Thailand hoping to attract wealthier travellers

[LawrenceChee]

Bringing in plane loads of cheap Chinese tourists doesn't impress wealthier tourists. You can't have both. Pick one or the other.

What drivel

Do "wealthier" people only go to destinations where there are other "wealthier" people?

Thailand has attractions that cater to a broad range of budgets. Restricting budget travellers won't result in an increase in more moneyed ones.

This incessant bitching about the Chinese is as tiresome as the bores who spout it. m

What makes farang better than the Chinese? The fact that they've a greater propensity for blowing a small fortune on marrying and breeding a prostitute? The fact that they drink to excess and disrespect the country? LOL!

The fact of the matter is this: though the Chinese come here with Chinese-owned tour operators, stay in Chinese-owned hotels and shop at Chinese-owned outlets, all those businesses employ Thais and pay taxes in Thailand.

They bring in fresh, hard currency that they exchange for THB and spend in Thailand

Oh okay. 'Money where mouth is' time. Book yourself into a brimming to the gunnels Chinese and report back on your experience, as others have

Oh OK "avoid going off at tangent" time.

Why would I book myself into a Chinese hotel?

How would doing so disprove my point about their contribution to the Thai economy?

Would doing so prove that farangs are somehow better than Chinese?

No, but you stating that foreigners marrying prostitutes, drinking to excess and thus disrespecting the country, shows that its seriously time to put your blinkers off. The thais are very well capable themselves of disrespecting their own country.

Thais are also capable to decide if they prefer lower spending but a very high number of noisy Chinese tourists who come with their families and go to 7-11, dont drink in the bars or use prostitutes. Or a small number of higher spending western tourists who come for the beaches, bars and local women. It does seem that market forces prefer the former.

This sleaze image is all wrong ....the naughty streets is such a small part of Bangkok or any city not more than a few combines small sois

A customer who frequent the whores does not spend as much in one night as a quality tourist staying in one of the five star hotels and having a fab meal

In a lifetime yes there are some dumb idiots who fall for the buafflo and family accident crap but they are getting rare I believe as their pensions dry up

[Brit_Doggie]

Where will all the cheap charlies go pls I wanna book a seat on the bus lol.

Sorry rephrase that it's gonna be a convoy of buses.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Brit_Doggie

[drgoon]

Maybe I'm wrong but isn't the appeal for many people holidaying here the complete opposite of the thread title.

Cheap accommodation,cheap food and the abundance of red light areas.

That's the reason I visit Thailand.

I spend most of my money directly with the locals. I eat street food because it is cheap and tasty. I procure the company of bar girls who can be very accommodating and a good holiday companion. I buy some of my clothes here.

I don't go to the dual priced 'attractions' or spend in the hi-so malls. Most electronics etc can be purchased cheaper at home.

My prescription glasses are cheaper in Thailand.

There certainly are some benefits to visiting Thailand

[Lukecan]

There is so much BS going on in this topic its unbelivable. If you pay the top dollar in Thailand you will receive excellent service, most people here are living in the country on a very small budget and they are mad that they dont receive good treatment. What do you expect? To be treated like a king while living on $1000/PM?

Has anyone actually stayed in a legitimate 5 star hotel here? Like the Shangri-La and complained that staff are rude? In 5 star hotels the English level of the staff are usually excellent, heck even in Holiday in the receptionists English ability was great.

No matter how much its bashed, Thailand is still unrivalled when you look at the big picture, thats why it reeks in 30 million tourists every year. Considering that there are only 15-20 million people in the world that can be classified as "wealthy"' Id say at least 1/10th of them have visited Thailand in some point of their life.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

There is so much BS going on in this topic its unbelivable. If you pay the top dollar in Thailand you will receive excellent service, most people here are living in the country on a very small budget and they are mad that they dont receive good treatment. What do you expect? To be treated like a king while living on $1000/PM?

Has anyone actually stayed in a legitimate 5 star hotel here? Like the Shangri-La and complained that staff are rude? In 5 star hotels the English level of the staff are usually excellent, heck even in Holiday in the receptionists English ability was great.

No matter how much its bashed, Thailand is still unrivalled when you look at the big picture, thats why it reeks in 30 million tourists every year. Considering that there are only 15-20 million people in the world that can be classified as "wealthy"' Id say at least 1/10th of them have visited Thailand in some point of their life.

