Thailand Wants Rich Chinese Tourists, Not Budget Groups

[Ulic]

Better yet, just send the cash and don't bother coming.

[chiang mai]

54 minutes ago, hansnl said:

I wonder if anybody in government ever did the sums.

Many pensioners and expats all bringing in an average of 50,000 baht a month.

Let us say 500,000 times 50,000 times 12 is a huge amount of money.

Plus of course the investment and spending on houses, condos, cars, motorbikes.....

Guess that in the long run is more profitable for Thailand as investing in tourists.

 

 

The comparison should be, using TAT's own figures:

 

1 x tourist x (average) 5  days at THB 5,200 baht average spend = THB 26,000, vs,

 

1 x resident retiree x 30 days at THB 55,000 baht per month.

 

Game set and match, coffin dodgers.

 

[Johpa]

When I travel from the west coast of the US to Asia on my way to CNX, the airport is filled with Chinese laden down with excess luggage and still shopping at the over priced duty free shops for brand name goods. When at CNX for the return still plenty of Chinese, but with ordinary travel bags and no last minute shopping. Two different worlds of Chinese travelers.

And can't say much about Bangkok or down south, but up here in Lanna Land there is but a single resort hotel that truly can cater to the 1%, and that is outside the city.


Happy Trails

[Mousehound]

What would rich Chinese want to buy here?  Most luxury products are made in countries like China and sold through European outlets eg fashion, watches, perfumes etc.  Chinese are now the biggest consumers of quality red wine in the world but would they want Thai wine?  Rich people stay and eat in their up market hotels which repatriate the monies out of the country to their tax havens.  This is the same as any other nations rich set.  Check into the peninsular Hotel, eat and drink most meals there, see a few sights such as a luxury cruise on the Chao Praya and then off to Paris to shop.  But hay, not having hoards of cut price tourists, of any nationality all over the place suits me.

[chiang mai]

6 minutes ago, Mousehound said:

What would rich Chinese want to buy here?  Most luxury products are made in countries like China and sold through European outlets eg fashion, watches, perfumes etc.  Chinese are now the biggest consumers of quality red wine in the world but would they want Thai wine?  Rich people stay and eat in their up market hotels which repatriate the monies out of the country to their tax havens.  This is the same as any other nations rich set.  Check into the peninsular Hotel, eat and drink most meals there, see a few sights such as a luxury cruise on the Chao Praya and then off to Paris to shop.  But hay, not having hoards of cut price tourists, of any nationality all over the place suits me.

 

Well heeled Chinese tourists staying at the Anantara CM regularly waltz into the boutique shop there, drop 300k baht on stuff and ask hotel staff to mail it to their home in China, a very regular occurrence at just one hotel gift shop.

[trogers]

18 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

Well heeled Chinese tourists staying at the Anantara CM regularly waltz into the boutique shop there, drop 300k baht on stuff and ask hotel staff to mail it to their home in China, a very regular occurrence at just one hotel gift shop.

 

Not fighting over shrimps at the buffet table of a Duty-Free establishment?

[Mike555]

When it comes to tourists from developing nations -- which, whether they want to admit it or not, includes China -- I actually like the idea of having wealthier tourists. Wealthy Chinese are usually better travelled and more worldly and aware (but not always) than their poor AF country cousins. The Chinese people I used to work with cringed at how obnoxious the cattle-car, package-tour, hillbilly Chinese acted. They're all nice people, but they come from a place where screaming, spitting, littering, snorting, and pushing are normal. Ever walked through the mass of zero-baht tourists at the feeding trough at lunch around Ploy Talay on Koh Samed? Something that, sadly, I can't "un-experience." Just gross. 

[Yann55]

5 hours ago, chiang mai said:

This constant story about Thailand wanting a better class of tourist does get old does it not, perhaps the ladyboys and gold chain snatchers on Beach Road are complaining about poor takings! Why not just weed them out at the airport and if they don't appear well heeled, send them straight home again, how dare the peasants come to upmarket Thailand, what nerve. Why, they could even have separate queue lanes at Immigration in Swampy, "Well Heeled", "Loafers and Slip-Ons" and "Sandals", problem solved.

 

A brilliant rant. Thanks for the laugh !

[GeorgeCross]

58 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

The comparison should be, using TAT's own figures:

 

1 x tourist x (average) 5  days at THB 5,200 baht average spend = THB 26,000, vs,

 

1 x resident retiree x 30 days at THB 55,000 baht per month.

