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Pattaya booming!: European tourist arrivals "up 10%" - 'FIT' tourists up 30%


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On 12/9/2017 at 9:33 AM, phantomfiddler said:

There are already far too many tourists in Pattaya ! How many people can this once charming little fishing village accommodate before it turns into a total nightmare ? and without sewage treatment either :(

Who knows, maybe there's even a chance that prostitution finds its way to this serene little fishing village. :smile:

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41 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Unfortunately, almost every poster on this subforum assumes that "Pattaya" extends only between North Rd and South Rd and as far up as 3rd Rd.

It's actually been "grown" for decades.

Tourists have been sitting on Pattaya beach since long before the "Russians" and the "Chinese" tourists were even thought of.

       I suppose if you mean by 'grown' that it's been more than a fishing village for decades that is true.  But, the truly explosive growth has occurred in the past ten years or so.

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On 12/9/2017 at 7:16 AM, baansgr said:

Tourists only have X amount of spending money. Still get the millionaire 2 week tourist as i saw in the barbers giving every girl 100 Baht tip. In reality peoole are spending less than previously due to XE and others have just saught cheaper drinking and eating places. Lets face it, Thailand is very expensive if you wish to enjoy fine dining etc. Still offers relatively cheap street food but families dont really want that. 

You don't have to be a millionaire to give $3 tips. In fact, in the USA a $3 tip would be an insult.

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Despite the stronger Bht, holidays in Thailand represent still "good value", compared to southern Europe. (North Africa not much in demand, due to the political situation).


Have just compared a 3 month Winter-Stay (Canary-Islands versus Thailand). Thailand wins hands down. Far more "bang" for the same money.
As long as this constellation remains intact, fears that Pattaya is dying, appear a bit premature.
Of course, if domestic inflation should accelerate at a more brisk pace and the Bht should strenghten further, all bets are off....
Cheers.

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11 hours ago, newnative said:

       I suppose if you mean by 'grown' that it's been more than a fishing village for decades that is true.  But, the truly explosive growth has occurred in the past ten years or so.

That would be because the roads have got really good, so lots of commuters now. However, I went up the big tower in Jomptien more than 10 years ago and was surprised at just how big Pattaya/ Jomptien had become.

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One way to find our if the place is busy or not, has the prices of bar girls gone up if yes its empty.

 

As for getting the facts on here those who always have praise for the place say yes the others say no, so no chance as too many bleeding liars around these days.

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12 hours ago, HerbalEd said:

You don't have to be a millionaire to give $3 tips. In fact, in the USA a $3 tip would be an insult.

But in the US you wouldn't give every member of staff in the barbers a tip while trying to impress talking bar girl Thai. 

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23 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

Confirmation bias. Common myth on the forum for various reasons:

 

  • Assessment only in posters' preferred venues
  • Reliance on laughable shopping bag count at brief random intervals
  • Ignorance of new development catering to new tourist market
  • Failure to read corporate reports that attribute increased revenues to tourists
  • Ignorant economic confusion of tourist spending with tourist revenue generation
  • Overbuilding of beer bars, thinning out appearance of monger numbers

Underlying it all may simply be the arrogant bigotry of the TVF Poster Golden Eggs Theory Of Economics. (If you're not familiar with classical Golden Egg Theory, its history and underpinnings, with crucial related concepts such as Fixed Pie, a brief summary, distilled from years of ace economic analyses, is found here.)

 

You may read more in depth, with documentation, on the question of the current crop "spending MORE" here:

 

 

 

TAT isn't after "more people" per se as is clearly evidenced by the prohibition of zero baht tours. But we do have more tourists generating more revenue as noted above. Hence the economy has at least quadrupled since those great economic powerhouses, the moneyed Golden Egg Layers (some of whom are still renting rooms off Soi Buakhao), left for Cambodia etc. You may prove that to yourself by watching (so meeting the critical TVF Poster Eyeballs Test) a video from 1994:

 

 

It was before visa fees had risen in 2003—the Big Bang that would send Thailand back to the Stone Age.(Read  Ruling out the foreigner, the 28-page granddaddy of all "killing the goose" bash fests). Before the crash of 1997. Before the Perpetual Pattaya Death Spiral!

