70.1 per cent of foreign tourists unperturbed by martial law

[webfact]

70.1 per cent of foreign tourists unperturbed by martial law
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- In an opinion survey undertaken by Bangkok University, 70. 1 per cent of foreign tourists said marital law did not affect their decision to choose to visit Thailand while the remaining 29.9 per cent said it did.

The survey was carried out among 1,044 foreign tourists.

The university announced that 86.1 per cent of the respondents saw that Thailand is still safe for tourists while 2.4 per cent said it was not and 11.5 per cent said they are not sure.

Asked to cite what should be improved in Thailand, 22.3 per cent of foreign tourists said unfair taxi fares without the use of the meter and taking a longer route to reach the destination to up the fare while 15.7 per cent said traffic congestion. And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists.

Asked to rate their pleasure about their trip to Thailand, they gave an average score of 7.7 out of ten.

And 91.8 per cent of the surveyed tourists said they would come back while 93.1 per cent said they would recommend their friends and family visit the kingdom.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/70-1-per-cent-of-foreign-tourists-unperturbed-by-m-30248024.html


-- The Nation 2014-11-18

[Thai at Heart]

So why are the numbers dropping then? Duh?

Asking people who are already here isn't going to get u the right answer.

[casual inquiry]

hmm obviously they didnt survey the longer term residents who have to trek to immigration and wait hours in line to report their address within 24 hours of every time changing. yes and to do that you need full details of the owner with id and signature or immigration wont accept the address change. try that when you have a cross cultural language barrier.

immigration "you have lots of time for us to waste so come back again tomorrow" you "ok i'll ring you from cambodia/malaysia with the details, see ya"

did i say snot? oh there is some snot in there somewhere. put it where you think possible not limited to one place of course.

Edited November 18, 2014 by casual inquiry

[peptidebomber]

The survey was taken of tourists who arrived, obviously misleading.

What about who the tourist who cancelled and went somewhere else.

It is actually worrying that 30% of people who still came where worried about martial law.

[zydeco]

The list of problems more serious than taxi meters is about 100 pages long. And this includes samurai taxi drivers. If people are complaining about the meter, they haven't got a clue about where they are and what the potential rip-offs and dangers are.

[terryp]

quite a result for the TAT to find 1,044 dumb tourists

[simondan]

'Marital' law?

What marital law is that then?

Its hardly surprising that tourists arent concerned about marriage laws.

[Bluespunk]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Bluespunk

[simondan]

Its funny that Thais love to look down on their Cambodian neighbours as coarse peasants, but on the whole, Cambodians in tourist areas in Cambodia speak much better English.

Thailand, time to get serious. In this day and age, if you cant (or as is often the case here, wont) speak at least basic English, you just arent going to remain competitive. Even the Cambodians are outpacing you.

Siam Reap!

[jacky54]

Unfortunately the dead tourists killed by Thais could not be polled!

[mikemac]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I read it as - "And 12.7 per cent were arrogant <deleted> who look down their noses at Thai people".

Much like some of the Thai bashers who haunt TVF.

[phutoie2]

'Marital' law?

What marital law is that then?

Its hardly surprising that tourists arent concerned about marriage laws.

Most surveyed thought Martial Law was another Thai western soap.

[Dogmatix]

This survey exhibits survivorship bias because they only interviewed foreign tourists who decided to come to Thailand in spite of martial law and excluded tourists who cancelled or decided not to book at all due to martial law. So it is completely skewed and useless. It is not going to influence any foreign tourists anyway. It just makes Thais feel better for while until the harsh reality kicks in again.

[jacky54]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I read it as - "And 12.7 per cent were arrogant <deleted> who look down their noses at Thai people".

Much like some of the Thai bashers who haunt TVF.

As against the 97.3 percent of Thais who look down on falang, while of course aspiring to their wealth, knowledge and advanced culture and industry,

[casindonet]

Why do they need to survey tourist that are already in thailand, it's not like they have a choice once they have landed on swampy. Instead they should survey those that are planning their holiday......

[jacky54]

I wonder if these tourist realise that ML makes their travel insurance invalid?

[heybruce]

The survey was taken of tourists who arrived, obviously misleading.

What about who the tourist who cancelled and went somewhere else.

It is actually worrying that 30% of people who still came where worried about martial law.

Excellent point. A far more useful poll would have been one that asked people who had decided against visiting Thailand what resulted in their decision.

[bongoz]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I think it is widely accepted that English is the international language?

Also many other countries do in fact employee native speaking tourist staff - they don't have the same biased laws as Thailand.

[bongoz]

Why do they need to survey tourist that are already in thailand, it's not like they have a choice once they have landed on swampy. Instead they should survey those that are planning their holiday......

That's just too hard for a Thai company / university. OH! and the results would be.....

Please þ

oWorse

oBetter

[SoiBiker]

Sounds fair enough - it's not like it's going to affect them much, after all.

Impressive display of miserable replies already though. Well done chaps. Your crown as 'most depressing forum on the internet' is surely safe for another year.

