Tourist arrivals in Thailand drop 10.47 percent to 13.6 million in seven months

[webfact]

Tourist arrivals drop 10.47 percent to 13.6 million in seven months



BANGKOK: -- Tourist arrivals for the seven months of this year dropped by 10.47 percent to 13.6 million compared to 14 million for the same period last year largely due to political instability, said Mr Anuparb Kasensuwan, director-general of Tourism Department, on Tuesday.

Revenue from tourism for the same period dropped by 8 percent to 630 billion baht, he said, adding however that he expected tourism would register growth for the first time this year in October with tourist arrivals returning to normal during the fourth quarter due to continuing tourism promotion.

Since the May 22 coup, Mr Anuparb claimed that tourism situation began to improve steadily with 1.9 million arrivals in July alone which represented a drop of 10.92 percent compared to the lowest point of decline at 24.37 percent.

Chinese tourists represented the biggest arrivals during the seven months of this year with 2.2 million arrivals or a decline by 21.19 percent; 1.04 million Malaysians or a drop by 18.91 percent; 1.02 million Russians.

(Photo : ThaiPBS file)

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/tourist-arrivals-drop-10-47-percent-13-6-million-seven-months/

[thaipbs]2014-08-06[/thaipbs]

[terryp]

expect further drops now all the 14/30 day border runs are almost gone...maybe TAT will finally show the real tourism numbers

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Cutting down the branch you are clinging to comes to mind...

[Suriya4]

Chinese tourist are not big spender. They came for free tour, free food, free bus, free concert, free protest. They visit places like public park, chiang mai uni etc that pay no entrance fee. Some even paid to come under the Zero Baht Tour scheme organised by shopping gang who make money out of them thru the sales of fake gems and fake bird nest and have Sex with fake ladies.

[SteveFong]

pardon my apparently poor math skills but,

 

10% of 14,000,000 is 1,400,000

 

14,000,000

 -1,400,000

----------------

12,600,000

 

Even when they try to be honest, it seems?

[Payboy]

...dropped by 10.47 percent to 13.6 million compared to 14 million for the same period last year....

I'm not an expert, but that works out to just under 3% on my abacus.

[thesetat2013]

Chinese tourists represented the biggest arrivals during the seven months of this year with 2.2 million arrivals or a decline by 21.19 percent; 1.04 million Malaysians or a drop by 18.91 percent; 1.02 million Russians

 

Thailand is going to find that an influx of Chinese tourist will not cover the income generated by foreigner tourists not belonging to Asia. 

Their increase in arrivals would not affect the tourism industry other than airline sales and hotel bookings with which both are probably taking a loss with their promotions. Chinese tourist groups walk around taking pictures. They don't stop for a beer at a watering hole. They don't buy knickknacks and look for the cheapest products they can get. Not exactly generating income for anyone. Then there is there rudeness, aggressive nature and loud speech. All of these equals the best in a tourist any country would be looking for their tourism industry

[Bender]

soon they will be begging for the backpaper, the multiple visa runner, the hippie, the overstayer, the fake teacher, the young farang, to come back to thailand.

Yes they will knee down, and ask them to come again to thailand

 

 

 

 

 

ps: people here are surprise how bad, they are in maths... now that might explain the mystery about the missing rice.... they dont know how to count up to ten

Edited August 6, 2014 by Bender

[ikke]

Chinese tourist are not big spender. They came for free tour, free food, free bus, free concert, free protest. They visit places like public park, chiang mai uni etc that pay no entrance fee. Some even paid to come under the Zero Baht Tour scheme organised by shopping gang who make money out of them thru the sales of fake gems and fake bird nest and have Sex with fake ladies.

Don't forget, to boost the fake numbers.

[SteveFong]

I didnt want to bother pointing out that their numbers, show a massive drop pf 20% in Chinese tourists, so,

 

They have shot even their bread and butter in the foot,

 

Thailand can forget Jewish and Americans now as well, with their permission of demonstrations at the US Embassy and the burning of the flags, even while there is a demonstration edict out there

 

No one ever expected fair treatment frrom Thailand,

 

Now they are  certain

 

I am not happy with these developments

[PattayaPhom]

Is there anyone on here that actually owns a business and can contribute first hand. This year is busier than last and the year befor that. Yes a 6 week cool period after Songran as per norm which was a little extended due to the curfew.

[hutchings1963]

Better tell the shop keepers of mai sai,went in the market yesterday you could hear a pin drop

[HUAHIN62]

More spinning, according to Bloomberg the tourist arrivals for July dropped YoY with 24%, which represent a downward trend not an improvement.

