Patong is dead.

[Weblo]

The Russians are broke. As are the Americans, the Brits, the Chinese, and most everyone else. (Except for the Nordic nations).

the American economy is doing rather well at the moment, and the Chinese have become the number 1 tourist in Thailand. But yes, the Russians are broke.

[stevenl]

I spent a day with a couple this winter in Chang Mai. They owned a dive shop in Phuket.

Moved from the UK to start the dream. They said it is now becoming a disaster. Very very few tourists anymore.

They left the business to travel.

You've made me curious. A couple from the UK that opened a dive shop here? Can't think of anyone

[phuketlive]

A diver told me the same the other day, business is really bad, Chinese are here in number but they don't go diving.

Nor they go to bars but some go to massage at least if you are located near their hotel of course because they move in bus so they won't stop anywhere else but Big C and back to hotel!

June is always a bad month but it looks really bad for the future.

[Lashay]

Yes, is is not really "low season" anymore, it's "Dead season".

Things were better in Bangla/Patong same time last year with Riots in BKK, martial law, army on streets and curfews forcing early closing as early as 10pm

Problem for Bangla, besides the Chinese (who are not exactly a problem, more just a waste of space, same as the Russians), the remaining tourists are mainly young kids for whom a BIG night out maxes out at about 1000 baht. The clubs try to cater to them with the 1000 baht open bars (or in one case now, 500 baht, top shelf stuff to boot...how they are not losing money on every single punter is anyone's guess).

Things happening nationally (beach clean up, military law, still strong baht, strange focus on trying to attract more Chinese) and internationally (more competition from other SEA countries for tourism, failing Aus economy/currency, stagnant Euro market) are decimating the older, richer, bigger spending farang crowd.

If you do a search "business for sale phuket" on google you can find tons of small Hotels and guest houses (basically anyone not big enough to take a Chinese tour bus) and even the bigger places are just making ends meet off the Chinese as the tour operators force them down so much.

Strangely not many bars yet, but got feeling most of them know there are no buyers at the moment so they are either trying to survive until high season or walking away. Even a couple of new projects seem to have stopped.

Good news, if there is a recovery, already for new contracts key money is quickly being lowered or even dropped completely in many places (even main street) and rents are going down as well, so that saving should filter though to the customers (mainly by keeping prices steady despite other costs going up).

Bad news is this lowering of prices just because there are fewer customers cannot continue, selling beer for 60 baht (away from bangla) or 80 baht on Bangla, when base price to bar is 29-40 baht (before factoring in rent, salary, utilities so forth) is just setting ones self to be a prime example of having a busy business, but going bankrupt. These owners, unless they have another source of income cannot survive in long run. Once the amateurs go bust, beer prices could very well go up overall to bring them more in line with worldwide margins

It's going to be a long 3-4 months before the so called high season starts again, guessing quite a few will not survive (just been informed of another bar closing tonight while writing this) , and if it is not at least a half decent high season (last one was not) think the face of patong as a whole, bangla in particular,, will change forever

[phuketlive]

At least, we can enjoy a nice discount in some clubs, 2 bottles for the price of 1, nice, never seen this before.

[spidermike007]

The Russians are broke. As are the Americans, the Brits, the Chinese, and most everyone else. (Except for the Nordic nations).

Brits?...I’m not skint and neither are many of the quality Brit tourists I know that visit Lalaland. No Sir, I think there are many and varied reasons why folk are not going there...kop some of NKM’s sermons for the unfortunate low-down. Arh, the good old days...

Thank you for the sense you made of the absolutely mindless quote Billy the hat made. Wow. What can you say. I know a lot of people in the U.S. with very serious cash. They simply choose not to come here. Many reasons. Sure, 92% of the population is hurting in the west. But, many are doing well. The Chinese have more money than ever, in recent history. The coup really hurt tourism. The continued rising prices here really hurts tourism. Incredibly dumb hotel owners raising prices when occupancy is down really hurts tourism. The lack of law and order here really hurts tourism. A nationalistic leader who puts his foot in his mouth daily really hurts tourism. Edited June 29, 2015 by spidermike007

[Weblo]

The Russians are broke. As are the Americans, the Brits, the Chinese, and most everyone else. (Except for the Nordic nations).

Brits?...Im not skint and neither are many of the quality Brit tourists I know that visit Lalaland. No Sir, I think there are many and varied reasons why folk are not going there...kop some of NKMs sermons for the unfortunate low-down. Arh, the good old days...

