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Netizens disagree with official numbers: The miracle 20% rise in tourist numbers [Opinion]


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It's interesting that for years Thailand tourism spokespersons have been advocating quality over quantity yet at the end of the day all they are interested in is numbers through the door and the expenditure figures are probably either pulled out of thin air or are based on figures provided by certain hotels and tourism related businesses, which would by default be the more expensive operations.

 

However, on another point, I have noticed a slight increase in the number of Chinese tour buses over the last couple of days here in Phuket. We've also had a few more Chinese tour guides looking for rooms and they believe that numbers will start to increase again soon. Let's see. 

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1 hour ago, fruitman said:

I'm one of them but what annoys me the most is the stupid staff EVERYWHERE....everything goes wrong and they have very bad manners as well....

 

Yesterday in Central i was looking at chef-knives while the salesman was pushing his pimples in a mirror in the same vitrine i was looking at......disgusting!

In many cases the staff is paid for by the vendors not the store.  For example Cosmetics and hardware.  The cosmetic company pays the salary of the girls at their counter and the same for large appliances at Home Pro and stores like that.  Pimples is cultural and they think you eating cheese is equally as disgusting. 

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1 hour ago, lanista said:

The problem for Thailand is that most of the Chinese who have been here are unlikely to return anytime soon.  Overcrowded beaches, dangerous ferries and buses,abusive Thais etc.

Those that will come will be newbies and their numbers will slow as the economy slows in China.

The Chinese dont spend much anyway. Whats the big deal??  Only big numbers obviously. All quantity no quality same as Indians.  No Chinese and few Russians and Indians drink in soi bars  so thats pretty much curtains for Pattaya.

Have you compared the sales at the many malls with the beer bars?  I'd say the malls win by billions of baht.  If you want to find out how much the Chinese spend google "Outbound Chinese Tourism and Consumption Trends." 

 

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6 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Pimples is cultural and they think you eating cheese is equally as disgusting. 

What a load of bs mate...

 

My wife also loves cheese, and she also thinks the staff showed disgusting behaviour.....but of course you'll know it best as always..

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3 minutes ago, fruitman said:

What a load of bs mate...

 

My wife also loves cheese, and she also thinks the staff showed disgusting behaviour.....but of course you'll know it best as always..

90% South East Asians are lactose intolerant.  Check out the number of cheeses for sale at any Asian owned store or market especially the stinky ones.  What we have here is a clash of cultures.  Pimples vs stinky cheese.  Thai people pick their nose in public and cover their mouths when using a toothpick.  Cultural differences. 

 

I have no idea how any anecdotal evidence of tourism numbers is the subject for any serious discussion.  Tourist numbers have been going down according to posters on Thai Visa for at least 10 years.

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3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I have no idea how any anecdotal evidence of tourism numbers is the subject for any serious discussion.  Tourist numbers have been going down according to posters on Thai Visa for at least 10 years

I've been taken to task for using 'anecdotal evidence' on ThaiVisa before. But I'll take that anytime over massaged statistics.

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would have thought most on here would be glad the numbers of tourists are down less hassle at the airports  ect

might get the Government to start realizing that the long term Ex Pats here count for something and start improving things on the Visas and more 

Can always dream  

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42 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

90% South East Asians are lactose intolerant.  Check out the number of cheeses for sale at any Asian owned store or market especially the stinky ones.

Right, guess you have never seen Thai eating cheeses in pizzacompany, cheeseburgers, sizzlers, milk , yoghurt and so on....and stinky cheese are for the french.

 

If you look at Agoda and Booking.com you'll see the decline in thai hotel bookings for the last months. Add the sales of hotels in Chiangmai to that and it all becomes clear. Not strange that Pattaya was so empty last weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

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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. They came in droves. 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. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. 

 

I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons.

