Zero Dollar tours damage Thai tourism industry

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Zero Dollar tours damage Thai tourism industry


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BANGKOK, 12 April 2016 (NNT)-The government is working alongside the Thai tourism sector to stop overseas ‘Zero Dollar’ tour agencies damaging Thailand’s tourism industry.

Prime Minister’s Office Spokesperson Major General Sansern Keawkamnerd said the government has received many complaints from tourists who traveled to the country on ‘Zero Dollar’ tours.

They were tricked into buying cheap tour packages in their own countries only to find their expenses became greater once they arrived in Thailand. These foreign tourists, however, were not accompanied by the tour agencies they initially dealt with.

They were instead transferred to other companies operating in Thailand that are associated with their ‘Zero Dollar’ counterparts. The tourists were later pressured into purchasing expensive products or services by these secondary companies, in an attempt to extract unreasonable sums and profits.

The Major General said most of the money generated from this type of business fell into the hands of foreign tour operators rather than the Thai tourism industry. Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices.

It was also discovered that around 305 billion baht was being generated annually by this dodgy business. The government and the Tourism Council of Thailand are to determine reasonable prices for tour packages to Thailand, and provide such advisory information to countries including China, South Korea and Russia to name a few, where the ‘Zero Dollar’ tour operators are located.

-- NNT 2016-04-12

[lkv]

Source: National News Bureau of Thailand.

Article type: idiotic.

Article description: "Where are the quality tourists"

[jaidam]

makes the TAT figures look wonderful, as if that Kobkarn is doing a proper job. Thailand will rue the day they got rid of backpackers to court the Chinese zero dollar tourists.

[selftaopath]

Sounds like a Thai business model. Bait and switch? lol ??? Say one thing give/offer ... do another thing? lol lol

[jaltsc]

"The Major General said most of the money generated from this type of business fell into the hands of foreign tour operators rather than the Thai tourism industry. Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices."

A representative of the Thai tourism industry stated; "We want to be the ones who charge exorbitant prices".

[NongKhaiKid]

makes the TAT figures look wonderful, as if that Kobkarn is doing a proper job. Thailand will rue the day they got rid of backpackers to court the Chinese zero dollar tourists.

Wonderfully looking figures, aahh isn't that what it's all about ?

Anything else can be spun or simply just ignored.

[craigt3365]

Source: National News Bureau of Thailand.

Article type: idiotic.

Article description: "Where are the quality tourists"

Cover story at the Bangkok Post yesterday. It's spot on. Though the article in the post went on to say these tourists are damaging the image of the country. And they are! Too many tour buses! LOL

[leeneeds]

confiscate all cash money at the border

only allow tourists to carry credit cards

Grab for dodgy cash is on in earnest

[cloudhopper]

"The Major General said most of the money generated from this type of business fell into the hands of foreign tour operators rather than the Thai tourism industry. Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices."

A representative of the Thai tourism industry stated; "We want to be the ones who charge exorbitant prices".

Exactly.

[docshock13]

Thai govt complains that foreign tour companies are gouging and ripping off tourists; a practice that is reserved for Thai tour operators.

Nothing like a little bit of competition!

[monty1412]

Well well well.. what did you expect ???

TAT did you not want this.... you planned for it , you got it and now you are complaining ????

You set your targets at achieving a record level of tourist numbers and this has been facilitated by planeloads of Chinese and Russians coming in on prepaid overseas carrier flights with accommodation pre booked and paid overseas , prepaid meals and shopping deals that link back to the overseas organisers....

What did you expect when your definitive target measure has been simple number of tourists........no measure of economic value added in this whatsoever

Whats that i hear ..... Ohh you want planeloads of value adding tourists.........ahhhh well that involves a different marketing strategy and plan....

Sometimes to those who dont think about cause and reaction the desired result may not actually be what was wanted, once achieved..... in a country essentially bereft of causative critical analysis thinking it is no wonder that we now see lament that the high tourist numbers add very little to the tourism bottom line.... reap what you sow TAT and unfortunately allot of the seeds you planted are very low yielding indeed

[recycler]

Thais and numbers usually don't add up, 305 billion Baht????

