Hotels association wants control of tourist arrivals in Phuket

[RigPig]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

[madmitch]

It is very easy for a small guesthouse to get a licence and it costs the grand sum of 1000 baht payable to the local OrBorJor (or maybe tessabaan, I'm not sure).

So if all these places paid their small amount over and became legal then would these big hotel owners still complain? Of course they would. They don't want small players. It's the typical Thai elite attitude. They want everything for themselves.

And maybe they should consider who makes the most money from the small hotels? It's the landowners who charge extortionate rents. Yes, more Thai BMW drivers.

It's been said many times that today's backpacker could be tomorrow's middle class quality tourist but since when does the average Thai think about tomorrow?

[ebonykap]

Just when I thought I had heard it all.........

Never been to Phuket, now one more reason to never go!

[KarenBravo]

Just when I thought I had heard it all.........

Never been to Phuket, now one more reason to never go!

Please read post #27.

Many thanks.

Your Friend,

TAT.

[Suradit69]

Another "genius" portraying "thai-ness" of greed. "emphasis on “quality” or high-spending tourists."

My tens of thousands of baht I spend in the Kingdom each year will never be spent in Phuket province.

"My tens of thousands of baht ..."

I imagine the Baht 500-a-night-with-ceiling-fan hotels will be staggered to hear that you won't be visiting again with your tens of $30 economic stimulus.

[fritzzz25]

Boycott Koh Tao - CHECK

Boycott Phuket - CHECK

Next on the list.......... to be determined.

[stevenl]

They will never get what tourists want or need so there lies the problem.

Thais will never understand farangness.

Nor do they care much, since the vast majority of tourists are not farang.

[DrTuner]

Just charge everyone looking like a tourist 1000 baht on sight, applicable every hour. That ought to keep them pesky poor farangs away.

[LivinginKata]

Troll post removed.

[NamKangMan]

They will never get what tourists want or need so there lies the problem.

Thais will never understand farangness.

Nor do they care much, since the vast majority of tourists are not farang.

"Nor do they care much, since the vast majority of tourists are not farang." - isn't the theme behind the article in this thread the fact that they "do care" because they are losing money, and the reason why is because the majority of tourisst coming here now "are not farang?"

[robertthebruce]

Yet another reason I haven't been to Phuket for 10 years. And that is going to be the very last time.

Thank you so much in supporting and following the government's directive that only quality tourists should contemplate going to Phuket.

We feel sure that you would have a much better time in Pattaya, or, even better, Benidorm.

Please tell all your friends, too.

With Thanks,

TAT.

Ps - don't forget Blackpool, Scarborough,Brighton,Dundee......

[LivinginKata]

Ps - don't forget Blackpool, Scarborough,Brighton,Dundee......

Blackpool, Scarborough, Brighton ... maybe an alternative. But Dundee ??? Hardly a seaside or beach resort.

[NamKAheng]

I know a country who as a great control over witch tourist can enter, it's called North Korea, but I heard that the high season is so and so.

[simon43]

Sigh... as a small hotelier in Phuket, (the hotels, not me), I don't really know where to start in response to the OP.

Quality tourists (those that pay top whack), like to visit quality destinations. Phuket is definitely not a quality destination.

The OP doesn't seem to understand the concept of a 'free market'. Competition in the supply of hotel rooms can be determined by a number of factors, such as room rate, hotel facilities etc etc. In a free market, discount pricing is one option available to the hotelier.

If the OP wants to lay the blame on someone for these so-called, low-quality tourists, then they should first blame TAT, for it is the policies and marketing of TAT that has led to the influx of budget travellers from Russia, India and China.

While they are busy laying blame, they can also cite the RTP (for failing to uphold the law and safety of tourists, the local government (for being as lame as a very lame duck when it comes to enforcing planning policy etc), the OrBorTors (for being corrupt, greedy and incompetent) etc etc.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the message.

Isn't it strange that some of these 4 and 5-star hotels that are complaining, are also illegal, built within the National Park...?

