TAT urged to put focus on quality tourists to boost revenue

[yellowboat]

Maybe TAT should be urged to just get tourists, any tourists.

But what about the wealthy and their 4-5 star hotels ? That is who TAT serves, the deserving wealthy.

If they are looking for wealthy tourists, what will these well off poeple buy; imported champagne or imported handbags ?

[janpharma]

I liked that they listed one of the attractions of the northeast as access to border crossings out of Thailand.

Yes, the attractions where foreigners have to pay 5 X more than Thai to enter...( Panom Rung...etc)

[buhi]

First they need to define what they think a "quality" tourist is . . . and from what I've seen over the years, their definition just doesn't exist out there.

I am British and often point out to Thai that their concept of rich/quality is based on their concept of appearance.

Go to a British bar and spot the rich/ (quality) person by appearance. Very difficult when all are dressed casually.. Check their vocabulary, a big clue!

[6NS]

Hiso tourists with high spending power will be going to the Caribbean, Bora Bora, St Tropez etc etc....

Thailand is not a typical luxury destination. It is backpacker, modest earning working class types and a sprinkling of middle class.

The hiso jetset don't want to rub shoulders with these types and so go holiday in the high end destinations.

Thailand seems to think it is a lot more than it actually is. It has nothing more to offer than a thousand other places that don't have regular military coups, life under martial law, well known human rights abusers and of course huge amounts of crime and corruption including brutal murders with cover ups to follow.

For a start, people want to go somewhere that they know if they come a cropper, they will at least get justice.

The old Rust-bucket said it all, and he is right in every statement.

No need to say much more.

Stop the coup, stop the murdering, stop the cover-ups, stop the two price system, stop the pushy me me driving habits.

Just get rid of all this selfishness and go forward with a bit of compassion.

Do un to others what you'd have them do un to you. That is how you earn and keep friends/tourists.

[stevehaigh]

Quality tourist...your having a Laugh..Am in Lamphun which gets no tourists..got ripped of last night in a quiet restaurant /bar..was just out for a quiet drink..check bin!! 168bht for bottle of Leo for girl who chatted to me and I offered would she like a drink while she chatted to me..even outside the tourist areas ..and these girls aren't bar girls as such..80bht for Leo for me...stupidity as I will never go back..its a inherent ingrained mentality in so many Thais..they will never ever get more tourists even ,never mind Quality..whatever that means with there never mind about tomorrow mindset...buffalo's..

that's been my experience when ever i go for a beer in a small Essan town. People say Phuket is expensive but at least i know the beer is 50 baht/small bottle and the girls will not help themselves to my beer and order more on my tab without even asking.

[Grindting]

A low quality country wants high quality high spenders to go there to spend the big bucks. Keep dreaming Thailand. Big spenders will go to Dubai or Singapore rather than bangkok, hassle free, no scams, good infrastructure, great service, competent local population, clean, low pollution, top end shopping. And if you want, top bars and even girls (higher end). And you dont get the bad attitude or the lip that the cheeky thais who are a little bit too comfortable with foreigners like to display. The top echelon of 'high quality' tourists do not want to go to low quality thailand

Hiso tourists with high spending power will be going to the Caribbean, Bora Bora, St Tropez etc etc....

Thailand is not a typical luxury destination. It is backpacker, modest earning working class types and a sprinkling of middle class.

The hiso jetset don't want to rub shoulders with these types and so go holiday in the high end destinations.

Thailand seems to think it is a lot more than it actually is. It has nothing more to offer than a thousand other places that don't have regular military coups, life under martial law, well known human rights abusers and of course huge amounts of crime and corruption including brutal murders with cover ups to follow.

For a start, people want to go somewhere that they know if they come a cropper, they will at least get justice.

Spot on Edited October 30, 2014 by Grindting

[gerrythepoet]

Build International jet-set style casinos and watch those that head to neighbouring countries actually spend serious money in LOS. Do not get int tow with the mafia allow the revenue to filter down to the communities and the country will reap the benefits.

Stop encouraging Thais to think that all foreigners are walking ATMs.

Do not have double pricing standards one for Thais and one for non thais

Be honest do not think up get rich quickly schemes

Plan a long term strategy, monitor it and do not forecast ridiculous targets to satisfy your own ego.