Thank you for the sense you made of the absolutely mindless quote Billy the hat made. Wow. What can you say. I know a lot of people in the U.S. with very serious cash. They simply choose not to come here. Many reasons. Sure, 92% of the population is hurting in the west. But, many are doing well. The Chinese have more money than ever, in recent history. The coup really hurt tourism. The continued rising prices here really hurts tourism. Incredibly dumb hotel owners raising prices when occupancy is down really hurts tourism. The lack of law and order here really hurts tourism. A nationalistic leader who puts his foot in his mouth daily really hurts tourism.

yes I agree, this was a mindless post. Patong has deeper ghosts to worry about.

No bang for your buck there, too many options for holidays now, without being beaten, robbed, scammed, etc. I will never be back to Phuket nor will my family from aus?

I love hearing the posts that the

Ace is dead, good for them, couldn't care less if they closed the airport.

[spidermike007]

The Russians are broke. As are the Americans, the Brits, the Chinese, and most everyone else. (Except for the Nordic nations).

Brits?...Im not skint and neither are many of the quality Brit tourists I know that visit Lalaland. No Sir, I think there are many and varied reasons why folk are not going there...kop some of NKMs sermons for the unfortunate low-down. Arh, the good old days...

Thank you for the sense you made of the absolutely mindless quote Billy the hat made. Wow. What can you say. I know a lot of people in the U.S. with very serious cash. They simply choose not to come here. Many reasons. Sure, 92% of the population is hurting in the west. But, many are doing well. The Chinese have more money than ever, in recent history. The coup really hurt tourism. The continued rising prices here really hurts tourism. Incredibly dumb hotel owners raising prices when occupancy is down really hurts tourism. The lack of law and order here really hurts tourism. A nationalistic leader who puts his foot in his mouth daily really hurts tourism.

yes I agree, this was a mindless post. Patong has deeper ghosts to worry about.

No bang for your buck there, too many options for holidays now, without being beaten, robbed, scammed, etc. I will never be back to Phuket nor will my family from aus?

I love hearing the posts that the

Ace is dead, good for them, couldn't care less if they closed the airport.

I too have no use for Phuket. The place feels very tired. And Patong is perhaps the single least pleasant town in this country. Unless you are a millionaire punter who enjoys 250 baht drinks, 1200 baht bar fines, and paying 4,000 baht for short time. To call that place overblown and over rated, would be an insult to places like Ibiza and Los Angeles.

[steelepulse]

Yes, is is not really "low season" anymore, it's "Dead season".

Things were better in Bangla/Patong same time last year with Riots in BKK, martial law, army on streets and curfews forcing early closing as early as 10pm

Problem for Bangla, besides the Chinese (who are not exactly a problem, more just a waste of space, same as the Russians), the remaining tourists are mainly young kids for whom a BIG night out maxes out at about 1000 baht. The clubs try to cater to them with the 1000 baht open bars (or in one case now, 500 baht, top shelf stuff to boot...how they are not losing money on every single punter is anyone's guess).

Things happening nationally (beach clean up, military law, still strong baht, strange focus on trying to attract more Chinese) and internationally (more competition from other SEA countries for tourism, failing Aus economy/currency, stagnant Euro market) are decimating the older, richer, bigger spending farang crowd.

If you do a search "business for sale phuket" on google you can find tons of small Hotels and guest houses (basically anyone not big enough to take a Chinese tour bus) and even the bigger places are just making ends meet off the Chinese as the tour operators force them down so much.

Strangely not many bars yet, but got feeling most of them know there are no buyers at the moment so they are either trying to survive until high season or walking away. Even a couple of new projects seem to have stopped.

Good news, if there is a recovery, already for new contracts key money is quickly being lowered or even dropped completely in many places (even main street) and rents are going down as well, so that saving should filter though to the customers (mainly by keeping prices steady despite other costs going up).

Bad news is this lowering of prices just because there are fewer customers cannot continue, selling beer for 60 baht (away from bangla) or 80 baht on Bangla, when base price to bar is 29-40 baht (before factoring in rent, salary, utilities so forth) is just setting ones self to be a prime example of having a busy business, but going bankrupt. These owners, unless they have another source of income cannot survive in long run. Once the amateurs go bust, beer prices could very well go up overall to bring them more in line with worldwide margins

It's going to be a long 3-4 months before the so called high season starts again, guessing quite a few will not survive (just been informed of another bar closing tonight while writing this) , and if it is not at least a half decent high season (last one was not) think the face of patong as a whole, bangla in particular,, will change forever

Nice informative post from someone that seems to have a pulse on what's going on, unlike many other posters that are enjoying a vent against the place, but aren't actually here.

