Where are the Europeans Holidaying?

[Patong2]

Clearly obvious that the demographics have changed in Patong over the last few years.

Some posters such as Xylophone have made very good observations on the problem

Years ago there used to be large numbers of Italians, Germans, Swedes, Finns, Danes, Australians and British in clearly identifiable groups in bars and the beach.

 

There are still a lot coming but a fraction of the number of former years, and many of those, are people that come year after year.

 

So where are these groups going for their holidays?

Egypt and Turkey don't seem great destinations at the moment.

 

 

[schlog]

My friends who came here every year go now to Vietnam, Cuba, Indonisia, Malaysia and to the US. The last 25 years every year some friends came but since 2015 not a single. Have to meet them now outside Thailand where they enjoy their holidays.

[NamKangMan]

Australians have returned to Bali in big numbers.

 

Vietnam has seen a 26% increase in tourism in the last 12 months. 

 

http://vietnamtourism.gov.vn/english/index.php/items/11311

 

Also, Spain and Greece are popular again with Europeans. 

 

Crimea is popular with the Russians again.  

 

If you took the Chinese tourist statistics out, Phuket's tourism numbers would dismal.

[KhunBENQ]

Germans:

for winter holiday in warm climate the Dominican Republic, Florida and UAE (United Arab Emirates) are popular.

I can't find up-to-date statistics.

Spain (Mediterranean and Canary islands) are still popular in winter although not really outdoor pool weather.

 

In summer Spain was jam packed.

Turkey, Egypt and North Africa only for the fearless.

They are desperate for customers.

 

[madmitch]

Karon/Kata seems to have regained a number of Swedish holidaymakers in the past week or so but will that last past the school holidays? It's still nothing like the little Stockholm that existed until fairly recently.

 

My friends and acquaintances in the UK seem to be travelling West, with the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean popular. 

 

 

[johng]

There's quite a few Russians in Pattaya/Jomtien.

[madmax2]

Australian travel agents have a huge choice in holiday destinations all around the world from trekking to motor holidays and ocean and river cruises and complete holiday packages all at very reasonable prices, Thailand is no longer the bargain destination it used to be even compared to Bali

 

There is a much bigger choice these days and people are no longer going to the same holiday destination year after year, except for Bali where a short holiday break is cheaper than doing the same thing in Australia with the same asian holiday feel as Thailand  

[GeorgeCross]

theres that phrase again "Thailand is no longer the bargain destination it used to be"

 

TAT are you LISTENING?

 

it seems raising prices and expecting to attract quality is NOT working..

 

[KhunBENQ]

 

4 hours ago, Patong2 said:

Italians, Germans, Swedes, Finns, Danes, Australians and British

 

Compare currency rates since end of 2014 with today.

Danish crown is the only one that comes out without substantial loss.

Brexit GBP crash in June 2016, a time to plan winter holiday.

[robertthebruce]

Spain again for the British Chavs...

 

una Paloma Blanca......

[LivinginKata]

Many of the above posts are correct. Phuket has long time lost it's exotic and cheap slogan for short stay western tourists. It's fine for us long stay types who know the ropes, but it's rip off for the visitors.

 

Folks have so many new(er) places to give a try ...

 

[madmax2]

14 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

Many of the above posts are correct. Phuket has long time lost it's exotic and cheap slogan for short stay western tourists. It's fine for us long stay types who know the ropes, but it's rip off for the visitors.

 

Folks have so many new(er) places to give a try ...

 

Long stay types go elsewhere for their holidays, we do anyway

[GeorgeCross]

53 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

Many of the above posts are correct. Phuket has long time lost it's exotic and cheap slogan for short stay western tourists. It's fine for us long stay types who know the ropes, but it's rip off for the visitors.

 

Folks have so many new(er) places to give a try ...

 

 

the meme when i arrived a decade ago was "what we lost on the flight we made up on the stay" 

 

now with the baht where it is and inflation doubling prices as well Thailand is forced to compete for long haulers on its merits.

 

its a hard sell

[Mysterion]

Could it be that westerners are turned-off by the raw sewage that drains directly into all the popular west coast beaches?

 

They see it once, or hear about it, and never return?

[AJBangkok]

I think the greatest issue dominating European holiday choice destinations is safety.  All things being equal in terms of regional weather, amenities and relative cost, family vacationers will choose the location that is considered more  "safe" from terrorism, crime, political upheaval, corruption, and where there is a strong rule of law. 

