TAT plans 'Thainess Year'

[Mot Dang]

I'll tell you what "Thainess" was to me when I arrived in the Kingdom in 1980, 3 to 4 years before the first "Amazing Thailand" campaign. On observation, there wasn't much difference in attitude between the rural Thai and the city Thai. They were equally charming. Thais were always smiling, walk down the back streets of Chang Mai for an early morning walk whilst the small Mum and Dad shop keeper was opening up, they always greeted you with a smile and a sawadii krup/ka. Come out onto Silom Rd at 5:00pm and the masses of office girls smiled when they saw a falang. They weren't in a hurry, you weren't walked off the foot path. Taxi drivers were more interested in talking to you than bellyaching about politics. Doors were always held open for you, and you reciprocated. Children bowed deeply to their elders and were seen but not heard. Never would a child remain seated in a train or bus if an old person stood. Nor would they push past.

You felt welcome because they wanted you to be comfortable, rather than how much money you could be parted from. When I arrived I threw myself into the culture, the religion, the history. Was I then trying to find Thainess before it became trendy ? I found it in their kindness, their openness, their respect for others, their respect for themselves and how they are reviewed by others. Loss of face was highly guarded and protected by good manners.

Don't get me wrong I don't want to return to a utopia (if there ever was one), and certainly today I love the Thais as much as I ever did.

To give an example of what Thainess is, when my wife was a young adult her mother gave her the advice "walk like an elephant". This always puzzled me. But what it meant (if you observe an elephant walking), an elephant walks very quietly, it sways gently, it knows exactly where its putting its feet and doesn't hurry. A Thai women walking like that is the most beautiful creature on this planet.

[Yann55]

Thailand is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, no one will deny that.

When a government agency like TAT wishes to increase the flow, it must logically and honestly question why such a success, as the answer(s) should serve as a basis for their subsequent action.

That, however, is where reason, logic and honesty are likely to go down the drain.

Ask just about anyone in the world who hasn't yet visited the Kingdom what are the 3 words that come to their minds when they hear the word Thailand. Conducting such a survey in China, Russia, India and a panel of Western countries would be the first sensible thing for TAT to do if they wished to really figure out what attracts - or repels - tourists here.

Do I need to suggest that the result of such surveys, however, might prove a little stressful for people who want to think that people come to Thailand primarily for the stunning beauty of its temples, the gorgeous cuisine, the beautiful beaches, and the (oh so) legendary smiles ?

How can we not be faced with a massive display of hypocrisy on such an issue ?

I'm not saying that self-agrandizing narcissism, wishful thinking and useless marketing campaigns are a Thai specialty, because they are not. To give just one example, it's hilarious to see how most French people like to think that the millions of tourists who visit their country every year are actually fascinated by French culture, food, history and architecture, when the truth is that 80% of the visitors are simply in pursuit of non-existent fantasies and clichés (for example : 'Paris the capital of love and fashion') or more pragmatically (and universally) are there just to be able to say 'I was there!'

Edited August 28, 2014 by Yann55

[sae57]

Thainess! Unseen in Thailand, Amazing Land of Smile!

Edited August 28, 2014 by sae57

[ggt]

If the tourists ever find out what "Thai-ness" really means...they will go to the PI, Vietnam, or Malaysia...

[Local Drunk]

We'll never get it you know...

[ThavonsoukResortLaos]

Thailand is in the top 10 of best visited tourist destinations world wide, besides 9 other countries there are not many countries who can say that.

In 10 Years time tourism inThailand has doubled, they must do something good...

Yes its called fudging the figures. Tourist numbers will considerably drop now that those back to back visa runners will not be included in the numbers.

And no the Thais are not doing anything good for tourists.

Thainess is usually an excuse for .......

[oztaurus]

Thailand is in the top 10 of best visited tourist destinations world wide, besides 9 other countries there are not many countries who can say that.

In 10 Years time tourism inThailand has doubled, they must do something good...

Yes its called fudging the figures. Tourist numbers will considerably drop now that those back to back visa runners will not be included in the numbers.

And no the Thais are not doing anything good for tourists.

Thainess is usually an excuse for .......