[KarenBravo]

I think the seriousness of the situation is starting to sink in.

In my area of the island (Chalong / Rawai), prices are being reduced, commercial property now has a rental fee only with no key money asked for.

More and more reductions on price for properties for sale. People are showing signs of desperation already and we are nowhere near the worst it's going to get.

[Seelow]

Italian restaurant I go to said they get groups of Chinese but they share 1 pizza between 6 people and don't buy a single drink. They ask for a glass of water or drink their own out of their bag.

So a table of 6 hang around using the wifi for 2 hours spend 250 baht on a pizza.

It's dead and it's only going to get worse.

I am not a resteraunt owner, but I am in business, but I would say to this table of 6, " 3 pizza and 3 drinks minimum, or please leave".

B250 is not worth the effort.

[NamKangMan]

Italian restaurant I go to said they get groups of Chinese but they share 1 pizza between 6 people and don't buy a single drink. They ask for a glass of water or drink their own out of their bag.

So a table of 6 hang around using the wifi for 2 hours spend 250 baht on a pizza.

It's dead and it's only going to get worse.

I am not a resteraunt owner, but I am in business, but I would say to this table of 6, " 3 pizza and 3 drinks minimum, or please leave".

B250 is not worth the effort.

That's when the Chinese ask for a table for 18, and "3 pizzas and 3 drinks."

[NamKangMan]

Yes, is is not really "low season" anymore, it's "Dead season".

Things were better in Bangla/Patong same time last year with Riots in BKK, martial law, army on streets and curfews forcing early closing as early as 10pm

Problem for Bangla, besides the Chinese (who are not exactly a problem, more just a waste of space, same as the Russians), the remaining tourists are mainly young kids for whom a BIG night out maxes out at about 1000 baht. The clubs try to cater to them with the 1000 baht open bars (or in one case now, 500 baht, top shelf stuff to boot...how they are not losing money on every single punter is anyone's guess).

Things happening nationally (beach clean up, military law, still strong baht, strange focus on trying to attract more Chinese) and internationally (more competition from other SEA countries for tourism, failing Aus economy/currency, stagnant Euro market) are decimating the older, richer, bigger spending farang crowd.

If you do a search "business for sale phuket" on google you can find tons of small Hotels and guest houses (basically anyone not big enough to take a Chinese tour bus) and even the bigger places are just making ends meet off the Chinese as the tour operators force them down so much.

Strangely not many bars yet, but got feeling most of them know there are no buyers at the moment so they are either trying to survive until high season or walking away. Even a couple of new projects seem to have stopped.

Good news, if there is a recovery, already for new contracts key money is quickly being lowered or even dropped completely in many places (even main street) and rents are going down as well, so that saving should filter though to the customers (mainly by keeping prices steady despite other costs going up).

Bad news is this lowering of prices just because there are fewer customers cannot continue, selling beer for 60 baht (away from bangla) or 80 baht on Bangla, when base price to bar is 29-40 baht (before factoring in rent, salary, utilities so forth) is just setting ones self to be a prime example of having a busy business, but going bankrupt. These owners, unless they have another source of income cannot survive in long run. Once the amateurs go bust, beer prices could very well go up overall to bring them more in line with worldwide margins

It's going to be a long 3-4 months before the so called high season starts again, guessing quite a few will not survive (just been informed of another bar closing tonight while writing this) , and if it is not at least a half decent high season (last one was not) think the face of patong as a whole, bangla in particular,, will change forever

Nice informative post from someone that seems to have a pulse on what's going on, unlike many other posters that are enjoying a vent against the place, but aren't actually here.

I agree SP.

A couple of years ago, you were ridiculed and branded a "doomsdayer" if you wrote such a post, as I was.

Look where we are now, with the worst yet to come, with no serious attempt by any authority to fix Phuket's problems, that have turned away a large segment of the lucrative western market, whilst Phuket continues to see this market in rapid decline.

As stated before, Phuket is heading into recession.

We very well may see "The Phuket Financial Crisis" in the near future.

[simon43]

At my small hotels, I have noticed an increase in the number of guests from the USA, which I attribute solely to the strong USD, (since it is a long way to travel from the States, I guess the cheap holiday justifies the fly time).

Apart from that, Chinese and more Chinese. I am still averaging an occupancy rate approaching 100%, but I do not like having the vast majority of guests from China, (nothing to do with their manners - it is not good business sense for any type of business to have a single supplier/customer segment).

[Patong2]

In a small restaurant in Nanai Rd last night and one of two chinese guys left the restaurant and returned with two beers obviously from the 7/11.

