Tourism sector believes affirmative referendum boosts confidence in Thailand

  

BANGKOK, 8 August 2016 (NNT) – The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has said it will work towards sustainable tourism quality following the results of the referendum, which it believes will boost the confidence of the global community in Thailand. 

Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul has said that following the public's approval of the new constitution in yesterday's referendum, the ministry will focus on enhancing tourism activities for sustainability by working closely with the private sector. She added that the referendum outcome will help enhance confidence in the Thai government among the international community. 

President of the Tourism Council of Thailand Ittirith Kinglake asserted that the referendum outcome paves the way for democracy in Thailand, allowing the government to hold a general election according to its roadmap. He said this development towards a democratic government will strengthen confidence among international spectators, and signifies the Thai people’s intent to see order and stability in the country, which is a good sign for the tourism industry. 

President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents Charoen Wangananont also stated he is confident the National Council for Peace and Order will pursue its roadmap towards democracy and its promises to the public, asking all sides to accept the voice of the majority.

 

-- nnt 2016-08-08

doubt it will boost confidence within Thailand, let alone globally. The only thing that will boost any confidence is an announcement of the election date, and many will be wary of an election anyway.

...."the referendum outcome paves the way for democracy in Thailand".  To the contrary, it makes nonsense of general elections and paves the way for even less democracy in Thailand.

 

While NNT may well suggest that the local Tourism sector believes affirmative referendum boosts confidence in Thailand, prospective tourists are more likely to be guided by what their governments and local media are reporting.

 

TAT's statistics in six-months time will tell the real story!

Would be nice to think so but basically nothing has changed from before the referendum and is not likely to.

 

The Thai people have guaranteed that the military are here to stay for a long time and that will put a lot of people and governments off.

The tourism sector is on the sauce again.

Its hard to believe they get away with such rubbish, the world has no confidence in the junta or its charter, tourism will drop .

They killed the golden tourism goose, along time ago.

A minor upside for them is the Chinese will be applauding this fix - sorry - 'democratically-held' Referendum result.

I'll be honest, I've been low key boycotting Thailand since 2014. I would obviously have preferred the result to go the other way because I genuinely only see great pain in store for Thailand when the unelected body undermine the democratic will. Once that starts, we're back at square one - unless of course the democrats run rampant in the next election (which could of course happen) and push policy to re-engage with the North east and the working poor (impoverished might be more accurate). 

 

That being said, now that the Thai people have had a say and voted for the constitution, i can pop back and enjoy myself again. It's their country, if that's the parliamentary system the Thai people want, then I'm happy to go along with them. That being said, if my rights are down the toilet by then or someone tells me to wear a tracking bracelet, i'll be off to Vietnam instead.  

 

"the ministry will focus on enhancing tourism activities for sustainability by working closely with the private sector"

 

What absolute nonsense. Almost every tourist site in Thailand has been completely ruined by mass tourism and overcrowding. There are absolutely no controls at all.

 

Maya Bay!

She is confident after the referendum...

 

Her boss gonna stay for 5 years more and she can keep her job at the ministry of silly touristic announcements 

 

 

In my opinion, tourists give pretty much a rat's a** about what government their intended destination country has. A lot of people are not even aware that Thailand is governed by a military junta at the moment.

 

Spain's tourism heydays in the 1970s took place despite the fact that the country was ruled by a dictator. Likewise, nobody stayed away from Portugal just because Antonio Salazar's oppressive regime was in power. Constant government changes every few months, general political instability and laborer riots in Italy didn't deter tourists either. And In the 1990s people flocked to Dominican Republic and Tunisia for their beach vacations although both countries were ruled by despots.

 

What attracts tourists are clean beaches, reasonably good infrastructure and tourist services, and affordable prices. The average vacationer from abroad doesn't care about local politics.

 

As long as Thailand continues to destruct its environment, rips off tourists left and right, sanctions double pricing, maintains a lax service attitude and nurtures general xenophobia through nationalistic indoctrination, word will continue to spread and many tourists will look for other destinations regardless whether "democracy" returns to Thailand ten-fold over or not. 