 

Ha! What a TON of closed shophouses everywhere. Unfinished buildings. Dirt & cracks. Cars, even boats, parked on & blocking the promenade. HUGE mess on the beach side as you approach WS. Traffic. Cop enforcing a one-way. Whole place looks like it was in an economic depression! Now compare Pattaya as it is today after 20 years of dire prophecy (starting in the Pattaya Mail) and going downhill. HUH? You may begin to lose some faith in our doomsters. IS IT POSSIBLE WE HAVE BEEN MISLEAD? :shock1:

 

So what we have nowadays is more tourists generating more revenue. Sorry. Next.

You believe all the figures produced by government?

 

Sorry. Next.

 

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4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That would be because the roads have got really good, so lots of commuters now. However, I went up the big tower in Jomptien more than 10 years ago and was surprised at just how big Pattaya/ Jomptien had become.

     Time for another trip up to  the top of that big tower in Jomtien.  Starting from south to north, here's a partial list of what wasn't there at your trip 10 years ago.  I'll just hit the high-rises or we'd be here all day.  Aeras, Reflection, Lumpini Park Beach, Lumpini Seaview, La Santir, Cetus, View Talay 8, AD Grand Jomtien, Dusit Grand, Supalai Mare, Unicca, The Trust South Pattaya, View Talay 7, Grand Caribbean, Treetops, Axis, Vision, Amari Residence, The Cliff, One Tower, Cosy Beach View, The View, Peak Tower, Southpoint, Unixx, Hilton, The Base, LK President Hotel, Centric Sea, Siam@Siam Hotel, Holiday Inn, Mitt Hotel, Grand Pallazo Hotel, Pattaya Posh, The Trust North Pattaya, Lumpini Sukumvit, Brighton Grand Hotel, Northpoint, The Cove, Wong Amat Tower, Baan Plai Haad, TW Wongamat, The Palm, Lumpini Naklua, AD Condo, Riviera Wongamat, and Zire.    A to Z.  Pretty impressive in a fairly short time span--and many, many more low-rises than high-rises have also been built. 

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 Hmmmmmmm sounds like someone trying to save his bacon ass, 10% on what figure (250) and a whopping 30 % on FIN visitors, but it is the high season and holiday season in most other countries so of course, the numbers are up, They often do number crunching like 1 + 1 = 2000 so good luck Ekasit Ngampichet, but your not smiling so cannot fool me..

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33 minutes ago, newnative said:

     Time for another trip up to  the top of that big tower in Jomtien.  Starting from south to north, here's a partial list of what wasn't there at your trip 10 years ago.  I'll just hit the high-rises or we'd be here all day.  Aeras, Reflection, Lumpini Park Beach, Lumpini Seaview, La Santir, Cetus, View Talay 8, AD Grand Jomtien, Dusit Grand, Supalai Mare, Unicca, The Trust South Pattaya, View Talay 7, Grand Caribbean, Treetops, Axis, Vision, Amari Residence, The Cliff, One Tower, Cosy Beach View, The View, Peak Tower, Southpoint, Unixx, Hilton, The Base, LK President Hotel, Centric Sea, Siam@Siam Hotel, Holiday Inn, Mitt Hotel, Grand Pallazo Hotel, Pattaya Posh, The Trust North Pattaya, Lumpini Sukumvit, Brighton Grand Hotel, Northpoint, The Cove, Wong Amat Tower, Baan Plai Haad, TW Wongamat, The Palm, Lumpini Naklua, AD Condo, Riviera Wongamat, and Zire.    A to Z.  Pretty impressive in a fairly short time span--and many, many more low-rises than high-rises have also been built. 

