Special Report: Are Days Numbered For The Thai Tourist Industry?

[nausea]

Good article. Thailand had it, and now has lost it. The mass tourism model always works like this. In Thailand they're even exacerbating the problem by trying to encourage even more mass tourism.  There is no solution - once you've lost a pristine beach, once friendly locals are replaced by touts and pimps, etc., etc., it's irreversible.

[anotheruser]

11 minutes ago, Berty100 said:

 

From what I gather, is that same as, I never been there so just make a lot of ASSumptions in my post?

The same as the one I have been putting a lot of research into visiting and my statements are factual. If they are incorrect please feel free to point it out.

[Thian]

This island won the price for the 2nd year in row as being the best.

 

https://www.google.nl/search?q=Ao+Manao&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjp4IOXlKTOAhVC0hoKHcrZA_AQ7AkIKg&biw=1366&bih=643#tbm=isch&q=palawan

 

And it looks much better then ao manao

[Berty100]

12 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I didn't have to.  But I never leave home without my passport on me.  Especially these days! 555

 

4 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

The same as the one I have been putting a lot of research into visiting and my statements are factual. If they are incorrect please feel free to point it out.

 

 

So you have been putting a lot of research into visiting, but weren't aware that no passport or id is required to visit that beach

 

Ever been to Thailand in fact, as it is questionable from all your other posts in other threads?

[anotheruser]

I don't think comparing the entire island of Palawan to Ao Manao is all that fair. Ao Manao is a small place in comparison that enjoys a relatively unique atmosphere because it is on a base. Palawan is a world renowned island. 

 

Anyway when a place like Ao Manao is at the forefront of the discussion of beaches you know we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Is it a nice beach undoubtedly. Is it a reason tourists would come all the way across the world? Definitely not. 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2016 by anotheruser

[daveAustin]

Really badly written article, imo. The tourism industry's days are not numbered here and neither were they in Spain -- incidentally, it was the Brits and Germans that made up the bulk of visitors there; no offence, but if Americans stopped going it wouldn't have been noticed as far as revenue was concerned. A drop in numbers to Spain also had a lot to do with other markets opening up. It still has a lot going for it; the Costa del Sol is its armpit and absolutely not representative of coastal Spain as a whole.

 

If anything here, a drop in tourist numbers would be more down to economics back home and the strong baht. There's always been crime and rip-offs but the people keep coming. Of the Chinese; that they are upset is all on them. There are bad eggs and rip-off artists here, yes, but the way some of the Chinese behave is utterly despicable (pissing in pools, fighting on planes, pushing and shoving, arguing/speaking loudly ALL THE TIME) and they deserve the flack. Until they learn to behave and grow up, good riddance.

[anotheruser]

1 minute ago, Berty100 said:

 

 

 

So you have been putting a lot of research into visiting, but weren't aware that no passport or id is required to visit that beach

 

Ever been to Thailand in fact, as it is questionable from all your other posts in other threads?

 

There are suggestions online that you need to show ID to get in. I never stated that as fact anyway as you noticed I phrased that part as a question. 

 

I probably know a bit more about Thailand than you do.

[Thian]

2 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

I don't think comparing the entire island of Palawan to Ao Manao is all that fair. Ao Manao is a small place in comparison that enjoys a relatively unique atmosphere because it is on a base. Palawan is a world renowned island. 

 

Anyway when a place like Ao Manao is at the forefront of the discussion of beaches you know we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Is it a nice beach undoubtedly. Is it a reason tourists would come all the way across the world? Definitely not. 

 

 

 

The fact that ao manao is on a militairy base just makes it far less attractive.

I want a beach with many shops/restaurants right behind it, next to the policestation and the taxistand (with metre).

 

At night i want to be able to walk to the bars from out of my resort, passing some icecreamvendors while walking on a nice wide clean pavement without soidogs or motocycles. Also the smell of open drains i can't appreciate while going for dinner.

 

It's not easy to be my perfect beach but they do exist.

[Agent Sumo]

A lot of the naysaying about the Thai tourist sector stems from farang berks who hate the fact that the Thais are focusing their efforts on attracting the Chinese.

 

For some reason, they seem to think that Thailand is a white tourist destination and is somehow "theirs". Well it ain't

 

I can't say for sure because I don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese but I doubt the typical Chinese tourist is carping on about prices in Thailand like the cheap farangs who wail like banshees as soon as there's a 10 baht increase in the price of a pint.