 

Maybe once the tourism and sports mistress minister gets that into her bonehead, she can start thinking about concrete measures how to stabilize the flagging tourism industry. In the meantime, let her recite her useless mantra of "recovery, boost, confidence" until she turns blue in the face. 

Edited August 8, 20169 yr by Misterwhisper

Talk about tourism progress in 6 months time......right now the growth numbers are pretty abysmal........

Edited August 8, 20169 yr by ChrisY1

Holidays are about beaches, sight-seeing and enjoying oneself. Holidays are not about soldiers, governments or politicians.

 

Quantity has ruined the place, too many tourists, too much trash, too many scams, too many unfriendly shops and restaurants, too many cheats, and too many over pushy tuk-tuks, and travelling salespeople.

18 hours ago, shirtless said:

Its hard to believe they get away with such rubbish, the world has no confidence in the junta or its charter, tourism will drop .

hi shirtless

you are absolutely right.

but if you see stability there are chances of the tourism pie growing again.

stability in a country and security are important factors in development of tourism, aside from the natural or man made  tourism facilities.

"Paving the way to democracy"? I imagine author has not observed the quality and time required to make sub standard roadways here.

 I do agree most tourists could care less about government, but nice if government cared about what tourists look for: clean beaches, roads, honest law enforcement, etc etc

Elsewhere on Thaivisa  -

 

Just another example of Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul occupying space on another planet. She is so completely out of touch with the tourism elements within the country, that she is willing to say something this preposterous. Anyone involved in the business knows hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tour operators, gift shops, tour guides, massage shops, and all other related tourism businesses are suffering. Business is down from last year, and that was a terrible year for tourism. One cannot really count the zero baht Chinese tourists, as she insists on doing. There are few that are benefitting from their purchases of bottles of water, fruit shakes, cigarettes, and t-shirts. 

 

Back here on earth, people are realizing that this economy is being run into a further state of decline, and there is not much light at the end of the tunnel, and if there is, it may be the headlamp of an oncoming train. 

Edited August 9, 20169 yr by spidermike007

20 hours ago, brucec64 said:

"the ministry will focus on enhancing tourism activities for sustainability by working closely with the private sector"

 

What absolute nonsense. Almost every tourist site in Thailand has been completely ruined by mass tourism and overcrowding. There are absolutely no controls at all.

 

Maya Bay!

Yes the tourist bucket is overflowing. It has reached critical mass stage. Its been milked to the hilt. 

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Just another example of Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul occupying space on another planet. She is so completely out of touch with the tourism elements within the country, that she is willing to say something this preposterous. Anyone involved in the business knows hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tour operators, gift shops, tour guides, massage shops, and all other related tourism businesses are suffering. Business is down from last year, and that was a terrible year for tourism. One cannot really count the zero baht Chinese tourists, as she insists on doing. There are few that are benefitting from their purchases of bottles of water, fruit shakes, cigarettes, and t-shirts. 

 

Back here on earth, people are realizing that this economy is being run into a further state of decline, and there is not much light at the end of the tunnel, and if there is, it may be the headlamp of an oncoming train. 

 

 

I do not agree with you 100%, the tourism has changed but it is not down and far from suffering.

 

Small business yes, less and less gogo's in the bar and less "europeans" for the small restaurants and such but tourism is not down at all

 

Many hotels in Phuket are 7-10% up compared to last year and price has not dived, Pattaya 15% up, Hua Hin dropping a little, BKK is up...

That is for the year, and no I will not give my source (but it is reliable) and it is not Ministry of Tourism data...

 

And mostly tourists do not give a darn about Thailand politics and announcements as long as no live rounds are been fired in the streets...

Food, cheap shopping, beaches, decent weather (rain is warm so not a big issue), temples, discovery of Asia,touristic facilities (hotels, relative safety, sightseeing, hookers (counted as the last) are why tourists come...