Top 10? Expecting 29 million visitors?..... there are individual tourist attractions in the world which top that all by themselves.

http://imgur.com/a/bzCRt?gallery

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul does half of that many alone.

[pantareiyingluck]

Panic football. Everybody with sense of realism knows 2015 will be an extremely difficult year where the regime holds or falls. But tourists liking a train ride with only orange juice available will perhaps come. 2015 will not be a fun year.

[pantareiyingluck]

I'll tell you what "Thainess" was to me when I arrived in the Kingdom in 1980, 3 to 4 years before the first "Amazing Thailand" campaign. On observation, there wasn't much difference in attitude between the rural Thai and the city Thai. They were equally charming. Thais were always smiling, walk down the back streets of Chang Mai for an early morning walk whilst the small Mum and Dad shop keeper was opening up, they always greeted you with a smile and a sawadii krup/ka. Come out onto Silom Rd at 5:00pm and the masses of office girls smiled when they saw a falang. They weren't in a hurry, you weren't walked off the foot path. Taxi drivers were more interested in talking to you than bellyaching about politics. Doors were always held open for you, and you reciprocated. Children bowed deeply to their elders and were seen but not heard. Never would a child remain seated in a train or bus if an old person stood. Nor would they push past.

You felt welcome because they wanted you to be comfortable, rather than how much money you could be parted from. When I arrived I threw myself into the culture, the religion, the history. Was I then trying to find Thainess before it became trendy ? I found it in their kindness, their openness, their respect for others, their respect for themselves and how they are reviewed by others. Loss of face was highly guarded and protected by good manners.

Don't get me wrong I don't want to return to a utopia (if there ever was one), and certainly today I love the Thais as much as I ever did.

To give an example of what Thainess is, when my wife was a young adult her mother gave her the advice "walk like an elephant". This always puzzled me. But what it meant (if you observe an elephant walking), an elephant walks very quietly, it sways gently, it knows exactly where its putting its feet and doesn't hurry. A Thai women walking like that is the most beautiful creature on this planet.

Wake upMot, we are 30 years further. Now it is me holding doors open. Thais slam it right in your face.

[Bluespunk]

Don't use 'Thainess', you'll scare folks away. Then again I guess the rest of the world don't know what it means.

You know what it means, did it scare you and the rest of Thai Bashers away ?

Actually I don't know what it means. Can you or TAT provide a precise definition?

[Benmart]

March: Nationwide bribery displays

April: Buy one get one free baby promotion

May: Ladyboy month.

June: Experience a minivan tour at 40 km/h over the speed limit.

Very funny. Keep em' coming. Made my day!

[Benmart]

Many of the comments above lead me to believe that some TV posters were forced to come to Thailand while fleeing war-torn, impoverished countries, and have no other option than to endure the utter hardship and misery which Thailand has to offer. It's the only reason I can see for the inability of many to escape this "hell hole" and return to their homelands. Either that or a bunch of bitter old men have nothing better to do than put Thailand and Thais down in a sad effort to make themselves feel better.

Take the bad with the good and whichever one the scales tip in favor of (in your own mind) should be the deciding factor in the length of your stay.

Is Thailand perfect? No, and that's why many of us love it. Approaching 2 decades here and looking forward to many more.

I agree.

I enjoy my stay here now that I've retired. I've seen many changes in the past 20 years of visiting, prior to living here full-time, and I am fortunate to have the option to move on.

Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. While,I don't like all of what I see, I accept what I cannot change and I am grateful that I know the difference.

One Day at aTime.

[Tokay]

Thailand is in the top 10 of best visited tourist destinations world wide, besides 9 other countries there are not many countries who can say that.

In 10 Years time tourism inThailand has doubled, they must do something good...

A report says 1 out of 5 visitors to Thailand is a sex tourist. So cheap "entertainment" is something they do well.

The rest I'm just guessing, but I'd wager another 1 of that 5 is party goers and/or backpackers. Another 1 of the 5 is for business. The other 2 could be anything, including trafficked people from other countries, smugglers, athletes coming for a game, golfers, families, tour groups (especially tour groups), people on the run, visa runners, shoppers from neighboring countries, and so on.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Was the "It Begins with the People" campaign a failure?