Lets assume that the package they buy is 500 US$, that would mean that about 17.4 million tourists would be fooled by these dodgy tour operators!

[klauskunkel]

Thai government is sulking because these tourists were exploited already, except not by Thailand. So they come up with a strategy to "advise" China, Russia, etc., that Thailand has to get it's share, or else there will be finger pointing, the PM will write a song about you, and the country will have a collective tantrum and close it's doors.

[thaibeachlovers]

makes the TAT figures look wonderful, as if that Kobkarn is doing a proper job. Thailand will rue the day they got rid of backpackers to court the Chinese zero dollar tourists.

I'd like to agree with you, but only the poor people that worked in backpacker places will regret. The people that make the decisions don't deal in the few thousand baht generated by 300 a night places and many of the people that owned the 300 a night places have sold out so that big resorts could be built instead. Even the ones that still have the cheap places upped the prices to stupid heights ie the dump I used to stay in in Pattaya for 600 a night ( with breakfast ) now charges over 800 for the same dump- I laughed in their faces when the receptionists informed me of the new prices and walked off. Sadly most pay the ridiculous prices, which only encourages other dumps to up their prices as well.

[Minnehaha]

In the early 2000's, not so long ago... back when the number of tourists to Thailand was around 8 million and growing year on year at double digits, and there were no 5 star hotels in Chiang Mai ... and the future was clear. TAT did nothing, which is understandable because TAT is not the dept responsible for tourism in country, but rather promoting tourism abroad. The department of Sports and Tourism, did nothing either.

The greatest % contribution to tourism dollars came from MICE - meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and expositions. At the same time, Singapore was investing heavily in this sector as well as casinos and more. This segment of the tourism sector has grown in Thailand since then, but not nearly at the same rate as other segments. This segment spends more per day than any other targeted segment. Wouldn't that be the definition of quality tourist?

Data from TAT has always been suspect - it is from the TM-7 cards at the airport, where everybody tells the truth. Japanese who come here for business on a tourist visa only to spend their time doing business are counted as tourists. Same for Malaysians. Malaysia has been the largest tourist visitor to Thailand since the beginning of time until around 2007. I mention Chiang mai as it is perhaps the easiest to see as an example of how tourism affects Thailand. How many 5 star hotels are there now?

This begs another question: What is the status of star rating system in Thailand? Is it using an internationally accredited system? Are there checks? Again with Chiang mai... what happened to the Holiday Inn? The Westin? Why did they lose their brand names? The answer is that the Brand company stripped it from the management of the property because they could not maintain standards.

While Chiang mai officials knew there were plans for 6 high end properties under construction or slated to be built back in 2004, did they invest in even a decent Information Booth at the airport? Does Chiang Mai have a decent tourism Information Booth in the arrival lounge? Someone put one there back in 2004 and it was hilarious and sad. The kids inside could not understand simple English. How are the taxis doing? Are the meters running? How about the red buses in CM? Why has it been impossible to get rid of them or decrease them? If you want to draw people for those 5 star (and 4 star etc.) properties do you really expect them to hop on a red songtaew?

Regarding Farang ... the number who come here for business or longer stays but are counted as tourists is also inflating tourist figures. The remaining contributors to tourism figures come from places like Russia, Vietnam, and China. These nationalities are probably true tourists for the most part, and are not spending nearly the figure per head per day that MICE folks spend. More people spending less per day is not the direction one wants to go. Whether the country has the ability to direct policy to address this is obvious.

As long as Thailand continues to let tourism develop with no planning at all it will always develop into the mess that is CM today, and the mess that is Pattaya, and Phuket downtown, and so on and on and on. Same with Bangkok. No city planning leads to the streets in the mess they are today.

Motorcades continue to work very well. The police are effective at shutting off roads and moving VIP around town. So there is a segment that is well served and always will be. Thai banks are a joke around the world, but monopolies here. The newspapers are printing what they want people to know, including the article referenced above, not the deeper story, not the reality.

[clockman]

Yes the good generals wife is doing a wonderful job?

[SOTIRIOS]

.....they are gouged once they get here...but again...blame the foreigners....