Nothing impressive about it as it is killing Pattaya-Jomtien.  But, to others (those with the cancer cell all-growth-is-positive mindset), it is fantastic and evidence of progress :)

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13 minutes ago, Awohalitsiktoli said:

Nothing impressive about it as it is killing Pattaya-Jomtien.  But, to others (those with the cancer cell all-growth-is-positive mindset), it is fantastic and evidence of progress :)

      Your lament is not unique to Pattaya.  I lived for 30 years in a 'new town' in the US.  It started small but grew to be quite large.  There were some, such as you, who yearned for the old days---oh why, oh why couldn't the town have stayed small like it was in the beginning?   Whether progress is considered good or bad, it's going to happen.  Obviously, if a place grows too big for your tastes, it's probably time to look for something smaller.

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11 hours ago, swissie said:

Would you tip a waiter in the US the equivalent of 1/3rd of his daily wage? Wow!

I refuse to tip when in the US of A.  Why should I pay extra for some college drop-out for just doing their job!  It's the establishment's duty to pay them a wage not the customers, being sneered at for leaving only 10% is not OK, might as well get twice the sneer for free. **** 'em.

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Just now, Cranky said:

I refuse to tip when in the US of A.  Why should I pay extra for some college drop-out for just doing their job!  It's the establishment's duty to pay them a wage not the customers, being sneered at for leaving only 10% is not OK, might as well get twice the sneer for free. **** 'em.

You and Tiger should go to dinner. :)

 

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On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 9:48 AM, JSixpack said:

Now compare Pattaya as it is today after 20 years of dire prophecy (starting in the Pattaya Mail) and going downhill. HUH? You may begin to lose some faith in our doomsters. IS IT POSSIBLE WE HAVE BEEN MISLEAD? :shock1:

 

So what we have nowadays is more tourists generating more revenue. Sorry. Next.

I'm not sure if you think Pattaya today is better than 20 years ago, but I assume you do.

IMO, it's the same ****hole it always was, but with more Chinese and less bums on bar stools.

 

PS I liked it just the way it was 20 years ago when it didn't pretend to be an "international tourist destination to equal Monte Carlo" which is patently a nonsense, as Pattaya will never be other than a ****hole with a polluted beach as long as they won't spend the trillions of baht necessary to effect even minimum change, and I'm not holding my breath on that.

 

Learning that the much vaunted naval parade turned into fiasco because they can't even fix the drains encourages me to believe that it will be long after I pass on that anything will actually change Pattaya significantly.

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28 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not sure if you think Pattaya today is better than 20 years ago, but I assume you do.

IMO, it's the same ****hole it always was, but with more Chinese and less bums on bar stools.

 

PS I liked it just the way it was 20 years ago when it didn't pretend to be an "international tourist destination to equal Monte Carlo" which is patently a nonsense, as Pattaya will never be other than a ****hole with a polluted beach as long as they won't spend the trillions of baht necessary to effect even minimum change, and I'm not holding my breath on that.

 

Learning that the much vaunted naval parade turned into fiasco because they can't even fix the drains encourages me to believe that it will be long after I pass on that anything will actually change Pattaya significantly.

     Which leaves me puzzled as to why you keep returning. 

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39 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not sure if you think Pattaya today is better than 20 years ago, but I assume you do.

IMO, it's the same ****hole it always was, but with more Chinese and less bums on bar stools.

 

PS I liked it just the way it was 20 years ago when it didn't pretend to be an "international tourist destination to equal Monte Carlo" which is patently a nonsense, as Pattaya will never be other than a ****hole with a polluted beach as long as they won't spend the trillions of baht necessary to effect even minimum change, and I'm not holding my breath on that.

 

Learning that the much vaunted naval parade turned into fiasco because they can't even fix the drains encourages me to believe that it will be long after I pass on that anything will actually change Pattaya significantly.

Sounds like you hate the place.

I love it and think it is fantastic and I guess many are coming who think the same.

Some of the most hiso places in the world have issues.

Wild fires in Socal 200,000 evacuated.  Never been evacuated here.....

The electric grid is over used in Socal many times it shuts down for hours.  Never had that happen here............  With this electric bill here at most $50 a month.  $500 in Socal......

Water bill and lack of water (a big corrupt lie) in California $100 a month.  $6 here..........

Traffic, congestion, pissed off people, scams, rip offs,  illegal aliens, cost of living etc.etc.= California.

