Thailand's Tourist Boom Puts a Strain on Its Airports

[webfact]

Thailand's Tourist Boom Puts a Strain on Its Airports

By Sunil Jagtiani

 

- Tourism boom contributing to congestion at country’s terminals

- Airports of Thailand to pour billions of dollars into upgrades

 

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s tourism bounty comes with a big challenge for the head of state-run Airports of Thailand Pcl: expanding passenger capacity in Bangkok by about the size of South Korea’s population.

 

The company is planning for 90 million passengers annually at the city’s main Suvarnabhumi Airport by 2022 and 40 million at Bangkok’s low-cost hub Don Mueang International Airport, up from the present combined capacity of 75 million, President Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said. The firm operates four other airports, including in tourism hot-spot Phuket.

 

"We’re about to invest in 10 years about $6 billion for our six airports," Nitinai said in a June 22 interview in Bangkok. The plan for Suvarnabhumi includes adding a concourse to the existing terminal complex by 2020, a third runway the following year and a new international terminal in 2022, he said.

 

Full story: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/lure-of-azure-waters-and-bangkok-nightlife-strains-thai-airports

 

-- Bloomberg 2017-06-28

[daboyz1]

Would be nice if they did something about the long queues at immigration. 

[gk10002000]

i don't know.  Those numbers just seem pretty large.

[clockman]

Hyperbole is a Thai, trait!

[IMA_FARANG]

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

[DPKANKAN]

32 minutes ago, IMA_FARANG said:

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

Add to that the tourists doing 'border runs' and up go the stats again. Who are they fooling!!!

Edited June 28, 2017 by DPKANKAN
Spelling

[andre47]

1 hour ago, IMA_FARANG said:

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

Maybe the numbers are not 100% true (which statistic can be 100% true), but if you take a look at Suvarnabhumi and how this airport was growing the last five years, it is really amazing. 2 weeks ago (it is low season) I came there and it was totally crowded (I guess 80% Chinese). If you look outside at the airfield you can see huge new construction sites. And this is just the beginning of the traveling boom by Chinese and Indians.

This huge numbers of tourists will change Thailand completely. I am not sure whether I still want to live here in 5 years. But money rules the world....

[spidermike007]

These numbers always take into account transit passengers, and since Bangkok is a major hub, there are many millions just transiting through the airport. It also includes business visas, and the entire Japanese executive population, who travel back and forth alot. And lastly it includes the huge surge in the Chinese tourists, many of whom are either zero baht tourists, or very nearly that. Regardless, the tourist industry has been in a slow decline for years now, despite protestations, and bragging from the disingenuous TAT. 

 

Decades from now, I wonder if they will have classes at the University level here, where they discuss what happened to the tourism industry, and why it represents such a small amount of the GDP, at that point in time. Perhaps, they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism too. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $2,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something the center of the universe, the most important country in the world, and something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned. 

 

So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Some Chinese spend money on food. Very few wealthy Chinese tourists visit Thailand, due to the lack of luxury shopping at competitive prices, the lack of availability of world class wine, sommeliers, and top level F & B staff, and world class concierge service, They would rather visit Tokyo, Paris, London, New York, and countless other capitals that take themselves seriously, and know how to cater to this class of people. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. I am sure many feel the same way.

Edited June 28, 2017 by spidermike007

[daboyz1]

These numbers always take into account transit passengers, and since Bangkok is a major hub, there are many millions just transiting through the airport. It also includes business visas, and the entire Japanese executive population, who travel back and forth alot. And lastly it includes the huge surge in the Chinese tourists, many of whom are either zero baht tourists, or very nearly that. Regardless, the tourist industry has been in a slow decline for years now, despite protestations, and bragging from the disingenuous TAT. 
 
Decades from now, I wonder if they will have classes at the University level here, where they discuss what happened to the tourism industry, and why it represents such a small amount of the GDP, at that point in time. Perhaps, they will discuss how Thailand lost the golden egg of Western tourism too. Those tourists, unlike most Chinese tourists, spent anywhere from $100 a day, to over $2,000 a day. They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something the center of the universe, the most important country in the world, and something very special, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned. 
 
So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Some Chinese spend money on food. Very few wealthy Chinese tourists visit Thailand, due to the lack of luxury shopping at competitive prices, the lack of availability of world class wine, sommeliers, and top level F & B staff, and world class concierge service, They would rather visit Tokyo, Paris, London, New York, and countless other capitals that take themselves seriously, and know how to cater to this class of people. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. I am sure many feel the same way.

Makes me wonder how all these high end malls stay in business?

[Ace of Pop]

Makes me wonder how all these high end malls stay in business?

Money Laundering.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[spidermike007]

10 minutes ago, daboyz1 said:

Makes me wonder how all these high end malls stay in business?