[Suffinator]

hmm obviously they didnt survey the longer term residents who have to trek to immigration and wait hours in line to report their address within 24 hours of every time changing. yes and to do that you need full details of the owner with id and signature or immigration wont accept the address change. try that when you have a cross cultural language barrier.

immigration "you have lots of time for us to waste so come back again tomorrow" you "ok i'll ring you from cambodia/malaysia with the details, see ya"

did i say snot? oh there is some snot in there somewhere. put it where you think possible not limited to one place of course.

Do what I did ... leave. Seriously happier for the move to Malaysia with almost zero issues. I wouldn't come back to Thailand unless there was some serious changes and that's never going to happen whilst their nationalistic tendencies continue to rule over plain common sense.

I'm not suggesting it should be an open door policy but why not offer a foreign national a 10 year visa that doesn't require a trip to immigration every 90 days. Think of the benefits such as having to show a bank account with say 1.5 or even 2 million baht in it. Demand would increase and the economy would be all the better for it.

Common sense however doesn't rule in Thailand instead you have greed and corruption. Such a shame but it's their country and whilst it's being flushed down the toilet they appear happy enough about it.

[SoiBiker]

I wonder if these tourist realise that ML makes their travel insurance invalid?

I wonder if you realise it likely does no such thing.

[simondan]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I think it is widely accepted that English is the international language?

Also many other countries do in fact employee native speaking tourist staff - they don't have the same biased laws as Thailand.

Exactly. I worked in tourism as a guide in Australia, alongside Italians, Germans and Spaniards, all taking tours in their native language and English.

The standard of English signage here is woeful too, to say the least. A sign attempting to explain some aspects of the Mekong at Chiang Khan was the worst example I have seen. It was laughable and useless for its intended purpose. Clearly it had never been proofed. But it was an official govt sign.

Sorry, but thats just pathetic.

[webfact]

Foreign tourists consider Thailand safe destination
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Nov 18 -- Some 70 per cent of foreign tourists queried said imposing martial law did not affect their decision to visit Thailand, while 86 per cent thought the country was safe for tourists, according to the poll.

The Research Institute of Bangkok University (Bangkok Poll) surveyed 1,044 foreign tourists for their opinions on visiting Thailand now under martial law.

It found that 72.9 per cent arrived in Thailand for leisure, 21.6 per cent for business and 5.5 per cent for meetings with friends, relatives and lovers.

It also found that 20.7 per cent of surveyed tourists wanted to experience Thai culture, tradition and arts, 17.6 per cent would like to see Thailand's sea and beaches and 16.1 per cent would tour local shopping places such as the Chatuchak weekend market.

Asked if martial law in Thailand influenced their decision to visit the country, 70.1 per cent said it did not and 29.9 per cent said it did.

Of the respondents, 86.1 per cent said Thailand was safe for tourists and only 2.4 per cent did not think so.

Regarding what Thailand should urgently improve, 22.3 per cent said taxi services that overcharged, did not use fare meters and took long detours, 15.7 per cent pointed to traffic congestion and 12.7 per cent thought of the poor English communication of Thai people. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-11-18

[Bluespunk]

"Asked if martial law in Thailand influenced their decision to visit the country, 70.1 per cent said it did not and 29.9 per cent said it did."

Did they ask the 29.9% how exactly it influenced them?

I mean they're here, so........

[Bluespunk]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I think it is widely accepted that English is the international language?

Also many other countries do in fact employee native speaking tourist staff - they don't have the same biased laws as Thailand.

The survey mentions Thais, not tourist staff.

I get the feeling [based on some cringe worthy experiences] they meant that everyone should speak English.

I could be mistaken of course, there isn't that much info to base that view on, so yes, I could be wrong.

[Scully]

"And 12.7 per cent said Thais should improve the English speaking skills to communicate with foreign tourists."

Just as they learn a variety of foreign languages at home for all visitors to their own fair lands.

I read it as - "And 12.7 per cent were arrogant <deleted> who look down their noses at Thai people".

Much like some of the Thai bashers who haunt TVF.

Here's me thinking that they just wanted to communicate with their hosts, how naive of me.

[Commerce]

The figures are clearly a crock of sh!t..... I leave it at that.

I'm in a rush, as I need to go to fill in a survey, which has already been completed, asking for me to add my name to the 99,3% currently agreeing that everybody in Thailand is happy. The survey will conclude that farang adore Prayuth in all he says about farang and the attitudes of the British Government ,and all other European and American countries also agree and concur with his public statements.

Once the gun has been removed from my head, I'll send an update.

[ramrod711]

'Marital' law?

What marital law is that then?

Its hardly surprising that tourists arent concerned about marriage laws.

Well they did say martial law, but you bring up a good point, who does care about marital law?

[ramrod711]

Am I right in thinking there's almost a poll-a-day now under the dictator? And all of them "prove" that Thais and tourists are all happy, happy, happy all the do-da day.

To be fair, about 80% are from TAT, and they release ridiculous polls regardless of veracity, or who is currently in charge.