The lady owner very firmly told them "you no drink here" waved the menu in front of them and said "we have"

I was shocked by the rudeness but loved the way the lady got stuck into them, she was not backing down.

I would have just charged them the price of the beer,

[phuketlive]

One friend who has hotels in patong was going crazy last year, seeing russians and chinese eating in the lobby, well, squatting is a better word.

But, well, it's expensive for them so they do this. That's what you get with that kind of tourists.

[xylophone]

Quote Lashay; "Strangely not many bars yet, but got feeling most of them know there are no buyers at the moment so they are either trying to survive until high season or walking away.....".

You make some good points in your post and I picked out the sentence above because although there may not be many bars with "for sale" signs up, I do know that in one particular Soi almost all of the bar owners would be willing to sell at a knockdown price!!

Even last night I was sitting at a bar owned by a friend, and the bars either side of him were empty, with one owner actually walking away because he was making no money, and the second owner not having enough money to pay the rent, so the owner of the Soi closed the bar.

Another bar was paying his girls a base salary, however has let most of the girls go now because the business wasn't paying and its unlikely to now anyway.

As if to add more confusion and "hard times" for some bar owners, the army has decreed that bars cannot put small chairs and tables outside of their bar area, which a lot of bars relied on for extra custom, and the local police are ensuring that this is the case, thereby reducing the potential takings for the bar owner, yet they have no problem with turning up every month to ask for their regular tea money, and even some bars are finding it difficult to pay that.

This low season is sure to see changes in Patong especially as regards to farang ownership of bars and other businesses, however to quote a real estate agent, "there is always another plane landing at the airport upon which is a farang with a lot of money and few brains and all I have to do is find them" (or words to that effect).

Just the other day I overheard a farang with his Thai lady trying to negotiate the purchase of a guesthouse so that they could "earn a living and support themselves here"............so they are out there, however nowhere near as many as before and as the reality sets in, that this place is over developed, has poor infrastructure, is overpriced and run and policed by crooks, then maybe, just maybe, they will cease to come and so will the quality tourists.

[stuandjulie]

But on the bright side Rawai has turned into the Shanghai Bus Terminal !

Dozens of coaches with only Chinese getting bussed from Nakhorn Marine to Laem Ka beach, no chance to interact, straight off the coach to another to get to the beach, speedboat to the nearest Island to illegally feed bread to the fish and back, picking up the way over priced picture on a plate on the way back!

[Lashay]

I do know that in one particular Soi almost all of the bar owners would be willing to sell at a knockdown price!!

Well in all truth, in case of that particular soi (you gave me enough info to determin not only soi but also bar) has more problems than just the tourism situation, namely absolutly horrible management

edit:

This low season is sure to see changes in Patong especially as regards to farang ownership of bars and other businesses,

These days majority of bar owners (bangla) are thai, for example in case of that soi only about 15-20% are farang. Same in most others

Edited June 30, 2015 by Lashay

[Valentine]

As iceman said "Phuket is heading into recession". It is not only a Patong problem which is compounding all the way through our society. For a few years Phuket lived off the Russians, not only through tourism but through real estate which kept many types of business going & also through the fact many Russians wanted to stay here so at least some of their money was getting through to street level. Now we have the Chinese forcing down room rates to basically unsustainable levels & the fact that virtually none of their money filters down to street level.

Nearly all the business people I speak to are suffering serious declines.

[Weblo]

No bang for the tourists buck in Phuket. I can drink cheaper in Canada <deleted>. ( except in certain bars of course)

You can only kick your dog(tourists) so many times, then they don't come back.

Another case of thai greed.

[xylophone]

I do know that in one particular Soi almost all of the bar owners would be willing to sell at a knockdown price!!

Well in all truth, in case of that particular soi (you gave me enough info to determin not only soi but also bar) has more problems than just the tourism situation, namely absolutly horrible management

edit:

This low season is sure to see changes in Patong especially as regards to farang ownership of bars and other businesses,

These days majority of bar owners (bangla) are thai, for example in case of that soi only about 15-20% are farang. Same in most others

True enough in that Soi, that the management is not all it could be, but that really has no bearing on the bigger picture which I will endeavour to paint. Also in that Soi, in its previous life approximately 80% of the bars were Thai/farang, now as you say possibly around 20%.

Interestingly enough, that Soi, the microcosm that it is, actually reflects what is happening in Patong in general. In its previous life and even after the start of the GFC it was the place to be and not only were the bars full, quite often the tables and chairs in the middle of the Soi were also full, then things started to change because the ripples from the GFC affected Europe and beyond and that in turn slowed down the tourists.

