Can Thai Visa actually make things even better

[stud858]

This website (thaivisa.com) that we all visit and share thoughts, facts and fiction has become the most popular for information on all things Thailand.

I wonder if the controlling bodies of this website are prepared to hand in a yearly report to the Tourism office showing what they could be doing better to make life easier for foreigners.

 

Of course there would be some way to list all things neatly in such a report and have the controlling bodies edit such a report and hand it on the the authorities.

I'd say that the people running the show here have some clout, or sadly ,are Thai agencies not aware at all of this website and our discussions.

 

Obviously one of the big things on the list would be Visa issues.  I personally would like to see them bring back the 3 month 1 year non- o for condo owners.  I don't understand why that was stopped. 

 

So if those with strong connections and influence get to influence the right people to make things better that would be great.

There is the tourist police. That's great. The hotline, also great. But no one with real clout to argue on our behalf.

 

Is any one there from thaivisa.com with connections to the higher up people that can help with such a yearly report?

 

Sorry, I myself, have no influence but would be prepared to help with editing such a report if I knew it was going to be of use. 

 

Best regards everyone.

D

 

 

[cyberfarang]

Most Thai agencies are aware and do read these forums, otherwise TV would not bother having moderators, why would TV want to bother with all the extra work? And what qualifications do you have to help with the editing of reports?

[bamukloy]

Thailand is not unsimiliar to many other countries in that those in charge do not like being told what to do.

especially by foriegners.

I suspect such an idea would be counterproductive anyway,as those in charge would probably make it their mission to do exactly the opposite to anything suggested.

 

"Thai for Thais" is their motto...

 

what exactly makes you think they'd want to do anything to make it better for farangs?

[HooHaa]

What?

[nisakiman]

I doubt the Thai authorities give a shit about farang. Why should they? "Come to Thailand, leave your money, and go" is the basic mindset of the Thai authorities. They certainly don't see any reason to make life easier for would-be expats. Why should they? The Thai policy is one of protectionism. I can't see that changing in the foreseeable future.

 

In many ways it's an admirable attitude. If the Western countries had adopted the same approach to immigration, perhaps we wouldn't be seeing the problems that occupy Europe and the US today.

 

On the other hand, by making it so difficult for foreigners to do business in Thailand, they are shooting themselves in the foot, big time. They are rapidly sliding down the scale of vibrant economies in SE Asia as a result of their reluctance to embrace inward investment on competitive terms. Until the political landscape goes through radical changes, I can't see anything improving.

[berybert]

Tourist numbers are at record highs and going up millions every few seconds. The Thai authorities do not need anyone telling them what to do.

They are doing a perfect job and will have no quarms in telling anyone that asks.

[daveAustin]

This site is populated by whiny old expats, not tourists. Concern over long term foreigners lives is the lowest priority for the powers that be. Focus is on short term tourism, and again not for any concern over welfare, but for revenue and face. Even Thais do not 'suggest' to authority. Any such report would be filed in the bin even if it contained a sure fire elixir for expanding tourist count threefold.

[chiang mai]

5 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

This site is populated by whiny old expats, not tourists. Concern over long term foreigners lives is the lowest priority for the powers that be. Focus is on short term tourism, and again not for any concern over welfare, but for revenue and face. Even Thais do not 'suggest' to authority. Any such report would be filed in the bin even if it contained a sure fire elixir for expanding tourist count threefold.

TAT's own figures show that the average tourist length of stay is five days and that their average spend is 5, 400 baht per day, that means every tourist who visits Thailand spends on average 27,000 baht.

 

Whiny old expats on the other hand spend a minimum of 40,000 baht per month or 480,000 baht per year, of which a minimum of 33,600 is spent on sales tax (7%).

 

Ergo, whiny old expats spend more every year in tax than the average tourist spends in total.

 

Just because you don't care about whiny old expats doesn't mean the governement doesn't.

[Ace of Pop]

5 Days for Chinese ,but Ferangs come from the Americas and Europe for 5Days .?. I never met any yet


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[chiang mai]

8 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

5 Days for Chinese ,but Ferangs come from the Americas and Europe for 5Days .?. I never met any yet


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The following suggests 9.5 days average but the daily spend is lower at 5, 142 per day - same effect overall.

 

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp

[Deepinthailand]

.Why should The Thai Authorities listen to forigners.  All they seem to want is free health care free/thai price admission. New laws so they can feel as though they are back in there nanny states. Oh yes and Thais out of Thailand. Turn this around a forum in UK run by Muslims expats telling the UK Authorities how to run there country or what laws would be better.!

[Ace of Pop]

.Why should The Thai Authorities listen to forigners.  All they seem to want is free health care free/thai price admission. New laws so they can feel as though they are back in there nanny states. Oh yes and Thais out of Thailand. Turn this around a forum in UK run by Muslims expats telling the UK Authorities how to run there country or what laws would be better.!

Common Sense at last.[emoji106]


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[mick220675]

The Thai government dose not care what Thai people think, so I do not think the opinion of foreigners will interest them.