Went to the Shangri-La Bangkok for food and drink. Table was dirty from the previous diners. When someone eventually arrived to take the order, I had to remind him to clean the table. I asked about water transport from the hotel to elsewhere. It took around three of the staff to get me an answer.

On the other hand, I wasn't expecting miracles. I don't think that you should necessarily need to spend a lot of money to get pleasant and efficient service on holiday. In fact some of the more expensive places are really tacky.

[LawrenceChee]

There is so much BS going on in this topic its unbelivable. If you pay the top dollar in Thailand you will receive excellent service, most people here are living in the country on a very small budget and they are mad that they dont receive good treatment. What do you expect? To be treated like a king while living on $1000/PM?

Has anyone actually stayed in a legitimate 5 star hotel here? Like the Shangri-La and complained that staff are rude? In 5 star hotels the English level of the staff are usually excellent, heck even in Holiday in the receptionists English ability was great.

No matter how much its bashed, Thailand is still unrivalled when you look at the big picture, thats why it reeks in 30 million tourists every year. Considering that there are only 15-20 million people in the world that can be classified as "wealthy"' Id say at least 1/10th of them have visited Thailand in some point of their life.

Went to the Shangri-La Bangkok for food and drink. Table was dirty from the previous diners. When someone eventually arrived to take the order, I had to remind him to clean the table. I asked about water transport from the hotel to elsewhere. It took around three of the staff to get me an answer.

On the other hand, I wasn't expecting miracles. I don't think that you should necessarily need to spend a lot of money to get pleasant and efficient service on holiday. In fact some of the more expensive places are really tacky.

Were you thee over the Christmas period and used that as your benchmark ?

If it fly over to Siem Reap ....aside from the dusty roads , the hospitality of the staff there who speak great English are excellent and consistent at Sam guest houses and the grand hotels

[pomchop]

Yawn, not this old chestnut yet again.

I will remember this the next time I am unable to enter the 7-11 in Bang Lamung because the aisles are clogged with those "high-spending" Chinese tourists wolfing down 17 Baht buns and 10 Baht Lactasoy cartons whilst hanging out for three-quarters of an hour in the 7-11 to enjoy the free aircon.

Or perhaps next time one of the real high-spending tourists docks at Laem Chabang on their cruise ship, they will not be decapitated by speed boat "captains" whilst swimming close to the beach in Pattaya. (That really happened, you know).

You mean if and after those cruise ship passengers arriving at Laem Chabang are met with a TAXI MAFIA that RULES the transport in and out of the port shamelessly posting "official" taxi fares ten times the meter rates? I've been through that port several times and a lot of the big spending older passengers got so fed up with the blatant rip offs that they just stayed on the ship and thus spent zero.

I guess the Tourism authorities can't be bothered with messing with the Taxi Mafia that OBVIOUSLY gets approval from whatever government agency that runs the port.....somehow i don't think the taxi drivers get to keep their exorbitant fares but somewhere a MR BIG just loves to see those big ships dock knowing he'll make enough off of every ship arrival to buy a new mercedes.

[mojorison]

Maybe they could promote organ transplants, or stem cell therapy. Outside of establishing prostitution rings, racketeering, laundering, trafficking, illegal gems trading, logging and the acquisition of contraband, what else could entice "rich" people to LOS. The Thais have cunningly left very few avenues of opportunity. Tourism 555555555. /#gutfull

[mrrizzla]

The world has just witnessed the authorities condemn two innocent Burmese workers gulity (and to death) of a highly dubious crime commited in a tourist resort. Now they come out with this claptrap?

[Robbie Dye]

I would venture to suggest that many of us Expats living here contribute more to the Thai economy than loads of cheap Chinese. It would be nice if they gave us more credit and made our lives of red tape a little more pleasant.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

There is so much BS going on in this topic its unbelivable. If you pay the top dollar in Thailand you will receive excellent service, most people here are living in the country on a very small budget and they are mad that they dont receive good treatment. What do you expect? To be treated like a king while living on $1000/PM?