[culicine]

"Rich Quality tourists only" - maybe TAT should splash out and put some major advertisements in major international papers stating as such. I'm sure will go down a treat

Is it just a coincidence that this his come about after the brutal murders of backpackers, and bans on full moon parties? maybe Thais have more respect for rich quality tourists

[mike324]

quality tourist don't like to come to a place where laws are not strictly enforced, perhaps they should rethink to focus on "quality service" provided by authorities and locals a like. How hard is it to enforced the law? I guess we should start with quality police, but I do feel like its slowly changing for the better.

[Fairynuff]

Quality tourists visit places where they are received (and welcomed) by quality hosts.

[godden]

The Krankies could do better.

[ginjag]

Last thing I heard is that you have to take an IQ test before you're allowed to board a plane heading to Bangkok.

i wonder what a Thai IQ test would consist of ?

"what's your name " answer "pass" your allowed in.

[morrobay]

They keep forgetting that the young backpackers will come back as far higher spenders a few years down the road, having become parents who enjoy a good income. But commenting on the tired old "quality tourists" theme, you can only repeat what has been stated here hundreds of times already. Hearing the term "quality tourists", I feel like I have to grab a plastic bag or rush to the toilet, have to throw up.

I dont understand why backpackers are still coming to Thailand in large numbers instead of going to Vietnam. And the Hi So tourists also have better options.

So Thailand should be lucky they have the numbers they do - while they last.

[deepcell]

high purchasing = premium services --- not to thailand, this report is a joke!

[j15mth]

Next week TAT who are clueless will announce that Tourism is up 200 %----Dream on !!

[Fat Haggis]

Thailand needs a tourist minister that knows what they're talking about more than they need quality tourists !!

She's a complete buffoon !!

[Commerce]

i wonder what a Thai IQ test would consist of ?

Thai IQ test (100 Points).

Please choose one of the following answers:

Q1. How are you?

A. I'm fine.

B. I'm fine.

C. I'm fine.

D. All of the above.

End of test.

Oh Ajarn it seems very difficult.

How much does it cost to get an A ?

Sorry, you all failed the test!

Q How are you?

A Fine thank you and you?

That's way too difficult. Don't forget, we need to simplify as much as possible.

The real answer was smile, nod your head, and pretend you understand, but that is incomprehensible in written format.

[selftaopath]

How's the saying go? "Beggars Can't be Choosey"?

[buhi]

How's the saying go? "Beggars Can't be Choosey"?

Or, "He who pays the piper calls the tune!"

[EnglishJohn]

High quality tourists hate corruption and scams : they are always the victims. They go to countries where they know the law is enforced fairly. Low quality tourists love it : they can get away with anything for a few hundred baht.

TAT is a great example of just how out of touch with reality Thailand is sometimes.

[madmitch]

There are several places that cater for "quality" tourists but they are often quite isolated in order to maintain their exclusivity. These guys paying 20k baht plus for a night don't want to sit on a beach with a few hundred other tourists and get hassled by vendors selling belts, hammocks and other tat (just realised the significance of this word!). So places for quality tourists to stay are limited but what the Government and the ministry don't seem to understand is, so is the target market.

For every tourist paying top dollar for hotels and meals, there are probably a hundred package tourists/backpackers/budget travellers/middle of the road types that will stay in cheaper accommodation and eat at more reasonably priced restaurants.

Also repeat custom is very important in the tourism business and the so-called quality tourist is not generally the type that will spend his/her holiday in the same place year after year.

You need a balance and Thailand does actually have that at the moment, albeit in decreasing numbers.

[madmitch]

They keep forgetting that the young backpackers will come back as far higher spenders a few years down the road, having become parents who enjoy a good income. But commenting on the tired old "quality tourists" theme, you can only repeat what has been stated here hundreds of times already. Hearing the term "quality tourists", I feel like I have to grab a plastic bag or rush to the toilet, have to throw up.

I dont understand why backpackers are still coming to Thailand in large numbers instead of going to Vietnam. And the Hi So tourists also have better options.

So Thailand should be lucky they have the numbers they do - while they last.

From what I've noticed this year, backpack trade seems to be down as well.

