Thailand's sliding reputation is costing much more than just tourism dollars

[chongtak]

The real problem, other than the complete and total absence of leadership, is that there is no real rule of law in Thailand. Money is the ONLY thing that talks in Thailand and even the police and judiciary are involved. Koh Tao may be the final nail (one hopes).

The entire RTP and judiciary MUST be reformed from the top to bottom, complete with arrests and imprisonment for some of the worst offenders, especially high ranking officials who oversee all the corruption. Until that happens, nothing will change here and Thailand will continue the downward spiral.

Can not agree more but when you remove a rotten fruit, another will replace it asap. It seems that a large majority of Thai who openly condemn corruption are just waiting for their turn. It might not be a culture problem, but at least greed is deeply settled in Thai society.

[KarenBravo]

Gordon Gecko was really a Thai......

[noitom]

This story is a rerun.

[Lissos]

I chose to go to Crete (first time) this year, and while there asked some of the locals involved in tourism about how things were going. According to them they are starting to see a steady (and climbing) return of people (from all over Europe) who used to holiday in places like Greece regularly years ago, had then switched to places like Thailand for years (certainly during that good run when our money was going a lot further there than it does now) but were now starting to steadily come back to Greek islands for holidays. For E.U citizens, entry and exit bureaucracy is non existent of course, and the fact of Greek islands being so much closer (and cheaper) to fly to is a major factor now.

In the case of Brits, the ever climbing sting of APD (Air Passenger Duty) on flight costs is having its intended effect of dissuading people (certainly for familys, I would guess) from flying longer distances, by punishing them financially. It is these practical matters around travel that Thailand is probably going to have to compete with in coming years I reckon, if it wants to keep attracting the average holiday makers from Europe (far less of an issue for long term backpackers and others who will always come to south east asia). Nobody wants punishing flight costs, long flight times and hassle if they are just looking for great beaches and sea, great food, reliable sunny weather and can get it far closer to home. I don't foresee a collapse of visits to Thailand from the west or anything like that, but everything goes through phases and I do wonder if the mood is changing.

[SteveFong]

in the US,

I know very few people who go to Thailand,

and when they do,

it is always for the same reason.

when I returned and people asked me where I was,

as soon as I said Thailand, the females always made faces like they just ate something bad

[Lannig]

"When you say "Thailand" to anyone overseas, whether tourist or investor, the immediate reaction is usually positive."

The reaction I encounter is 'hookers, kiddy fiddlers and drugs'

Don't know who "The Nation" is asking, not anyone I've ever met.

It really depends on who you're asking. Obviously business people and the next Joe on the street have a different perception.

Until recent years, Thailand was considered very positively by investors: stable, good infrastructure for a developing country, decent and relatively cheap workforce. The political instability has mudded this nice picture, the coup even further. This come with increased competition from neighbours (Vietnam comes to mind). However, I think it still has an overall positive image in the business world.

Of course "hookers, kiddy fiddlers and drugs" come to the mind of quite a few people when Thailand is mentioned, but less than it was 10 years ago IMHO. In my own experience, "wonderful lanscapes, nice and easy going people, incredible food" (hey, I'm French, this matters for us) as well as "rich and spectacular cultural heritage" come up just as often.

As for Thailand facing a grim future, we all know when things might well start falling apart, but I won't elaborate for obvious reasons. Some 20 years ago, an old wise man, a defrocked missionary who had been living in Thailand for 40 years and was teaching Thai language to me (and much Thai culture too) already had told me: "so you plan to go live there? go for it, you'll be happy. But the day 'this' happens, make sure you have your suitcase ready to leave. Just anything could and probably will happen then, especially the very worst"

Edited November 4, 2014 by Lannig

[pasak]

"When you say "Thailand" to anyone overseas, whether tourist or investor, the immediate reaction is usually positive".

Really? What, and Pattaya Thailand would be even better would it?