 

If they can't afford it, they should stay home

[Franky Bear]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Actually it's quite simple: 

 

Name me a nice clean beach in Thailand which is perfect!

 

There's always something wrong, no shade, dirty water, overcrowded, annoying sales, no resorts, ladyboys, seaweed, glass, beachvendors...

 

It took a while but now the Europeans found better places for their holidays. Solly for thailand.

 

Laem mae Phim not far from me, and the longest beach in Thailand i'm lead to believe is usually nice when i go along. 

[anotheruser]

11 minutes ago, Berty100 said:

 

 

 

So you have been putting a lot of research into visiting, but weren't aware that no passport or id is required to visit that beach

 

Ever been to Thailand in fact, as it is questionable from all your other posts in other threads?

 

6 minutes ago, Thian said:

 

The fact that ao manao is on a militairy base just makes it far less attractive.

I want a beach with many shops/restaurants right behind it, next to the policestation and the taxistand (with metre).

 

At night i want to be able to walk to the bars from out of my resort, passing some icecreamvendors while walking on a nice wide clean pavement without soidogs or motocycles. Also the smell of open drains i can't appreciate while going for dinner.

 

It's not easy to be my perfect beach but they do exist.

 

This is why it is somewhat how it is and not detroyed, On the flip side of the coin this is why it isn't a well known place and there is only one hotel owned by the military on the beach itself. The others are in the town. 

Edited August 3, 2016 by anotheruser

[ratcatcher]

44 minutes ago, linksman00 said:

Just wait for Burma, it will be the straw that broke the Camels back.   Burma has the potential to be what Thailand was 40 years ago, and now they finally have the government in place that can possibly do it.

linksman00 just hit the nail on the head with his comment.

Myanmar is now opening up big time to tourists. They will try and do all they can to attract Westerners to this waking beauty. 

The Mergui peninsula and the Andaman islands (providing they aren't spoiled by greedy Thai investors doing the same things that have spoiled Thailand's coasts), will be the biggest draw.

Perhaps another euphemism might be that Thailand's elephant has packed its trunk and is ready to travel.

 

 

 

 

[anotheruser]

Hopefully Burma will catch up and the excessive price of rooms will go down. 

[boomerangutang]

Thailand could do better re; tourism industry. A partial list of suggestions below.....

 

I'd like to see more emphasis on sustainable nature.  Among other things, tourists want to see nature and animals.  Here are some ideas:

 

Near my adopted town of Chiang Rai, there's a large river. It's more like a lake for miles thru town, because of an irrigation dam.  There are no sailboats, no para-sailing, no paddleboards, no rafts on the river/lake.  Only a few loud long-tailed boats.  There is very little swimming and no fishing, even tho the river is clean (though brown, like all rivers in Asia outside of the Himalayas).

 

There are caves to explore near the river.  Out of a million local Thais, less than 100 know about the caves.  I've taken farang into those caves and they love them.  Most Thais are too spooked to even go near them.  Superstitious to a fault.

 

There are no wild mammals in all of northern Thailand larger than a rat or bat.  Farang tourists like to see animals in the wild.  In Thailand, it's nearly impossible. Note: Sri Lanka is much better for bird watching, with many large birds.

 

How many Thais know or care about a majestic palm tree (caryota gigas) which is indigenous to Thailand?  Perhaps 1/1,000th of 1%.   I know of a grove of about 50 such palms within a few Km of Chiang Rai town.  How many people visit there other than me?  Zero.  They may be the largest palm trees by bulk, and may also be endangered, but Thai scientists wouldn't know, because they don't study ecological things.  They're too busy trying to find a new whitening cream formula to add to the 500 already on the market.

[HenryB]

Sorry to say the Drop in Tourism from China is that the Chinese want more value for their money.  Thai is to expensive for them

[amdy2206]

Very good article. How else csn tourists be scared away? How a out special sim cards for them! And I expect the charges will be higher than the usual charges. I am interested to know what the next thing will be to deter visitors.

[does]

The doom and gloom seems a bit premature:

 

"Tourist Arrivals in Thailand decreased to 2433260 in June from 2476500 in May of 2016. Tourist Arrivals in Thailand averaged 1282006.37 from 1997 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 3088880 in February of 2016 and a record low of 399600 in May of 2003. Tourist Arrivals in Thailand is reported by the Bank of Thailand"

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/tourist-arrivals

 

[boomerangutang]

.....and manatees or dugongs, as they're known outside of the Americas.