[JohnThailandJohn]

Ms Kobkarn stated that she is scheduled to travel to the northeastern region to listen to local authorities about problems they face in the promotion of tourist attractions in their respective areas.

How can higher quality tourists miss out on an opportunity to see a sticky rice farm? If they market this properly they can get these high quality tourists to take part in a harvesting tour where they get to actually work on a real rice farm for only 50,000 baht a tourist worker.

[Jungle Jim]

Sex tourists, alcoholics, criminals and dirty hippie wannabes > Thailand needs more!

Quality Tourists ??? All I see wandering around are Chav type Guys with Bottles of Beer in there hand, or Sex pats, with a Young Thai bird with Tatoos latched on to,them, or Van loads of Chinese following a flag going to a "Ladyboy Cabaret Show"???

It's a big world out there, and as much as I do think there is some luxury resorts, the problem is when you walk out on to the streets, they are dirty and rubbish abound.... , hardly attractive....

Just my two cents worth...

[Yann55]

Like so many Thais nowadays, the Minister of Tourism and Sports is obviously convinced that money = quality.

OK, so here are a few examples of hyper quality tourists who ought to be lured into visiting Thailand more often :

- Mafia guys from Russia

- Mafia guys from China

- Mafia guys from Japan

- Chinese nouveau riche travellers

- Rich sex tourists from all over the world

- Khun T.S. from Dubai.

All jokes aside, I am appalled at how the cult of money took over this country in just a few decades, brutally raping an ancient, beautiful and subtle culture which was based on real values, real wisdom, real knowledge (of nature and the human body for instance) plus a remarkable capacity for living together peacefully most of the time. A society where one could be poor and respected, a culture which originally earned this country the nickname 'Land of Smiles', soon to be renamed 'Land of Greed, Grins and Smirks'.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Yann55

[Just1Voice]

One of the biggest problems with TAT is that the world has changed, but they haven't. They still live in this dream/fantasy world where Thailand is the "diamond" in the "coal field" of S.E. Asia, and fail to realize the diamond has been replaced by a cubic zirconia, and a cheap one at that. Over the past 20 years, and especially the past 10, with the advent of social media, word is spreading about the "quality" of tourism in Thailand, and people aren't liking what they are reading and hearing. Those with real money might dock their yacht at Phuket for a few days before moving on, but they aren't here to stay.

"Quality" High End Tourists? Don't see them here in Chiang Mai. I've got friends in Khon Kaen and Udon Thani, and they don't see them either. Why? There's nothing here to offer them. The temples and historical sites are more attuned to the backpackers, who are looking for the best deal they can get, and wouldn't know how to act in a 4-5 Star hotel.

Thailand, you've lost your "appeal", and it's never going to come back for a wide variety of reasons, most of which have already been listed here by other.

[love1012]

So today we get.......................

• TAT urged to put focus on quality tourists to boost revenue

Followed by

• British stars speak out against dog-meat trade's cruelty: Thailand

Says it all really - with quality reform will come quality tourism!!

Edited October 30, 2014 by love1012

[canarysun]

Quality Tourists ??? All I see wandering around are Chav type Guys with Bottles of Beer in there hand, or Sex pats, with a Young Thai bird with Tatoos latched on to,them, or Van loads of Chinese following a flag going to a "Ladyboy Cabaret Show"???

It's a big world out there, and as much as I do think there is some luxury resorts, the problem is when you walk out on to the streets, they are dirty and rubbish abound.... , hardly attractive....

Just my two cents worth...

LOL ! Beautifully written my friend! I couldn't word it any better myself! - a delight to read whilst enjoying my morning Buddy Dean 3 in 1 Coffee.......

F.J

[IAMHERE]

They just won't get it. Poor sods. Perhaps ignorance is the country's biggest problem.

Perhaps a problem, for sure a gift.

[Fat Haggis]

Ms Kobkarn stated that she is scheduled to travel to the northeastern region to listen to local authorities about problems they face in the promotion of tourist attractions in their respective areas.

How can higher quality tourists miss out on an opportunity to see a sticky rice farm? If they market this properly they can get these high quality tourists to take part in a harvesting tour where they get to actually work on a real rice farm for only 50,000 baht a tourist worker.

Only for all to be arrested for not having a valid WP ?