Bangkok's New Airport To Change The Face Of Seedy Pattaya

[BROWNY]

I am expecting the beach road to become an area for upmarket hotels - have been for years. But the beach is too polluted ! Will people just stay by the pool in their 5 star hotels, watching "traditional" thai entertainment laid on by the Hotel staff ? Sounds a bit Benidorm to me. But it will happen. The Russian market will jump on this one. Just watch.

Soi Bhukow and the nearby Sois will become the Entertainment zone - with all the bar-scene pushed away from the 5 star Beach road.

Most of the "adult" areas of Pattaya actually are away from the beach. Obviously Walking St. is an exception but that's only really open at night when it's very obvious (by virtue of it being a pedestrian only area) that it's exceptional. If you look at Pattayaland, in the south and then go up to Soi 2 and up towards Naklua, most of the "adult" areas aren't on the beach. Then of course Soi Bhukow is the up and coming area so Pattaya may well evolve into a place for all. Having said that, for families a CLEAN beach and less pollution are far more important!

In Patong, Phuket, since the Tsunami, the beach road has become very up-market and "touristy", but turn the corner into Soi Bangla and you've got the nightlife, although nothing like as much as Pattaya.

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

Can't halt progress though - we will all adapt.

[zxray]

A plan to fail. Pattaya is already a hugely successful, tourist destination, providing Thailand with a vast amount of foreign cash. The tourist they have now, return year after year,

As a family destination, it would be a one time do, as they do not have the miles of unspoiled beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful coral reefs, for kayaking, snorkling, etc. Not only will families not return, after one visit, they will go home with, stories of disapointment in Pattaya as a seaside destination.

Look at Koh Chang, it is a succsessful family and couples destination, not because it is convienent to any airport, but because it has the things, that these tourists look for in a seaside resort.

[Fore Man]

Face it friends: there is simply too much wrong with the city and its failing, corrupt infrastructure to ever hope that it could become a Hua Hin twin. There are many exceptions, but by and large Pattaya feeds upon itself and its huge Farang infusions of cash. All those livelihoods that cater to a different beat of the drum would be terribly threatened if Pattaya morphed into a clean, family style city. This 'charm' of Pattaya, spawned by the Vietnam R&R generation, is what has lured and endeared so many of us to Pattaya. Sleaze and all, I say that it ought to be branded as a Special Economic Zone or some other cute moniker and let it remain what it is and cannot purport to ever be. The new airport has absolutely nothing to do with the near-term future of the city. It provides a convenient ruse for landowners and tourist operators to raise their prices.

[Ulysses G.]

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

I can remember people asking this same question 10 years ago and the answer is still yes.

Sex is Thailand's bread and butter!

[MaiChai]

Here is an idea: there are lots of nice beaches in Rayong provence, and not much hotel development. This would be much more suited to families; I mean if it was developed. I am sure this will happen.

Pattaya and the sex trade. Well from what I have seen there are alot of 'freelancers' lining the beachfront in the evenings. Whats going to stop all these people making a living? I mean its Land of the Free, and ppl just turn up from Easan and do what they want? I don't see how you can stop this and I don't see how Pattaya will change. I don't live there, but its entertaining for the occasional weekend holiday?

Tourists will just change planes as they do at the moment and go to Samui/Phuket? Why would they start going to Pattaya? I get a little fed up with the Thai 'get rich' mentality; the rest of the world had to work hard for their money?

[VBF]

I am expecting the beach road to become an area for upmarket hotels - have been for years. But the beach is too polluted ! Will people just stay by the pool in their 5 star hotels, watching "traditional" thai entertainment laid on by the Hotel staff ? Sounds a bit Benidorm to me. But it will happen. The Russian market will jump on this one. Just watch.

Soi Bhukow and the nearby Sois will become the Entertainment zone - with all the bar-scene pushed away from the 5 star Beach road.

