December and where is everybody?

[eyecatcher]

I have admittedly in the past 18 months been poo pooing posters querying the whereabouts and the low numbers of tourists; essentially saying; pander to the Chinese and live in Nimmen, as everything is rosy.

But for 3 weeks Nimmen has been decimated and that leads me to think the inner city is in more of a crisis.

Our customer foot count and income has dropped at least 50% compared to Aug, sept, Oct and Nov and on December last year.(not complaining though!)

The wife is in despair, self doubting comes in, knee jerk reactions to drop prices, we only had a 4* trip advisor review last time, and she feels she would be happier running a 30bt business on the roadside than sitting for 3 consecutive days staring at facebook.

I try to rationalise the reasons and keep firing the same 3 back at her:

1. The political upheaval last month apparently has caused a 30% drop of international flights coming into Bkk and 20% of those tourists landing in Bkk have decided to hop it elsewhere, and out of Thailand altogether. Other international tour operators have also cancelled for the forthcoming.

2. The weather! It has to be said, I certainly am not comfortable without a car travelling around, but I imagine its not nice to come on holiday to Thailand and realise you don’t have appropriate clothing. Its like going to the beach resorts and find it rains every day.

So is the weather keeping tourists off the streets.

3. It’s the run up to Xmas and New year, and there is a 2 or 3 week lull everywhere in the world where people are saving their cash for the big piss up nights or for buying presents.

But I am not talking about Westerners, it’s those Chinese we are missing…is December their busiest month at home and we will all simply have to hang on another month before they bombard us for the next 10 months again....

i appreciate not everyone needs tourists but they are the lifeblood here, lets not forget that.

Anyway my chin is up and now I have more time to wind you lot up on Thaivisa……reminds me how we felt when we first opened.

[mesquite]

I read somewhere that the Chinese govt had cut back on tour groups to Thailand due to some sort of problem.

[ericpasansai]

I read somewhere that the Chinese govt had cut back on tour groups to Thailand due to some sort of problem.

Apocryphal information mesquite thanks for the detailed post. Where did you say you read it and what again is the problem

[Ulysses G.]

I read somewhere that a lot of Chinese cancelled because of the political unrest. It makes sense.

I have never known things to die down during Christmas and New Years. That has always been the height of High Season, but that was before the Chinese invasion.

[FiftyTwo]

Supposedly China has restricted tourists to Thailand.

Plenty of western tourists cruising the moat last week.

Quite a few Chinese renting m/cs this morning.

[MESmith]

Lot's of people up at Mon Jam today

Where were you?

Edited December 22, 2013 by MESmith

[Mapguy]

OP, thanks for the very interesting post. Unfortunately, there are SO many things that affect your business that it is very hard to understand why one thing or other is the problem.

One: Local trade. Purely anecdotal, but I know of a couple of restaurants in your area which are doing "ok."

Two: China. First, I know nothing about government policy changes in China nor have seen any evidence (first hand) of that, but do not doubt that people in China as elsewhere read the Bangkok headline news. Remember that inexperienced travelers (such as the Chinese) are generally much more cautious than those who have traveled more and who know how to read past television headlines. Otherwise, I wonder if the Chinese are not heading further south by air. After all, it is more than a little cool here, and if you are going to go to Thailand in the cold season, wouldn't you pick the beaches at this time of year? Also, consider the Chinese new year this year. It is early, 31 January. So, since that is very much a required trip home, then perhaps you might consider a trip abroad at some another time. Then, consider the impact of that really awful movie, Lost in Thailand. After a while, the impact of a popular movie wears off.

Others: This time, people abroad remember that political extremists actually closed down an airport in the past! That's enough to chill plans, I would think. A vacation from Europe or the Americas is not inexpensive, and people have limited vacation time. Why spend it in lines at airport counters waiting for flights?

That isn't all of it, of course. Otherwise, it seems there is a fair amount of vehicular traffic in town. There are a few Bangkok and other provincial plates.

All the above, of course, is pure speculation with minimal first-hand evidence. OP, I wish you well! And all those who depend upon tourism, even though it seems to be leading to a gross over-commercialization of Chiang Mai --- and that, not to wish anyone working hard to be successful, is very sad. The "rose of the North" seems to be becoming a commercial weed.