[Dublin]

"he expected tourism would register growth for the first time this year in October with tourist arrivals returning"

 

No shit sherlock, its the start of summer season of course its going to pick up,,,,   Genius 

[StevenHeidbriderSr]

I gotta figure the Thai Government will wake up in a few months/years and be more accepting of us Farangs that try our best to follow the rules. We  have a hard time keeping up when they change the rules at the whim of those in power ie:The guy with the stamp.

[ajarnmarc]

We can only hope this drop in tourism holds, 

while Immigration debates on their changes.

 

They claim they wish to make it easier for true tourist and a start would be to match their neighboring countries with a ninety day entry stamp upon arrival, and a wallet sized visa card for expats to carry around in their wallets.

 

Now before anyone goes on the perpetual attack,

the later (visa card) isn't currently in place at any of the neighboring countries, 

but it sure would be useful if it was.

 

Since at the end of the day,

what countries truly care about is for foreigners having the proper visa...

 

I'm not expecting Thailand to change to suit my needs, 

so you get out of Thailand responses can shut your traps, 

we've heard you all before, and it's long over due for a new approach/response.

 

Changes in Immigration would be nice if they were somehow truly for the better, 

and not just intended to wipe out most of the competition for these older guys, 

wanting this to be their land,

as it would appear the days to obtain PR are all but a pipe dream these days.

 

As is the life time drivers license and work permits.

I just missed the life time drivers license scheme, 

before they changed it to maximum five years per renewal, 

but I had to get through the 1 year license, then the 3 year license, 

to get to the 5 year one, and then the next would of been the life time license.

 

Anyways back on topic, tourism can only be expected to drop, 

when things are constantly changing, and apparently in the eyes of the tourist, 

it's not for the better.

 

Certainly the accommodations aren't improving, nor is the dining.

Just perhaps more of the same styles, competing for the same crowds.

 

 

 

 

[Gweiloman]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

Chinese tourist are not big spender. They came for free tour, free food, free bus, free concert, free protest. They visit places like public park, chiang mai uni etc that pay no entrance fee. Some even paid to come under the Zero Baht Tour scheme organised by shopping gang who make money out of them thru the sales of fake gems and fake bird nest and have Sex with fake ladies.

 

 

Chinese tourists represented the biggest arrivals during the seven months of this year with 2.2 million arrivals or a decline by 21.19 percent; 1.04 million Malaysians or a drop by 18.91 percent; 1.02 million Russians

 

Thailand is going to find that an influx of Chinese tourist will not cover the income generated by foreigner tourists not belonging to Asia. 

Their increase in arrivals would not affect the tourism industry other than airline sales and hotel bookings with which both are probably taking a loss with their promotions. Chinese tourist groups walk around taking pictures. They don't stop for a beer at a watering hole. They don't buy knickknacks and look for the cheapest products they can get. Not exactly generating income for anyone. Then there is there rudeness, aggressive nature and loud speech. All of these equals the best in a tourist any country would be looking for their tourism industry

 

While I personally dislike the Chinese tourists as well, I think that some of you have allowed your prejudice and bias to blind you to other facts.

 

The "real" Western tourist tends to come on an FIT basis, staying in maybe 3,4 or 5 stars hotel. They spend money on some shopping and F&B of course but also a lot of their time lying by the pool or on the beach. So primarily, they benefit some hotels and some pubs, which I would imagine are mostly owned by "foreign" parties.

 

Chinese tourists on the other hand come in tour groups. As such, they require the services of an inbound ground operator - Thai owned. They require the services of tour coaches - Thai owned. They visit "attractions" like the Pattaya Floating market (Thb 200 entrance per person) or Mimosa (Thb 150 entrance per person) - both Thai owned. They eat at local and roadside restaurants - Thai owned. They go for massages and soapies - Thai owned.

 

See the whole picture?

 

I can also tell you for a fact that Chinese tourists to Europe today constitutes the biggest spending in many places, including LV, Printemps, Galleries Lafeyette in Paris, diamonds in Amsterdam etc etc.

 

Don't be so quick to pass judgement based on your lack or experience and knowledge of such matters.

 

 

[carstenp]

More spinning, according to Bloomberg the tourist arrivals for July dropped YoY with 24%, which represent a downward trend not an improvement.

I'm collection information about this. Can you give me a link to this

Regards

[Nigeone]

As others have said.....those figures dont make sense dont add up and why should I be surprised....The man on the street can tell you if its busy or not and certainly

when I came through swampy the other month it was dead....They need to clean up so much for sure but they cant expect no effects of that policy..and I think the end of year figures 'IF' given honestly will show further massive drops....Russia travel is knackered due to sanctions so there out too... 

[spidermike007]

expect further drops now all the 14/30 day border runs are almost gone...maybe TAT will finally show the real tourism numbers

No reason to even consider that possibility. And bear in mind, these numbers include all border bounces, all visa runs, and who knows what else? Are we certain they do not include business visas? What about transit passengers? My guess is the visitor numbers here are about as accurate as the unemployment figures in the US. The word fudging comes to mind.