A very good friend of mine, who owned one of the most popular bars in that Soi, saw the writing on the wall and sold his bar. From making 1.5 million baht profit in a year, he was now lucky to break even with the running costs, so the bar went. But that didn't stop others from buying bars and carrying on as if everything was normal.

What I thought was very strange was that the new owner of the Soi decided to rip out all of the current bars and replace them with almost exact replicas, in different tile colours!!! So millions of baht was spent to get something which with a patching up here and there, would have continued to function well.

The spending of money on building bars, guesthouses, apartments and condos continued unabated whilst the tourist numbers fell quite markedly. Who can forget the madness when rumours circulated that Tiger was going to close and that the new "Bangla Road" would be in a bar area under the boxing complex, and I know a few farangs who bought leases on those ill-fated bars and look at them now.

Places like the Aussie bar went from strength to strength, and the Tiger complex attracted the punters making small Sois like Soi Easy, Gonzo, Lion etc surplus to requirements.

Then you get the crazy rents which forced a great Bangla Road pub, "Scruffy Murphys" to close, then the crazy building of the new Bangla Mall which now looks like a ghost mall, yet nobody paid any attention to the falloff in farang numbers, and because of this more apartments and guest houses were built, corruption marched on and more Tuk Tuks were added, not because they were needed, but because they had to pay the local mafia and BIB a monthly "fee".

So whilst the financial contagion was spreading and the drop in visitor numbers was very easy to see, Patong went about its own sweet little way, hoping that everything would be okay as it always had been in the past, but these are different times and the drop off in farangs who would quite happily spend a lot of time in bars and were flush with cash, is now easy to see for all but those who will not see.

However this has now been forced upon them and there are many struggling small businesses and bars, not to mention an almost complete lack of real estate activity, in Patong.

So there you have it, Patong tried to stay isolated from the rest of the world thinking it was invincible in its role as the "party town of Phuket" and as is typical in this country, believed its own hype, not understanding that if you are reliant upon tourists, that what happens in their country will directly affect Thailand, and of course, Patong.

They didn't see what was happening worldwide, or they didn't want to, or of course as is usual, no planning or thought to planning for the future was put in place, so now they are trying to attract "numbers" so that face is saved, but unfortunately these numbers are not spending money and are totally different from the tourists of the past – – the demographics have changed, but places like Patong ploughed on regardless and is now paying the price, and will do so for years into the future IMO.

Edited July 1, 2015 by xylophone

[steelepulse]

Right, and the driving force behind it all is the greed of the landlords and of those that have master leases. As was mentioned earlier in the thread and which has been true for at least 15 years is, "another plane full of dumb rich punters is landing". These greedy landlords that didn't/don't care about the long term survival of their tenants. Well that plane full of dumb rich punters are now mostly Chinese that sit in their buses all day.

[phuketlive]

Talking to a friend yesterday, hotel owner here, thai, they think they know better about what to do.

But when talking to them, they have no idea why the situation is like this now.

What is mentioned in this thread is unknown to them so things will stay like this until one day they realize why people don't want to come back here...

[NamKangMan]

I do know that in one particular Soi almost all of the bar owners would be willing to sell at a knockdown price!!

Well in all truth, in case of that particular soi (you gave me enough info to determin not only soi but also bar) has more problems than just the tourism situation, namely absolutly horrible management

edit:

This low season is sure to see changes in Patong especially as regards to farang ownership of bars and other businesses,

These days majority of bar owners (bangla) are thai, for example in case of that soi only about 15-20% are farang. Same in most others

True enough in that Soi, that the management is not all it could be, but that really has no bearing on the bigger picture which I will endeavour to paint. Also in that Soi, in its previous life approximately 80% of the bars were Thai/farang, now as you say possibly around 20%.

Interestingly enough, that Soi, the microcosm that it is, actually reflects what is happening in Patong in general. In its previous life and even after the start of the GFC it was the place to be and not only were the bars full, quite often the tables and chairs in the middle of the Soi were also full, then things started to change because the ripples from the GFC affected Europe and beyond and that in turn slowed down the tourists.

A very good friend of mine, who owned one of the most popular bars in that Soi, saw the writing on the wall and sold his bar. From making 1.5 million baht profit in a year, he was now lucky to break even with the running costs, so the bar went. But that didn't stop others from buying bars and carrying on as if everything was normal.

What I thought was very strange was that the new owner of the Soi decided to rip out all of the current bars and replace them with almost exact replicas, in different tile colours!!! So millions of baht was spent to get something which with a patching up here and there, would have continued to function well.