Has anyone actually stayed in a legitimate 5 star hotel here? Like the Shangri-La and complained that staff are rude? In 5 star hotels the English level of the staff are usually excellent, heck even in Holiday in the receptionists English ability was great.

No matter how much its bashed, Thailand is still unrivalled when you look at the big picture, thats why it reeks in 30 million tourists every year. Considering that there are only 15-20 million people in the world that can be classified as "wealthy"' Id say at least 1/10th of them have visited Thailand in some point of their life.

Went to the Shangri-La Bangkok for food and drink. Table was dirty from the previous diners. When someone eventually arrived to take the order, I had to remind him to clean the table. I asked about water transport from the hotel to elsewhere. It took around three of the staff to get me an answer.

On the other hand, I wasn't expecting miracles. I don't think that you should necessarily need to spend a lot of money to get pleasant and efficient service on holiday. In fact some of the more expensive places are really tacky.

Were you thee over the Christmas period and used that as your benchmark ?

If it fly over to Siem Reap ....aside from the dusty roads , the hospitality of the staff there who speak great English are excellent and consistent at Sam guest houses and the grand hotels

In January...not entirely sure that I have referred to any benchmarks. But I know that I get better service from a guesthouse in Banglamphu. But then they know me.

Half the holiday is down to the people whom you meet. I think that contributes to the unhappiness of the people posting. If they would make connections with each other, it might be a different story. But what happened is that the Russians just hung out with other Russians and the Chinese.... we all know about it. So now it just seems like an awful mass tourism destination. No longer a special place only discovered by the few lucky ones.

It's now just overrun with people whom you don't want to meet...and they are forecasting that even more will arrive. No wonder the talk is of people looking for pastures new.

[Lukecan]

Well my experiences have been totally opposite. I found thai people very friendly and helpful, nearly all of them would go the extra mile to help me.

[LawrenceChee]

Well my experiences have been totally opposite. I found thai people very friendly and helpful, nearly all of them would go the extra mile to help me.

Manners and respect always bring out the best in people. I have met a few who try to fleece a foreigner but the majority of people I meet every day only wants to help and really friendly in my Neighbourhood

[KMartinHandyman]

Handygirl recently declined a repeat booking I offered in a baht 110k private villa because they charged her for Coca-Colas from the minibar last time we stayed.

She didn't care if that was policy as many other similar accommodations we've stayed at didn't.

She found a baht 34k less grand suite and said it would be just as good. Then half joking asked if she could save the differential in her bank [emoji849][emoji23]

I guess my point was it doesn't take much to turn some people away.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited December 27, 2015 by KMartinHandyman

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Well my experiences have been totally opposite. I found thai people very friendly and helpful, nearly all of them would go the extra mile to help me.

I was not referring to the Thai people..... Are you making a point of missing the point?

The point was that you don't need to go to a 5* hotel to have a positive experience. Anyway, it's far more satisfying to know that the people really care about you, rather than having to pay a high price for them to pretend to like you.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Jiu-Jitsu

[taony]

There is so much BS going on in this topic its unbelivable. If you pay the top dollar in Thailand you will receive excellent service, most people here are living in the country on a very small budget and they are mad that they dont receive good treatment. What do you expect? To be treated like a king while living on $1000/PM?

Has anyone actually stayed in a legitimate 5 star hotel here? Like the Shangri-La and complained that staff are rude? In 5 star hotels the English level of the staff are usually excellent, heck even in Holiday in the receptionists English ability was great.

No matter how much its bashed, Thailand is still unrivalled when you look at the big picture, thats why it reeks in 30 million tourists every year. Considering that there are only 15-20 million people in the world that can be classified as "wealthy"' Id say at least 1/10th of them have visited Thailand in some point of their life.

Went to the Shangri-La Bangkok for food and drink. Table was dirty from the previous diners. When someone eventually arrived to take the order, I had to remind him to clean the table. I asked about water transport from the hotel to elsewhere. It took around three of the staff to get me an answer.

On the other hand, I wasn't expecting miracles. I don't think that you should necessarily need to spend a lot of money to get pleasant and efficient service on holiday. In fact some of the more expensive places are really tacky.

Were you thee over the Christmas period and used that as your benchmark ?