Most of the "adult" areas of Pattaya actually are away from the beach. Obviously Walking St. is an exception but that's only really open at night when it's very obvious (by virtue of it being a pedestrian only area) that it's exceptional. If you look at Pattayaland, in the south and then go up to Soi 2 and up towards Naklua, most of the "adult" areas aren't on the beach. Then of course Soi Bhukow is the up and coming area so Pattaya may well evolve into a place for all. Having said that, for families a CLEAN beach and less pollution are far more important!

In Patong, Phuket, since the Tsunami, the beach road has become very up-market and "touristy", but turn the corner into Soi Bangla and you've got the nightlife, although nothing like as much as Pattaya.

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

Can't halt progress though - we will all adapt.

The way things change in Thailand, we'll have to!

Seriously, I hardly recognise the Patong or Pattaya of today from those of 10 years ago. And if you go back 20 years....... no, don't get me started!!

[Pattaya_Fox]

A plan to fail. Pattaya is already a hugely successful, tourist destination, providing Thailand with a vast amount of foreign cash. The tourist they have now, return year after year,

As a family destination, it would be a one time do, as they do not have the miles of unspoiled beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful coral reefs, for kayaking, snorkling, etc. Not only will families not return, after one visit, they will go home with, stories of disapointment in Pattaya as a seaside destination.

Look at Koh Chang, it is a succsessful family and couples destination, not because it is convienent to any airport, but because it has the things, that these tourists look for in a seaside resort.

Now then zxray I guess that you haven`t seen that many thousands of families visit and enjoy the wonderful facilities which Pattaya and nearby areas have to offer.

I would suggest that you do a little research before you try to compare Pattaya with Koh Chang. Not every familiy wants to do the things that you do you know.

Many families would be bored with Koh Chang and I am sure would see their holiday there as a one off experience....after all there is only so much Kayaking and snorkeling and avoiding the sharp coral reefs that one can do......and the little ones would find it pretty boring for the most part.

Now Pattaya a vibrant city with numerous attractions for the family holidaymaker and a fun place for the kids and their parents.

Try to look past the bars and imagine that you are in a helicopter. Use your vision to encompass the varied and entertaining family orientated facilities and see the smiles on the tourists faces as they enjoy themselves......Or better still go there and see for yourself.

[britmaveric]

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

Can't halt progress though - we will all adapt.

I dunno they've been saying a revamped beach/2nd rd for years. We've all heard the rumours, but still its business as usual. The time it takes to get anything done - we'll all be dead buried. Just look how long it takes to resurface a bloody road.

[mangapoon]

Why would more people come to Pattaya just because the airport is 30 minutes closer??? do they look at the travel brochure and say" ooh! look, lets go to Pattaya instead of .......... it's only 1hour 30 mins to the beach instead of 2 hours ummmm??

I agree 1000% on that, whatever Thais or tourists who care about 30 minutes... I think that this "noise" around the new airport and Pattaya future is fuelled by land speculators...

[barhopper]

"Pattaya is like Disneyland, but you don't pay an entrance fee," he says. — AFP

— AFP 2006-09-26

And what about the Racist Two Tiered entrance fees?

[astral]

Average Thai are led to believe that the new airport will create a lot of jobs and prosperity. The government claims it will be the hub or gateway to wherever, plus they're planning to build a city there, what kind of logic is that

Its sad to see people believing this nonsense

You are a cynic.

The land prices around the airport have rocketed.

There are jobs at the airport and at new companies starting up or moving to the area.

It will affect Pattaya, but maybe not as much as the article predicts.

I doubt tourists are swayed by such matter.

However for residents it is a different matter, house and land prices along the

Eastern Seaboard are rising as people want to live within easy range of the new airport.

[Zoltan]

Does anyone know of a link or map that shows the new airport location vs Don Muang?

http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/32

[Tammi]

Most of these women are over 18, but he says that young teenage girls walk the streets looking for customers, while underage boys are offered up as 'masseuses'.

