Russian economic crisis hits Pattaya, Phuket

[mikemac]

Who writes these articles?

Im not a native speaker and I could certainly do better

I hope you are not another humour- less txxt trying to impress , My view is that many of the forums have no light hearted humour.Any funny crack is always put down

by some old crock . Also many of us are not native,speakers

So I suggest if you can do better do it, and dont become a bathroom door toss pot

a bathroom door toss pot ! What the............................??? I'm writing that one down !

I have to admit it, that one got be rushing to the urban dictionary for clarification. Couldn't get the bathroom door bit, but here's tosspot...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tosspot

I just thought it was a classic, and wondered if the situation will ever arise where I get to use it.

[bender92]

A few less Russians could be a good thing. Ever noticed the state of beaches every morning littered with alcohol bottles, rubbish and cigarette butts.

i think that highly unfair and racist to suggest its all the Russian's fault. where's the stats? i certainly don't see many Thais picking up their khrap

Russian is not a race, so it can't be racist. They are mostly Caucasian.

[bender92]

I like this thread, first one where the Americans aren't somehow to blame!

Fantastic LOL

Hold your horses. Who do you think made the rouble take a plunge in the first place?

Yep its the combination of the US and EU sanctions enforced on them,,, And it is working

Good.

And the loooow price of oil.

[Yme]

Visitors from Russia accounting for 6.57 per cent of all Thailand tourism arrivals in the first 11 months of 2014, a slight reduction in the 6.53 per cent share of the market they accounted for in the same period a year earlier.

While Russian inbound tourists to Thailand contracted by 21.22 per cent Y-o-Y in November DOT figures show that for the 11 months from January to the end of November the decline was just 7.1 per cent with 1,601,449 Russian visitors compared with 1,723,810 over the same period in 2013.

The sudden decline in Russian tourists to Thailand could not come at a worse time for the Thailand tourism industry which has seen reduced inbound tourist numbers from almost all global regions following eight months of at times violent anti-government street protests by the so-called People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) and the country’s 12th successful coup d’état in May.

According DoT figures for the 11 months from January 1 to November 30 foreign tourists from East Asia, which last year accounted for 60.46 per cent of all foreign visitor arrivals fell by 9.77 per cent Y-o-Y,while those from Oceania dropped by 7.56 per cent.

Foreign tourist arrivals from South Asia have fallen by 7.34 per cent,those from the Americas are down by 6.57 per cent, while visitors from the Middle East and Europe have dropped by 6.53 per cent and 2.58 per cent respectively.

Overall foreign tourist arrivals for the first 11 months of 2014 are down 7.60 per cent, from 26,382,457 to 24,376,735.

For the first 10 months of 2014 the DoT estimates the Thailand tourism industry has lost about Bt 60 billion (about US$ 1.841 billion), equivalent to about 0.48 per cent of the country’s 2013 GDP.

International tourism accounts for about 8% of the economy with domestic tourism contributing about 7%

“There are some people in town, most notably those who focus almost exclusively on selling properties to Russians, who are still talking the market up, but we’ve already had some customers contact us and ask us to look at ways of extending their payment period hoping things will have improved by the time the next installment is due as well as a few instructing us to look for buyers to purchase what they’ve already paid.

“We haven’t seen a big increase yet in Russian owners trying to divest themselves of established properties, but it’s fairly clear that if the Russian economy doesn’t reverse its recent declines fairly quickly that 2015 is going to be a buyers market, particularly in areas such as Jomtien and Pratumnak Hill.”

However, with the British pound and Australian dollar also contracting in value recently and the baht remaining fairly resolute we’re also seeing softer demand for rental properties all round. If the Russians stop coming the big question that no one really wants to air is whether some of the new developments that are underway will have the capacity to complete if the Russians start defaulting on payments in large numbers”, he said.

Source: http://www.establishmentpost.com/thailand-tourism-real-estate-hit-by-plummeting-rouble/#ixzz3NO3dQiQk

[rametindallas]

immigration, poolice, tat and the government have been making it difficult for expats and tourists, pushing them away, bet thats not helping the cash flow

Nonsense! The only people effected by the recent crackdown have been foreigners living here on multiple VOA's.

Don't post drivel.

so you dont believe the lack of support from police and government, corruption, dual pricing, coup, military rule, continually changing immigration laws etc etc have anything to do with pushing expats and tourists out of the country? its there in the news everyday, try reading a little, you might just become a little more educated

First, you both need to stop lumping tourists and ex-pats together as though they were the same. None of the things you listed in your original post (immigration, poolice, tat and the government have been making it difficult) affect tourists. Neither immigration, police, TaT, or the government have done anything to reduce tourism. Even the ex-pat is hardly affected. Can you cite what changes that immigration, police, TaT, or the government have implemented to reduce tourism? Can you cite what changes that immigration, police, TaT, or the government have implemented that have negatively affected (legal) ex-pats? Unless you are political and want to freely speak your mind, there have been no changes in day to day living that are coming from the change of government. Mafia, criminal police, and encroachers are being prosecuted at a higher rate, though.

the lack of support from police and government, corruption, dual pricing, coup, military rule, continually changing immigration laws

all these things are constant in Thailand for most of its history. The military rule, with associated martial law, may keep a small percentage of tourists away because their travel insurance is invalid. My friend just got back from a month's holiday in Thailand and reported he never saw any indication of military rule. In fact, he had a grand time. People read travel brochures to plan a holiday and Thailand always ranks very high in hospitality, beauty, unique culture/architecture, modern services, and pricing. Most tourists don't care much about internal Thai politics or how difficult it is for the ex-pat. They just want to have a change of scenery and forget about their daily grind.

If you are an ex-pat here, you do have a grievance (but you had one before Prayut) with the way the Thai government deals with ex-pats (or any non-Thai). But your experience as an ex-pat is in no way connected to the experience of a short time visitor (tourist). Maybe you forgot, but, if you don't scratch too deeply below the surface, Thailand is a magical place. Sure, a small percentage of tourist find out about the ugly side of Thainess but the vast majority don't. That's why Thailand rates so high as a tourist destination. Unfortunately for you, I think you have seen the ugly under-belly and cannot unsee it.

[rametindallas]

Not to worry. Gen. Prayuth's investment in the nation's infrasturture and domestic consumption will save the Thai economy. And you will be ordered to believe it.

And you will be ordered to believe it.

My, my, my... you were feeling trollish when you wrote that. LoL

[englishoak]

Russian rouble has halved in value making everything double the price, baht is still strong vs many other currencies too..... this all means one simple thing. Thailand is not a cheap destination compared to before for many.

Next year will bring more of the same, especially with Russian tourists seeing as a lot arriving atm had paid before the fall of the rouble. Next year everyone will be facing those exchange rate woes.

I hope Thailand is prepared