[Minnehaha]

On the topic of tourism, it is interesting to ask:

If the contribution to a national economy were equal in $ terms, would you prefer that money into the economy be derived from visiting tourists or from citizens going abroad to work? I am thinking of the Philippines. Would it / could it have a different effect to the Thai economy? Would it be better? Worse?

[alant]

Quote "It was also discovered that around 305 billion baht was being generated annually by this dodgy business."

I wonder if Dodgy Dave is a part of this business (for info; Dennis Skinner was kicked out of the House of Commons for calling David Cameron 'Dodgy Dave'"

[steveyinasia]

Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices.

It was also discovered that around 305 billion baht was being generated annually by this dodgy business.

So how is it that Thailand does not receive any of this 305 Billion, don't Thai's own the places that are being set up by the overseas tour agents? Obviously they are involved in charging the high prices and getting profits however once again, lets not point the finger at the "dodgy" dealings of the Thai counterparts, it's all the foreigner fault yet again.

[jacko45k]

Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices.

And these places are run by non-Thais?

[thaibeachlovers]

In the early 2000's, not so long ago... back when the number of tourists to Thailand was around 8 million and growing year on year at double digits, and there were no 5 star hotels in Chiang Mai ... and the future was clear. TAT did nothing, which is understandable because TAT is not the dept responsible for tourism in country, but rather promoting tourism abroad. The department of Sports and Tourism, did nothing either.

The greatest % contribution to tourism dollars came from MICE - meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and expositions. At the same time, Singapore was investing heavily in this sector as well as casinos and more. This segment of the tourism sector has grown in Thailand since then, but not nearly at the same rate as other segments. This segment spends more per day than any other targeted segment. Wouldn't that be the definition of quality tourist?

Data from TAT has always been suspect - it is from the TM-7 cards at the airport, where everybody tells the truth. Japanese who come here for business on a tourist visa only to spend their time doing business are counted as tourists. Same for Malaysians. Malaysia has been the largest tourist visitor to Thailand since the beginning of time until around 2007. I mention Chiang mai as it is perhaps the easiest to see as an example of how tourism affects Thailand. How many 5 star hotels are there now?

This begs another question: What is the status of star rating system in Thailand? Is it using an internationally accredited system? Are there checks? Again with Chiang mai... what happened to the Holiday Inn? The Westin? Why did they lose their brand names? The answer is that the Brand company stripped it from the management of the property because they could not maintain standards.

While Chiang mai officials knew there were plans for 6 high end properties under construction or slated to be built back in 2004, did they invest in even a decent Information Booth at the airport? Does Chiang Mai have a decent tourism Information Booth in the arrival lounge? Someone put one there back in 2004 and it was hilarious and sad. The kids inside could not understand simple English. How are the taxis doing? Are the meters running? How about the red buses in CM? Why has it been impossible to get rid of them or decrease them? If you want to draw people for those 5 star (and 4 star etc.) properties do you really expect them to hop on a red songtaew?

Regarding Farang ... the number who come here for business or longer stays but are counted as tourists is also inflating tourist figures. The remaining contributors to tourism figures come from places like Russia, Vietnam, and China. These nationalities are probably true tourists for the most part, and are not spending nearly the figure per head per day that MICE folks spend. More people spending less per day is not the direction one wants to go. Whether the country has the ability to direct policy to address this is obvious.

As long as Thailand continues to let tourism develop with no planning at all it will always develop into the mess that is CM today, and the mess that is Pattaya, and Phuket downtown, and so on and on and on. Same with Bangkok. No city planning leads to the streets in the mess they are today.

Motorcades continue to work very well. The police are effective at shutting off roads and moving VIP around town. So there is a segment that is well served and always will be. Thai banks are a joke around the world, but monopolies here. The newspapers are printing what they want people to know, including the article referenced above, not the deeper story, not the reality.

I have to disagree with your analysis that C M is a mess today because of tourism. It was a mess in 1974, long before the mass tourism scene, and is still the same mess. Thais do not seem to want to make things better, and perhaps that is because the money that should be invested in infrastructure goes elsewhere. Even when they do invest in infrastructure, they have the ability to make things worse, not better ie the Pattaya walkway has been a disaster. Also they have done nothing in 25 years to improve the traffic. Even the same broken pavements are in use today as in the early 90's.