[chiang mai]

1 hour ago, Deepinthailand said:

.Why should The Thai Authorities listen to forigners.  All they seem to want is free health care free/thai price admission. New laws so they can feel as though they are back in there nanny states. Oh yes and Thais out of Thailand. Turn this around a forum in UK run by Muslims expats telling the UK Authorities how to run there country or what laws would be better.!

"Why should The Thai Authorities listen to forigners?"

 

I can think of 16 trillion reasons why!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand

[Deepinthailand]

3 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

"Why should The Thai Authorities listen to forigners?"

 

I can think of 16 trillion reasons why!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Thailand

This is atopic on can thai visa influence not the 99% of tourists who come to Thailand and have never heard of this forum

[YeahSiam]

 

2 hours ago, chiang mai said:

TAT's own figures show that the average tourist length of stay is five days and that their average spend is 5, 400 baht per day, that means every tourist who visits Thailand spends on average 27,000 baht.

 

Whiny old expats on the other hand spend a minimum of 40,000 baht per month or 480,000 baht per year, of which a minimum of 33,600 is spent on sales tax (7%).

 

Ergo, whiny old expats spend more every year in tax than the average tourist spends in total.

 

Just because you don't care about whiny old expats doesn't mean the governement doesn't.

 

The government doesn't really "care" about "economic migrants" - not "expats" - nor should they.

They've set out the criteria for living here - if you like it it, great; if you don't like it, great.

There's no reason to make things easier because there's no desire for even more of us to turn up at the airport with our shit in tow.

In threads like this, it really is worth remembering that, whatever our reasons for being in Thailand, 95% of us are here of our own volition.

 

Our trouble is that most of us aren't used to the dynamics of being a minority.

We've spent our lives being part of the majority, the group that makes the rules, calls the shots and wields the big stick.

Here, the "brown" people run the show.

Your typical, self important farang doesn't like it that someone he regards as a poorly educated dope makes him jump through hoops and we hear whining about 90 day reports, dual pricing and other trials with increasingly regularity.

 

I don't need concessions.

I don't need free health care

I don't need some kind of acknowledgement of my "value" or "worth" to the Thai economy.

I'm cool just get on with my life and be thankful for the indifference of the Thai people

I know a lot of economic migrants feel the same

 

 

[4evermaat]

I do agree that thaivisa.com could have some sort of thread where it points to different govt dept to complain to in case of problem or suggest improvement. Also perhaps run a quarterly survey asking about any particular visa or other govt process that could be improved.

But for official response, all those suggestions should be forwarded by the individual to the appropriate govt body. Complaining anonymously here doesnt do much.

[dageurreotype]

To the OP - You just off the boat? And 'Make tv 'even better' lol. 

[starky]

1 hour ago, YeahSiam said:

 

 

The government doesn't really "care" about "economic migrants" - not "expats" - nor should they.

They've set out the criteria for living here - if you like it it, great; if you don't like it, great.

There's no reason to make things easier because there's no desire for even more of us to turn up at the airport with our shit in tow.

In threads like this, it really is worth remembering that, whatever our reasons for being in Thailand, 95% of us are here of our own volition.

 

Our trouble is that most of us aren't used to the dynamics of being a minority.

We've spent our lives being part of the majority, the group that makes the rules, calls the shots and wields the big stick.

Here, the "brown" people run the show.

Your typical, self important farang doesn't like it that someone he regards as a poorly educated dope makes him jump through hoops and we hear whining about 90 day reports, dual pricing and other trials with increasingly regularity.

 

I don't need concessions.

I don't need free health care

I don't need some kind of acknowledgement of my "value" or "worth" to the Thai economy.

I'm cool just get on with my life and be thankful for the indifference of the Thai people

I know a lot of economic migrants feel the same

 

 

+1 well said

[wildewillie89]

6 hours ago, chiang mai said:

TAT's own figures show that the average tourist length of stay is five days and that their average spend is 5, 400 baht per day, that means every tourist who visits Thailand spends on average 27,000 baht.

 

Whiny old expats on the other hand spend a minimum of 40,000 baht per month or 480,000 baht per year, of which a minimum of 33,600 is spent on sales tax (7%).

 

Ergo, whiny old expats spend more every year in tax than the average tourist spends in total.

 

Just because you don't care about whiny old expats doesn't mean the governement doesn't.

 

How many tourists vs whiny old expats though? That would be the figures to compare, not individual cases. You could have one whiny expat who spends 1 million a year or you could have 20 tourists that spend 100,000 during their short stay...Isn't that why the Kingdom is focusing on smaller, high spending groups of Chinese tourists....rather than large groups of people on a budget. 

Edited February 3, 2017 by wildewillie89

[chiang mai]

56 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

 

How many tourists vs whiny old expats though? That would be the figures to compare, not individual cases. You could have one whiny expat who spends 1 million a year or you could have 20 tourists that spend 100,000 during their short stay...Isn't that why the Kingdom is focusing on smaller, high spending groups of Chinese tourists....rather than large groups of people on a budget. 