 

Phuket may be no better or worse than other regional destinations but in this age of electronic instant information the chances are that there is more information available on Phuket due to is high profile as a tourist destination. People are more likely to take the time to write a negative review than a positive review and "news" sells by being sensational, not by reporting little old ladies getting help crossing the road. 

[NamKangMan]

On 02/01/2017 at 2:15 PM, AJBangkok said:

I think the greatest issue dominating European holiday choice destinations is safety.  All things being equal in terms of regional weather, amenities and relative cost, family vacationers will choose the location that is considered more  "safe" from terrorism, crime, political upheaval, corruption, and where there is a strong rule of law. 

 

Phuket may be no better or worse than other regional destinations but in this age of electronic instant information the chances are that there is more information available on Phuket due to is high profile as a tourist destination. People are more likely to take the time to write a negative review than a positive review and "news" sells by being sensational, not by reporting little old ladies getting help crossing the road. 

 

 

When it comes to "safety" on Phuket, I can say with some certainly,  promoting Phuket as a "world class tourist destination" is misleading advertising.

 

For a place the size of Phuket, it must send home more tourists in a body bag than any other comparable size holiday destination in the world, genuine suicides aside. 

[DoctorG]

I no longer visit thailand. Bali is my asian choice now.

[madmitch]

Where are the Europeans holidaying?

 

Hopefully somewhere where the weather is better than Phuket! 

[Lockheed]

Mostly depends on the flight costs for me. Thailand is still a good launching point to other countries in the area, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. I'd go to Bali for a resort holiday, not that I'm a resort type of person, but in 2015 I spent time at Ngapali Beach Burma and loved it, must go back again. 

 

[Peterw42]

 

Latest figures (2016) would indicate europeans are still coming to Thailand, and a 10% increase on 2015

จำนวนนักท่องเที่ยว มกราคม ถึง พฤศจิกายน 2559P
Country of	Number		%Change
Nationality	2016P	2015	2016/15
East  Asia	19,874,551	18,047,423	+10.12
ASEAN	7,781,185	7,073,817	+10.00
Brunei	11,791	11,503	+2.50
Cambodia	622,357	484,082	+28.56
Indonesia	484,954	427,210	+13.52
Laos	1,285,583	1,096,049	+17.29
Malaysia	3,140,853	3,029,179	+3.69
Myanmar	308,370	228,275	+35.09
Philippines	309,170	285,284	+8.37
Singapore	846,646	815,738	+3.79
Vietnam	771,461	696,497	+10.76
China	8,221,916	7,298,937	+12.65
Hong Kong	686,738	613,106	+12.01
Japan	1,310,719	1,256,539	+4.31
Korea	1,322,657	1,223,730	+8.08
Taiwan	484,739	514,082	-5.71
Others	66,597	67,212	-0.92
Europe	5,392,524	4,909,466	+9.84
Austria	87,227	85,636	+1.86
Belgium	98,373	94,228	+4.40
Denmark	148,338	141,104	+5.13
Finland	108,560	108,807	-0.23
France	661,785	612,043	+8.13
Germany	742,813	672,888	+10.39
Italy	230,124	212,914	+8.08
Netherlands	212,824	197,556	+7.73
Norway	114,594	116,293	-1.46
Russia	928,173	755,955	+22.78
Spain	156,605	140,108	+11.77
Sweden	269,055	254,025	+5.92
Switzerland	181,638	178,810	+1.58
United  Kingdom	890,404	835,879	+6.52
East  Europe	350,113	316,402	+10.65
Others	211,898	186,818	+13.42
The  Americas	1,236,694	1,090,941	+13.36
Argentina	39,768	24,999	+59.08
Brazil	53,852	42,130	+27.82
Canada	216,768	202,005	+7.31
USA	859,838	765,544	+12.32
Others	66,468	56,263	+18.14
South  Asia	1,374,714	1,270,515	+8.20
Bangladesh	89,675	95,968	-6.56
India	1,080,126	969,396	+11.42
Nepal	38,491	29,700	+29.60
Pakistan	67,669	72,268	-6.36
Sri  Lanka	61,671	67,885	-9.15
Others	37,082	35,298	+5.05
Oceania	820,426	838,250	-2.13
Australia	717,268	733,699	-2.24
New  Zealand	100,495	101,696	-1.18
Others	2,663	2,855	-6.73
Middle  East	684,703	603,142	+13.52
Egypt	26,058	23,021	+13.19
Israel	145,186	126,743	+14.55
Kuwait	57,569	63,261	-9.00
Saudi  Arabia	23,153	17,912	+29.26
U.A.E.	117,176	113,228	+3.49
Others	315,561	258,977	+21.85
Africa	146,891	139,157	+5.56
S.Africa	63,249	61,712	+2.49
Others	83,642	77,445	+8.00
Grand  Total	29,530,503	26,898,894	+9.78

[geisha]

As said above, raw sewage being pumped into the sea, dangerous driving, van and bus fatalities daily, rip off aggressive taxis , speedboat and long tail boat accidents , not many tourists take a 12 hour flight to experience all this. Honestly, which other tourist friendly country makes the negative world headlines as often as Thailand ??

