Has Thailand finally killed the golden goose?

[harrry]

arrived yesterday from europe,

arrivels are increased against august,

A380,

in august - business cl 25% on 60 seats,

yesterday about 40% occupied,

Hotel prices against last year :

Agoda call them super insider deals,

but they are up 50% to 100% !!

Beer is getting more expensive ,

in supermarket already more than in europe,!

Not to talk about food !!

Expensive and -

last time in Pattaya - I had 3 small prowns on a rice dish with seafood,

some small cut offs of octopus, even not a single p of fish for 80 thb!!

Prices are up,

cheating are up,

quality down

safety down,

And I had only problems with my Thai Gold award booking -

4 months in advance booking,

for 3 days no BC Award seat available;

My next flight for Song Khran I booked already with another airline;

Next propably also have to change the destination !!

do they need more evidence ?

less planes,smaller planes.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The "bubbles burst" "party's over"

Etc. Say what you like, there is no high season activity around many tourist parts of the country, Chinese visitors are the "new target tourists", but I assure you they wont be spending much,and there wont be any need for the Sukhumvit Sex bars .

Nor need to shops or restaurants as Chinese come ONLY in groups and spend nothing anywhere.

Those who come alone, eat noodles from 7-11 and do nothing but window shop, which is not surprising considering most crap sold is from China

Chinese spend plenty, and don't always travel in groups. You may get a different demographic in the beach resorts, but for Chiang Mai I'm seeing mostly independent travellers: couples, young families, groups of friends. Same kind of demographic as Westerners really.

Very happy to have them. And many of the chicks don't look half bad either.

And as for a police state.. how much worse than China can it be?

That's of course separate from my personal feelings on the matter. Because I am concerned, and when in Bangkok I'm now actively avoiding many areas, and carry my passport around at all times.

Edited December 8, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thailand is under Marshall Law and under the control of an oppressive Military Junta.

The Police are out of control, backing the systematic scamming of visitors.

Are you going to plan your family holiday there?

oppressive Military Junta.

Please tell me what difference it makes in YOUR everyday's life? In mine nothing AT ALL !

Getting to some sites on the Internet is getting increasingly difficult.

I actively avoid major parts of Bangkok for fear of police harassment and corrupt scams.

[LawrenceChee]

The "bubbles burst" "party's over"

Etc. Say what you like, there is no high season activity around many tourist parts of the country, Chinese visitors are the "new target tourists", but I assure you they wont be spending much,and there wont be any need for the Sukhumvit Sex bars .

Nor need to shops or restaurants as Chinese come ONLY in groups and spend nothing anywhere.

Those who come alone, eat noodles from 7-11 and do nothing but window shop, which is not surprising considering most crap sold is from China

Chinese spend plenty, and don't always travel in groups. You may get a different demographic in the beach resorts, but for Chiang Mai I'm seeing mostly independent travellers: couples, young families, groups of friends. Same kind of demographic as Westerners really.

Very happy to have them. And many of the chicks don't look half bad either.

And as for a police state.. how much worse than China can it be?

That's of course separate from my personal feelings on the matter. Because I am concerned, and when in Bangkok I'm now actively avoiding many areas, and carry my passport around at all times.

Good to see another poster who actually understand the cultural aspects of being Chinese rather than just bashing them

I was at Bangkok the other day with 2 of my thai friends at the grand palace and we were trying to take a picture

There were endless groups of Chinese taking pictures at a vantage point and my thai friends got frustrated and angry (which is rare) and they were annoyed with the tour groups and told me in thai they wish the Chinese were like the farangs and well mannered

I explained to them the cultural aspects behind the group mentality ...spoke in mandarin to the tour leaders and viola everyone queued up and understood it and smiled and apologized to the Thais ...the simple point being as long as there is communication the Chinese can follow

As we walked out of the palace , one of my friend who works for the Thai statisticboard told me just by counting his one hour here ...he spotted about 80 bus loads of Chinese vs about 100 farangs at the hand palace ...of course his quick counting skills told him that was 3200 ( at 40 a bus) and about 1600 room nights , pictures and keychains etc etc and he said realistically the Thai people needs the $$$$ for the economy

[LawrenceChee]

The "bubbles burst" "party's over"

Etc. Say what you like, there is no high season activity around many tourist parts of the country, Chinese visitors are the "new target tourists", but I assure you they wont be spending much,and there wont be any need for the Sukhumvit Sex bars .

Nor need to shops or restaurants as Chinese come ONLY in groups and spend nothing anywhere.

Those who come alone, eat noodles from 7-11 and do nothing but window shop, which is not surprising considering most crap sold is from China

Chinese spend plenty, and don't always travel in groups. You may get a different demographic in the beach resorts, but for Chiang Mai I'm seeing mostly independent travellers: couples, young families, groups of friends. Same kind of demographic as Westerners really.

Very happy to have them. And many of the chicks don't look half bad either.

And as for a police state.. how much worse than China can it be?

That's of course separate from my personal feelings on the matter. Because I am concerned, and when in Bangkok I'm now actively avoiding many areas, and carry my passport around at all times.

Good to see another poster who actually understand the cultural aspects of being Chinese rather than just bashing them

I was at Bangkok the other day with 2 of my thai friends at the grand palace and we were trying to take a picture

There were endless groups of Chinese taking pictures at a vantage point and my thai friends got frustrated and angry (which is rare) and they were annoyed with the tour groups and told me in thai they wish the Chinese were like the farangs and well mannered

I explained to them the cultural aspects behind the group mentality ...spoke in mandarin to the tour leaders and viola everyone queued up and understood it and smiled and apologized to the Thais ...the simple point being as long as there is communication the Chinese can follow

As we walked out of the palace , one of my friend who works for the Thai statistic board told me just by counting his one hour here ...he spotted about 80 bus loads of Chinese vs about 100 farangs at the grand palace walking through the main car park ...of course his quick counting skills told him that was 3200 ( at 40 a bus) and about 1600 room nights , pictures and keychains etc etc and he said realistically the Thai people needs the $$$$ for the economy

Edited December 8, 2014 by LawrenceChee

[Kitsune]

Thailand is under Marshall Law and under the control of an oppressive Military Junta.