But the only spend numbers you can use for tourists is TAT's own average of 5,400 baht per person per day for 9 days.

 

TAT says 35 million tourists, estimates vary regarding long term expat residents from 2.5 million to 7 million, take your pick.

[chiang mai]

4 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

This is atopic on can thai visa influence not the 99% of tourists who come to Thailand and have never heard of this forum

You asked a question why Thailand should listed to foreigners. The same principle applies, it's just the size of the number that changes plus TV is not the only source of foreign opinion on Thailand that can be read.

[smokie36]

You all talk too much.....at times I wonder if any of you actually live here.

 

My days are bliss...perfect in fact as long as the traffic isn't working its evil magic lol.

[jpinx]

6 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

But the only spend numbers you can use for tourists is TAT's own average of 5,400 baht per person per day for 9 days.

 

TAT says 35 million tourists, estimates vary regarding long term expat residents from 2.5 million to 7 million, take your pick.

Just out of curiosity...

35 million less 2.5 million Expat residents is 32.5 million tourists at 9-days each = 292.5million  "tourist-days"

2.5 million expats at 365 days each = 912.5 million "expat days"

.....  so -- even using the lower estimate of expat numbers, the expats have far more influence on the country than the tourists -- or am I missing something?

 

[chiang mai]

1 hour ago, jpinx said:

Just out of curiosity...

35 million less 2.5 million Expat residents is 32.5 million tourists at 9-days each = 292.5million  "tourist-days"

2.5 million expats at 365 days each = 912.5 million "expat days"

.....  so -- even using the lower estimate of expat numbers, the expats have far more influence on the country than the tourists -- or am I missing something?

 

Exactly, you're not missing anything, the expat presence from an economic viewpoint is highly desirable. Which is why Immigration and government holds feedback meetings such as the one in Chiang Mai several weeks ago. The only other point however is that expat spending probably follows a different pattern than does mass tourism spending hence both are required but for different parts of the economy/country.

[jpinx]

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

Exactly, you're not missing anything, the expat presence from an economic viewpoint is highly desirable. Which is why Immigration and government holds feedback meetings such as the one in Chiang Mai several weeks ago. The only other point however is that expat spending probably follows a different pattern than does mass tourism spending hence both are required but for different parts of the economy/country.

Agreed -- the tourists are here for touristy things, but the expats do quite a lot of touristy stuff too -- sitting in bars, going for massage, eating out.  The Expats that are "up-country" are in a different situation, but we don't really have any idea what the split is between expats in Pattaya/ChiangMai/Phuket/etc and those who live "up-country"

[chiang mai]

5 minutes ago, jpinx said:

Agreed -- the tourists are here for touristy things, but the expats do quite a lot of touristy stuff too -- sitting in bars, going for massage, eating out.  The Expats that are "up-country" are in a different situation, but we don't really have any idea what the split is between expats in Pattaya/ChiangMai/Phuket/etc and those who live "up-country"

That's largely irrelevant I believe, the expats in Chiang Mai are of a far higher calibre and quality  than elsewhere in the country and likely outperform the rest economically by a very high margin.

[jpinx]

Just now, chiang mai said:

That's largely irrelevant I believe, the expats in Chiang Mai are of a far higher calibre and quality  than elsewhere in the country and likely outperform the rest economically by a very high margin.

Well -- ChiangMai certainly has a "reputation" to keep up.... 

[starky]

5 hours ago, jpinx said:

Agreed -- the tourists are here for touristy things, but the expats do quite a lot of touristy stuff too -- sitting in bars, going for massage, eating out.  The Expats that are "up-country" are in a different situation, but we don't really have any idea what the split is between expats in Pattaya/ChiangMai/Phuket/etc and those who live "up-country"

Sorry? How is Chiang Mai not upcountry? Or are you being a geography snob and trying to say those who live in Isaan aren't pulling their weight? Last time  I looked at a map Chiang Mai seems to be farther North than the majority (actually all) of Isaan so if anything their probably " upcountry " as well eh? I don't think I'm in a different situation mate I drop 250-300 k into the economy month and I live "upcountry"  so please explain to me how my situation is any different.

Edited February 3, 2017 by starky
Spell check

[chiang mai]

13 hours ago, jpinx said:

Agreed -- the tourists are here for touristy things, but the expats do quite a lot of touristy stuff too -- sitting in bars, going for massage, eating out.  The Expats that are "up-country" are in a different situation, but we don't really have any idea what the split is between expats in Pattaya/ChiangMai/Phuket/etc and those who live "up-country"

I think the split probably looks something like this:

 

Expats spend their money on: real estate, home furnishings, cars/bikes, restaurants, supermarkets - more big ticket items, sex trade and bars to a lesser degree I suspect.

 

Tourists spend their money on: hotels, restaurants, bars, tours, sex trade, souvenirs - small shops, mom and pop operations, small operator income.

 

And by "up-country" I presume you mean rural Issan or the boonies?