[NamKangMan]

Yet another reason I haven't been to Phuket for 10 years. And that is going to be the very last time.

Thank you so much in supporting and following the government's directive that only quality tourists should contemplate going to Phuket.

We feel sure that you would have a much better time in Pattaya, or, even better, Benidorm.

Please tell all your friends, too.

With Thanks,

TAT.

I have a few expat friends who have moved from Phuket to Pattaya. They were all reasonably well off financially.

It seems, what used to to be a downgrade, is now an upgrade.

It appears many western tourists now think so, as well.

Edited October 24, 2014 by NamKangMan

[keestha]

Too many tourists going to Phuket eh? Wondering if it is still difficult sometimes during the peak season to get a room at all for somebody arriving without booking. I remember that during the nineties, during the peak season often guesthouses, like in Karon, only accepted guests who stayed minimally 3 nights.

Arriving without booking during the peak season in Patong or Karon now, am I right in thinking it wouldn't take much time to find a room?

A example of a place getting too many tourists during the peak season is the island of koh Phayam off Ranong. It has happened that they had to let the ferry do an extra run back to the mainland, to transport back tourists for whom no bungalow would be available, positively every place being full up.

[Oziex1]

Quality tourist? If I want ping pong it,s there if I want hookers no problem, photo with tiger ok, dolphin show yep. Phuket a quality destination

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[shirtless]

To be totally honest i think they should be happy if they get any tourists, These people have no idea Thailand is losing out ,on the tourist dollar and they still think they can pick and choose.Thainess needs to get into the real world.

[catweazle]

Law of attraction:

Quality products attract quality customers

Shoddy products attract shoddy customers

Very simple, isn't it?

[NamKangMan]

Law of attraction:

Quality products attract quality customers

Shoddy products attract shoddy customers

Very simple, isn't it?

Phuket still has enough natural beauty to be a "quality product" thus, an "attraction" to many, but it has had "shoddy" Thai's in administration, and they have presided over the detraction of the "attraction" of Phuket, to the point that it only now attracts "shoddy customers."

[jpeg]

He pointed out that Phuket was overwhelmed with tourists many of them arriving in tour groups and, hence, prompting a surge of illegal and inexpensive hotels to accommodate the budget tourists often leading to price cutting.

On the way into Town yesterday morning, I counted 12 huge tour buses carrying Chinese tourists. And being led by two cop cars lights flashing and sirens blaring. Escorting them to BigC?

[thailiketoo]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

[LivinginKata]

2 troll posts removed.

[RigPig]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

So one person benefits from a one off payment, the tourists (the major amount) spending money stays in their home country....... duh

The money sure isn't going into the small mans pocket anymore, they are the ones suffering, unless you own a 7/11, banana pancake stall or fruit shop, maybe a cheap cocktail stall where you can get a "happy snap".

It's just a means of status, "I went to Thailand here are the pics and the $2.00 trinkets".

I had Russian electrical engineers working for me in Ukraine, they were making $1000 a month only on their time on the rig (4 weeks on 4 weeks off) and thought it was big money!! How can someone in that price/salary range afford a holiday in Thailand? How can they stimulate the economy? The tourist figures look good but the ACTUAL benefits to the local community are negligible.

I am not sure about everyone else but when i first came to Thailand, I booked a flight on Thai Airways, I booked a Thai owned hotel and spent money in Thai entertainment venues and restaurants. I did add to the economy and the income of local people. Paying up front in another country to a company controlling everything which has been pre-bought by that company only adds a small amount of income to the country, a one off payment. The real profits don't come here. It may be good for the consumer but not much good for the locals.

[NamKangMan]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

They most likely leased hotels that was going broke, thus, getting the lease for cheap - sure, that money stays here, unless the lease was bought off a foreigner, or a foreign company, in which case, this money may move away from Thailand as well.

Once they have the lease, the hotel is full, for the next 10 years, with Russian package holiday makers. The package holiday is selected and paid for in Russia, which includes many meals. The flights are selected and paid for in Russia. The flights, accommodation and meal money, stays in Russia - it never gets to Thailand.

