2014 Tourism revenue from foreign markets misses target

[ThaiUser]

What most posters on this forum forget is that holiday packages have to obey the same market rules like any other product; supply and demand and how these products are perceived on the projected market, depending on economic and political situations. Looking at the world economic situation it is also fair to say that less people from western societies in the immediate future will be able to afford a holiday that most commentators on this forum suggest.

Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea from TAT to get more regional holiday makers into Thailand to make up for the loss of visitors from western countries.

[JAWF]

Only 5%? Guess all those Chinese tour busses add a good % if not $ in the local malls

[Suffinator]

And just think ... someone gets paid to write this garbage.

Nice bit of propaganda for the ruling junta though!

[hscottbennett]

What most posters on this forum forget is that holiday packages have to obey the same market rules like any other product; supply and demand and how these products are perceived on the projected market, depending on economic and political situations. Looking at the world economic situation it is also fair to say that less people from western societies in the immediate future will be able to afford a holiday that most commentators on this forum suggest.

Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea from TAT to get more regional holiday makers into Thailand to make up for the loss of visitors from western countries.

It seems to me that most posters are saying that Thailand is becoming a place that is less hospitable for foreign tourists, not that foreign tourists can't afford to come here. While it is true that the current situation in russia might affect the number of russian tourists the overall economic numbers from Europe don't seem to be very off from the past several years. So it seems like Thailand's development is working against its tourism industry as labor and goods get more expensive the prices of a vacation in thailand increase. Why deal with body searches, potential scams, and inflated prices when you can go to another location that's cheaper and new. Looking at the economies in the Caribbean we can see the same progression in a more pronounced way.(more of their economies are based on tourism).

As far as regional holiday makers go... good luck

[Assurancetourix]

I ignore TAT's figures too.

2013 AoT BKK figures - 53 million (roughly rounded)

2014 AoT BKK figures - 33 million (roughly rounded)

That's getting close to a 40% reduction - IF it was international, then AoT's revenue dropped by 14 billion THB.

And - interestingly - I was in Ho Chi Minh a few weeks ago - packed full of russian tour groups......

The fact is that due to the problems of travel insurance with Martial law - many tour companies from europe and elsewhere are simply avoiding Thailand.

Russia and Vietnam are close friends countries since a long time; USSR helped Vietnam during it's war against USA.

I remember the first time I arrived in TPHCM ,january 1991 , I met the consul of USSR and we became friends

In 1992, it was my third or fourth journey to Vietnam,

He came to pick me at the airport with his Toyota and his chauffeur .

[timewilltell]

The hi-so here could not give a hoot for tourists who drink in bars or go looking at the finest natural resources the country has - they are only concerned with filling their hotel rooms and CP about 7-11. So if there are billions of Chinese who can do that they are happy. Bugger the poor market stall holders and other small business people - the Chinese are just fine whatever they choose to do in the day.

As to how this benefits Thailand compared to more well heeled Western tourists and the long term viability of the businesses outside the hotels is hard to see. But they won't let that dissuade them from putting off Europeans. As for the Russians, their currency us in the drink so apart from those who hedged in dollars, the vast majority will not be coming to Thailand next year.

[ThaiUser]

What most posters on this forum forget is that holiday packages have to obey the same market rules like any other product; supply and demand and how these products are perceived on the projected market, depending on economic and political situations. Looking at the world economic situation it is also fair to say that less people from western societies in the immediate future will be able to afford a holiday that most commentators on this forum suggest.

Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea from TAT to get more regional holiday makers into Thailand to make up for the loss of visitors from western countries.

It seems to me that most posters are saying that Thailand is becoming a place that is less hospitable for foreign tourists, not that foreign tourists can't afford to come here. While it is true that the current situation in russia might affect the number of russian tourists the overall economic numbers from Europe don't seem to be very off from the past several years. So it seems like Thailand's development is working against its tourism industry as labor and goods get more expensive the prices of a vacation in thailand increase. Why deal with body searches, potential scams, and inflated prices when you can go to another location that's cheaper and new. Looking at the economies in the Caribbean we can see the same progression in a more pronounced way.(more of their economies are based on tourism).