If it fly over to Siem Reap ....aside from the dusty roads , the hospitality of the staff there who speak great English are excellent and consistent at Sam guest houses and the grand hotels

In the $20 night guest house i stayed in there this week, every last worker spoke excellent English. We were one American, one French, and one Dane. No misunderstandings,no repeating things over and over before having to give up. much more to say positively about the experience. I was there this year and also last. Its a breath of fresh air and feels like civilization. Tuk tuk Mr? No thanks. Ok. Then they leave you alone. So nice.

[jerojero]

What! The pandering to Chinese tourists the past year or three isn't working out to the expected tonnes of Baht into Thailand coffers? Now they want back rich foreigners, farang, previously driven off by scams, bad politics, Chinese hordes, untrustworthy police and judiciary? Good luck.

Edited December 27, 2015 by jerojero

[JLCrab]

Why would wealthy people want to put up with all this crap when they have so many choices? No matter how much money you have you still need to get on a road from the airport to the hotel.

Oh yeah?

[fforest1]

Wealthy travelers want umbrellas and sunbeds...

[LawrenceChee]

Why would wealthy people want to put up with all this crap when they have so many choices? No matter how much money you have you still need to get on a road from the airport to the hotel.

Oh yeah?

Try the Peninsula Presidential Suite experience in HK. They whisk you through customs and fly you to the rooftop where one level below your paradise awaits with your butlers, personal host and yeah no check in procedures as your assistant has already taken care of it

The wealthy markets want exclusives ....things only they can do ....try the VIP departure lounge in Singapore ....it's insanely luxurious no crying kids I promise

[kiwikeith]

Wealthy well heeled people do not sit on rubbish strewn beaches, whilst gagging on the smell from the overflowing bins being rummaged through and the contents spilled onto the roads.

Most wealthy tourists are educated enough to know not to visit parks where animals are used for entertainment.

When in 'First Class' Rail carriages they don't expect to be woken all night by vendors selling food.

I would think they don't normally frequent city centre high streets being propositioned by hookers every 5 mtrs.

The list goes on an on.....Thais being as insular as they are have no conception of what a clean modern city/country/beach/national park/river/canal looks like.

Finding rubbish bins at beaches and public places is a problem here that has never been accounted for.

Went for a swim at the Army beach opposite the statues in Hua Hin yesterday and got out of the water covered in black heavy oil, they gave me free washing powder and a dish scrubbing pad to clean it off with.

There was blobs of the stuff floating around like licorice and if you squeezed one the oil went all over your hands, it was all over my knees and feet.

I noticed quite a few Thais trying to rub it off with sand.

So the beach is not clean yet, I also noticed petrolium traces on top of the water.

They might be talking off offering discounts on the condos and resorts that they have built (thousands of condos empty from Cha amm to Hua Hin ) to people with spare cash for a holiday home = attracting wealthy tourists.

[MeHere]

Wealthy westerners on holiday prefer to be treated well, and special.

Although there are a few exclusive resorts catering to people like this, they are few and far between all the other mediocre destinations... then when leaving the safety of the resort bubble, there isn't much that gives anyone a sense that this place has a lot to offer, sadly.

What's here:

Temples - OK!

Attractions - mistreated elephants and tigers, starving angry monkeys, greedy and scammy tuk-tuk & taxi drivers

Fine dining - Good!

Shopping - meh... less than anywhere, more expensive than most

Culture - eroding

Friendliness - transparent

Overall cleanliness - ahem

Infrastructure - mrt/bts=10; mobile connectivity=8; everything else=LOL

Safety - don't count on it

Nightlife - Good!

Cheap and beautiful escorts/prostitutes - excellent!

The list goes on...

Shopping for these wealthy travelers?? All these high-end shopping centers popping up... I don't understand why anyone would buy anything there with the prices much higher than the rest of the world. They may be rich, but most are not so stupid!

I think most wealthy westerners would rather go to somewhere like Tahiti or the Maldives than here, except for maybe a brief stopover.

In the end, I think there is way more to do than just build a couple of malls and condos... first would be to start educating the people properly.

Do people like Trump need cheap prostitutes?

How odd you gave that high marks.