I along with 99.9% of people abhor paedophilia, but I personally have never seen it being touted around the streets of Pattaya.

I would love somebody to take one of these NGO spokesmen to task about showing evidence when making statements like this. If they could actually provide evidence I am sure the police would arrest the perpretrators and the problem would cease to exist, and the reputation of Pattaya would eventually improve also.

But unfortunately these people never actually seem to be very good at providing evidence, just good stories.

Oh and by the way, IMHO,.........30 mins closer is not going to bring in Thousands of more tourists

Come on, john 101! Do you go ask the girls how old they are? Do you ask the boy "masseuses" how old they are? People do provide evidence and the police do make arrests.

[popshirt]

Bangkok's new airport to change the face of seedy Pattaya

Tourist authorities are now hoping the resort will undergo another transformation, from sleazy sex destination into family-friendly beach town.

I will pray this will never happen...

The same statements were made by Las Vegas politicians (investors) about ten years ago. It was tried, but was a dismal failure. Vegas is Vegas. Pattaya is Pattaya. Money is money.

[kuhnk]

It seems to me that Jomtien would be a better bet for more wholesome family fare then Pattaya. The water is somewhat better, far less in the way of girle bars, less traffic, just a slower more relaxed pace. But it still can't compare to some of the beaches in Southern Thailand. Somehow I just can't see the bars of Pattaya going away, at least any time soon. Maybe when you start seeing natural gas tuk-tuks/busses, pedestrian crossings/elevated walkways, state of the art sewage treatment systems,dog catchers, bulldozers plowing down the outdoor bars and soapy massage places to make way for parks like some of the beautiful ones around Bangkok , Pattaya might start to change to more of a family destination. But if you get rid of the bars there would be a whole lot more freelancers trolling beach road, they would actually have to enforce prostitution laws. Undercover stings, female cops posing as prostitutes. In Pattaya?

Edited September 26, 2006 by kuhnk

[britmaveric]

Come on, john 101! Do you go ask the girls how old they are? Do you ask the boy "masseuses" how old they are? People do provide evidence and the police do make arrests.

Dunno about you but most of us have trouble determining how old someone is in Thailand. For the most part they look way younger than they actually are. I've given up on playing a guessing game - because I'm always way off. Best to ask them or see their ID.

Mate of my gf when I first met her I swore she must be under 18. Turned out she was older than my gf.

Edited September 26, 2006 by britmaveric

[Tengotodo]

, plus they're planning to build a city there, what kind of logic is that

Its sad to see people believing this nonsense

Pattaya #2??

[Tarqin]

Of course there is always the possibility of change but to actually change you need:

political will

planning

execution of plan

ability to absorb short term loss for long term gain (DING absolutely un-Thai)

keeping the pols/police/army/everyone else's noses out of the pig trough (DING)

I am 44 and can happily predict even if I live to a ripe old age (unlikely) it won't happen in my lifetime.

[nostrel]

its a cesspit of sleaze and always will be .it will just get a bigger cesspit of sleaze .

[allexx]

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

I can remember people asking this same question 10 years ago and the answer is still yes.

Sex is Thailand's bread and butter!

Agree UG.

Get rid of sex and Pattaya is dead.

[Canadianvisitor]

THis is a loud and obnoxious advertisement for a corporate takeover.

Pattaya is where I visit when I go to Thailand.

It is my base and where my condo is.

When people find that I am not in Pattaya for buying the services of Thai women or girls they are quite surprised.

Although I am resistant to change of any kind, I hope that Pattaya does NOT become a corporate tourism spot.

It is a catch 22, but if the Sheraton's, Hilton's, and other corporate developers want it done, I believe it will happen in a snap.

Shoot child molesters and they will NEVER do it again!

Edited September 26, 2006 by george

[BROWNY]

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

Can't halt progress though - we will all adapt.