The spending of money on building bars, guesthouses, apartments and condos continued unabated whilst the tourist numbers fell quite markedly. Who can forget the madness when rumours circulated that Tiger was going to close and that the new "Bangla Road" would be in a bar area under the boxing complex, and I know a few farangs who bought leases on those ill-fated bars and look at them now.

Places like the Aussie bar went from strength to strength, and the Tiger complex attracted the punters making small Sois like Soi Easy, Gonzo, Lion etc surplus to requirements.

Then you get the crazy rents which forced a great Bangla Road pub, "Scruffy Murphys" to close, then the crazy building of the new Bangla Mall which now looks like a ghost mall, yet nobody paid any attention to the falloff in farang numbers, and because of this more apartments and guest houses were built, corruption marched on and more Tuk Tuks were added, not because they were needed, but because they had to pay the local mafia and BIB a monthly "fee".

So whilst the financial contagion was spreading and the drop in visitor numbers was very easy to see, Patong went about its own sweet little way, hoping that everything would be okay as it always had been in the past, but these are different times and the drop off in farangs who would quite happily spend a lot of time in bars and were flush with cash, is now easy to see for all but those who will not see.

However this has now been forced upon them and there are many struggling small businesses and bars, not to mention an almost complete lack of real estate activity, in Patong.

So there you have it, Patong tried to stay isolated from the rest of the world thinking it was invincible in its role as the "party town of Phuket" and as is typical in this country, believed its own hype, not understanding that if you are reliant upon tourists, that what happens in their country will directly affect Thailand, and of course, Patong.

They didn't see what was happening worldwide, or they didn't want to, or of course as is usual, no planning or thought to planning for the future was put in place, so now they are trying to attract "numbers" so that face is saved, but unfortunately these numbers are not spending money and are totally different from the tourists of the past – – the demographics have changed, but places like Patong ploughed on regardless and is now paying the price, and will do so for years into the future IMO.

I agree with your post xp, but you suggest that Phuket's tourist industry problems are lmainly from external forces beyond its control.

I have approximately 8 unconnected friends who used to holiday on Phuket, all of them definately once a year, and some them twice a year.

ALL of these 8 people now go to Pattaya.

These guys are not Cheap Charlies. They have a quid or two.

When asked why the change, they all said Phuket is nicer, but it was the BS here that turned them away.

I also have some expat friends that have moved to Pattaya from Phuket, for the same reason.

[xylophone]

True enough in that Soi, that the management is not all it could be, but that really has no bearing on the bigger picture which I will endeavour to paint. Also in that Soi, in its previous life approximately 80% of the bars were Thai/farang, now as you say possibly around 20%.

Interestingly enough, that Soi, the microcosm that it is, actually reflects what is happening in Patong in general. In its previous life and even after the start of the GFC it was the place to be and not only were the bars full, quite often the tables and chairs in the middle of the Soi were also full, then things started to change because the ripples from the GFC affected Europe and beyond and that in turn slowed down the tourists.

A very good friend of mine, who owned one of the most popular bars in that Soi, saw the writing on the wall and sold his bar. From making 1.5 million baht profit in a year, he was now lucky to break even with the running costs, so the bar went. But that didn't stop others from buying bars and carrying on as if everything was normal.

What I thought was very strange was that the new owner of the Soi decided to rip out all of the current bars and replace them with almost exact replicas, in different tile colours!!! So millions of baht was spent to get something which with a patching up here and there, would have continued to function well.

The spending of money on building bars, guesthouses, apartments and condos continued unabated whilst the tourist numbers fell quite markedly. Who can forget the madness when rumours circulated that Tiger was going to close and that the new "Bangla Road" would be in a bar area under the boxing complex, and I know a few farangs who bought leases on those ill-fated bars and look at them now.

Places like the Aussie bar went from strength to strength, and the Tiger complex attracted the punters making small Sois like Soi Easy, Gonzo, Lion etc surplus to requirements.

Then you get the crazy rents which forced a great Bangla Road pub, "Scruffy Murphys" to close, then the crazy building of the new Bangla Mall which now looks like a ghost mall, yet nobody paid any attention to the falloff in farang numbers, and because of this more apartments and guest houses were built, corruption marched on and more Tuk Tuks were added, not because they were needed, but because they had to pay the local mafia and BIB a monthly "fee".

So whilst the financial contagion was spreading and the drop in visitor numbers was very easy to see, Patong went about its own sweet little way, hoping that everything would be okay as it always had been in the past, but these are different times and the drop off in farangs who would quite happily spend a lot of time in bars and were flush with cash, is now easy to see for all but those who will not see.