I think people in this bracket would come here once for a short time just for the sake of coming and think it too quaint to return

Wealthy people like cheap hoes too, you know

Not sure why you think it's odd I gave it high marks... It's surely one of the very top offerings here, like it or not

[jwongbkk]

just the wealthy chinese tourists are welcome, so that they can be the new cows to be milked dry! 555

[stickylies]

Just had lunch. Ka moo. Mixed vegetables. Blpa dook. 2 cokes. 2 plates of rice. 110thb. Feel like a king. In a minute I'm off to bkk with 130 thb minivan and will check in in local Thai hotel for 600 thb including tv, fridge, hot water. Clean and crisp. Ultra friendly service. Not far from airport link. Very little farang in that area, food cheap, no whores, Leo at 55thb large bottle... Feel like king

[taony]

Why would wealthy people want to put up with all this crap when they have so many choices? No matter how much money you have you still need to get on a road from the airport to the hotel.

Oh yeah?

Try the Peninsula Presidential Suite experience in HK. They whisk you through customs and fly you to the rooftop where one level below your paradise awaits with your butlers, personal host and yeah no check in procedures as your assistant has already taken care of it

The wealthy markets want exclusives ....things only they can do ....try the VIP departure lounge in Singapore ....it's insanely luxurious no crying kids I promise

Right, but we are talking about Thailand where literally nothing is possible. You can't even go to the supermarket and expect to find the same things for sale as the last time. Because of good 'ol mai mee!

[Pimay1]

I sure get tired of reading about the "money angle" of these ministries almost daily. All they can talk about is more money, more money.

[Plutojames88]

With such evil and corruption and oppression in favour of the rich domestically , Thailand might attract the wealthy.
But the rich who go there would have accumulated their money much the same way as the government .
By theft and thuggery and misappropriating .

Gangsters and misfits , and unconsciously evil people would find Thailand appealing.

The wealthy who by means of virtue and intelligence acquired riches would find Thailand a back water of yesterday .
A place long found to be not ""what it appeared""
The exotic east of the 80s and 90s and beaches that featured in Hollywood and novels , and Asian dreams on travel agents billboards .
Is now a world beater in traffic deaths and misfortunes , murders , and mayhems , filth , and sleaze , non democratic.

Few people actually want to choose a country that is under oppression.
Those who do are usually less educated or on a budget and factor in this when booking.

People who can fly to clean , and safe beaches with service and amenities and first world civil standards , would never think of Thailand.
Even the sex tourists that used to inhabit places like Pattaya question the ethics of continued vacations there.

The prices on the Thailand vacation is in real terms 250% of what it was 20 years ago.
100% in real terms more than 7 Years ago.

The scams and garbage , and laws , and political scene , and nasty environment for the peace loving wealthy tourist would exclude that country from being chosen.

Thailand is a place whose time has gone.

And in coming months it will be manifestly obvious the civilised democratic world is reviewing it as a choice.

The rich would never dream of going to a military state that is dubious in its laws.
And dirty in general.
Simply too dangerous and dishonest

Mod edit: graphic with Thai language removed.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Moderator01

[Thian]

Wealthy travelers want umbrellas and sunbeds...

Yes but maybe for them it's not cool to say they go to Thailand. Wealthy's also like to brag and name hi-so destinations. Tell story's about the great yachts they 've been on while drinking champagne with caviar. Not laying on a beachbed between straydogs, annoying ice-creamvendors and listening to noisy jetski's or motobikes.

On top of that, who wants to listen to boom-boom noises all night long from a disco 2 km away. That's what happened last time i was on Samui, our whole resort couldn't sleep of the noise from the disco in Chaweng.

[stickylies]

The world has just witnessed the authorities condemn two innocent Burmese workers gulity (and to death) of a highly dubious crime commited in a tourist resort. Now they come out with this claptrap?

Few people in the world actually know what "Burmese" means/is. In my country almost zero news about KT murders.

[Ace of Pop]

Do something about Visas,must be the biggest muddle headed system ever devised.

Not so sure about that. We're talking tourists, not long term visitors. Visa on arrival is very easy. And I think they made it easier to extend also? My first trip here, as a tourist, I got a 90 day visa. Same as I get when I go to Europe. Only 90 days and then I have to leave.

. I was thinking Yachts visiting ,Phukets a pain in the bum , if you need repairs , Easter to go to Langawi where one feels welcome ,and takes mins not hours to do immigration