Thailand: Push for more European tourists

[Emster23]

Lots of factors led to decline, some out of Thailand's control. However, some of the decision makers have yet to wake up and notice things have changed from 30 years ago. Back then it was difficult if not impossible to go to Viet Nam, Laos, Burma, Cambodia. But now those countries wooing the trade and it is paying off. I feel perhaps many tourists think "Let's go to SE Asia" and not particularly "Let's go to Thailand". Sorry Thailand, but you no longer only pretty girl in the bar.

[BoristheBlade]

Here is a short term , quick fix.

Free two innocent men framed for the Koh Tao murders, apologize for making a terrible mistake. Then re-investigate the murders, arrest the real culprits.

Announce to the world that you have the real culprits and show the world Thailand does have justice for all, whatever their wealth.

It won't bring all the tourism back, Thailand is simply lost it's mojo, but it will help considerably help, especially in the up and coming high season.

[jamhar]

It would help if you

1) stop killing them

2)dont tell them the bars close at midnight

......

I'm sure there are others...

[AlQaholic]

How many of those Chines and Lao tourists crossed the border in Sa-Kaeo just for a one day trip out of curiosity, spent no money whatsoever and went back home the same evening without even eating any food in any restaurant?

[slipperylobster]

I thought they were after quality tourists.?

Small choice in a crate full of rotten apples.

[slipperylobster]

...and why not? Nobody else wants them.

[cmsally]

If they want to increase the Europeans and Americans, for starters they should facilitate visa situation for people wanting to take a long winter vacation. Many people have the funds and the time to spend 4-6 months in Thailand if it is relatively hassle free regarding visas.

[godden]

And i want a new bike for christmas

[Lovekorat]

I have been here 8 months. I had 12 people coming to visit me from the UK on the anniversary of my arrival for a big birthday bash/holiday. None of them are now coming. Why? Well let's try Koh Tao for a start. If Thailand really wants to become the paradise they tell everyone and that in the main it is then they know what they must do. And they can start on the islands. Let's get those that are 'supposed' to set the law doing just that and get rid of those that 'think' they can. I think those that govern here think no one knows. Everyone now knows. Clean it up and they might return. Has anyone got the courage to do that? This is a great country with mainly lovely people, but.......

[ukrules]

If they want to increase the Europeans and Americans, for starters they should facilitate visa situation for people wanting to take a long winter vacation. Many people have the funds and the time to spend 4-6 months in Thailand if it is relatively hassle free regarding visas.

A 6 month seasonal holiday visa that can be issued once per year would suit a lot of people who come for the cold months. I suspect many people from the UK would only stay for up to 4 months when it's really cold in some places, of course other places are cold for nearly half the year.

For a start they would probably stay in Thailand without having to do a ridiculous visa run which they're forced to do now if they want to stay for 4 months.

It's possible that not that many people come for more than 3 months under the current regulations but that could change if a new 'seasonal' visa was issued. Lots of people won't even entertain the visa run idea - they just won't do it for a holiday.

I'm talking about seasonal tourists here, not people who want to stay permanently - they have no issue with the visa runs.

Edited November 7, 2014 by ukrules

[wandasloan]

What? After giving the developed world the two fingers and chasing Chinese and Russians, they want to now get their quality tourists back?

Amazing Thailand.....

Amazing classic error. You're not alone.

Thailand wanting more Europeans has no effect on Thailand ALSO wanting more North Americans, South Americans, Australians, Africans and Asians.

It's kind of like the hi-so yellow shirts out there on the street fearful that if a red shirt earns 10 baht selling something, he will LOSE 10 baht in sales from his Bigrichfat Co Ltd. The economy, and tourism, and "Thailand wants" - none of them works that way.

.

[hemanrcr]

Yes--Thailand keeps saying they need "quality" tourists........but here is what they get

[smedly]

How about they openly say that it will be more easy for European visitors to get tourist visas for Thailand ?

As in, gaurantee that the embassies in Laos and Cambodia will give tourist visas to Europeans, and it doesn't matter how many visits you've already had in Thailand ? Making it easier to get a tourist visa will probably increase the number of tourists. Making it more difficult might reduce the number of European visitors.

So a tourist from UK flies to Laos or Cambodia first to get a tourist visa ?