 

They're the only aquatic mammal which is vegetarian.  There used to be hundreds along Thailand's sea coasts.  Now there are as many as you can count on one hand, if they're not already extinct.  Tourists would love to view dugongs.  In Florida, there are several very popular sanctuaries for them.  How many in Thailand?  my guess:  ZERO.   Similar with sea turtles.   Though places like Sri Lanka and Latin America have dozens of sea turtle breeding facilities and sanctuaries, how does Thailand help sea turtles?   It doesn't.    Ko Tao is the Thai word for 'Turtle Island'.  Are there any wild turtles there?  Probably haven't been for many years.

 

Thailand is to animal husbandry what a soi dog is to a lettuce garden.  Tourists aren't dummies.  They network among themselves.  If a country like Thailand trashes its natural environment, certain segments of tourists are going to give Thailand a pass, and instead they'll go visit countries which care for and nurture nature.

[anotheruser]

12 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

Thailand could do better re; tourism industry. A partial list of suggestions below.....

 

I'd like to see more emphasis on sustainable nature.  Among other things, tourists want to see nature and animals.  Here are some ideas:

 

Near my adopted town of Chiang Rai, there's a large river. It's more like a lake for miles thru town, because of an irrigation dam.  There are no sailboats, no para-sailing, no paddleboards, no rafts on the river/lake.  Only a few loud long-tailed boats.  There is very little swimming and no fishing, even tho the river is clean (though brown, like all rivers in Asia outside of the Himalayas).

 

There are caves to explore near the river.  Out of a million local Thais, less than 100 know about the caves.  I've taken farang into those caves and they love them.  Most Thais are too spooked to even go near them.  Superstitious to a fault.

 

There are no wild mammals in all of northern Thailand larger than a rat or bat.  Farang tourists like to see animals in the wild.  In Thailand, it's nearly impossible. Note: Sri Lanka is much better for bird watching, with many large birds.

 

How many Thais know or care about a majestic palm tree (caryota gigas) which is indigenous to Thailand?  Perhaps 1/1,000th of 1%.   I know of a grove of about 50 such palms within a few Km of Chiang Rai town.  How many people visit there other than me?  Zero.  They may be the largest palm trees by bulk, and may also be endangered, but Thai scientists wouldn't know, because they don't study ecological things.  They're too busy trying to find a new whitening cream formula to add to the 500 already on the market.

 

The thing is that a campaign for environmental awareness could be done very cheaply and easily. Imagine if people stopped throwing their plastic out the window tomorrow. Not even cleaning anything up but just stop making it worse. A moratorium on logging, not even replanting, that would take a modicum of effort but just stop cutting what is left. 

 

There are little gems around the country that you rightfully point out but they are not a major enough draw for international tourists. I have swam in some reservoirs up in that area and found some nice out of the way spots myself. that doesn't mean they are viable for international tourists however. 

 

What I mean is we discover these areas because we are in the area they aren't TAT ads that will seduce people to come. 

 

Don't get me wrong I am in agreement with you and preserving these areas is a great start. I just feel they would do well to work on some of the more visible sites and destinations first. The rest should probably at this point be preserved just for the sake of preservation as we all know what happens when they "open" a new tourism destination. Cutting down the trees is the usual MO. They should reclaim what they have destroyed before bungling around in areas that are currently relatively pristine.

[JingerBen]

1 hour ago, kartman said:

Chinese don't come to Chiang Mai because they can't now drive their vehicles outside the province lift that and they will come back .

Nonsense.

The Chinese hordes invaded Chiang Mai by air, not by land.

 

 

[Andrew65]

49 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

linksman00 just hit the nail on the head with his comment.

Myanmar is now opening up big time to tourists. They will try and do all they can to attract Westerners to this waking beauty. 

The Mergui peninsula and the Andaman islands (providing they aren't spoiled by greedy Thai investors doing the same things that have spoiled Thailand's coasts), will be the biggest draw.

Perhaps another euphemism might be that Thailand's elephant has packed its trunk and is ready to travel.

 

 

 

 

I visited Burma in '99, It struck me then as "the best-kept secret in Asia".