BTW does anyone want Thailand to be a sanuk devoid expensive, boring hole like Singapore has become, which would be the result of the improvements that so many seem to desire on this forum website ( I do remember when there was a bit of fun to be had in Singapore, back in the 70's, alas no longer. )

[Roomuck]

makes the TAT figures look wonderful, as if that Kobkarn is doing a proper job. Thailand will rue the day they got rid of backpackers to court the Chinese zero dollar tourists.

I'd like to agree with you, but only the poor people that worked in backpacker places will regret. The people that make the decisions don't deal in the few thousand baht generated by 300 a night places and many of the people that owned the 300 a night places have sold out so that big resorts could be built instead. Even the ones that still have the cheap places upped the prices to stupid heights ie the dump I used to stay in in Pattaya for 600 a night ( with breakfast ) now charges over 800 for the same dump- I laughed in their faces when the receptionists informed me of the new prices and walked off. Sadly most pay the ridiculous prices, which only encourages other dumps to up their prices as well.

"Sadly most pay the REDICULOUS prices" ??. Ridiculously cheap maybe. You do realize a hotel is a business that is supposed to make a profit? It is not a community service for the cheap tourist. Why is it sad?

[Roomuck]

This story is krap. There are not foreign bus drivers, taxi drivers etc driving them around. The food they eat is mostly produced in Thailand by Thai people. The people working in the restaurants, shops etc are mostly Thais. The hotels are owned by Thais, the staff in the hotels are locals not Russians, South Koreans and Chinese. They are drinking Thai beer, etc etc etc. they are attending Thai tourist attractions.

Don't believe everything you read. Plenty of Thais are benefitting from these tourists. If they didn't come their business turnover would be down and many jobs wouldn't exist.

Foreigners may be taking some cream of the top, but it still is better than if nobody came at all.

[tonray]

No wonder why they fight over the all you can grab shrimp at the buffet.

[thaibeachlovers]

makes the TAT figures look wonderful, as if that Kobkarn is doing a proper job. Thailand will rue the day they got rid of backpackers to court the Chinese zero dollar tourists.

I'd like to agree with you, but only the poor people that worked in backpacker places will regret. The people that make the decisions don't deal in the few thousand baht generated by 300 a night places and many of the people that owned the 300 a night places have sold out so that big resorts could be built instead. Even the ones that still have the cheap places upped the prices to stupid heights ie the dump I used to stay in in Pattaya for 600 a night ( with breakfast ) now charges over 800 for the same dump- I laughed in their faces when the receptionists informed me of the new prices and walked off. Sadly most pay the ridiculous prices, which only encourages other dumps to up their prices as well.

"Sadly most pay the REDICULOUS prices" ??. Ridiculously cheap maybe. You do realize a hotel is a business that is supposed to make a profit? It is not a community service for the cheap tourist. Why is it sad?

Firstly, the people that ran 300 a night places made a profit and secondly if you wish to deprive less well off people the ability to visit Thailand I have no wish to communicate with you further.

[khun custard]

A BIT OFF TOPIC

And as we speak a delegation of 1,000 Australian business leaders are on a week long seance in China wooing them for new business and tourism opportunities .

Let's hope someone at the ATC has been watching Thailand and the other nearby countries who have been totally "romanced" by these shrewd operators.

Good to see the Royals in India this week too - could this be the next big destination for the Chinese - OR do the Chinese share the same love of Indian as the Thais??

[northernboy]

When The TAT real goal is to fill the hotel rooms of their richer Thai Associates what does one expect?

When The TAT talks about quality of tourists all they mean is they will stay in a Thai Hotel Association rooms not a guest house.

The TAT is government funded marketing arm for Thai hotels and overseas based tour companies to promote friends hotels and little else unless it helps makes this fact less grossly clear.

[Hawk]

Restaurants, jewelry stores, leather goods shops and entertainment venues often charged them exorbitant prices.

Yes, but they have a choice, always ask the price first.

[Barnet]

Typical TAT. They've been doing this for years and now they see other countries adopting the same con.

The goose that laid the golden egg should be Thailand's motto.