However this has now been forced upon them and there are many struggling small businesses and bars, not to mention an almost complete lack of real estate activity, in Patong.

So there you have it, Patong tried to stay isolated from the rest of the world thinking it was invincible in its role as the "party town of Phuket" and as is typical in this country, believed its own hype, not understanding that if you are reliant upon tourists, that what happens in their country will directly affect Thailand, and of course, Patong.

They didn't see what was happening worldwide, or they didn't want to, or of course as is usual, no planning or thought to planning for the future was put in place, so now they are trying to attract "numbers" so that face is saved, but unfortunately these numbers are not spending money and are totally different from the tourists of the past – – the demographics have changed, but places like Patong ploughed on regardless and is now paying the price, and will do so for years into the future IMO.

I agree with your post xp, but you suggest that Phuket's tourist industry problems are lmainly from external forces beyond its control.

I have approximately 8 unconnected friends who used to holiday on Phuket, all of them definately once a year, and some them twice a year.

ALL of these 8 people now go to Pattaya.

These guys are not Cheap Charlies. They have a quid or two.

When asked why the change, they all said Phuket is nicer, but it was the BS here that turned them away.

I also have some expat friends that have moved to Pattaya from Phuket, for the same reason.

Don't disagree with you NKM and I tried to convey that in my post, or at least I thought I did, but maybe contained in another post of mine!!

Yes the BS in regards to high prices, rip offs, corruption, attitude and the thought that the folk in "high places/control" can do whatever they want in complete disregard to the well being of the tourists, long term stayers and both farangs and the everyday Thais alike, and of course ruining Patong into the bargain.

Such a shame, paradise lost.

[NamKangMan]

True enough in that Soi, that the management is not all it could be, but that really has no bearing on the bigger picture which I will endeavour to paint. Also in that Soi, in its previous life approximately 80% of the bars were Thai/farang, now as you say possibly around 20%.

Interestingly enough, that Soi, the microcosm that it is, actually reflects what is happening in Patong in general. In its previous life and even after the start of the GFC it was the place to be and not only were the bars full, quite often the tables and chairs in the middle of the Soi were also full, then things started to change because the ripples from the GFC affected Europe and beyond and that in turn slowed down the tourists.

A very good friend of mine, who owned one of the most popular bars in that Soi, saw the writing on the wall and sold his bar. From making 1.5 million baht profit in a year, he was now lucky to break even with the running costs, so the bar went. But that didn't stop others from buying bars and carrying on as if everything was normal.

What I thought was very strange was that the new owner of the Soi decided to rip out all of the current bars and replace them with almost exact replicas, in different tile colours!!! So millions of baht was spent to get something which with a patching up here and there, would have continued to function well.

The spending of money on building bars, guesthouses, apartments and condos continued unabated whilst the tourist numbers fell quite markedly. Who can forget the madness when rumours circulated that Tiger was going to close and that the new "Bangla Road" would be in a bar area under the boxing complex, and I know a few farangs who bought leases on those ill-fated bars and look at them now.

Places like the Aussie bar went from strength to strength, and the Tiger complex attracted the punters making small Sois like Soi Easy, Gonzo, Lion etc surplus to requirements.

Then you get the crazy rents which forced a great Bangla Road pub, "Scruffy Murphys" to close, then the crazy building of the new Bangla Mall which now looks like a ghost mall, yet nobody paid any attention to the falloff in farang numbers, and because of this more apartments and guest houses were built, corruption marched on and more Tuk Tuks were added, not because they were needed, but because they had to pay the local mafia and BIB a monthly "fee".

So whilst the financial contagion was spreading and the drop in visitor numbers was very easy to see, Patong went about its own sweet little way, hoping that everything would be okay as it always had been in the past, but these are different times and the drop off in farangs who would quite happily spend a lot of time in bars and were flush with cash, is now easy to see for all but those who will not see.

However this has now been forced upon them and there are many struggling small businesses and bars, not to mention an almost complete lack of real estate activity, in Patong.

So there you have it, Patong tried to stay isolated from the rest of the world thinking it was invincible in its role as the "party town of Phuket" and as is typical in this country, believed its own hype, not understanding that if you are reliant upon tourists, that what happens in their country will directly affect Thailand, and of course, Patong.

They didn't see what was happening worldwide, or they didn't want to, or of course as is usual, no planning or thought to planning for the future was put in place, so now they are trying to attract "numbers" so that face is saved, but unfortunately these numbers are not spending money and are totally different from the tourists of the past – – the demographics have changed, but places like Patong ploughed on regardless and is now paying the price, and will do so for years into the future IMO.