Sure, some food and alcohol money, stays in Thailand, in the form of product production, but any profits from the sales of these will filter back to Russia as well, if consumed in the hotel, which many meals are.

Some staff salary stays in Thailand eg. hotel staff and coach bus driver, but that's about all that helps the local Phuket economy, and we have all heard about the many Russians working illeglly here, so they even try to minimise that.

That's why they call these tourists "zero baht tourists" because Thailand really sees minimal money from them. Most of the money stays in the country of origin of the holiday maker.

Now picture that for the next 10 years of the hotel lease, and you can imagine what Phuket will become, if it hasn't already.

Edited October 25, 2014 by NamKangMan

[thailiketoo]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

So one person benefits from a one off payment, the tourists (the major amount) spending money stays in their home country....... duh

The money sure isn't going into the small mans pocket anymore, they are the ones suffering, unless you own a 7/11, banana pancake stall or fruit shop, maybe a cheap cocktail stall where you can get a "happy snap".

It's just a means of status, "I went to Thailand here are the pics and the $2.00 trinkets".

I had Russian electrical engineers working for me in Ukraine, they were making $1000 a month only on their time on the rig (4 weeks on 4 weeks off) and thought it was big money!! How can someone in that price/salary range afford a holiday in Thailand? How can they stimulate the economy? The tourist figures look good but the ACTUAL benefits to the local community are negligible.

I am not sure about everyone else but when i first came to Thailand, I booked a flight on Thai Airways, I booked a Thai owned hotel and spent money in Thai entertainment venues and restaurants. I did add to the economy and the income of local people. Paying up front in another country to a company controlling everything which has been pre-bought by that company only adds a small amount of income to the country, a one off payment. The real profits don't come here. It may be good for the consumer but not much good for the locals.

If the hotel is empty the lease payment is still made. The company owning the hotel has a staff and they get paid and they spend money. Tourism is going down in Thailand; better a lease payment that is 100% sure thing than the ups and downs of tourism.

Same thing in many businesses. Better to service the bar than own the bar. All the tour company gets is a commission on services bought from Thais. The tour buses stop at PTT for gas and the Chinese stock up at the 7/11 store for travel.

Don't worry about the Thai people. They have been selling tours for a long time. They are doing fine.

[RigPig]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

Here is a hypothetical scenario:

Lets say you have a hotel, in country "B", your customers pay in country "A" $X a room. In country "B" where the hotel is, you declare that every customer paid 4 times as much, then you use the money gained from ill gotten deeds as money received for the (cash) payment for the rooms (already paid for as a "package" tour, but not broken down into separate components), your accountants minimize your tax and as it is an international company send the money back home as income received from legitimate businesses owned overseas.

I'm not an accountant and I am sure there are many holes (which could be plugged) in this simple scenario, however I am also sure that if enough money is involved something similar could be put in place, greasing palms is an easy thing, The only convicted Al Capone for tax evasion....!!!

[NamKangMan]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

So one person benefits from a one off payment, the tourists (the major amount) spending money stays in their home country....... duh

The money sure isn't going into the small mans pocket anymore, they are the ones suffering, unless you own a 7/11, banana pancake stall or fruit shop, maybe a cheap cocktail stall where you can get a "happy snap".

It's just a means of status, "I went to Thailand here are the pics and the $2.00 trinkets".

I had Russian electrical engineers working for me in Ukraine, they were making $1000 a month only on their time on the rig (4 weeks on 4 weeks off) and thought it was big money!! How can someone in that price/salary range afford a holiday in Thailand? How can they stimulate the economy? The tourist figures look good but the ACTUAL benefits to the local community are negligible.

I am not sure about everyone else but when i first came to Thailand, I booked a flight on Thai Airways, I booked a Thai owned hotel and spent money in Thai entertainment venues and restaurants. I did add to the economy and the income of local people. Paying up front in another country to a company controlling everything which has been pre-bought by that company only adds a small amount of income to the country, a one off payment. The real profits don't come here. It may be good for the consumer but not much good for the locals.