I can go on and on....

 

That's it?, a drain problem to me is such a small issue God who cares especially within a few hours it is clear.

 

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20 minutes ago, newnative said:

     Which leaves me puzzled as to why you keep returning. 

Oh dear. Obviously never read anything else I've ever written as it's no secret. I like Pattaya. I like that it's a *hole because it keeps the families and the rich people away. I enjoy the chaos of the place, and that I don't have to go out till after 10pm ( Chiang Mai has gone nighty night by 11pm ) and can see a parade of DDG ladies on Walking St for the price of a drink, that there are gogos ( nothing to compare in Chiang Mai ). I like that I can walk from Naklua to Bali Hi and find a barbeer anywhere. I don't frequent Soi 6, but I'm happy that it exists. I'm happy that western women stay away for the most part, and bag packers are a rare breed.

The baht bus situation is a real plus as it's so frequent and cheap, unlike the useless and expensive way they run it up in Chiang Mai.

While the Pattaya beach is nasty, I can take a ferry over to Larn for a few baht, so that's the beach side taken care of.

 

The only things I don't like are that Soi Buakhao is a death trap without pavements and with insane traffic, and that there are way less DDG barbeer girls than before.

 

I do miss the Malibu show though. That's a tragic loss.

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19 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Sounds like you hate the place.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That's it?, a drain problem to me is such a small issue God who cares especially within a few hours it is clear.

 

Read again. I love it and have for decades.

 

I wasn't talking about the drainage per se, but about the parade.

 

Anyway, any fool could fix the drainage problem along Pattaya Beach Rd, but it's significant that they won't.

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I think many here would be surprised at how high occupancy figures are for Pattayas many luxury hotels and resorts that did not exist 20 years ago. Groups from places like China India and HK keep these places busy for most of the year. Some resorts have become very popular for Indian weddings with huge budgets.

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12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Oh dear. Obviously never read anything else I've ever written as it's no secret. I like Pattaya. I like that it's a *hole because it keeps the families and the rich people away. I enjoy the chaos of the place, and that I don't have to go out till after 10pm ( Chiang Mai has gone nighty night by 11pm ) and can see a parade of DDG ladies on Walking St for the price of a drink, that there are gogos ( nothing to compare in Chiang Mai ). I like that I can walk from Naklua to Bali Hi and find a barbeer anywhere. I don't frequent Soi 6, but I'm happy that it exists. I'm happy that western women stay away for the most part, and bag packers are a rare breed.

The baht bus situation is a real plus as it's so frequent and cheap, unlike the useless and expensive way they run it up in Chiang Mai.

While the Pattaya beach is nasty, I can take a ferry over to Larn for a few baht, so that's the beach side taken care of.

 

The only things I don't like are that Soi Buakhao is a death trap without pavements and with insane traffic, and that there are way less DDG barbeer girls than before.

 

I do miss the Malibu show though. That's a tragic loss.

   So when you're in Pattaya you seem to spend your time on Walking Street, Soi Buakhao,  and in the beer bars between Walking Street and Naklua.  Which is fine.  Enjoy.  Knock yourself out.  But before you describe the whole city as a *hole you maybe should get yourself back up to the top of that Jomtien Tower you mentioned and you'll see that the places where you are spending your time are just a small part of Pattaya.  I, and others like me, can spend a whole year here and never hit Walking Street or Soi Buakhao.  By the way, there ARE families in Pattaya, plenty of them, but likely not that many where you go.  

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6 hours ago, Cranky said:

I refuse to tip when in the US of A.  Why should I pay extra for some college drop-out for just doing their job!  It's the establishment's duty to pay them a wage not the customers, being sneered at for leaving only 10% is not OK, might as well get twice the sneer for free. **** 'em.

   Here's a tip.   With your cheap policy, don't eat more than once at any restaurant with servers.  Wait staff have long memories and who knows what body fluids might end up in your Veal Prince Orloff.

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2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not sure if you think Pattaya today is better than 20 years ago, but I assume you do.