The Police are out of control, backing the systematic scamming of visitors.

Are you going to plan your family holiday there?

oppressive Military Junta.

Please tell me what difference it makes in YOUR everyday's life? In mine nothing AT ALL !

Getting to some sites on the Internet is getting increasingly difficult.

I actively avoid major parts of Bangkok for fear of police harassment and corrupt scams.

Same here: Lower Sukhumvit is a nono for me

[hawker9000]

I disagree with those who assess this as all due to global economic conditions. Thailand HAS killed the golden goose. For decades the tourist industry grew & grew with foreigners basking in the famously warm welcome and low prices. Then the endless growth began to level off a bit, and when even that could no longer be sustained, good fortune gradually evolved into an expectation, then an entitlement. Dips became downturns became disappointments became resentment. Other rising stars in the tourist galaxy didn't help - Thailand encountered competition. And having to compete with other countries for foreign visitors must be just about the most diifficult concept there is for a proud thai to get his mind around. Relatively easy to understand squeezing every last satang out of currently owned assets though - screw tomorrow.

All this adds up to some fairly sour attitudes, and these are easy to see in the cities. Scams, the current thing with police, stubborn double-pricing practices, smiling overtures to lure foreign investors while hiding highly discriminatory and disadvantageous protectionist laws in the other hand and behind the back, etc etc etc - these are all parts of the same "screw those darn foreigners, who needs 'em" attitude. Now the word's out - no amount of empty smiley faces from different agencies or already invested ( and getting desperate) expats can conceal the truth of the matter from the rest of the world. The bloom is OFF the rose and the secret's out.

Edited December 15, 2014 by hawker9000

[honoluludave]

I disagree with those who assess this as all due to global economic conditions. Thailand HAS killed the golden goose. For decades the tourist industry grew & grew with foreigners basking in the famously warm welcome and low prices. Then the endless growth began to level off a bit, and when even that could no longer be sustained, good fortune gradually evolved into an expectation, then an entitlement. Dips became downturns became disappointments became resentment. Other rising stars in the tourist galaxy didn't help - Thailand encountered competition. And having to compete with other countries for foreign visitors must be just about the most diifficult concept there is for a proud thai to get his mind around. Relatively easy to understand squeezing every last satang out of currently owned assets though - screw tomorrow.

All this adds up to some fairly sour attitudes, and these are easy to see in the cities. Scams, the current thing with police, stubborn double-pricing practices, smiling overtures to lure foreign investors while hiding highly discriminatory and disadvantageous protectionist laws in the other hand and behind the back, etc etc etc - these are all parts of the same "screw those darn foreigners, who needs 'em" attitude. Now the word's out - no amount of empty smiley faces from different agencies or already invested ( and getting desperate) expats can conceal the truth of the matter from the rest of the world. The bloom is OFF the rose and the secret's out.

Well said

[Christie Paul]

I disagree with those who assess this as all due to global economic conditions. Thailand HAS killed the golden goose. For decades the tourist industry grew & grew with foreigners basking in the famously warm welcome and low prices. Then the endless growth began to level off a bit, and when even that could no longer be sustained, good fortune gradually evolved into an expectation, then an entitlement. Dips became downturns became disappointments became resentment. Other rising stars in the tourist galaxy didn't help - Thailand encountered competition. And having to compete with other countries for foreign visitors must be just about the most diifficult concept there is for a proud thai to get his mind around. Relatively easy to understand squeezing every last satang out of currently owned assets though - screw tomorrow.

All this adds up to some fairly sour attitudes, and these are easy to see in the cities. Scams, the current thing with police, stubborn double-pricing practices, smiling overtures to lure foreign investors while hiding highly discriminatory and disadvantageous protectionist laws in the other hand and behind the back, etc etc etc - these are all parts of the same "screw those darn foreigners, who needs 'em" attitude. Now the word's out - no amount of empty smiley faces from different agencies or already invested ( and getting desperate) expats can conceal the truth of the matter from the rest of the world. The bloom is OFF the rose and the secret's out.

What a precise and erudite post.

[thailiketoo]

I disagree with those who assess this as all due to global economic conditions. Thailand HAS killed the golden goose. For decades the tourist industry grew & grew with foreigners basking in the famously warm welcome and low prices. Then the endless growth began to level off a bit, and when even that could no longer be sustained, good fortune gradually evolved into an expectation, then an entitlement. Dips became downturns became disappointments became resentment. Other rising stars in the tourist galaxy didn't help - Thailand encountered competition. And having to compete with other countries for foreign visitors must be just about the most diifficult concept there is for a proud thai to get his mind around. Relatively easy to understand squeezing every last satang out of currently owned assets though - screw tomorrow.

All this adds up to some fairly sour attitudes, and these are easy to see in the cities. Scams, the current thing with police, stubborn double-pricing practices, smiling overtures to lure foreign investors while hiding highly discriminatory and disadvantageous protectionist laws in the other hand and behind the back, etc etc etc - these are all parts of the same "screw those darn foreigners, who needs 'em" attitude. Now the word's out - no amount of empty smiley faces from different agencies or already invested ( and getting desperate) expats can conceal the truth of the matter from the rest of the world. The bloom is OFF the rose and the secret's out.

Thailand should hire you to give them the real story that they cannot see. Someone should send your post to the new minister of tourism. She is easy to reach on social media.