Why not just get one in the UK a double is good for 180 days if extended locally 2x times

[slipperylobster]

Well, here's your problem right there.

Already too many Brits and Aussies....why add more undesirables to the mix?

[sydneyjed]

What up with us Australians??

[captspectre]

What can one say?

are they insane? in the past five or six months, there have been at least a half dozen murders of Europeans in Thailand with only one being firmly solved! the cops can't get it right and there is NO protection (real time) for Europeans visiting Thailand. they are just a bunch of Charlie tuna's ripe for the picking!

[phantomfiddler]

What? After giving the developed world the two fingers and chasing Chinese and Russians, they want to now get their quality tourists back?

Amazing Thailand.....

Judging from the article,they seem to rate them not much different than Cambodian tourists ... this is just one small part of tourism efforts. Beyond Russia, the top ten tourist arrivals by country this year probably won't include a European nation. Despite record breaking tourist numbers and revenue last year, the UK was 10th last year with less visitors than Australia and about 1/5th of that of China. Of the 26 Million visitors last year less than 3 Million were from Europe (excluding Russia)and remember how so many here love to say these numbers are not accurate because of border runs. Point being is I am sure they would love to see a higher increase than they saw last year with European tourists but it is just a piece of the pie. They were right to focus on China as they were able to capitalize on economic timing and increase Chinese visitors about 3 fold in as many years. While UK visitors over the last 10 years has been fairly steady with just a slight increase in this period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand#Top_20_arrivals_by_nationality

These numbers are all over the place from analysing tourism. Malaysia is normally first and Laos is in the top 10.

They all know the Europeans spend the most. No harm in admitting it.

They chased Russia, now the ruble is in the pan. They chased Chinese with zero cost tours. Boom. They chased Indian weddings.

Meanwhile the humble European sexpat got f*****d, except not IN Thailand.

Clean up Hua hin, samui and one other and make them really 5 star. Striftly zone phuket, turn patong into pattaya and clean up the rest. Let pattaya go back to what it does best.

Don't mix sex with family tourists.

Europeans spend the least per day but they stay longer than other countries ... an average of 16 1/2 Days compared to about 7 Days by Asians and a total average of 10 Days for all countries. So yes, overall they leave the most money here.

I,m sorry but I just don,t believe these figures ! Having been in business here for well over 30 years, to be told that indians and <deleted> spend a lot more per day than british tourists is absolute nonsense !

[soalbundy]

Tell us another one.

I like the way this James Bell geezer thinks that tourist decline is only due to the coup.

He couldn't be more wrong. There are many contributing factors.

Murder, corruption, bad security for tourists (no interest), crimes against tourists being released ever more regularly. Appalling human trafficking record now world news.

There are lots of things that contribute to people shying away from here. There are thousands of places to choose from to travel to. They just need to be made aware of these places through the travel agents authorities worldwide. That is what put Thailand where it was.

They didn't help themselves when two reps from the Australian Association of Travel Agents were attacked and one murdered a couple of years ago.... These are the things you can not reverse. Once you lose support from these organizations, it is game over.

I doubt that these are the reasons, tourists have short memories, it is more likely the lack of spending money.

[smedly]

What? After giving the developed world the two fingers and chasing Chinese and Russians, they want to now get their quality tourists back?

Amazing Thailand.....

Judging from the article,they seem to rate them not much different than Cambodian tourists ... this is just one small part of tourism efforts. Beyond Russia, the top ten tourist arrivals by country this year probably won't include a European nation. Despite record breaking tourist numbers and revenue last year, the UK was 10th last year with less visitors than Australia and about 1/5th of that of China. Of the 26 Million visitors last year less than 3 Million were from Europe (excluding Russia)and remember how so many here love to say these numbers are not accurate because of border runs. Point being is I am sure they would love to see a higher increase than they saw last year with European tourists but it is just a piece of the pie. They were right to focus on China as they were able to capitalize on economic timing and increase Chinese visitors about 3 fold in as many years. While UK visitors over the last 10 years has been fairly steady with just a slight increase in this period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand#Top_20_arrivals_by_nationality

These numbers are all over the place from analysing tourism. Malaysia is normally first and Laos is in the top 10.

They all know the Europeans spend the most. No harm in admitting it.

They chased Russia, now the ruble is in the pan. They chased Chinese with zero cost tours. Boom. They chased Indian weddings.

