Thailand's State of Emergency not scaring away tourists

[ginjag]

Problem is there was only 1094 tourists here to question. We have a small business in Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens and i am telling you all now the place is around 90% down on tourist. This time last year there where at least 200 coaches per day arriving, not including mini buses, cars etc etc. Now they are giving free visits to the schools to make it look open.

Is there a question of overpriced entrance a Nong Nooch ???? how much now ?? car ? per person ?? Thais pay ??? double pricing ALSO scares tourists off.

The same price as it was last year!!!

A non answer, I was in the area and so many cars turned around at the entrance refusing to pay the fee.

Your answer told me what I feared. Lovely place but more people are put off than before at these double pricing. A big Thai business man with millions pays less than a tourist..

My point being it is not just the protests that puts customers off. This pricing has to stop---racist or what ???

[Equalizer]

Problem is there was only 1094 tourists here to question. We have a small business in Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens and i am telling you all now the place is around 90% down on tourist. This time last year there where at least 200 coaches per day arriving, not including mini buses, cars etc etc. Now they are giving free visits to the schools to make it look open.

Is there a question of overpriced entrance a Nong Nooch ???? how much now ?? car ? per person ?? Thais pay ??? double pricing ALSO scares tourists off.

The same price as it was last year!!!

A non answer, I was in the area and so many cars turned around at the entrance refusing to pay the fee.

Your answer told me what I feared. Lovely place but more people are put off than before at these double pricing. A big Thai business man with millions pays less than a tourist..

My point being it is not just the protests that puts customers off. This pricing has to stop---racist or what ???

Your point is futile. Here you can speed in your car, here you can drink and drive, here you can litter on the street, here you can piss on the side of a wall, here you can do just about anything you want. All not the nicest things one can do oneself however in doing any of the before mentioned your fine will be less than the entrance to Nong Nooch. Take the good with the bad and get over it, greedy sod.

[northernjohn]

That certainly seems to be the case in Chiang Mai.

Foreign tourists seem to understand that the latest bit of Thainess is par for the course here. They know that the country is not run by politicians but by businessmen on the make who wouldn't last five minutes at home. Every so often the corruption, squabbling and the accompanying moronic violence breaks out until the army are forced to tell the political kindergarten it's time to stop and we have a few months peace and quiet before they are let out to play again.

As long as they avoid the bun fights in Bangkok, the busses, the trains, the jet skis, the late night tuk tuk drivers, the clip joints and the traffic police they'll be fine and have a great time.

Enjoy!

Well it sounds good but the numbers are down.

I have a friend who is a tour guide for tours all over Thailand and she tells me that they are having to cancel some of the tours. Here in Chiang Mai I think it has been a good year but we have an international airport.

How ever we are starting to see some red shirts show how stupid they are by standing in the sun blocking traffic. I believe they are planning a rally this weekend. They have done a little bit of violence kind of tame to the anti government protestors. If word gets out about that we might see some cancelations here. Time will tell.

In the mean time tourism is down numerically Nation wide.

Edited March 6, 2014 by northernjohn

[ginjag]

Is there a question of overpriced entrance a Nong Nooch ???? how much now ?? car ? per person ?? Thais pay ??? double pricing ALSO scares tourists off.

The same price as it was last year!!!

A non answer, I was in the area and so many cars turned around at the entrance refusing to pay the fee.

Your answer told me what I feared. Lovely place but more people are put off than before at these double pricing. A big Thai business man with millions pays less than a tourist..

My point being it is not just the protests that puts customers off. This pricing has to stop---racist or what ???

Your point is futile. Here you can speed in your car, here you can drink and drive, here you can litter on the street, here you can piss on the side of a wall, here you can do just about anything you want. All not the nicest things one can do oneself however in doing any of the before mentioned your fine will be less than the entrance to Nong Nooch. Take the good with the bad and get over it, greedy sod.

Sorry I initially asked the price, didn't mean to upset you, touched a true nerve. your answer is a guilty one--we call an avoidance-rip off. You are the greedy sods, so now I am happy your business down. from a simple question to this. You would do yourselves a favour and question these racist rip offs.

Still no price ??? never mind, I was just asking. I have been here a very long time and have 14 friends in your area touring, so you have been very helpful NOT.

[cracker1]

From the University survey it COULD appear that several million people chose not to visit Thailand during this time, and of that small number did come AND WERE SURVEYED few were not bothered by the situation they found on arrival.

I am unsure what the survey reveals....................other than the need to reveal more details of the survey methods and questions.

[marcthanya]

Is that right so why in the past 2 months has my wife who works in a hotel been told to take 25 days off work...complete bolox

[Bkk Cruiser]

Absolute crap!!! I work with hotels and the majority of 4 and 5 star hotels in Bkk are between 15% and 30 % occupancy. This has gone on since the SOE has been instituted. Note that during the last two months these same hotels should almost all have been between 80% to 95% occupancy. Dec through end of Feb are the 3 money making months for the hotels. This loss will not be made up within this year thus no hotel staff in Bkk will be receiving any annual bonuses. End this ridiculous SOE so that at least the corporate bookings can begin to return.

Many travel insurance policies are invalidated with the SOE.. it is not a matter of many travelers who would normally be confident and sensible to avoid the protest areas...it is taking the risk that "any" potential claim unrelated to the protests could / would be rejected would certainly scare many away....