As far as regional holiday makers go... good luck

Most posters on this forum are not common tourists but people that have taken residency up in this country (family, business, retirement etc) and in that respect they write from their point of view, which is an accumulation of bad PR and news reports. There is no denying that these comments in one way or the other find a way into western media outlets reflecting on the situation in Thailand. But out of the millions of tourists that actually come to Thailand how many can say that they have been stopped on the streets and searched or shaken down as it is sometimes put?

The current situation in Russia is not a singularity and I have experienced that it is a European problem too. At the beginning of the year I went to Scotland to visit my son, his wife and my grandson. I had left Scotland in 2006 just before the military coup here in Thailand and returning to Scotland in 2014 I was shocked. When I lived in Scotland there had been no food banks for the poor, the homeless situation wasn’t that kind of a major problem and people had not to cut back on food to afford their rents.

Still, I agree that there is a large amount of people that decide to take a holiday abroad but that figure hasn’t increased compared to the holiday resources that have been developed worldwide over the last decade. The supply of resources has exceeded the amount of people that can afford it. Since 2006 I have been several times in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and countries in South America and I have seen the efforts made there to attract foreign tourists.

Certainly I agree that Thailand has an image problem when it comes to being represented as a tourist nation in the foreign media, however what in most cases is pointed out (stop and search, etc) isn’t only an image problem for Thailand. I have been stopped in Scotland twice during my 6 month stay, not because I acted suspicious but because my skin is darker as normal European skin. In London (England) we have everyday the problem of coloured people being stopped and searched in larger numbers compared to Caucasians, despite the fact that the coloured people are in the minority.

There is also no denying that Thailand has a problem when it comes to expats and their legal status within the country. I fully agree with most of them that the visa problems and laws that govern the ownership of property in Thailand should be addressed and for people with family here in Thailand there shouldn’t be these kind of problems. But when it comes to comments their negative experiences are always transferred onto the tourist sector, which deals with tourist like most other countries as far as visa and status go.

[KOZMO]

5% decline! Wow, just wow.

Try about 25%!!! at least!!! Been thru swampy 2-3 times in the last month, it was empty. Now HONG KONG was very busy. even with the student protests last month. Those numbers are just B.S.

[lvr181]

A simple starting point for encouraging more tourists would be to encourage and protect them! Get rid of the "shakedowns" and the "blatant ripoffs".

Not rocket science (not for educated people it isn't). But, I guess, this farang cannot come to terms with some aspects of Thainess.

[BlackJack]

bring me my crystal ball please

then bring me my dart board

[ozyjon]

Nong Khai Kid wrote.....

''I've asked some of my neighbours about their plans for the New Year holidays and all said IF they go anywhere it will be to visit relatives, no hotels etc involved and it's not regarded as a holiday trip as such.''

Here where i live in Europe tourism numbers are rising year after year but many restaurants are closed, many other shops closed, hotels at lower occupancy but numbers are higher, yes look around there are people everywhere, are they in Hotels, no, are they eating out in restaurants,no, but there are people everywhere, so who is making the money, a 4th grocery shop like Aldi or Coles has just opened in our area, maybe thats where the spending is, food, beach, home and to say they have been on holidays they will buy an ice cream, real big spenders.

It's all changing, those who don't change will suffer.

[hawker9000]

Badly in need of some adult supervision. A situation deteriorarating month on month. The lack of any meaningful attempt to turn things around would be jawdropping most anywhere else.

[UDONJIM]

What most posters on this forum forget is that holiday packages have to obey the same market rules like any other product; supply and demand and how these products are perceived on the projected market, depending on economic and political situations. Looking at the world economic situation it is also fair to say that less people from western societies in the immediate future will be able to afford a holiday that most commentators on this forum suggest.

Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea from TAT to get more regional holiday makers into Thailand to make up for the loss of visitors from western countries.

