Where have all the Chinese gone? Thai media say TAT in denial about tourism numbers in Pattaya

[ttrd]

RE Where have all the Chinese gone?

 

We may assume and hopefully all the way back to China.....

 

 

[Easy Come Easy Go]

Western and now Chinese numbers dwindling in many parts of the country, sound the alarm! 
Expect another knee-jerk reaction very soon from the powers that be, but what form will it take... lets find out! 
Will they aim to improve the experience for tourists by making things safer, cleaner, and more hospitable; or will they give everybody some kind of special offer for a month or two? 

[jaiyen]

China has an endless number of potential tourists who might visit Thailand. They will only go once, but that will keep the figures up for many years,

[zzidenn]

17 hours ago, smedly said:

Many factors and one of the primary ones is the Strength of the Thai BAHT - big money in Thailand wants a strong BAHT simply because they want to invest overseas both in business and property

 

As for Chinese - I predicted on here a couple of years ago that Chinese tourists will drop for a couple of reasons, been there done that and told friends and family don't bother, very unlikely (unlike western tourists) to be repeat visitors. Safety

It’s true though that Chinese like to travel bucket list style, they visit and that’s it, next time they go somewhere else to try different food. 

[monspencer]

38 minutes ago, Chassa said:

Not! It's in the general news, i never do Pattaya forum.

It may be in the general news...but it is an article about Pattaya as clearly indicated in the headline!!!

 

Sorry, I wrote this before I saw Peterw42's post on the previous page.

[UPDEHSOI]

18 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Drowning them by the boatload could literally affect numbers????

Is that wishful thinking, or.........?

[pattayadude]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Where have all the Chinese gone? Thai media say TAT in denial about tourism numbers in Pattaya

well, after the completion of perfect copies of Paris,Holland village of Shanghai,Jackson hole/Wyoming and Venice, Chinese finally completed a perfect replica of Pattaya Beach with a Walking street,and with its prostitutes, ladyboys, trash and the rats somewhere in the coast of China. They made it so realistic that its street even floods when it rains.

 

therefore, you will see the Chinese tourist numbers dwindling even further in the future

 

Below is the photos of the fake cities of Europe in China

 

 

 

[Peterw42]

There are a few factors to consider. Less overall Chinese tourists at the moment, due to their currency being down and trade wars, recent accidents etc.

Its the second wave of Chinese tourists, independent travellers, they dont come in tour groups as much. It not so easy to know where independent travellers end up. 

I dont think its much to do with prostitution etc, for your average Chinese tourist, walking st or even beach rd, is a place they visit once for a photo stop. Other than that they are actually at the tourist attractions, floating markets, tiger parks, botanical gardens, koh larn island etc . They are not visible in soi sexpat, therefore they are not here.

 

I currently have Chinese in the condo next door, here for a month, not on a package tour, out everyday doing independant tourist things, they haven't been to walking st or beach road and dont intend to. TAT probably has no idea they are here.

 

I dont think anyone is in denial, that is the opinion of Sophon Cable TV, the story comes from a conference to address the lower numbers. In denial would be not having the conference.

 

 

[Cereal]

15 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

Kim J above is on the right path. The Chinese are not blind to the garbage in the streets, the dirty beaches, lack of road safety, the feeling they're being stripped of cash by every provider, the hassles against their Chinese-speaking tour guides, high costs of cigarettes and hard liquor, and repeated news reports of Chinese fatalities in tour bus and ferry boat crashes. And I wonder what they're saying as they watch local police parade around like peacocks. 

This description sounds like China itself. I'd think using this as a metric, the Chinese aren't coming to Thailand because it feels like home!

[Redline]

18 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Why is everyone in Thailand so intently focused on the cost of the visa as the deciding factor for tourists whether they come or not? It is so odd. It is so wide of the mark. Like a mantra repeated without thought.

The country has an obsession about money-Period 

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm..... who cares as long as they are gone?

[ginjag]

9 minutes ago, Cereal said:

This description sounds like China itself. I'd think using this as a metric, the Chinese aren't coming to Thailand because it feels like home!

Why oh why don't TAT, fight the Pattaya City Council regarding the sorry state of the sea, sand and street filth. It is obvious to everyone who visit and ex pats here. It is not just the Chinese who are missing it is the ex pats that are going elsewhere, and western tourists seeking cleaner Asian places.  example Singapore.   Is it so difficult to clean your holiday resort up Pattaya ????, I don't mean a one day purge, or lorry loads of sand imported to be washed away, I mean PROPERLY DONE

 

[CALSinCM]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

But the Chonburi and Pattaya tourism reps were countering that this was not the case. 

 

They were putting a rosy spin on the reality.

Thai Tourist Authorities 'reality goggles':

[Redline]

So, they say “come die free pass”?  Might want to focus on safety and cleanliness 

[Peterw42]

2 minutes ago, simtemple said:

Would you like it and what would we do if we were on holiday here in the middle of Pattaya with our daughter?

Why would you choose to stay in the middle of the (easily avoided) sexpat area when there are self contained resorts and 1,000s of family accommodation options. Maybe you would do things like tiger parks, botainicial gardens, floating markets, night markets, underwater world, visit the islands, visit shopping malls, visit temples etc. Whatever you would normally do on a family holiday is available in Pattaya, if you lived here or have ever visited here you would know that.

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[bluesea]

Well its not Rocket Science is it, shall we start with 2 tier pricing 1 for Thais & 1 For Foreigners.

Visas no where else in the world is the Word Visa & immigration  Used so much , If its not about the Money its about the Money.

 

Have a look over the Fence in Sihanoukville &  Phonm Penh Cambodia the Chinese are buying all available Real Estate, Casinos are popping up everywhere  why Because they get Citizenship but for a Price $130,000.00 which is coming down and then they can own the properties in there own Name.