Meanwhile the humble European sexpat got f*****d, except not IN Thailand.

Clean up Hua hin, samui and one other and make them really 5 star. Striftly zone phuket, turn patong into pattaya and clean up the rest. Let pattaya go back to what it does best.

Don't mix sex with family tourists.

Europeans spend the least per day but they stay longer than other countries ... an average of 16 1/2 Days compared to about 7 Days by Asians and a total average of 10 Days for all countries. So yes, overall they leave the most money here.

I'd love to know how they work these figures out, if it is from ATM transactions then they are very unreliable, anyone I know brings cash with them and exchanges in booths that are not associated with banks (who knows where it goes after that) and the primary reason is the cost associated with using an ATM - 180 baht plus all the other charges per transaction and the daily limits imposed by home banks makes it a very expensive way to get money

[Fullstop]

[nicolas18]

I,m sorry but I just don,t believe these figures ! Having been in business here for well over 30 years, to be told that indians and ragheads spend a lot more per day than british tourists is absolute nonsense !

Well, they might not want to do business with an idiot who calls them "ragheads."

[madmitch]

So the Ministry of tourism has sent a delegation to a major world travel convention in London and they've been told to come back with good news and this is the best they can come up with.

Comments from two representatives from small, niche UK tour companies mean absolutely nothing. What about Expedia, Priceline, Ebookers etc. What are their statistics showing?

Oh yes, TUI Thomson have stated that they are filling their planes with late bookings (I don't actually understand the relevance of their comment regarding low season) and that implies people coming here on low-cost last minute deals. That isn't good news, it means people are not booking Thailand like they were previously.

And of course there's the one Koh Samui hotel manager who personally expects tourism to Samui to rise by 10% next year!

They've been clutching at straws for a while now but this ................ words fail me!

[Carrerakiss]

How many of those Chines and Lao tourists crossed the border in Sa-Kaeo just for a one day trip out of curiosity, spent no money whatsoever and went back home the same evening without even eating any food in any restaurant?

I don't know. But the car park of Tescolotus in Nong Khai is packed with cars with Laos number plates every weekend. So I guess a weeks shopping money is spent. There's a fair few at Central in Udon as well.

But hardly high rollers on a Western scale and just day trippers I bet.

[JOC]

If they want to increase the Europeans and Americans, for starters they should facilitate visa situation for people wanting to take a long winter vacation. Many people have the funds and the time to spend 4-6 months in Thailand if it is relatively hassle free regarding visas.

If they facilitated a 6 months visa, it would take one day, before the visa-section here was full with posts about, how to the circumvent the system and make it into a 8-9 months stay!!

[GoNavy]

Obviously this is for the short term tourist. With the hoops to jump for an extension and now I hear the retirement visa, &lt;deleted&gt;. Don't make it too easy.

[JOC]

.I,m sorry but I just don,t believe these figures ! Having been in business here for well over 30 years, to be told that indians and ragheads spend a lot more per day than british tourists is absolute nonsense !

Wouldn't it be nice, if some posters thought twice before posting??

[Prof3934]

This Government have done so many things to KEEP OUT the European visitors, in just the few months in control. I am writing from Pattaya.

1. The new police/army repeatedly stop and confiscate the local people who come along the beach selling us cakes, drinks, fried fish, fresh orange juice.

2. Now they are restricting the number of chairs and umbrellas per site, so we have nowhere to sit and no protection from the sun.

3. For Loy Krathong, a loudspeaker went all along the beach both ways, announcing in Thai, that the must be NO balloons, or fireworks and only Krathong. They even banned the barbecue pig buffets all along the beach. The result was most farangs came and saw nothing of the pageant, and went away.

And they expect the visitors to come and sit directly on the beach, get terrible sunburn and then not be able to enjoy the Loy Krathong festival. As a result, the Thai girls did not bother to dress up in their beautiful Thai traditional dresses. What a let down !!

[mike324]

I have talk to friends friend who were Israelis when I visited Tel Aviv, say that they will never come to Thailand because there was a coup and its under a General rule. I told them that its safe and the protest were nothing, apparently they think a General rule is very dangerous place to be, more so than being in Israel with constant rocket firing and missile alarms going off. News can truly distort people's views, even if their friends tell them its safe, etc

[paddyjenkins]

What? After giving the developed world the two fingers and chasing Chinese and Russians, they want to now get their quality tourists back?