[geisha]

The latest figures printed above suggest the bulk of tourists are from East Asia and ASEAN countries. Short stay countries and not famed for spending .

[AJBangkok]

Within the next 5 years Phu Quoc will become a real challenge to Phuket. The new airport currently can handle around 3 million passengers a year and is being further upgraded to 7 million per year. More international flights are being added monthly although currently it's mainly from Asian locales but the runway can handle 747's so over time more long haul flights will be introduced.  The Vietnamese are very serious about developing the island as their headline tourist destination on the south and there has been huge development of hotels over the past 5 years. Phu Quoc is roughly the same size as Phuket but as yet doesn't have the infrastructure. It will be developed though. The Vietnamese are pragmatic, they are comfortable playing a long game, they have the money and the will to do it, so I'm confident that the chances of developing the island as a world class tourist destination are good. They also have a very strong rule of law, take environmental issues seriously, and control inter provincial migration so if someone isn't productive or not acting in the best interests of the community then they can kick them off the island. They have casino's (for tourists), a friendly long term visa and work permit regime and liberal attitude to weed. They are very strict on sex tourism.

 

Due to geopolitical tensions Vietnam doesn't encourage Chinese tourism but if that were to change then I think it would be strictly controlled. 

 

Generally Phuket does have better scenery but the unchecked development is spoiling that slowly but surely. I'd say in south east Asia Phu Quoc is the most promising upcoming destination.  The two other main Vietnamese locations Da Nang and Nah Trang will get tourism but Da Nang has very unpredictable weather, you can only count on a couple of months per year, then it's either rainy or cold and Nah Trang is being developed more as a domestic desitination and lacks infrastructure. The area around it is also subject to political considerations that could hamper development. 

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

Where are the Europeans holidaying?

 

Hopefully somewhere where the weather is better than Phuket! 

 

What is the problem with the weather in Phuket ?

[masuk]

11 minutes ago, geisha said:

As said above, raw sewage being pumped into the sea, dangerous driving, van and bus fatalities daily, rip off aggressive taxis , speedboat and long tail boat accidents , not many tourists take a 12 hour flight to experience all this. Honestly, which other tourist friendly country makes the negative world headlines as often as Thailand ??

After encountering floating rubber thingies in the water at Jom Tien beach at Pattaya 2 years ago, and the water a mix of what looked like shredded toilet paper, and countless plastic bags, I ended up with a skin infection.  A few weeks ago I went to Phuket on a brief visit, and was amazed at the number of smokers standing around on the beach, and then dumping their butts into the sand.   Beer at 180baht a bottle seemed a bit over the top.

I was staggered at the crowds and traffic jams, and will definitely try north of Phuket next trip. 

[rogeroc]

43 minutes ago, Lockheed said:

Mostly depends on the flight costs for me. Thailand is still a good launching point to other countries in the area, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. I'd go to Bali for a resort holiday, not that I'm a resort type of person, but in 2015 I spent time at Ngapali Beach Burma and loved it, must go back again. 

 

 

I agree that flight costs are relevent. Even less than 2 years back BKK was always the cheapest Far East destination to fly to from London. Now i see Manila and Saigon at te same prices or less. There are also new direct flight options to MNL and SGN from London as well.

[barmatt]

I still come twice a year, to Pattaya that is. Patong is too expensive.

[KarenBravo]

5 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

 

What is the problem with the weather in Phuket ?

 

Look out of the window and then look at the calendar.

[gamini]

26 minutes ago, geisha said:

As said above, raw sewage being pumped into the sea, dangerous driving, van and bus fatalities daily, rip off aggressive taxis , speedboat and long tail boat accidents , not many tourists take a 12 hour flight to experience all this. Honestly, which other tourist friendly country makes the negative world headlines as often as Thailand ??

You are probably referring to Pattaya, Phuket or Samui. The rtest of Thailand does not have these problems.

[beechbum]

4 minutes ago, gamini said:

You are probably referring to Pattaya, Phuket or Samui. The rtest of Thailand does not have these problems.

Considering its not the Thailand forum, he probably is....