 

That is a very good question. One answer I believe lies in the fact that alot of the shops in these high end malls, are considered flagship shops, by major brands, with very deep pockets. So, if the shop breaks even, or even loses money, they can afford to continue supporting the shop. How the others survive, I am not sure. But, there are very few mom and pop type stores, in these malls. There are alot of variables, as this article states: 

 

Yet experts say that EmDistrict will satisfy a very real demand for more leisure and entertainment facilities in Bangkok, as well as injecting the city with a much-needed influx of premium office space. “It may seem strange to say given the prominence of its malls, but Bangkok lags behind other major cities in terms of total retail space,” says Marcus Burtenshaw, head of commercial industry department at Knight Frank Thailand.

“Bangkok only has around 2.5 million square metres of retail space and the population of the city is estimated at around the 8.5 million mark,” he says. “When you consider that Sydney, for example, has 3.5 million square metres and a population of only 4.5 million, you can see that there’s a demand that is not being met.

“There’s also a huge need for more Grade-A office space in the business districts of Bangkok as demand outstrips supply. If there’s no new office supply then rents will rise even faster as will the cost of doing business in Bangkok. These projects are not driven by greedy developers, just sheer market fundamentals.”

 

http://www.property-report.com/bangkok-mall/

 

Another:

 

The retail market in Bangkok has been highly competitive, especially in prime areas, vacancy rate is lower than 5% and rental rate is increasing significantly while tenants have been lining up for available space. Food and Beverage is the most increasing in demand thanks to social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, as many international and local brands enter the market by its popularity. However, to survive in business and reflect to the real demand, flexibility of menu and price are needed.

 

http://cwglobalretailguide.com/bangkok/

 

Been trying to find out what these stores pay for rent. I did find a space available on the corner of soi 22, and Sukhumvit. Of course this is not luxury mall space, which has to be infinitely higher. But, this is 3,000 baht per square meter, per month. So, a smaller shop of 300 meters would be 900,000 baht per month. Plus, plus, plus. One can only imagine what the larger mall stores pay.

 

Here is a minor insight into the cost of a restaurant operation, in terms of rent in a mall. It can also depend what type of shop. For restaurants and food kiosk, Mall Group, Central P., Silom Complex charge fairly standard terms; 25-30% of gross sales. That includes their cashier. They collect and pay your sales net of their percentage into your business account. They expect you to do a minimum of 5k baht per day. If your sales are off you're 3-6 month lease will not be renewed. They will churn merchants to get find the best producers who can deliver on Return Per Sq. Meter. For instance, Emporium (Mall Group) is unhappy with Moss Burger. Big space occupancy but poor return per square meter. Eventually MB will either have to downscale their space or will cease operating at Emporium. You pay their outsource vendor for kiosk, outfittings, everything. You get a maximum electricity limit monthly and your electrical requirements must be approved to ensure you remain compliant.

By the way, being Thai, Farang or whatever doesn't matter. These are standard policies applied to all business regardless of structure or shareholding. Lots of you need to change your attitude about always overcharging. It's just not true. Depends on the environment in which your dealing.

[laocowboy2]

3 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

While this may be true, it is also true that the same person entering and leaving several times a year puts the same pressure on the airports as a first-time visitor. And it is that pressure that is the focus of the article..

[Monkeyrobot]

There not going to Patong , Pattaya , and Patpong, those places are dead , well this time of year anyway. 

[thhMan]

Someone did the maths, comparing visitors vs income the tourists generate and came up with a figure that tourists on average spend 8 THB while visiting Thailand...

 

When the BS is so thick, only the gullible will still believe in what information is being dished out to the public.

 

An independent and offshore Audit is really needed, so facts can emerge that can be actioned....

[daboyz1]

There not going to Patong , Pattaya , and Patpong, those places are dead , well this time of year anyway. 

Good. Glad to hear it. Pattaya should be carpet bombed and turned in to a bird sanctuary.

[JayBird]

I think each border crossing by a non Thai passport counts as one tourist.

 

I'm not sure of airplane passengers who cross Thai air space without landing counts even if they are high altitude tourists enjoying Thai nature.

 

Bangkok has only a few. (3 or 4) high end malls. Sufficient for rich locals, not dependant on tourists.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

4 minutes ago, JayBird said:

I think each border crossing by a non Thai passport counts as one tourist.

 

I'm not sure of airplane passengers who cross Thai air space without landing counts even if they are high altitude tourists enjoying Thai nature.

 

Only when on a tourist visa or visa-exemption.  Not when on a Non Immigrant visa.   (And anything crossing Thai airspace never gets recorded anywhere; I know you're joking but it's Thaivisa after all. ) 

 

However, the context of this article is airport congestion, so it doesn't really matter if people arrive for tourism or otherwise, or transit even.   So on the topic of airport utilization, als transit passengers matter.

 

And tourism is still very healthy right now, it's about the only thing in Thailand that's working well under the current regime.

[Ricardo]

4 hours ago, daboyz1 said:

Good. Glad to hear it. Pattaya should be carpet bombed and turned in to a bird sanctuary.

 

But it already is a sanctuary for older plumper more-mature 'birds', isn't it ?  

 

And also quite a few scrawny older migrating males too !