If the hotel is empty the lease payment is still made. The company owning the hotel has a staff and they get paid and they spend money. Tourism is going down in Thailand; better a lease payment that is 100% sure thing than the ups and downs of tourism.

Same thing in many businesses. Better to service the bar than own the bar. All the tour company gets is a commission on services bought from Thais. The tour buses stop at PTT for gas and the Chinese stock up at the 7/11 store for travel.

Don't worry about the Thai people. They have been selling tours for a long time. They are doing fine.

"The tour buses stop at PTT for gas and the Chinese stock up at the 7/11 store for travel." - what sells more gas, 30 couples traveling in 30 different taxis or tuk-tuks, or 60 people traveling in one coach bus?

What makes more money - selling 60 meals in a restaurant, or selling 60 packets of instant noodles?

"Don't worry about the Thai people." - I don't. They are only reaping what they have sewn on Phuket.

"They have been selling tours for a long time." - never to package holiday makers, on such a grand scale here, as now.

"They are doing fine." - no, they are not, hence, complaints being made, which are in the article, that are the subject of this thread.

[RigPig]

The reality of it is that Thai owned hotels (3 to 6000 Baht a night) leased their hotels to Russian (and probably other) tour groups for 10 year periods. The money doesn't even come into Thailand anymore. I am sure the people staying in these hotels are not paying that sort of money for a room otherwise they wouldn't have to fill their bags up for the day at the breakfast buffet in the morning and top it up on banana pancakes and fruit while washing it down with a Chang from the 7/11......

So how are the hoteliers making a profit? Probably the same reason so many "money exchange" booths have cropped up, how can they compete with banks and make a profit? Me suspects these businesses are really laundromats in disguise

If the money is not coming into Thailand where does the lease payment go?

So one person benefits from a one off payment, the tourists (the major amount) spending money stays in their home country....... duh

The money sure isn't going into the small mans pocket anymore, they are the ones suffering, unless you own a 7/11, banana pancake stall or fruit shop, maybe a cheap cocktail stall where you can get a "happy snap".

It's just a means of status, "I went to Thailand here are the pics and the $2.00 trinkets".

I had Russian electrical engineers working for me in Ukraine, they were making $1000 a month only on their time on the rig (4 weeks on 4 weeks off) and thought it was big money!! How can someone in that price/salary range afford a holiday in Thailand? How can they stimulate the economy? The tourist figures look good but the ACTUAL benefits to the local community are negligible.

I am not sure about everyone else but when i first came to Thailand, I booked a flight on Thai Airways, I booked a Thai owned hotel and spent money in Thai entertainment venues and restaurants. I did add to the economy and the income of local people. Paying up front in another country to a company controlling everything which has been pre-bought by that company only adds a small amount of income to the country, a one off payment. The real profits don't come here. It may be good for the consumer but not much good for the locals.

If the hotel is empty the lease payment is still made. The company owning the hotel has a staff and they get paid and they spend money. Tourism is going down in Thailand; better a lease payment that is 100% sure thing than the ups and downs of tourism.

Same thing in many businesses. Better to service the bar than own the bar. All the tour company gets is a commission on services bought from Thais. The tour buses stop at PTT for gas and the Chinese stock up at the 7/11 store for travel.

Don't worry about the Thai people. They have been selling tours for a long time. They are doing fine.

Maybe the object of the exercise is to have the "numbers" to make the rooms look profitable in order to "legitimize" your real income (which is far more than money made from servicing the bar), how much did the bar REALLY take ...

And I disagree, the working class Thai people are suffering. This will inevitably see an increase in crime and other nasty things. IMO.

[RigPig]

And offtopic but in the same vein can anyone explain how the sudden influx of currency exchange booths are making money? How could they possibly compete with the banks? But they have suddenly cropped up everywhere....

American dollars for Thai Baht? The ruble is worth nothing.....

With the amount of money each exchange is turning over I doubt they are making enough even with a "discount" from the banks.