Spidermike
Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[HUAHIN62]

 

More spinning, according to Bloomberg the tourist arrivals for July dropped YoY with 24%, which represent a downward trend not an improvement.

I'm collection information about this. Can you give me a link to this

Regards

 

I couldn't find the article on Yahoo news again but here are others: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/tourist-arrivals, http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism.asp. The source in the original article was BoT and was prelim for July 2014.

[hansnl]

Chinese tourists represented the biggest arrivals during the seven months of this year with 2.2 million arrivals or a decline by 21.19 percent; 1.04 million Malaysians or a drop by 18.91 percent; 1.02 million Russians

 

Thailand is going to find that an influx of Chinese tourist will not cover the income generated by foreigner tourists not belonging to Asia. 

Their increase in arrivals would not affect the tourism industry other than airline sales and hotel bookings with which both are probably taking a loss with their promotions. Chinese tourist groups walk around taking pictures. They don't stop for a beer at a watering hole. They don't buy knickknacks and look for the cheapest products they can get. Not exactly generating income for anyone. Then there is there rudeness, aggressive nature and loud speech. All of these equals the best in a tourist any country would be looking for their tourism industry

 

It is quite simple, actually.

 

A western tourist comes to Thailand for an average of 12 days.

He spends around € 100 a day per person, besides the hotel bookings.

A grand total spent in the local economy of € 150, per day!

 

A Chinese tourist comes to Thailand for an average of 6 days.

That same tourist spends the hefty sum of € 15 in the local economy per day.......wow!

The hotel is booked by the Chinese tour operator in a self owned or rented hotel.

Transport around Thailand is done in a Chinese bus with a Chinese driver, owned by the Chinese company.

 

If you do your sums, Thailand needs 10 Chinese tourists per day for every missed Farang.

 

Might I call this a very bad deal?

 

I would guess Thailand better make some work in luring the western tourists back to Thailand.

 

The crackdown on the visa problem, and indeed the rules were broken, generates a lot of negative press in Farang countries.

Friend of mine comes to Thailand on a year multi entry visa for the last ten years.

Every year he buys a not too cheap visum and spends around € 15000 in Thailand, probably much more.

Now he tells me he is afraid to get problems with the visa things, and will go somewhere else,

 

Me, I am on an extension of stay for retirement for the 9th year now.

I have invested in those years the hefty sum of 15 milllion baht.

And now I guess that one day soon I will have problems with immigration because of change of rules.

 

[i claudius]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

Chinese tourist are not big spender. They came for free tour, free food, free bus, free concert, free protest. They visit places like public park, chiang mai uni etc that pay no entrance fee. Some even paid to come under the Zero Baht Tour scheme organised by shopping gang who make money out of them thru the sales of fake gems and fake bird nest and have Sex with fake ladies.

 

 

Chinese tourists represented the biggest arrivals during the seven months of this year with 2.2 million arrivals or a decline by 21.19 percent; 1.04 million Malaysians or a drop by 18.91 percent; 1.02 million Russians

 

Thailand is going to find that an influx of Chinese tourist will not cover the income generated by foreigner tourists not belonging to Asia. 

Their increase in arrivals would not affect the tourism industry other than airline sales and hotel bookings with which both are probably taking a loss with their promotions. Chinese tourist groups walk around taking pictures. They don't stop for a beer at a watering hole. They don't buy knickknacks and look for the cheapest products they can get. Not exactly generating income for anyone. Then there is there rudeness, aggressive nature and loud speech. All of these equals the best in a tourist any country would be looking for their tourism industry

 

While I personally dislike the Chinese tourists as well, I think that some of you have allowed your prejudice and bias to blind you to other facts.

 

The "real" Western tourist tends to come on an FIT basis, staying in maybe 3,4 or 5 stars hotel. They spend money on some shopping and F&B of course but also a lot of their time lying by the pool or on the beach. So primarily, they benefit some hotels and some pubs, which I would imagine are mostly owned by "foreign" parties.

 

Chinese tourists on the other hand come in tour groups. As such, they require the services of an inbound ground operator - Thai owned. They require the services of tour coaches - Thai owned. They visit "attractions" like the Pattaya Floating market (Thb 200 entrance per person) or Mimosa (Thb 150 entrance per person) - both Thai owned. They eat at local and roadside restaurants - Thai owned. They go for massages and soapies - Thai owned.

 

See the whole picture?

 

I can also tell you for a fact that Chinese tourists to Europe today constitutes the biggest spending in many places, including LV, Printemps, Galleries Lafeyette in Paris, diamonds in Amsterdam etc etc.

 

Don't be so quick to pass judgement based on your lack or experience and knowledge of such matters.