 

In five days in Rangoon I saw only five other white people.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Tourist numbers are down due to the economic contractions in the major inbound markets (Europe, Russia, and China) and not because of any adverse social media or other media stories about Thailand. Of course, the unstable political situation in Thailand for the past decade hasn't helped matters either. When these factors stabilize, the tourists will be back.

[mrmicbkktxl]

Nonsense report,Spain lost tourists because other destinations started to open like Tunisia,Egypt,Turkey,etcAlso like another poster said there were never many Americans in Spain,Most tourists came from UK and Germany,and by the way not only Costa del sol,..Now tourists come back to Spain thanks to Islamic State and crazy Erdogan.Many Europeans are stopped coming to Thailand because weak Euro or Pound,also Thailand isn't that cheap anymore,actually many things are more expensive than in Europe,and the political situation and social media is also not really helpful to attract Europeans to come to Thailand.Thailand lost it's charm many years ago already

[Rancid]

I would agree that number are being affected by western economic contraction and the current exchange rates, China also has slowed down. It is absolutely true though that Thailand is self destructing the industry, they have always had the attitude of attracting new customers, the concept of retaining existing ones not only doesn't exist in businesses here, but also by the tourism industry.

 

Thailand has so much to offer for a holiday, that has always tipped the scales away from the ineptitude and greed that is what is not appreciated. Even if things do turn down appreciably it is hard to imagine Thailand ever changing course, too many entrenched interests.

 

I currently reside at a Rayong beach, very similar to Phuket 30 years ago, it is the quiet lifestyle I like here, but probably too quiet for most. Back home popular beaches get crowded and the locals complain, the only resort anywhere is to simply move on to another area until it too gets ruined.

[apalink_thailand]

"BANGKOK: -- Chiang Mai has started a campaign to try and lure back Chinese tourists, whose visits have dropped significantly lately. The drop in visitor numbers is thought to be related to the Thais’ constant criticism of the Chinese on social media, causing the them to boycott Thailand."

 

Nonsense. The PRC Chinese peasants that come here don't read Thai or English language blogs, reports, videos etc. They can't understand any language other than Chinese and frankly, I don't think they give a stuff what anybody thinks of them. Selfish, uncultured little cretins that they are.

 

Personally, I believe this has more to do with recent crackdowns on Chinese owned bus companies, hotels and other businesses related to Chinese tourism.  China is just exercising its muscles a bit and using the excuse of bad social media reports to do it.  This is about money and power. Simple.

Edited August 3, 2016 by apalink_thailand

[apalink_thailand]

3 hours ago, shirtless said:

Thailands days are numbered mainly because they are unfriendly and  greedy with no moral compass , the word has spread .

Well if you wander about shirtless, what do you expect? ;-)

[Thian]

Costa del sol will get popular since Europeans don't have to fly there, can go by car.

 

Solly guys but i have to test the NEW drag and drop function....lemmesee

 

 

 Works fine! The first improvement that i noticed on the new forum outlay.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Thian

[1FinickyOne]

The world is over populated and I expect all of this will sadly be a cyclical nature of tourist areas. Natural beauty draws development, development draws tourists, too many people in a small area ruin that environment...

 

And yet, these tourist areas still seem quite crowded.

 

"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded." Yogi Berra

[cumgranosalum]

"First the Americans left. Then the British and other Europeans" - interesting premise - where is the evidence for this? The tourist figures basically have risen year on year for 30 years or so........... there may be glitches but this article seems to be based on ....well nothing concrete at all...apart from the usually slowdowns etc which it seems to misinterpret as drops in numbers that show a trend.

 

The Thai tourist industry has many problems - natural resources being the main one. It is an ever decreasing asset - however there are planty of tourists that will still come to Thailand so long as they offer cheap hotels and beaches fake or otherwise.

 

the change is from a country of natural beauty to one of concrete and condos and car parks - much the same as the old US and European resorts

 

 

[newnative]

The difference between Spain and Thailand is Thailand has two close neighbors--China with 1.3 BILLION people and India with 1.2 BILLION people. Billion with a 'B'.  So, potentially 2.5 BILLION tourists a short plane ride away.  Many are now reaching the economic stage where they can travel to another country for the first time.  Thailand is conveniently close by and tourists from these countries could help offset the downturn in arrivals from other areas.