 

Game set and match, coffin dodgers.

 

 

jeez, could you imagine 30 million expats living here.. 

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s military government is seeking to focus on smaller groups of higher-spending visitors to bolster the tourism industry longer term

Check them out in Dunn & Bradstreet before letting them into the country. Charge them a refundable deposit when they enter the country. Only refundable if they spend over a certain amount at the fake jewelry stores. 

[KarenBravo]

What Thailand "wants", and what Thailand gets are two different things.

[fruitman]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

What Thailand "wants", and what Thailand gets are two different things.

 

Same goes for what thailand pretends to be and factual is.

 

There are nice resorts/hotels but 2 meters away from those it's just the common mess like everywhere else. Same goes for the skytrain/metro, the sidewalks to and from it are still very crappy.

[Oziex1]

To me Asia and SE Asia is exotic and different to my Country, do the Chinese see Thailand like that?

[SaintLouisBlues]

10 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

To me Asia and SE Asia is exotic and different to my Country, do the Chinese see Thailand like that?

For "the Chinese" to have a unified perception of Thailand, would all farangs and not just you have to share a unified perception of Thailand as "exotic"?

[DILLIGAD]

For "the Chinese" to have a unified perception of Thailand, would all farangs and not just you have to share a unified perception of Thailand as "exotic"?

Only until you have been to a truly exotic place. IMO this is not it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SaintLouisBlues]

8 minutes ago, DILLIGAD said:

Only until you have been to a truly exotic place. IMO this is not it.

Amazing Thailand indeed

[Oziex1]

2 minutes ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

For "the Chinese" to have a unified perception of Thailand, would all farangs and not just you have to share a unified perception of Thailand as "exotic"?

 

I'm not sure if you get what I was saying, the way of life and the look of the people is quite different to the Western world, I would think the Chinese don't see a lot of difference to their own country.

exotic

ɪɡˈzɒtɪk,ɛɡˈzɒtɪk/

adjective

 

1. 1.

   originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.

[SOTIRIOS]

...what next.....

 

...maybe give up all their money at entry....???

 

...minimum charge for the privilege of walking around....getting robbed....smashed in a crash....drowned....???

[SaintLouisBlues]

10 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

I'm not sure if you get what I was saying

I definitely got what you were saying. My point is you simply can't generalize about "the Chinese" just as you can't generalize about "all farang". Your perception is your perception, not to be foisted on the rest of us just because you want to stereotype people and their reactions

[hotchilli]

All the rich Chinese are going to Japan, where they are made very welcome.
They are taken buy luxury coaches & professional drivers to all the top landmarks, given a healthy diet at each food stop, booked into very comfortable hotels.
They are also afforded tax-free shopping at many outlets for top quality electrical goods which are much cheaper than in China.
Also all travel guides are competent in Chinese communication skills.

 

In Thailand they are welcomed with second rate coaches, suicidal drivers, taken to landmarks via traffic congested roads to look at temples, fed usual Thai street food,  with shopping opportunities in Thai street markets at "farang prices" to buy chaep Chinese knock-offs!!

All helped by a guide speaking in Thai.

 

Edited January 18, 2017 by hotchilli

[chiang mai]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

All the rich Chinese are going to Japan, where they are made very welcome.
They are taken buy luxury coaches & professional drivers to all the top landmarks, given a healthy diet at each food stop, booked into very comfortable hotels.
They are also afforded tax-free shopping at many outlets for top quality electrical goods which are much cheaper than in China.
Also all travel guides are competent in Chinese communication skills.

 

In Thailand they are welcomed with second rate coaches, suicidal drivers, taken to landmarks via traffic congested roads to look at temples, fed usual Thai street food,  with shopping opportunities in Thai street markets at "farang prices" to buy chaep Chinese knock-offs!!

All helped by a guide speaking in Thai.

 

 

You're talking about two totally different markets and two very different segments of the Chinese population, inaccurately I might add.

 

Those same Chinese that visit Japan are the same ones that visit Thailand and stay in the 5 & 6 star hotels, the tour groups of zero dollar fame simply don't do Japan. Plus there's a huge pool of Thai's who have learned to speak Chinese and almost all tour groups these days have such people leading them, my wife being one.

 

[farangx]

2 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

To me Asia and SE Asia is exotic and different to my Country, do the Chinese see Thailand like that?