Does anyone know of any insurance companies providing cover during the SOE?

Seems the only ones being scared away by the current protestors are the water monitors who previously had a reasonably good life in Lumpini Park before being forced to share the gardens or be eaten by lower forms of life than themselves.

[looping]

Maybe the will to 'get blown' overrides the fear of being blown up

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Halion]

I for one am sick to the back teeth with the constant ramblings about the tourist industry. This whole country is in ruins without integrity and leadership and all these fools can do is get bullish about tourist figures Massive road deaths due to lack of enforcement and poor administration. Billions lost in scams, idiots making statements on a daily basis with little regard to fact or substance and we have to have this shit about the bloody tourist figures which are most probably severely inflated.... as usual.

[Loles]

wait, wait ... catasrophe tourism ?

[surangw]

might be that there is very little coverage of the ongoing situation in the western medai

[thhMan]

Thais dont know how to use blinkers when the drive or ride...

So why do we expect them to be able to handle a poll, understand what the poll was about, understand what the tourist said and most of all, be able to tally the points to be a percentage.

We are asking a lot from these "pretend" educated people...

[Dogmatix]

They didn't interview the ones who cancelled their trips due to the SOE. Many tour groups, business travellers, conference organiser cancel travel automatically due to safety rules and invalidation of insurance.

[brit1984]

as travel warnings by most foreign governments have invalidated many travel insurance policies, many of the tourists here now are travelling without insurance in what is (regardless of the protests) a developing country where accidents do happen... the tourists here now are real 21st century adventurers... whether they are scared of those whistle blowing loonies is beside the point

Edited March 6, 2014 by brit1984

[brit1984]

Problem is there was only 1094 tourists here to question. We have a small business in Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens and i am telling you all now the place is around 90% down on tourist. This time last year there where at least 200 coaches per day arriving, not including mini buses, cars etc etc. Now they are giving free visits to the schools to make it look open.

Is there a question of overpriced entrance a Nong Nooch ???? how much now ?? car ? per person ?? Thais pay ??? double pricing ALSO scares tourists off.

The stats Equalizer gave in the post you replied to are very interesting and relevant to this thread. The pricing strategy of said attraction is not (as that obviously isn't the reason for a 90% drop in tourist numbers) but there are plenty other threads where you can talk about double pricing.

By the way, I am also pissed off about those school kids getting free entry... everyone should pay the same price... charging higher prices to those from groups with higher average income/wealth (e.g. adults, westerners, etc) to give free/subsidized access to those with lower average income/wealth (e.g. kids, thais, etc) is completely unfair... the poor should just stay at home.

Edited March 6, 2014 by brit1984

[tomacht8]

SOE no effect?

This is complete nonsense.

When an State of emergency is officially proclaimed, then the resident embassies must inform their home countries. This leads to travel warnings and this warnings are available in every travel agency at the same day. Behind this are mainly technical insurance reasons. For old bookings trip cancellation insurance will be activated, complimentary transfers are possible. For new bookings exists then no or a limited overseas travel insurance. In the European consumer law, if the agencies do not inform about the risks, the agencies getting liable for damages. Travel agencies always advise not to travel in crisis areas. As long as the emergency officially exists, the travel warnings are maintained.

[3NUMBAS]

oh yeah with all the government warnings from around the world giving red and orange warnings about BKK

[iliailiailiailia]

Let this university even do a study of the dumbest (people LDCs) in the world ! Education (especially in Isan) is bad !BUT ! All the teachers think they are the prince (Messias) of the village . 555 =and can drive ~ car !

[belg]

who is willing to risk his life or one of his dear family members (children?) on a trip that can get you a free grenade tossed at you ?

i know one kind of tourist that will always come, whatever... the ones that keep it saved it all ready and be ready to be 2week millionaires in some certain places

[madmitch]

as travel warnings by most foreign governments have invalidated many travel insurance policies, many of the tourists here now are travelling without insurance in what is (regardless of the protests) a developing country where accidents do happen... the tourists here now are real 21st century adventurers... whether they are scared of those whistle blowing loonies is beside the point

The travel warnings are mostly saying "be careful" not "stay away". Therefore travel insurance should still be perfectly valid.

[lostmebike]

who is willing to risk his life or one of his dear family members (children?) on a trip that can get you a free grenade tossed at you ?

i know one kind of tourist that will always come, whatever... the ones that keep it saved it all ready and be ready to be 2week millionaires in some certain places

Are you talking about the real 'quality tourist' that Thailand tries to deny?

[tomacht8]

as travel warnings by most foreign governments have invalidated many travel insurance policies, many of the tourists here now are travelling without insurance in what is (regardless of the protests) a developing country where accidents do happen... the tourists here now are real 21st century adventurers... whether they are scared of those whistle blowing loonies is beside the point

The travel warnings are mostly saying "be careful" not "stay away". Therefore travel insurance should still be perfectly valid.

No.

Best to check this with your incurance company!

Has the Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning that insurers are theoretically no longer obligated to pay. Then it depends on the individual case. Assuming deliberately declared war zones to explore, one must know: conventional travel insurance and private health insurance with worldwide coverage grant no protection here. Damage caused by war events preclude the insurer.

Edited March 7, 2014 by tomacht8