Cambodia is going to be the Next Macau.

No Visas no Immigration Little Corruption No Nothing just enjoy your Life!! 

[mikebell]

15 hours ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

Kim J above is on the right path. The Chinese are not blind to the garbage in the streets, the dirty beaches, lack of road safety, the feeling they're being stripped of cash by every provider, the hassles against their Chinese-speaking tour guides, high costs of cigarettes and hard liquor, and repeated news reports of Chinese fatalities in tour bus and ferry boat crashes. And I wonder what they're saying as they watch local police parade around like peacocks. 

Totally agree with Bebobp & Kim.  The last sentence is particularly pertinent.  I take back my criticism of Pattaya's Bandits-in-Brown.  I had said they don't work weekends after 2pm on Fridays.  Yesterday they were out in force near the Ambassador at the height of the rush hour.  Having just negotiated the impassable road works at Baan Amphur motorists ran into a tailback of two kilometres whilst the BIB strutted their stuff in the name of road safety and the mighty baht.

A further one kilometre down the road OUTSIDE the now deserted police station lots of frustrated motorists sped by, running red lights as they tried to make up lost time.

[Asernume]

This is what happens when you decide to rely and cater to only one kind of tourists. Especially when tourists from China are not very autonomous and one word from their government is enough to stop them from visit one country altogether. I am not sure if safety is really their concern, it's not like China's safe either, I assume the companies controlling the Chinese tourist tours just found some better deal somewhere else.

[Grandpa Cool]

Samui has been lacking the usual tourist population for ages. Once a haven for European (German and Italiano ) Scandinavian,  British, American and Australian tourists the sheer number and herd mentality of the Chinese tourists created great discomfort for the farangs. Simply put, the holiday atmosphere that they came here for (repeatedly) has disappeared. As for me I am enjoying the relatively quiet roads atm but feel a bit sorry for the poor people who are dependent on the tourist money flow. However it must be said that most of my friends and aquaintences in business here in Samui are hoping for a return of farang tourists rather than Chinese.

[Asernume]

19 hours ago, smedly said:

Many factors and one of the primary ones is the Strength of the Thai BAHT - big money in Thailand wants a strong BAHT simply because they want to invest overseas both in business and property

 

As for Chinese - I predicted on here a couple of years ago that Chinese tourists will drop for a couple of reasons, been there done that and told friends and family don't bother, very unlikely (unlike western tourists) to be repeat visitors. Safety

Yeah I can't see the strong baht helping to make Thailand a good deal (which is what Chinese people are after), it can't be benefiting many people except the big shots.

[bristolgeoff]

look towards to shinonkville cambodia they is a chinese heaven there.hotels casinos private beach anything you want all within the hotel.the whole beach and hotels  for the guests only.their neighhbours have stolen the tourist from them

[LomSak27]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

They said that operators were reporting that Chinese visitors to Pattaya were down 60%.

But the Chonburi and Pattaya tourism reps were countering that this was not the case. 

 

They were putting a rosy spin on the reality.

 

Sounds like Posters here on Thaivisa?!  Shock, Gasp, Horror!

 

How can that be possible?!

[ginjag]

3 minutes ago, Asernume said:

This is what happens when you decide to rely and cater to only one kind of tourists. Especially when tourists from China are not very autonomous and one word from their government is enough to stop them from visit one country altogether. I am not sure if safety is really their concern, it's not like China's safe either, I assume the companies controlling the Chinese tourist tours just found some better deal somewhere else.

Seems to me the Chinese are now getting bored with the school type packaged organised tours ,taken to the same places and not so clean areas.  A Chinese man said he cannot spit, throw rubbish on the street, smoke and leave his cigarette ends on the sand, shout loud at hotel food times, and is not liked for arguing with reception staff, all this he said is too much control over his holiday   ha ha ha

[IAMHERE]

TAT should maybe develop a fast speed train from up China way to down near Pattaya ?

[thurien]

19 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

....many small businesses who depend on the Chinese trade have had to shut down due to lack of business

 

I always wonder: Who did they and the tour organizers and the restaurants and hotels and brothels and massage parlors depend on before the dramatic influx of the Chinese? did they simply not exist in the olden times or did they do rice farming in Eesan (surely yes for the brothels' personnel) or did they simply have a life-long career of studies at the varsity?

[bontang]

15 hours ago, pattayadgw said:

I'll tell you where many of the Chinese have gone... BALI!!  Bali hasn't jumped on the zero dollars tour groups and the place is flooded with Chinese... that's one place they've headed to that I know of for sure.  

 

Difficult to quantify?? haaa?? Whether a Chinese or anyone else is in a group or an individual traveller... 1 person through immigration is one person... 1 = 1.  Group of 100 people = 100 people through immigration. 

 

"While accepting that third quarter arrivals of Chinese in Pattaya this year were down on 2017 the situation could be explained in part due to less Chinese visitors coming on group tours, it was claimed." 

 

"They said that increasing numbers of Chinese were now known as "FIT" travellers - that is to say they are organizing their own trips and are thus difficult to quantify." 

 

2 Million Plus Chinese Visit bali.webp

[BestB]

Unless Chinese come in a group , they do not come. Most  I came across do not speak any English, they do not even try, just blab I’m in Chinese and expect everyone to understand , which naturally results in an unpleasant holiday.

 

chinese yuan is down , thai prices are up. So what did TAT expect? 

 

[Bournville]

I never hear if any mention of any lower tourist visitors from other countries. USA.. Britain.. France.. Etc.. They keep coming in the same numbers? Me thinks not. Chiang Mai is very quiet.

[Phuketshrew]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

They said that increasing numbers of Chinese were now known as "FIT" travelers

I haven't seen many FIT Chinese birds around our place.