Maybe they can use a combinations of their previous slogans to save money, something like: The Amazing unseen Thailand Grand Sale, it begins with the people and ends in Thainess (Chaos)

[Gringogazzer]

March: Nationwide bribery displays

April: Buy one get one free baby promotion

May: Ladyboy month.

June: Experience a minivan tour at 40 km/h over the speed limit.

July: Rent a Jet-ski.......for 20,000 baht

August: Enjoy "Thainess" from your own country and just post us your wallet.

[Mot Dang]

I'll tell you what "Thainess" was to me when I arrived in the Kingdom in 1980, 3 to 4 years before the first "Amazing Thailand" campaign. On observation, there wasn't much difference in attitude between the rural Thai and the city Thai. They were equally charming. Thais were always smiling, walk down the back streets of Chang Mai for an early morning walk whilst the small Mum and Dad shop keeper was opening up, they always greeted you with a smile and a sawadii krup/ka. Come out onto Silom Rd at 5:00pm and the masses of office girls smiled when they saw a falang. They weren't in a hurry, you weren't walked off the foot path. Taxi drivers were more interested in talking to you than bellyaching about politics. Doors were always held open for you, and you reciprocated. Children bowed deeply to their elders and were seen but not heard. Never would a child remain seated in a train or bus if an old person stood. Nor would they push past.

You felt welcome because they wanted you to be comfortable, rather than how much money you could be parted from. When I arrived I threw myself into the culture, the religion, the history. Was I then trying to find Thainess before it became trendy ? I found it in their kindness, their openness, their respect for others, their respect for themselves and how they are reviewed by others. Loss of face was highly guarded and protected by good manners.

Don't get me wrong I don't want to return to a utopia (if there ever was one), and certainly today I love the Thais as much as I ever did.

To give an example of what Thainess is, when my wife was a young adult her mother gave her the advice "walk like an elephant". This always puzzled me. But what it meant (if you observe an elephant walking), an elephant walks very quietly, it sways gently, it knows exactly where its putting its feet and doesn't hurry. A Thai women walking like that is the most beautiful creature on this planet.

Wake upMot, we are 30 years further. Now it is me holding doors open. Thais slam it right in your face.

[Mot Dang]

In your haste you have misunderstood what I meant. By saying Doors were always held open for you, and you reciprocated I was inferring that in those days doors were held open for you, but now they are not. It is one of my pet hates. And by saying that I wake up we are 30 years on, I can assure you I am more awake of what is happening in Thailand than a newbie like you ever will be. Wake up stop being so critical, haven't you anything constructive or original to say. Show us intelligently what you know of is happening to Thai culture.

[SteveFong]

what kind of people run the show in this fiasco of a marketing plan?

[Songhua]

March: Nationwide bribery displays

April: Buy one get one free baby promotion

May: Ladyboy month.

June: Experience a minivan tour at 40 km/h over the speed limit.

July: Rent a Jet-ski.......for 20,000 baht

August: Enjoy "Thainess" from your own country and just post us your wallet.

September: Introducing the Alien Travel Card: one free derailment included per day.

October: 2% off entry to national parks and tourist attractions - for farang ONLY.

November: MBK to KhaoSan by taxi for only ฿499. Get in quick! ... prices return to normal on 30 Nov.

December: Food & Drink Month "Pad Thai so light you can hardly see it"

[daveAustin]

Don't use 'Thainess', you'll scare folks away. Then again I guess the rest of the world don't know what it means.

You know what it means, did it scare you and the rest of Thai Bashers away ?

It scrambled my brain. Those it hasn't rewired probably don't have much up top or have very thick skin (they all talk about you), or are ancient and happy to be fiddling with girls their granddaughters age. Are those you?

[slipperx]

Many of the comments above lead me to believe that some TV posters were forced to come to Thailand while fleeing war-torn, impoverished countries, and have no other option than to endure the utter hardship and misery which Thailand has to offer. It's the only reason I can see for the inability of many to escape this "hell hole" and return to their homelands. Either that or a bunch of bitter old men have nothing better to do than put Thailand and Thais down in a sad effort to make themselves feel better.

Take the bad with the good and whichever one the scales tip in favor of (in your own mind) should be the deciding factor in the length of your stay.

Is Thailand perfect? No, and that's why many of us love it. Approaching 2 decades here and looking forward to many more.

