Thai tourism to hit the skids if it can't overcome crises

[spidermike007]

Local Thai mafias get away with murder -- literally. Then blame tortured Burmese. This has become common enough knowledge among falang tourists that they choose elsewhere -- Philippines, Lao, Indonesia again. I live in Thailand but if I was a tourist in Europe, Canada, USA, OZ, why would I come to the LOS with its current government? That's the icing on the cake, isn't it?

Yes, the world knows you are referring to serial killer Nomsod, and his super rich daddy, and the dangers that lurk on Dark Tao.

[Usernames]

No mention of Russians, who the Thais have apparently written off as broke and a dead end. And no mention of Swedes, who used to be a favorite, here, but seemed to have packed up, left, and never come back in meaningful numbers. Filling the place up with Chinese and muslims (the new app for muslim tourists advertised on another topic) isn't going to make this place any more appealing to Westerners.

[samuibeachcomber]

I've never been in business so maybe members with experience will weigh in.

I posted last year that a friend booking up for a 3 month visit was shocked at the prices being quoted for accommodation in places he had stayed before and one had jacked their rates up by 200%. One of the receptionists he spoke to and who remembered him said there was nothing she could do because due to a fall in tourism the owner had put the prices up and instructed " no deals, no discounts . "

This seems to be a common attitude here and doesn't sound like good practice, if you're losing custom how does increasing prices encourage what custom is available to buy, stay etc. ?

HA HA!.....so true,its called thai logic!

[ttthailand]

konying, on 29 Jun 2015 - 06:10, said:

I could be wrong but if things were cheaper I think

tourists would be back.

Thailand is no longer the cheap destination it was.

Your are talking about the package holiday people, that might see it a better alternative than say, Tunisian beaches eh?

However I do not think cheapness is the prime factor. Thailand is still relatively cheap. My country certainly is not in the top as for tourist numbers, nothing like EU countries, but over the last five years Thailand has not had good press. This is not about Mers or Coups or airlines. It has to do with friendliness, rudeness and safety. It's been getting a bad rap in travel media, both national and local. How this is to be fixed remains to be seen. I doubt Thailand is very concerned about doing anything, so it will just continue

no problem with the safety issue, just make an announcement that safety will improve by 100% in the next three months.... All for show just like all other announcements.... Who said it had to be true but then again you never know maybe it could happen ... Not !

[thaibeachlovers]

konying, on 29 Jun 2015 - 06:10, said:

I could be wrong but if things were cheaper I think

tourists would be back.

Thailand is no longer the cheap destination it was.

Your are talking about the package holiday people, that might see it a better alternative than say, Tunisian beaches eh?

However I do not think cheapness is the prime factor. Thailand is still relatively cheap. My country certainly is not in the top as for tourist numbers, nothing like EU countries, but over the last five years Thailand has not had good press. This is not about Mers or Coups or airlines. It has to do with friendliness, rudeness and safety. It's been getting a bad rap in travel media, both national and local. How this is to be fixed remains to be seen. I doubt Thailand is very concerned about doing anything, so it will just continue

Your are talking about the package holiday people

I disagree. Thai beaches are becoming too expensive as the BKK greedies move them relentlessly upmarket with accomodation aimed at the flashpacker tourist. The days when expensive resorts existed side by side with cheap huts are long gone.

If the beach market collapses, I for one will be delighted, as it will mean the return of affordable places to stay on nice beaches.

[DrTuner]

Does anyone really care about bar stool bums and western males with their Issan, Patong, and Pattaya buys...short or long time (her game)?

No tourists...whatever; as others have posted, it's back to the rice field for the low class.

The bar stool bums and their buys care. It's a complete ecosystem, a cultural phenomenon worth recording in the UNESCO list. I say, put the Pattaya beer bars in the list of protected heritage sights!

[Tomtomtom69]

konying, on 29 Jun 2015 - 06:10, said:

I could be wrong but if things were cheaper I think

tourists would be back.

Thailand is no longer the cheap destination it was.

Your are talking about the package holiday people, that might see it a better alternative than say, Tunisian beaches eh?

However I do not think cheapness is the prime factor. Thailand is still relatively cheap. My country certainly is not in the top as for tourist numbers, nothing like EU countries, but over the last five years Thailand has not had good press. This is not about Mers or Coups or airlines. It has to do with friendliness, rudeness and safety. It's been getting a bad rap in travel media, both national and local. How this is to be fixed remains to be seen. I doubt Thailand is very concerned about doing anything, so it will just continue

No I am not talking about packages.

Examples: in Australia I cam buy tshirt in Kmart for $5, in Thailand markets its 200 baht=$8

Female companion from a gogo can cost up to 10000 baht

Basically in past 3 years, exchange rate gone down while prices tripled.