It seems to me that most posters are saying that Thailand is becoming a place that is less hospitable for foreign tourists, not that foreign tourists can't afford to come here. While it is true that the current situation in russia might affect the number of russian tourists the overall economic numbers from Europe don't seem to be very off from the past several years. So it seems like Thailand's development is working against its tourism industry as labor and goods get more expensive the prices of a vacation in thailand increase. Why deal with body searches, potential scams, and inflated prices when you can go to another location that's cheaper and new. Looking at the economies in the Caribbean we can see the same progression in a more pronounced way.(more of their economies are based on tourism).

As far as regional holiday makers go... good luck

Most posters on this forum are not common tourists but people that have taken residency up in this country (family, business, retirement etc) and in that respect they write from their point of view, which is an accumulation of bad PR and news reports. There is no denying that these comments in one way or the other find a way into western media outlets reflecting on the situation in Thailand. But out of the millions of tourists that actually come to Thailand how many can say that they have been stopped on the streets and searched or shaken down as it is sometimes put?

The current situation in Russia is not a singularity and I have experienced that it is a European problem too. At the beginning of the year I went to Scotland to visit my son, his wife and my grandson. I had left Scotland in 2006 just before the military coup here in Thailand and returning to Scotland in 2014 I was shocked. When I lived in Scotland there had been no food banks for the poor, the homeless situation wasn’t that kind of a major problem and people had not to cut back on food to afford their rents.

Still, I agree that there is a large amount of people that decide to take a holiday abroad but that figure hasn’t increased compared to the holiday resources that have been developed worldwide over the last decade. The supply of resources has exceeded the amount of people that can afford it. Since 2006 I have been several times in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and countries in South America and I have seen the efforts made there to attract foreign tourists.

Certainly I agree that Thailand has an image problem when it comes to being represented as a tourist nation in the foreign media, however what in most cases is pointed out (stop and search, etc) isn’t only an image problem for Thailand. I have been stopped in Scotland twice during my 6 month stay, not because I acted suspicious but because my skin is darker as normal European skin. In London (England) we have everyday the problem of coloured people being stopped and searched in larger numbers compared to Caucasians, despite the fact that the coloured people are in the minority.

There is also no denying that Thailand has a problem when it comes to expats and their legal status within the country. I fully agree with most of them that the visa problems and laws that govern the ownership of property in Thailand should be addressed and for people with family here in Thailand there shouldn’t be these kind of problems. But when it comes to comments their negative experiences are always transferred onto the tourist sector, which deals with tourist like most other countries as far as visa and status go.

[UDONJIM]

What a load of s--t. The world economy is in free fall. The Chinese government put a stop to 'cheap' tourist packages( because Chinese were being 'ripped off at their destinations) thus reducing the amount of Chinese tourists globally by about 40%. Even Japan is suffering the same fate from falling Chinese tourists and are trying every trick in the book to revive their Chinese tourist figures. You talk about Scottish people living on food banks and the number of homeless. Scotland is part of the UK and yes, it only reflects what I said about the 'true' state of the world economy (and therefore affecting Thai tourism apart from other Thailand negatives) . As for being stopped and searched because you are a 'certain colour'. Let's say martians started colonising the Earth and they proved to disproportionately commit criminal acts, then in any right-minded (mainly under-funded) law enforcement agency anywhere in the world, you employ your'e resources to achieve the 'biggest bang for your buck' i.e. the most efficient use of limited resources to bring about the best outcome. Got the message? Stop whingeing, try taking responsibility for your 'coloured 'peoples' actions and try to rectify it. Are you from Ferguson, USA by any chance?

[maidee]

oh, then they will have to raise the price for farang ATM with at least 15%

thai logic, it never fails

[ggold]

Thailand 'most dangerous tourist destination' says new book

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2014/11/14/thailand-most-dangerous-tourist-destination-says-new-book/?icid=maing-grid7|uk|dl4|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D314756

I wonder what TAT will have to say about this?