Your points are taken but the thread is about the TAT upcoming marketing plan based on Thainess. The problem is that Thainess has begun to spread across the region as meaning lying cheating and deceiving outlined by the 'Don't Thai me' phrase.

Apart from the fact that the 'Don't Thai me' phrase has solid grounding, if the TAT want to use Thainess as their slogan the timing seems a decade off.

As for planning 'fun events' like shopping expos and other non-events - do these things tip the balance for tourists to visit?

Thailand is a wonderful country but becoming less so with the unfettered greed and corruption and desire to scam, cheat and steal from the tourists who do decide to come.

Wouldn't the TAT be better encouraging the abolition of dual pricing and discrimination and dealing with the tourist scams that are so well known yet remain largely untackled. Then promote the natural beauty of the place and the holistic habits of the rural people. Promote the history and food, flowers and fauna and nature. Let people party in the party towns and islands already serving that market sector.

Make things easy and paletable and strictly control overcharging. If you run a hotel or restaurant you would understand that the making your customers feel comfortable and concentrating on their experience is of prime importance because otherwise they don't tend to come back and Thailand has plenty of alternatives on its doorstep.

On the other hand the old version of Thainess meaning smiles and courtesy and welcome is fast being taken over by selfishness, greed and disdain towards its guests. Basically it is becoming more and more like some western countries and in some elements, the ones listed above, is already way ahead.

Edited August 29, 2014 by slipperx

[SureNDT]

Thailand is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, no one will deny that.

It's broke into the top ten in 2013. This year it won't be anywhere close.

[Paulzed]

TAT plans 'Thainess Year'

One time when on a river taxi on the Chao praya, the Thai man on the dock was blowing his whistle and waving his hands about, with no logic or reason to what he was doing.

I assume that he was to make sure the boat was not over loaded then blow his whistle to let the pilot know it was safe to go, this wasn’t happening and there was a lot of confusion between him the pilot

A family of five, mother, father and three kids walked up to the boat, the mother escorted the kids on the boat to make sure they got on safely she was still on the pier when the Thai whistle man, blew his whistle in her ear and pulled her back from the boat.

The boat took off and the lady said “stop the boat my children are on there”, whistle man blew the whistle as hard as he could at her and pushed her to the floor, she landed on her ass, the husband who was about 5 foot 5” and weighed no more than 60kgs ran up to his wife to help her up, when four Thai men pounced on him a started to give him a beating, the wife got up and started screaming “ help police help”

One of the Thai men gave her a Muay Thai kick to the leg and she was down again.

Westerners on the boat started shouting stop the boat stop the boat, the Thais acted if nothing was wrong and ignored the situation, by this time the kids were screaming for their mother and father who they saw getting beaten up.

A group of us took the kids to the police booth at the next ferry stop and gave a statement about what happened.

The police response to this was “Oh yes!, very bad parents, they shouldn’t leave the children alone on the boat and make trouble for other people like that!.

And for me whenever I hear or read the term “Thainess” I always think about that event.

[Gringogazzer]

March: Nationwide bribery displays

April: Buy one get one free baby promotion

May: Ladyboy month.

June: Experience a minivan tour at 40 km/h over the speed limit.

July: Rent a Jet-ski.......for 20,000 baht

August: Enjoy "Thainess" from your own country and just post us your wallet.

September: Introducing the Alien Travel Card: one free derailment included per day.

October: 2% off entry to national parks and tourist attractions - for farang ONLY.

November: MBK to KhaoSan by taxi for only ฿499. Get in quick! ... prices return to normal on 30 Nov.

December: Food & Drink Month "Pad Thai so light you can hardly see it"

January: Come and enjoy Farang New Year. As the fireworks are lit you can return to your over priced "high season" shack because it will be illegal to sell alcohol, or be extorted by the police because they'll leave you believing your liable for 6 months imprisionment fa the purchase.

[theoldgit]

Post in breach of Forum Rules removed.

11) You will not post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments directed towards Thailand, specific locations, Thai institutions such as the judicial or law enforcement system, Thai culture, Thai people or any other group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

[MaxLee]

Mai pen rai, gimme money, Falang, but kiss China's behind???

Amazing Thainess