 

To them, Thailand is a cheap place for a group visit and a chance to visit another country, nothing to shout about.  Food is not better than Chinese street food or cuisine.  Other than the well off who might spend some money here or elsewhere, Thailand is just budget class to them.

Edited January 18, 2017 by farangx

[farangx]

15 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

You're talking about two totally different markets and two very different segments of the Chinese population, inaccurately I might add.

 

Those same Chinese that visit Japan are the same ones that visit Thailand and stay in the 5 & 6 star hotels, the tour groups of zero dollar fame simply don't do Japan. Plus there's a huge pool of Thai's who have learned to speak Chinese and almost all tour groups these days have such people leading them, my wife being one.

 

 

I would say the rich don't really discriminate which countries they spend their in.  But obviously if Thailand do want to get the Chinese rich to spend their money here, they need to get them in here first and this country does not have much to entice them. 

Edited January 18, 2017 by farangx

[chiang mai]

Just now, farangx said:

 

I would say the rich don't really discriminate which countries they spend at.  But obviously if Thailand do want to get the Chinese rich to spend their money here, they need to get them in here first and this country does not have much to entice them. 

 

The evidence is to the contrary, when zero dollar tours were operating there was thousands of Chinese on mass tourism tours to Thailand, the fact that the country was not receiving the income from those tours is irrelevant, people bought those tours and they came in their masses. And it's a nonsense to say there's nothing here in Thailand to entice them, China is a huge country and most people don't live near the sea and many never get to even see it. You may not think there's anything worthwhile seeing here, I can assure you the Chinese see things very differently.

[Jeremy50]

8 hours ago, Sphere said:

 

Yes, TAT's longterm plan is to move Thailand to the Swiss Alps.

Well, there was talk a few years ago of making Chiang Mai a skiing 'Hub'. With snowy mountains in Northern Burma not too far away. I wonder what happened to that plan?

[trogers]

14 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

The evidence is to the contrary, when zero dollar tours were operating there was thousands of Chinese on mass tourism tours to Thailand, the fact that the country was not receiving the income from those tours is irrelevant, people bought those tours and they came in their masses. And it's a nonsense to say there's nothing here in Thailand to entice them, China is a huge country and most people don't live near the sea and many never get to even see it. You may not think there's anything worthwhile seeing here, I can assure you the Chinese see things very differently.

 

I agree, and the evidence is in those discarded shrimps...

[Toronto]

How about Thailand wants polite or respectful Chinese  (insert any nationality). Do the people who make such pronouncements not consider how they come across as elitists? Yes, you have many fine attractions, and some very nice people, but the civil servants behind such campaigns are, to put it lightly, snobs. 

Quite frankly, this recent Thai obsession with grading tourists by their spending habits comes across as selfish and ungrateful. Be thankful that as it stands, tourism (no matter who, or from where) constitutes 11% of your GDP. 

[Nicolas32]

Despite concerns of terrorist attacks, Chinese travelers are booking European trips to celebrate the Year of the Rooster, according to a reports

 

Edited January 18, 2017 by Nicolas32

[farangx]

29 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

 

The evidence is to the contrary, when zero dollar tours were operating there was thousands of Chinese on mass tourism tours to Thailand, the fact that the country was not receiving the income from those tours is irrelevant, people bought those tours and they came in their masses. And it's a nonsense to say there's nothing here in Thailand to entice them, China is a huge country and most people don't live near the sea and many never get to even see it. You may not think there's anything worthwhile seeing here, I can assure you the Chinese see things very differently.

 

I have chatted with some of the Chinese tourists in fluent Mandarin, this from business dealings with my Chinese partners.  Given that China has a huge population, it is hardly surprising there are thousands visiting here, more so because this is a budget class country.  While they may not live near beaches, they would prefer to visit Vietnam for nice beaches compared to say Phuket.  The Chinese are very friendly people when you get a chance to converse with them.  These tourists would offer to share their meals with me, beer and cigarettes if you can connect with them.  I don't tell my Thai friends who are in the tourism industry what we talked about, because I am not in this industry but more importantly I consider it a waste of my time.

Edited January 18, 2017 by farangx

[farangx]

15 minutes ago, trogers said:

 

I agree, and the evidence is in those discarded shrimps...

 

Badly cooked shrimps, wrongly cooked shrimps, I won't eat them.