I dunno they've been saying a revamped beach/2nd rd for years. We've all heard the rumours, but still its business as usual. The time it takes to get anything done - we'll all be dead buried. Just look how long it takes to resurface a bloody road.

Fair comment Brit - guess I will have to continue shopping down soi 6

[BROWNY]

You are right, but in 10 years time do you really expect to see soi 6,7,8, Post Office, Pattayaland etc in their current mode of business ? I think not. Shopping malls are my guess with Beach Road pedestrianised.

I can remember people asking this same question 10 years ago and the answer is still yes.

Sex is Thailand's bread and butter!

Agree UG.

Get rid of sex and Pattaya is dead.

and for some - Get rid of Pattaya and sex is dead !

[jimpardue]

Pattaya "seedy"? As opposed to what? BKK? Look, Pattaya is what it is, and trying to change it to a "family destination", "5 star hotel resort", etc etc is sheer madness. Just go down the coast and start a new "Disney" style resort for all you family types, or go to Phuket, Samui, whatever. Pattaya is loud, dirty, dangerous for pedestrians, and generates untold billions of baht for Chonburi and Issan. Anyone who is willing to spend 200 bucks a night on a hotel room has thousands of better destinations to choose from. And to the clueless people that do bring their brats here, maybe they were duped by an unscrupulous travel agent, who knows? But they don't belong here, we don't want them here, and they need to wise up and go somewhere else. This is the only place on the planet like this, and WE LIKE IT, regardless of the shitty infrastrcture and dangerous traffic. Hundreds of thousands of people swear by the place, and all the do gooders, big time development dreamers/scammers, head-up-the-ass politicians in the world are not going to change it. And "snoophound", kiss my ass! And all the BKK dudes who have that unaccounted for superiority complex, same to you. If you don't like Pattaya, stay away! No one makes you come here, we're happy, why look down your noses at us? Just keep breathing that oh-so-fresh BKK air while you're sitting for how many hours in traffic to go 6 kilometers, and tell yourself how lucky, smart, and morally superior you are for living in Bangkok.

Pattaya is not perfect, but it suits us just fine, and a half hour travel time less from BKK will not matter one whit as to who comes here.

[pap]

I've just skimmed this article but it seems to me that TAT has only one vision for tourism anywhere in Thailand and that is a proliferation of high-rise developmnets and shopping malls.

Is there any mention of cleaning up the sea, the environment or anything that an educated tourist from western countries would look for?

It can only come down to the lowest common denominator....and a characterless seaside concrete lanscape catering for busloads of mindless sheep frogmarched from hotel to beach to restaurant and back to hotel.

This vision is wheeled out for every inch of coastline in Thailand.

I Couldn't have said it better. Tourists will go to Thailand one time for the concrete jungle. That is not progress. It is not bad but it isn't progress. It is the Thai culture that keeps people coming back. Thai business is in a bit of a quandary. They think concrete jungles is what westerners want but they are frustrated about giving up their culture and absorbing western ways. They will need to think long term if they want tourists to continue to come. Clean up the polition and do things via traditional methods. I have Thai friends I consult with. They want western money but don't want to give up the Thai way of doing things. I have trouble convincing them that this is exactly what westerners want. THey DO NOT WANT THAIS TO GIVE UP THEIR WAYS. They come to Thailand to be immersed in the Thai way. I am always trying to explain conceptually we want the same thing, but they are convinced the opposite is true. I (and most westerners) do not travel half way around the world to see the same thing I can see in San Diego. Travelers go to Thailand because of the Thai culture. I frequently tell them they need to be careful what they choose to take from western cultures because somethings do not fit into the Thai way of doing things. They need to pick and choose things that promote Thai ways not western ways. They want to do this but they also want to modernize. It is a balance that is difficult.

Laws promoting business and free trade are also what foreign business wants. I think this is where many locals get confused and think Westerners want Thais to do things like westerners do them because we are always pushing western methods on them. This is not the same as wanting Thais to change their culture. Their culture is why we go there. There culture is where the beauty and the money is.

