occupancy, in high season, right now. So from my perspective, the only drop, I see, is in budget backpackers, but with the huge increase in Asian tourists, this year, this more than makes up for the losses, I think.

I took a ride up Doi Angkang, on Monday and the mountain was packed with people.

Our business (restaurant/bar), is doing as good as always, but this could be due to the fact, that we have been around for a few years and we get a lot of repeat customers.

I would say, on average, we meet two to three, new, first time tourists, every day. Most come from France, Greece and Holland. Some from North America.

I wouldn't want to make a guess, on what kind of impact the demonstrations have on tourism (I'm sure there is some). I think, the Thai Tourism industry, is not doing too bad, considering the World economy, these days. They wanted to attract higher end tourists and to my surprise, they managed to do that. There is also a lot of "medical tourism". (People coming to get their teeth fixed, hips replaced, etc.)

With minimum wage, up at 9000 Baht per month, of course, prices had to increase, for places with a small profit margin, which will deter a lot of budget travelers, from coming to Thailand.

I just returned from Nepal recently, hiking the Annapurna Circuit Trail and was surprised how cheap everything is there....

A nice, clean hotel, with private room, with attached toilet and hot shower, clean linen and blankets, from $1 - $3 US, per night. Meals from $1 - $5 ($5 got you a Pizza, or a Yak Steak, at an Altitude of around 4000 Meters. For $1, you could have a nice big curry and rice, in Kathmandu.

So, if I was a budget traveler, I would head there and if I wanted beaches, to Cambodia.

Like Hua Hin few months back. Daytime, city mainly empty, few farangs walking here and there. Lot of space on the beach, as usual. Easy to go anywhere and enjoy the day. Evening went to the night market, wow, full and difficult to move anywhere else than crowds would go. 95% Chinese, Honkies, Spore's and Thai. Hard to believe the huge change between day and night(bar street was a different thing).

Anyway, based on what I have heard from locals here, even if they still prefer Thailand=Phuket/Chiang Mai, they plan to move to new places like Cambodia, Malaysia etc. But most likely bus tours still do well next few years, until something else start to be in for Chinese.

[falangadang]

I wish they'd make up their minds.

It was only a week or two ago that there was a report that 400,000 tourists had steered clear of Thailand because of the political protests!

[marcusd]

Up today, down tomorrow 400,000 lost - no one knows or no one can believe anything said.

This is as bad - or good as - Nazi / Communists or tin pot country (oops we are in one) Propaganda!

[marcusd]

I think this is one of the FEW countries that counts TOURISM ARRIVALS as anyone using their airports... including returning Thai and Foreign RESIDENTS. So all a crock of crap!