Amazing Thailand.....

Judging from the article,they seem to rate them not much different than Cambodian tourists ... this is just one small part of tourism efforts. Beyond Russia, the top ten tourist arrivals by country this year probably won't include a European nation. Despite record breaking tourist numbers and revenue last year, the UK was 10th last year with less visitors than Australia and about 1/5th of that of China. Of the 26 Million visitors last year less than 3 Million were from Europe (excluding Russia)and remember how so many here love to say these numbers are not accurate because of border runs. Point being is I am sure they would love to see a higher increase than they saw last year with European tourists but it is just a piece of the pie. They were right to focus on China as they were able to capitalize on economic timing and increase Chinese visitors about 3 fold in as many years. While UK visitors over the last 10 years has been fairly steady with just a slight increase in this period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand#Top_20_arrivals_by_nationality

These numbers are all over the place from analysing tourism. Malaysia is normally first and Laos is in the top 10.

They all know the Europeans spend the most. No harm in admitting it.

They chased Russia, now the ruble is in the pan. They chased Chinese with zero cost tours. Boom. They chased Indian weddings.

Meanwhile the humble European sexpat got f*****d, except not IN Thailand.

Clean up Hua hin, samui and one other and make them really 5 star. Striftly zone phuket, turn patong into pattaya and clean up the rest. Let pattaya go back to what it does best.

Don't mix sex with family tourists.

Europeans spend the least per day but they stay longer than other countries ... an average of 16 1/2 Days compared to about 7 Days by Asians and a total average of 10 Days for all countries. So yes, overall they leave the most money here.

I,m sorry but I just don,t believe these figures ! Having been in business here for well over 30 years, to be told that indians and ragheads spend a lot more per day than british tourists is absolute nonsense !

We are supposed to believe Africans are big spenders? what garbage this data is, where did it come from? How do they even know, do they ask, make it up? Laughable, nonsense.

[madmitch]

What? After giving the developed world the two fingers and chasing Chinese and Russians, they want to now get their quality tourists back?

Amazing Thailand.....

Judging from the article,they seem to rate them not much different than Cambodian tourists ... this is just one small part of tourism efforts. Beyond Russia, the top ten tourist arrivals by country this year probably won't include a European nation. Despite record breaking tourist numbers and revenue last year, the UK was 10th last year with less visitors than Australia and about 1/5th of that of China. Of the 26 Million visitors last year less than 3 Million were from Europe (excluding Russia)and remember how so many here love to say these numbers are not accurate because of border runs. Point being is I am sure they would love to see a higher increase than they saw last year with European tourists but it is just a piece of the pie. They were right to focus on China as they were able to capitalize on economic timing and increase Chinese visitors about 3 fold in as many years. While UK visitors over the last 10 years has been fairly steady with just a slight increase in this period. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand#Top_20_arrivals_by_nationality

These numbers are all over the place from analysing tourism. Malaysia is normally first and Laos is in the top 10.

They all know the Europeans spend the most. No harm in admitting it.

They chased Russia, now the ruble is in the pan. They chased Chinese with zero cost tours. Boom. They chased Indian weddings.

Meanwhile the humble European sexpat got f*****d, except not IN Thailand.

Clean up Hua hin, samui and one other and make them really 5 star. Striftly zone phuket, turn patong into pattaya and clean up the rest. Let pattaya go back to what it does best.

Don't mix sex with family tourists.

Europeans spend the least per day but they stay longer than other countries ... an average of 16 1/2 Days compared to about 7 Days by Asians and a total average of 10 Days for all countries. So yes, overall they leave the most money here.

I,m sorry but I just don,t believe these figures ! Having been in business here for well over 30 years, to be told that indians and ragheads spend a lot more per day than british tourists is absolute nonsense !

We are supposed to believe Africans are big spenders? what garbage this data is, where did it come from? How do they even know, do they ask, make it up? Laughable, nonsense.

I think it's probably an extrapolation from the official TAT tourist surveys, in other words it doesn't mean anything. I filled one in once, despite saying I lived here (the girl just wanted numbers, it didn't matter who), and put in a miniscule amount for daily expenditure. Looks like that might have had an effect on the overall European spending pattern looking at the above chart!