[whatawonderfulday]

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, thhMan said:

Someone did the maths, comparing visitors vs income the tourists generate and came up with a figure that tourists on average spend 8 THB while visiting Thailand

Deputy Prime Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn expected daily tourist spending to increase to 5,200 baht per person this year, from 5,100 baht last year. https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/962825-thailand-expects-tourism-revenue-of-nearly-50-billion-in-2017/

 

 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

tourism is still very healthy right now, it's about the only thing in Thailand that's working well under the current regime.

Yes.

Travel and tourism (T&T) contributed Bt2.9 trillion to Thailand’s gross domestic product last year, which was 20.6% of total GDP. Travel & tourism sector’s total contribution to the Thai economy is forecast to grow by 6.9% and to rise by 6.5% per year on average over the next decade to Bt5.9 trillion, which would represent nearly a third of GDP. This also means that This means that 3.9 million new jobs are expected to be created in Thailand by the sector over the next 10 years. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/EconomyAndTourism/30309808

 

Compare that to pre-coup that contributed 7-10% to GDP. Unfortunately, T&T's greater contribution to the GDP "pie" follows reduced contribution from exports. So while there will be new jobs in the T&T sector, they will not only be largely replacing lost employment in the export sector (ie., manufacturing, IP) but "dumbing down" job skills required. A bit contrary to Prayut's Thailand 4.0.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

The company is planning for 90 million passengers annually at the city’s main Suvarnabhumi Airport by 2022 and 40 million at Bangkok’s low-cost hub Don Mueang International Airport, up from the present combined capacity of 75 million

 

Each time at an airport is an addition to the numbers passing through the airports. To equate individual transits through an airport with total numbers of tourists is irrelevant.

Your post belongs on a different thread, IMO.

[HooHaa]

11 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

The "Tourist" figures are "cooked".

If you enter as a so-called Tourist more than once in a year you will be recoded as a  new first time tourist and that takes no account of the possibility that you are  repeat visitor to Thailand.

This makes "tourist" visitors keep growing in number every quarter.

It is just a statistical fluke/lie that makes TAT happy.

 

 

 

personally i dont see it makes a difference. one pax one entry. no matter a first time tourist or someone  re-entering the country on a tourist visa it is a tourist entry and that individual must eat sleep and spend accordingly. 

[thaibeachlovers]

40 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Deputy Prime Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn expected daily tourist spending to increase to 5,200 baht per person this year, from 5,100 baht last year. https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/962825-thailand-expects-tourism-revenue-of-nearly-50-billion-in-2017/

 

 

Really??????

Unless staying in 5 * hotels and eating in western restaurants, I find it hard to understand anyone spending 5,200 a DAY.

 

[HooHaa]

my average hotel stay is around 3000 baht per night if not more and 2000 is easily spent daily, more if drinks are involved.

 

why is this so hard to fathom?

 

granted i have a house rental,  but when i travel in country this number is easily achieved between lodging car rental/transportation/flights and food.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2017 by HooHaa

[sn1per]

This is obviously in response to Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok being named among the top 10 worst airports in the world............. it's the tourists' fault, too many are coming 

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, HooHaa said:

my average hotel stay is around 3000 baht per night if not more and 2000 is easily spent daily, more if drinks are involved.

 

why is this so hard to fathom?

 

 

Re tourists, paying 3000 baht for a hotel room is not, IMO, "average". The low end of 2000 is far more likely to be "average". My maximum hotel cost has been 1200, and that pays for a very nice room.

I'll be pretty safe to say that out of 75 million visitors a year, most spend significantly less than 5,000 a day.

[rickudon]

It's the happy ending that keeps the daily spend up .....

[gk10002000]

15 hours ago, daboyz1 said:

Makes me wonder how all these high end malls stay in business?

I hate them, especially that monstrosity in Pattaya called Central. I got plenty of malls here in the USA.  I don't go to Thailand to see another mall.  Some are nice, don't get me wrong, but I liked the small character nature of Pattaya a few years ago.  Big C Festival, Garden Mall was enough for me.  Then the Avenue, then Central. 

[observer90210]

Refering to some posts here, IMHO it is a smart move from Thailand not to aim solely at the US$ 2000,--/day tourist/expat spenders.The Caymans are just on the other side of the planet where such spending can get relief!

 

Why a smart move? Such cash flow would generate faster, higher inflation, enlarge the social gap amongst residents local or farang, discourage the mid-level tourists who numberwise are far more then the US$ 2'000,--/day category.

 

Second point, very true that tourism/expats/retirees will dwindle with the never ending dynamics of scamming and trying to ripoff farangs...this national sport needs to be reprimanded when possible, and the people who savour government propaganda, should be constantly reminded on the direct/indirect benefits of foreign expenditure.

 

Unfortunately, when ego's or misplaced pride are present, and corruption spreads, the country increases it's chances of losing the hen that lays the golden eggs.

Real pity, as Thailand is an amazing country with a good proportion of fine and lovely people out here!