[Oscar2]

again the International media is making the protests look worse than they are (and more dangerous that they really are), so that could have some bearing on things. every time we go out there are so many Chinese tourists that sometimes we have to move on and go elsewhere because we don't want to wait. we counted 9 double-Decker tour buses in a police-lead caravan yesterday, arriving in the city with signs in Chinese taped on the windows so it sure looks like a lot of Chinese are arriving for Christmas holidays.

[beau thai]

So are you allowed to name your biz so we can give you some custom or is that verboten on TV??

Golf courses here are packed despite extortionate prices but mostly Japanese, korean and farang. Not many chinese golfers here yet.

Shame we dont have more direct international flights into cnx then we would be less concerned about events in BKK.

[meechai]

It was recently reported that 33 countries have issued travel warning for Thailand

That probably has a bit to do with it.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/33-countries-now-issued-travel-warnings-thailand/

Edited December 22, 2013 by meechai

[Torrens54]

Maybe the over inflated "value" of the Baht has something to do with it.

Then again, maybe they've all gone to Antarctic for the "Warmth," because it is just a bit chilly in CNX at the moment.

[MESmith]

Poor air quality? No, that wouldn't put the chinese off, the air here is pure compared to their cities....

[eyecatcher]

So are you allowed to name your biz so we can give you some custom or is that verboten on TV??

Golf courses here are packed despite extortionate prices but mostly Japanese, korean and farang. Not many chinese golfers here yet.

Shame we dont have more direct international flights into cnx then we would be less concerned about events in BKK.

I think regular readers of my posts know that my business is very "hands on" literally....

After reading some replies I realised that I have overlooked the obvious...not many people want to get their kit off without a heating facility...

I can see a hot oil promotion about to launch.

Incidently I am not unduly concerned at this time I just wanted a rational explanation of why it appeared that all the tourists had jumped off a cliff since lot learning.

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

[eyecatcher]

Since Loy Krathong of course.

Sorry edit facility on phones doesn't work.

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

[northernjohn]

Since Loy Krathong of course.

Sorry edit facility on phones doesn't work.

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

Could be the tourists just aren't as interested in the Yuppie scene. Here in the Night Bazaar area there is still lots of people. To my eye it looks far busier than it was last year. Also the traffic on this side of town is definatly rising.

That is not a result of the tax rebate that ended long ago. Apparently we are getting quite a few from India also and today I was speaking with a couple of lads from Korea.

[puukao]

massage business is tough. maybe change up the initial appearance, hire a girl to give out pamphlets, and do something different and unique to get interest. in CM, i either go to a super expensive place so i know it's good, or super cheap because i'm simply bored. not in the middle price range. and if i get a bad vibe within 10 seconds, i leave. yes, either adapt or fail. maybe even sell super cheap rare thai village mountain blessed pineapple outside as well. and coffee. and internet...

[craigt3365]

A post has been removed which violates forum rules:

In using Thai Visa I agree:

1) To respect fellow members.

[crusader79]

Maybe the over inflated "value" of the Baht has something to do with it.

Then again, maybe they've all gone to Antarctic for the "Warmth," because it is just a bit chilly in CNX at the moment.

One man's inflated is another's undervalued. Currencies fluctuate.

[mizztraveller]

There didn't appear to be a shortage of tourists in Walking Street last night. Even at 5pm, I don't remember ever seeing it so busy.

[metisdead]

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[ARISTIDE]

I feel you. I think it has something to do with the political upheaval. Very few people turned up at the Chiang Mai Jazz Festival this year... only a few hundreds

[quidnunc]

Well it's not the Chinese not the value of the baht not the numbers of tourists not the demonstrations In Bangkok not the Russians not the Albanians then what do you think the reason is for flagging client base? Just so long that a carpenter can blame his tools for poor business


"Let's eat Grandma!"

"Let's eat, Grandma!"

Punctuation saves lives.