They do not care about shirt colors and politics are long as there are no immediate threat...

 

 

 

33 minutes ago, CantSpell said:

 

 

I do not agree with you 100%, the tourism has changed but it is not down and far from suffering.

 

Small business yes, less and less gogo's in the bar and less "europeans" for the small restaurants and such but tourism is not down at all

 

Many hotels in Phuket are 7-10% up compared to last year and price has not dived, Pattaya 15% up, Hua Hin dropping a little, BKK is up...

That is for the year, and no I will not give my source (but it is reliable) and it is not Ministry of Tourism data...

 

And mostly tourists do not give a darn about Thailand politics and announcements as long as no live rounds are been fired in the streets...

Food, cheap shopping, beaches, decent weather (rain is warm so not a big issue), temples, discovery of Asia,touristic facilities (hotels, relative safety, sightseeing, hookers (counted as the last) are why tourists come...

They do not care about shirt colors and politics are long as there are no immediate threat...

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to know your source. I am not basing this assessment on macroeconomic data, but rather word of mouth, from hotel people I know (including some GM's that work in 5 star properties) spa owners, owners of massage shops, gift stores, travel agencies, restaurants and bars. They are ALL complaining. Plus, I see it with my own eyes, when I travel. While you say business is up in Phuket, when I am there I see a virtual ghost island, compared to what I have seen in the past. Same goes for Samui. Normally August is a busy month. It is dead there right now. My recent trips to Pattaya are the same results, though you always have a core group that support the place. More Chinese tourists than ever, and they do not spend much money, at all. I am not sure about Bangkok, though I do hear some complaints. I am definitely referring more to small businesses, but they are the backbone of the Thai economy and more than likely employ a substantial amount of it's people. Granted, unemployment is low. But, so are revenues at these tourist related companies, from what I can tell. 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

I would love to know your source. I am not basing this assessment on macroeconomic data, but rather word of mouth, from hotel people I know (including some GM's that work in 5 star properties) spa owners, owners of massage shops, gift stores, travel agencies, restaurants and bars. They are ALL complaining. Plus, I see it with my own eyes, when I travel. While you say business is up in Phuket, when I am there I see a virtual ghost island, compared to what I have seen in the past. Same goes for Samui. Normally August is a busy month. It is dead there right now. My recent trips to Pattaya are the same results, though you always have a core group that support the place. More Chinese tourists than ever, and they do not spend much money, at all. I am not sure about Bangkok, though I do hear some complaints. I am definitely referring more to small businesses, but they are the backbone of the Thai economy and more than likely employ a substantial amount of it's people. Granted, unemployment is low. But, so are revenues at these tourist related companies, from what I can tell. 

 

Yes, Tourism has changed but it started 8-9 years ago already...

 

That change was less noticeable 5-6 years ago when the waves of Russians hit the resort destination but most small businesses were already complaining: decrease of European had started already: empty restaurant, empty bars, empty shops...

 

After the Russians got hit by exchange rate, then people actually noticed the lack of "high spenders"....

 

The cheap Chinese were already there and increasing  and filling up hotels during low season..

Trends are changing, tourism as well but numbers are up overall, just not the same people benefiting from it...

 

Blaming the zero tours is silly imho, hotels in TH have been accommodating and courting Chinese for years for the volume they generate....

Don't blame them if they are all that is left 

Edited August 9, 20169 yr by CantSpell

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

 

 

I would love to know your source. I am not basing this assessment on macroeconomic data, but rather word of mouth, from hotel people I know (including some GM's that work in 5 star properties) spa owners, owners of massage shops, gift stores, travel agencies, restaurants and bars. They are ALL complaining. Plus, I see it with my own eyes, when I travel. While you say business is up in Phuket, when I am there I see a virtual ghost island, compared to what I have seen in the past. Same goes for Samui. Normally August is a busy month. It is dead there right now. My recent trips to Pattaya are the same results, though you always have a core group that support the place. More Chinese tourists than ever, and they do not spend much money, at all. I am not sure about Bangkok, though I do hear some complaints. I am definitely referring more to small businesses, but they are the backbone of the Thai economy and more than likely employ a substantial amount of it's people. Granted, unemployment is low. But, so are revenues at these tourist related companies, from what I can tell. 