 

 

Then was great, esp the parking. Overall, though, today's better, w/o going into detail. I don't see things just in terms of black and white. Millions more visitors are enjoying Pattaya now.

 

Quote

IMO, it's the same ****hole it always was, but with more Chinese and less bums on bar stools.

1

 

And so?

 

Quote

PS I liked it just the way it was 20 years ago when it didn't pretend to be an "international tourist destination to equal Monte Carlo" which is patently a nonsense

1

 

One your typical little strawman erections. My reply is the same:

 

On 10/27/2016 at 6:32 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

I was walking along the walkway across from Central and saw that the beach has eroded to such an extent they had to build it up with sandbags to have somewhere for the deckchairs.

It really looks like a world class beach and promenade, NOT.

 

On 10/27/2016 at 8:42 PM, JSixpack said:

 

  • It never has looked in any such way,
  • nobody has said it does now,
  • nobody has said that's a goal,
  • nobody has ever claimed it ever will look like "a world class beach and promenade,"
  • Pattaya doesn't owe you a "world class beach and promenade," and
  • You have no reason to expect Pattaya will ever provide them for you.

This is just another of our silly little forum straw men repeated ad nauseam for the usual sneering & whinging purposes.

2

 

 

Quote

Learning that the much vaunted naval parade turned into fiasco because they can't even fix the drains encourages me to believe that it will be long after I pass on that anything will actually change Pattaya significantly.

1

 

But ALL the significance is predicated on the drains, nothing else. Pattaya's had flooding since forever, a few days every year when people wouldn't be going to the beach anyway. It's made no discernible difference in anything.

 

If they fixed the drains, you'd merely find a new obsession that everything depends on. It's rather as with the promenade. You were hopping up and down about the shade. Then when it has shade, you forget about that; then everything depends on the seating, and you pretend there's no seating above Klang and pretend you don't have a portable seat. Getting tired of the silliness yet?

 

Nor did the parade turn into a fiasco; you wish, but nobody much cared about the parade anyway. Certainly WE both didn't. Pattaya's always had parades; it might rain on any parade at any time. Thais take these things in stride, though this one did cause some attention because of the visitors. And so? 

 

Methinks the problem isn't actually Pattaya but with yourself and your own bitterness. Me, I'm still enjoying the place and the people here after many years and adapt to issues w/o whinging about them. And I don't worry about things that don't concern me and I can't change. I don't engage in phony hand wringing just to feel superior.

 

I enjoy a lot of little interactions w/ the Thais--like joking around (in Thai) w/ the ladies in Subway yesterday. One saw that I'm pleasant and friendly and showed me US dollar bill some customer gave her. I examined it carefully for counterfeiting and explained about George Washington and how he kicked out the vile Brits, who then came to whinge in Thailand. And that Eye on top the pyramid--it sees all and knows all about YOU. And that Eagle--gon' kick anybody's butt who makes problems, so be careful. Had a good laugh w/ those ladies . . . and so it happens often.

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54 minutes ago, newnative said:

   So when you're in Pattaya you seem to spend your time on Walking Street, Soi Buakhao,  and in the beer bars between Walking Street and Naklua.  Which is fine.  Enjoy.  Knock yourself out.  But before you describe the whole city as a *hole you maybe should get yourself back up to the top of that Jomtien Tower you mentioned and you'll see that the places where you are spending your time are just a small part of Pattaya.  I, and others like me, can spend a whole year here and never hit Walking Street or Soi Buakhao.  By the way, there ARE families in Pattaya, plenty of them, but likely not that many where you go.  

It really is to each his own whether you live like as you were on a Island or down with the dirty WS Soi Buakhao it doesn't mean their aren't problems in Pattaya which are many that might make it a shit hole for some. We all like to complaint but in the end if they were ever to fix the problems that bother us many couldn't live here because the exchange rate wouldn't be to our advantage because of that many have their heads in the sand hoping they don't ever fix the problems?

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3 hours ago, JSixpack said:

I examined it carefully for counterfeiting and explained about George Washington and how he kicked out the vile Brits, who then came to whinge in Thailand. 

I hope you told them that George Washington was also a Brit.

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