 

 

My wife and i poped into the floating market some time ago ,while i was in the toilet ,the attendant told my wife that she hated the Chinese tourists ,if they were not trying to go to the loo for a reduced price they were trying to sneak in ,quality tourists ,my arse.

[Gweiloman]

 

 

 

While I personally dislike the Chinese tourists as well, I think that some of you have allowed your prejudice and bias to blind you to other facts.

 

The "real" Western tourist tends to come on an FIT basis, staying in maybe 3,4 or 5 stars hotel. They spend money on some shopping and F&B of course but also a lot of their time lying by the pool or on the beach. So primarily, they benefit some hotels and some pubs, which I would imagine are mostly owned by "foreign" parties.

 

Chinese tourists on the other hand come in tour groups. As such, they require the services of an inbound ground operator - Thai owned. They require the services of tour coaches - Thai owned. They visit "attractions" like the Pattaya Floating market (Thb 200 entrance per person) or Mimosa (Thb 150 entrance per person) - both Thai owned. They eat at local and roadside restaurants - Thai owned. They go for massages and soapies - Thai owned.

 

See the whole picture?

 

I can also tell you for a fact that Chinese tourists to Europe today constitutes the biggest spending in many places, including LV, Printemps, Galleries Lafeyette in Paris, diamonds in Amsterdam etc etc.

 

Don't be so quick to pass judgement based on your lack or experience and knowledge of such matters.

 

 

My wife and i poped into the floating market some time ago ,while i was in the toilet ,the attendant told my wife that she hated the Chinese tourists ,if they were not trying to go to the loo for a reduced price they were trying to sneak in ,quality tourists ,my arse.

 

 

I made no mention of quality anywhere in my post. This is all about business, money spent. One Western tourist may spend three times more than a Chinese tourist but when there are 10 times more Chinese tourists than Western tourists .... do your maths.

[catweazle]

Well, everything started nicely, didn't it? Crawckdown on taxi mafia, corrupt politicians, the fascist Bkk troublemakers, beach cleanup, a deeper look (not more I fear) into the deep south... But then they started frightening foreign workers to an extend that they would run and leave in sheer panic (Cambodian workers' story) to finally kill western tourism in an overdose of "now we do everything by the book" by enforcing and tightening visa and documentation requirements to an extend where not only expats, but Thai loving tourists, who returned year after year (some for decades) are now worried about all these visa bu!!$#it so much that they won't come this season and perhaps never return.

 

Three of our befriended couples won't come back 2014/15 and several friends of mine along the west coast have cancellations for their bungalows and guest houses raining in on a daily basis, especially after the passport fines story. We see in our little business cancellations as well. It's not looking good for this coming season.

 

I was always the one to stand in for the Thais in any discussion and tried to ease tension whenever it came to Thai bashing or over the top ranting at officials, police, etc. But by now, I personally have had it folks!!! Thailand certainly is number one in the world when it comes to the ability of shooting oneself in the leg. Thailand wouldn't use a pistol, they would use a pump gun to make sure the leg is off for good. Time to hit the brakes now, otherwise this country might tip over the cliff... I currently put selling everything and leaving in consideration, so do friends and business associtaes of mine. Thais might think their country is the greatest in the world and people will stay and invest here whatever harsh rules and regulations they might imply, but be warned Thailand - obviously not only expats, but millions of westerners who loved to visit this country, have been put off by your anti-foreign policies and your anti-foreign, nationalist stances. Enough is enough!!!!

[bkkdawg]

Next week on Thaivisa.com.

 

Free double entry tourist visas for everyone!

[Sena Dave]

Good luck with the Chinese Tourists , Me and the missus were being "Shown" to our Breakfast table , seat pulled out by the waitress when some Chinese bird with a plate loaded with food dived into the seat and nicked the table. My missus and the waitress were stunned , I worked in the PRC for a couple of years so am not surprised by their antics

[media]

The Russian areas in Pattaya like Cosy beach are fairly quiet. not many Russians in Pattaya since they tightened the visa belt !

[dotpoom]

Chinese tourist are not big spender. They came for free tour, free food, free bus, free concert, free protest. They visit places like public park, chiang mai uni etc that pay no entrance fee. Some even paid to come under the Zero Baht Tour scheme organised by shopping gang who make money out of them thru the sales of fake gems and fake bird nest and have Sex with fake ladies.

 

Sounds good to me....where do I sign up?

[utkb]

Just got back from a 9 day holiday in Thailand.  Four days Hua Hin and 5 days Bangkok.

 

From the street crowds at the night market in Hua Hin it certainly did not look like a down trend, and neither did the area from Bumrungrad to Nana or at Asok/Sukhumvit.  Both were very crowded.

 

On the other hand, booking hotels through Latestays . com or agoda, almost 99%of the hotels were available for late bookings at reduced rates.

 

The flight in was 100% full and out probably 90% full.