I agree with your post xp, but you suggest that Phuket's tourist industry problems are lmainly from external forces beyond its control.

I have approximately 8 unconnected friends who used to holiday on Phuket, all of them definately once a year, and some them twice a year.

ALL of these 8 people now go to Pattaya.

These guys are not Cheap Charlies. They have a quid or two.

When asked why the change, they all said Phuket is nicer, but it was the BS here that turned them away.

I also have some expat friends that have moved to Pattaya from Phuket, for the same reason.

Don't disagree with you NKM and I tried to convey that in my post, or at least I thought I did, but maybe contained in another post of mine!!

Yes the BS in regards to high prices, rip offs, corruption, attitude and the thought that the folk in "high places/control" can do whatever they want in complete disregard to the well being of the tourists, long term stayers and both farangs and the everyday Thais alike, and of course ruining Patong into the bargain.

Such a shame, paradise lost.

"Such a shame, paradise lost." - I take solace in the fact that whilst Phuket is "paradise lost" for tourists, and expats - it's big money lost, for the greedy Thai's in "high places/control" that will see their revenue shrink, considerably, in the near future.

These people have destroyed the Phuket that we all loved.

[billythehat]

The Russians are broke. As are the Americans, the Brits, the Chinese, and most everyone else. (Except for the Nordic nations).

Brits?...I’m not skint and neither are many of the quality Brit tourists I know that visit Lalaland. No Sir, I think there are many and varied reasons why folk are not going there...kop some of NKM’s sermons for the unfortunate low-down. Arh, the good old days...

Thank you for the sense you made of the absolutely mindless quote Billy the hat made. Wow. What can you say. I know a lot of people in the U.S. with very serious cash. They simply choose not to come here. Many reasons. Sure, 92% of the population is hurting in the west. But, many are doing well. The Chinese have more money than ever, in recent history. The coup really hurt tourism. The continued rising prices here really hurts tourism. Incredibly dumb hotel owners raising prices when occupancy is down really hurts tourism. The lack of law and order here really hurts tourism. A nationalistic leader who puts his foot in his mouth daily really hurts tourism.

"92% of the population is hurting in the west"....ridiculous waffle

[Lashay]

What I thought was very strange was that the new owner of the Soi <snip> "Scruffy Murphys" to close, then the crazy building of the new Bangla Mall which now looks like a ghost mall,

Interesting titbit, that Soi and Bangla Mall, same guy

And he is also claiming recently to have picked up the master contract where Scruffy Murphys was.

He is a prime example of what is wrong with the master contract holders on Bangla, his mall failed not once but twice (2nd time royally screwing the renters by kicking nearly every one out after only a few months), in the soi he continues to ignore what the the bar owners want changed, everything he touches turns to crap yet he still has the backers to buy even more. Guy is worse than Donald Trump and he operates same way, front man for Bangkok big money, little of his own cash on the line, everyone pays for his bad management except himself.

Tiger himself is another, Tiger 2 was no where near customer capacity, yet he rebuilt Tiger 1 with same style and more importantly same music, basically just dividing the existing customer base (hurting both complexes), little wonder Tiger 1 is a total failure (except for possibly Bar Funk 3 don't think a single bar owner has made a real profit there), it just requires a simple free change (different music and lower volume) to open the place to a whole new demographic...but have they?

Bangla/Patong, like Thailand as a whole, lost it's way in confusing numbers of tourists with "quality tourist" (honest translation: big spending tourists). If you look at main street on most nights between 10/12 it still looks busy, as long as you don't actually look in the bars (and even if bar is actually looks busy in many places you will notice the staff are not, very common front row Tiger 2) It's all Chinese, Indians and cheap young western 20-30 something backpacker types (which the whole ambient caters to these days) nursing their drinks, majority of older, bigger spending tourists were pushed out.

Yet still it's the same old, every soi/complex pounding out overly loud club dance remixes (which started when Tiger 2 became a success, but now even that is starting to fail), little to differentiate between them except the building and prices and absolutely nothing to attract the older punters, quite the opposite actually. Even though many bars want change, the master contract holders are stuck in the past (and their own ego's) and unwilling to change and doubt they will

If Bangla wants to save it's self, it needs not just change, but variety. But the big Thai owners have had it so easy for so long (build it and they will come) they actually don't understand their own industry and think they can continue as always

Edited July 1, 2015 by Lashay

[phuketlive]

"If Bangla wants to save it's self, it needs not just change, but variety. But the big Thai owners have had it so easy for so long (build it and they will come) they actually don't understand their own industry and think they can continue as always."

Exactly.