It gonna be better for Thailand!

[chiewn14]

Just came across this.... do you think it gonna be better?

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), currently overseeing Thailand’s administration, has launched a raft of measures aimed at improving the experience of travellers and tourists visiting the kingdom, as well as showing its commitment in welcoming visitors.

The NCPO announced last week that the taxi queues at Suvarnabhumi Airport are to be computerised in an effort to cut down on illicit control of cab operations. Under the new computerised system, the passenger queues will be managed by a card system and drivers will have to accept the fairs that they are assigned whatever the distance.

The fee for passengers taking a taxi from the queue to any destinations in Bangkok and the vicinity will remain at 50 Baht on top of the metre fares, which will always start at 35 Baht.

This announcement followed the previous week’s clampdown on illegal airport taxi operations and the clearing out of more than 100 businesses operating along the beachfronts at Surin, Bang Tao, Laypang and Layan Beaches in Phuket, one of Thailand’s most popular beach resort destinations. It is understood that similar evictions will be rolled out at other beaches in Phuket including Nai Harn, Patong and Kamala.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), overseeing the country’s tourism marketing, is backing the measures saying that these actions will help to enhance the image of Thailand as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations in line with the current tourism campaign, “Amazing Thailand: It Begins with the People…”

TAT Governor, Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik said, “By tackling the taxi management issue at Thailand’s major gateways as well as combatting the encroachment of beaches in order to return them to their natural states, will help promote Thailand as a welcoming and safe destination as well as draw more visitors to the kingdom.”
http://www.tatnews.org/phukets-hotel-tourism-businesses-remain-robust-q1-2014/

[Ricardo]

One can always hope for 90-day visa-on-arrival (like Malaysia), rather than 30-days, if they want to encourage & ease-the-way for tourists !

More-widespread use of alphabetical-signs, as well as Thai or Chinese, would also help short-term visitors IMO.

[WhizBang]

It would be nice, that if you had a one year visa, you got stamped in for one year, and no more 90 day border runs or reporting. One should only need to report if you change your living address.

[Thainess]

Nope, things are only going to get gradually worse. Thailand has already been left behind by other more stable countries in the region, and its days as a cheap tourist destination are over. Indonesia for example is a lot cheaper now than it was a few years ago for most people, e.g. the rupiah went from 14,000 to £1 to almost 21,000 to £1 today. The Thai baht also improved, but this is more than cancelled out by high price inflation and the fact that as a foreigner in Thailand you pay more than locals for almost everything. This isn't the case in Indonesia, in my experience, where you pay the same price as the locals.

The political crisis in Thailand will eventually come to a head again and boil over. This will only get a lot worse when a certain esteemed person passes away. Many foreign companies are already scared of the instability in Thailand and are basing their manufacturing operations in Indonesia instead. The future for Thailand looks bleak.

[ldnguy]

One can always hope for 90-day visa-on-arrival (like Malaysia), rather than 30-days, if they want to encourage & ease-the-way for tourists !

More-widespread use of alphabetical-signs, as well as Thai or Chinese, would also help short-term visitors IMO.

Most visitors to Thailand are from other Asian countries, so not sure that more English signs will help them at all. Most tourists come for a week or two, so a 90-day visa waiver won't make any difference to the vast majority of tourists.

[ldnguy]

Nope, things are only going to get gradually worse. Thailand has already been left behind by other more stable countries in the region, and its days as a cheap tourist destination are over. Indonesia for example is a lot cheaper now than it was a few years ago for most people, e.g. the rupiah went from 14,000 to £1 to almost 21,000 to £1 today. The Thai baht also improved, but this is more than cancelled out by high price inflation and the fact that as a foreigner in Thailand you pay more than locals for almost everything. This isn't the case in Indonesia, in my experience, where you pay the same price as the locals.

The political crisis in Thailand will eventually come to a head again and boil over. This will only get a lot worse when a certain esteemed person passes away. Many foreign companies are already scared of the instability in Thailand and are basing their manufacturing operations in Indonesia instead. The future for Thailand looks bleak.

Most of what you write isn't true. It was only yesterday that the China government said how happy they were that the economic situation had now stabalized. I think they'll be doing a lot more business here. Most tourists don't base where to go on cost alone. Most will still prefer Thailand to Indonesia. Many tourists just don't feel safe in Indonesia, and you'd be complaining if Thailand was more like Indonesia. Do you know that you have to show your passport to buy a train ticket in Indonesia. And do you know that the police will check your passport and ticket before bording the train? It's things like that that put people off Indonesia.

If Thailand did that you'd be saying how it would drive tourists away, but you think it's going to attract tourists to Indonesia. Very strange.

And what makes you think the political crisis will come to a head again? And why don't you think the same will happen in Indonesia. Indonesia is far from being stable. You are dreaming if you think it is.