Please spare us the grammatical snark. These posting are informal and often written on the fly. It's only useful to do this in kind of criticism if the lack of punctuation undermines the intent of the poster. Which, in this case, it certainly didn't.

[davehowden]

True, but it takes up space!

[eyecatcher]

Well it's not the Chinese not the value of the baht not the numbers of tourists not the demonstrations In Bangkok not the Russians not the Albanians then what do you think the reason is for flagging client base? Just so long that a carpenter can blame his tools for poor business


Just to be clear and re iterate. My query was about the drop in tourists over the last 3 weeks, not a free for all to suggest how to improve whatever.

We have....let's say the fastest growing client base, the best value for money place, and the only place now adopted by the health authority to advise on quality and standards to other similar businesses wanting to start up.

If my business starts flagging then I am not stupid enough to sit back and do nothing.

Infact we have just advertised for another receptionist so that we can set up another business.

Hope that spells out how successful we are.

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

[Frank James]

Anecdotal "evidence": This morning (Mon 23 Dec 2013) at 10:30 traffic in the main tourist areas of CM was packed and crawling along. If i had not been on my trusty Trek bike, I might still be out there, idling and swearing. What accounts for this? Also saw many farangs of all ages walking, and riding rental motorbikes and bicycles. It was fairly dead inside Pantip, but it was early.

In short, there seem to be as many tourists as ever, but it may appear different to a business owner. The residence hotel where I live has been full most of the time since Loy Krathong.

Good luck to all biz owners in CM who rely on tourism. That's a tough baht, with lots of competition.

Merry Christmas/Happy New year to ALL. My gift to you all: I will abstain from any remarks on any forum about politics, local or international, until 2014. Things are ugly enough, without me adding to it. Red/Yellow/Black/White/ we are all God's children.

[Tywais]

I read somewhere that the Chinese govt had cut back on tour groups to Thailand due to some sort of problem.

Apocryphal information mesquite thanks for the detailed post. Where did you say you read it and what again is the problem

Here you go.

New Chinese group travel restrictions concern travel retailers worldwide

CHINA. New Chinese group travel regulations introduced on 1 October are having a sharply negative impact on visitor arrivals at key Chinese tourist destinations.

The new regulations prohibit outbound group tour packages to any country at what the government considers unreasonably low prices. They also require increased transparency of the tourism products included in such packages.

The laws aim to regulate fairer trading between travel agencies and tourists. In particular they ban agencies from luring tourists with low-priced tours and then boosting profit margins through commissions from stores to which they bring tour groups, or from ancillary payments.

The changes have slowed or even reversed growth to a number of key Chinese tourism destinations, worrying travel retailers about the impact on Chinese spending.

<snip>

In Thailand, Chinese arrivals growth slowed dramatically from +103.56% in September to +17.93% in October. That effect was confirmed by statistics from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, where Chinese arrivals in October grew by just +6.68% compared to +99.49% in September. Consequently China's share of arrivals at Suvarnabhumi dropped from 25.42% to 14.86%.

moodiereport

[ttthailand]

Just tried to book a hotel from 30th to 5th Jan. and agoda.com only showed about 10 hotels available. Normally there are hundreds. Must be a little busy in Chiang Mai ...

[Bkungbank]

Where is your hotel located?, I try to get some tourist from Malaysia and Singapore to stay at your place

[Ulic]

Thai government doing its best to put an end to zero baht tourism. Sounds like they have had some success.

Can't understand it myself. If they sleep, eat, go to events, 90% of money is spent here, 10% is the profit

of the tour companies, that stays in China/Russia. What is the big deal. Tourists from China are still getting

ripped off by jet ski operators and drowning on snorkel trips. While these are regrettable events it shows

they are spending money. Just because the tour groups negotiate great prices and squeeze Thai companies

should not mean these tourists should be turned away. This is the result as much as political unrest as far as

I am concerned.

[kinmaew]

Where are the Chinese? They are in AUS buying up every property they can get their hands on. $200-300k over the reserve price no problem. They even fly in on their private jets to buy up a $20M mansion just like that and a $17M "Pad" for their children to attend uni. They know that "Farang" countries are safe for their money, unlike Thailand which is like a lottery with your life savings.