 

spidermike007,

 

I have been recording TAT's monthly tourism figures since January 2014 (to see what impact the coup may have had), so I hope I can provide the "source" you are asking for.

 

I think we share a similar view, but I have to agree with CantSpell (even though he is missing an apostrophe) in both his assessment of tourism AND (like you too) small business!

 

Unless the TAT is lying in its figures (http://www.tourism.go.th/home/listcontent/11/221/276), tourist visitation numbers from almost all countries have shown increasing trends year-on-year for some time (even post-coup).

 

The following table (based on my records of TAT statistics comparing the arrivals from the top 20 countries visiting Thailand) shows that (with the exception of Russia and a few other nations) visitation numbers have increased in the calendar year 2015 compared to 2014. There are some interesting increases in this list!

 

The latest data from TAT (for the period January-June) do show some decline in visitors from some countries (but, this may be attributable to local or seasonal issues).

 

So, while I am not disputing your "word or mouth" information (especially with the small-business owners), I am suggesting that maybe we are seeing more of a different type of visitor coming to Thailand - fewer business people (who would stay in the higher-end hotels, and use those services you mention), and more budget-oriented- and packaged-tourists with limited spending.

 

Still, it's hard to dispute the TAT claims when you consider that: in 2014 Thailand had 24.8 million visitors; in 2015 it had 29.9 million visitors; and in the first six months of this year, it has had 16.6 million visitors (4.2 million of them from China)!

 

 

 

On 8/8/2016 at 3:54 PM, waldroj said:

While NNT may well suggest that the local Tourism sector believes affirmative referendum boosts confidence in Thailand, prospective tourists are more likely to be guided by what their governments and local media are reporting.

 

TAT's statistics in six-months time will tell the real story!

They never tell a real story

14 hours ago, waldroj said:

 

spidermike007,

 

I have been recording TAT's monthly tourism figures since January 2014 (to see what impact the coup may have had), so I hope I can provide the "source" you are asking for.

 

I think we share a similar view, but I have to agree with CantSpell (even though he is missing an apostrophe) in both his assessment of tourism AND (like you too) small business!

 

Unless the TAT is lying in its figures (http://www.tourism.go.th/home/listcontent/11/221/276), tourist visitation numbers from almost all countries have shown increasing trends year-on-year for some time (even post-coup).

 

The following table (based on my records of TAT statistics comparing the arrivals from the top 20 countries visiting Thailand) shows that (with the exception of Russia and a few other nations) visitation numbers have increased in the calendar year 2015 compared to 2014. There are some interesting increases in this list!

 

The latest data from TAT (for the period January-June) do show some decline in visitors from some countries (but, this may be attributable to local or seasonal issues).

 

So, while I am not disputing your "word or mouth" information (especially with the small-business owners), I am suggesting that maybe we are seeing more of a different type of visitor coming to Thailand - fewer business people (who would stay in the higher-end hotels, and use those services you mention), and more budget-oriented- and packaged-tourists with limited spending.

 

Still, it's hard to dispute the TAT claims when you consider that: in 2014 Thailand had 24.8 million visitors; in 2015 it had 29.9 million visitors; and in the first six months of this year, it has had 16.6 million visitors (4.2 million of them from China)!

 

 

 

 

 

I do not trust those TAT figures. I do not trust any government agency here. And I am convinced those include business visas, and border bounces. So, they are not accurate. 

Blaming business Visas and border bounces is similar to blaming the zero dollar tours...

 

A drop in the ocean

 

I am not saying I trust TAT figures myself 100% to the digit but i do trust the trend...