[pap]

THis is a loud and obnoxious advertisement for a corporate takeover.

Pattaya is where I visit when I go to Thailand.

It is my base and where my condo is.

When people find that I am not in Pattaya for buying the services of Thai women or girls they are quite surprised.

Although I am resistant to change of any kind, I hope that Pattaya does NOT become a corporate tourism spot.

It is a catch 22, but if the Sheraton's, Hilton's, and other corporate developers want it done, I believe it will happen in a snap.

Shoot child molesters and they will NEVER do it again!

Shooting is good but maybe they should be hurt a bunch first.

[Dragonmode]

THis is a loud and obnoxious advertisement for a corporate takeover.

Pattaya is where I visit when I go to Thailand.

It is my base and where my condo is.

When people find that I am not in Pattaya for buying the services of Thai women or girls they are quite surprised.

Although I am resistant to change of any kind, I hope that Pattaya does NOT become a corporate tourism spot.

It is a catch 22, but if the Sheraton's, Hilton's, and other corporate developers want it done, I believe it will happen in a snap.

Shoot child molesters and they will NEVER do it again!

Shooting is good but maybe they should be hurt a bunch first.

Snip-snip.

[pap]

It seems to me that Jomtien would be a better bet for more wholesome family fare then Pattaya. The water is somewhat better, far less in the way of girle bars, less traffic, just a slower more relaxed pace. But it still can't compare to some of the beaches in Southern Thailand. Somehow I just can't see the bars of Pattaya going away, at least any time soon. Maybe when you start seeing natural gas tuk-tuks/busses, pedestrian crossings/elevated walkways, state of the art sewage treatment systems,dog catchers, bulldozers plowing down the outdoor bars and soapy massage places to make way for parks like some of the beautiful ones around Bangkok , Pattaya might start to change to more of a family destination. But if you get rid of the bars there would be a whole lot more freelancers trolling beach road, they would actually have to enforce prostitution laws. Undercover stings, female cops posing as prostitutes. In Pattaya?

I tend to agree. I would even say the big hotel chains would have been better off investing that money in rebuilding down in the Koh Lak area. The Beaches are way better and so is the water. The hotel chains don't seem to realize they are in a catch 22. They can't get the family tourist without first cleaning up the city. If they clean up the city they lose most of the current clientelle. Cleaning up Pattaya serves little purpose. Hua Hin would have even been a better choice. Somebody erred on their business plan. The hotel chains see all the money but didn't really pay attention to why it was there.

[CGW]

Lets go back in time! 25 years ago Pattaya was the "Jewel of Asia" advertised so, clean beaches etc etc, then it became a "sleazy' place as no one (families) wonted to come here due to polluted beaches etc, no infrastucture controls etc - whats changed?

Hard to go back in time

? Unless you have a new airport

Edited September 26, 2006 by CGW

[webbew]

Well... I've been to Pattaya and I've been to Phuket, and in my view no matter what you do to Pattaya it will never be able to compete with the other beach resorts in the area. It simply doesn't have the natural beauty. It's kind of like the attractive but not spectacularly beautiful sister in a house full of super models. Unless you start to see a lot more problems with radical muslim extremeists in southern Thailand, Pattaya will always be what it is and building an airport isn't going to change that.

As to the sex tourism industry in relation to families, I've always told people that if sex tourism offends you then find another place to vacation. Aside from the abhorant exploitation of children, the sex trade is adults making adult decisions and facing adult consequences should they arise. Most of the women who get into the sex trade industry have no other options in order to live a half way decent life style. Sex tourism is the result of extreme poverty, and as beatuiful of a country as Thailand is, poverty is one of the crosses which it and its people seem to have been saddled with. If, as a traveler with a family, you don't understand this or feel uncomfortable explaining it to your children then Thailand is no place for you.