Good point, getting ripped off due to jacked up profiteering and high tariffs such as those Thailand imposes on imports makes nearly anything imported very expensive (except certain categories of goods from countries with which Thailand has an FTA and China, ASEAN etc.). For example, consider breakfast cereal from Europe or the USA, which costs 200-300+ Baht per box or bag, just way overpriced. Cheese, 175-250+ Baht. Brand name clothing and shoes: 150-200% (or sometimes more) of the US, European or Australian price. Let's not even talk about how overpriced cars are (yes and that includes locally made ones - they may be much cheaper than the imports, but the same models are cheaper in the west).

[micmichd]

Guess you make a big mistake. You're comparing prices in Thai tourist areas to prices that Farangs pay as natives in their home countries.

Prices in tourist areas are always higher than prices for the natives. It is like this in Heidelberg, Munich, London and Amsterdam, and of course it is like this in Thailand.

Pattaya Beach eg is a tourist area, and it is not for cheap charlies anymore. But if you go to the "dark side" of Pattaya (where Thai natives live) you might find out that it is comparably cheaper there.

[wotaplonker]

Chinese, Russians, Arabs .. when the word gets out they are the majority at a tourist spot, don't expect Europeans to return for a long, long time. For Thailand, the word is already out, but the hopeful still have to come and see it by themselves. Next time .. it's somewhere else.

especially arabs

[SiSePuede419]

The Chinese are blowing the largest private-capital bubble in recent history:

http://goldseek.com/news/2015/6-29gs.jpg

Imagine the US RRE bubble and the Dot-Com bubble happening simultaneously.

It's not a question of IF these (Chinese) bubbles burst, it's WHEN.

Of course the Facist/Commie Brownosers say Don't Worry. This could never affect the Thai economy. Or Tourism. Because argle bargle!

555

Edited July 1, 2015 by SiSePuede419

[SunsetT]

.............And they dont help themselves..........I just arrived for a month and the 1st 3 hotels I stayed in did not have one English TV channel and 2 of these hotels were catering mainly for farang. Hotels used to have cable TV with at least a couple of english channels but more and more are switching to satellite TV boxes with a million Thai channels.....and even if they do have some English channels, it takes forever to find them. They just dont give a s*#t!

Edited July 2, 2015 by SunsetT

[thaibeachlovers]

.............And they dont help themselves..........I just arrived for a month and the 1st 3 hotels I stayed in did not have one English TV channel and 2 of these hotels were catering mainly for farang. Hotels used to have cable TV with at least a couple of english channels but more and more are switching to satellite TV boxes with a million Thai channels.....and even if they do have some English channels, it takes forever to find them. They just dont give a s*#t!

Yup. Over 300 channels - Arabic channel, Chinese channels, Burmese and Lao channels, but not a solitary English one.

[KarenBravo]

I hardly think lack of choice of TV channels in a hotel is a factor behind the "crisis" in the OP title.

[Dumbastheycome]

konying, on 29 Jun 2015 - 06:10, said:

I could be wrong but if things were cheaper I think

tourists would be back.

Thailand is no longer the cheap destination it was.

Your are talking about the package holiday people, that might see it a better alternative than say, Tunisian beaches eh?

However I do not think cheapness is the prime factor. Thailand is still relatively cheap. My country certainly is not in the top as for tourist numbers, nothing like EU countries, but over the last five years Thailand has not had good press. This is not about Mers or Coups or airlines. It has to do with friendliness, rudeness and safety. It's been getting a bad rap in travel media, both national and local. How this is to be fixed remains to be seen. I doubt Thailand is very concerned about doing anything, so it will just continue

Thailand certainly seems to have slipped well back on attitudes towards tourists. Sadly it seems the common mindset is that tourists are viewed as potential victims rather than a potential source of continous legitimate income. Safety standards throughout Thailand are about equal to hygiene standards. Despite the high probability than legislation exists about both issues it is the failure to apply or enforce that is the base cause.

[thaibeachlovers]

They can't even wire in an earth for the hot water shower heaters they use. I stayed in an hotel with a heater that wasn't earthed. I made sure the safety was working though, before having a shower.

[SiSePuede419]

They can't even wire in an earth for the hot water shower heaters they use. I stayed in an hotel with a heater that wasn't earthed. I made sure the safety was working though, before having a shower.

You bought a piece of rebar and a small sledgehammer and pounded the steel rod 2 meters down into earth outside?

And then ran wire from the earth ground up through your hotel window and connected it to the electric water heater?

555

[casualbiker]

I hardly think lack of choice of TV channels in a hotel is a factor behind the "crisis" in the OP title.

Possibly. But it doesn't actually help does it?

[thaibeachlovers]

They can't even wire in an earth for the hot water shower heaters they use. I stayed in an hotel with a heater that wasn't earthed. I made sure the safety was working though, before having a shower.

You bought a piece of rebar and a small sledgehammer and pounded the steel rod 2 meters down into earth outside?

And then ran wire from the earth ground up through your hotel window and connected it to the electric water heater?

555

Nice try, but no.

The unit comes with a built in safety device that can be tested by pushing a button.

BTW rebar shouldn't be used as it is usually rusty and I believe it should be 3 meters for the correct type of rod.

I have lovely earths that I installed at my house- copper coated steel.