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Came into Thailand from Penang last week, there was three westerners on the whole train, the rest were locals going up to had Yai...... The border at Pedang Besar waved me through without even a word, i think the fellah was glad for the company..... I've been here nearly thirty years now and in all that time i've never seen Thailand as miserable, what a shame....... a shame when you consider that Thailand virtually sold itself by reputation alone without the meddling incompetent hands of the tourist authority, but then again we all know why those hands are in the picture.......should of just left the goose alone, she was laying beautiful golden eggs............

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Quote

He said in his quotes that the ‘bounce’ came mostly from Chinese and Indian tourists.

And they've just admitted how Chinese tourists are well down!

People would choose to come to Thailand just because they've waived the fee for visa on arrival --- I don't think so.  Anyway, that measure is so recent that it couldn't possibly have any effect.

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5 hours ago, colinneil said:

The number of arrivals has surged 20%:cheesy:

Sad thing is the people who make up these stories actually believe the nonsense they spout.

Ah yes  but you see the  people  making  this up has increased 20% also!

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Our office is (literally) at the corner of Patpong.

I am here for 11 years now and I have NEVER seen the area as empty as it is now!

On some days, you can greet every visitor of the night market by handshake!

 

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2 minutes ago, DM07 said:

Our office is (literally) at the corner of Patpong.

I am here for 11 years now and I have NEVER seen the area as empty as it is now!

On some days, you can greet every visitor of the night market by handshake!

 

Solid anecdotal facts. Hard to dispute (except for TAT).

What is it going to take to wake the powers-that-be up and get a committee together (555) to halt this downslide?

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4 hours ago, mikebell said:

The big spenders are mainly European/American.  The Government should encourage retirees from these countries by allowing them to buy a house and get a visa without 800,000 in a Thai bank.  They have to have a minimum spend of 65,000 a month.  Why can't anyone in Government see this?

On average a retiree spends 50,000 a month.

And invest, on average, a cool million or two.

What do the average chinese tourgrouper spend IN Thailand in the few days he is here?

Flying here with a China owned airplane, busing around in a China owned bus, staying in a China owned hotel, visiting china owned shops and restaurants, led and driven by illegal? Chinese guides and drivers and buying a bottle

of water in 7-11.

And will probably never come back!

Do the blame the boat disaster in Phuket, just accept that Thailand isn't so attractive for Chinese any more.

Time to start tickling the western tourists and expats.

They are more forgiving to the Thai pecularities.

 

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48 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

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. They came in droves. 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. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. 

 

I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons.

Chinese tourists spent $292 billion (£224 billion) abroad in 2015, nearly three times as much as the second biggest spenders, the Americans, and nearly five times as much as Britons abroad. These are the most recent statistics available from the World Tourism Organisation, which has predicted a 14 per cent rise in Chinese spending in 2016.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/china/how-chinese-tourists-travel-etiquette-and-money/

In less than two decades China has grown from travel minnows to the world’s most powerful outbound market, leapfrogging the US. Collectively, America’s globetrotters parted with a relatively paltry $123.6bn.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/rise-of-the-chinese-tourist/

The Chinese spend three times more abroad than Americans.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcwenderoth/2018/05/11/2-overlooked-ways-that-chinese-tourism-will-benefit-the-west/#5750dcea16af

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Chinese tourists spent $292 billion (£224 billion) abroad in 2015, nearly three times as much as the second biggest spenders, the Americans, and nearly five times as much as Britons abroad

Those westerners spend it on food/drinks/hotels/girls....

 

Those chinese spend it on designer clothes/purses.....which are cheaper abroad (for them).

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5 minutes ago, hansnl said:

On average a retiree spends 50,000 a month.

And invest, on average, a cool million or two.

What do the average chinese tourgrouper spend IN Thailand in the few days he is here?

Flying here with a China owned airplane, busing around in a China owned bus, staying in a China owned hotel, visiting china owned shops and restaurants, led and driven by illegal? Chinese guides and drivers and buying a bottle

of water in 7-11.

And will probably never come back!

Do the blame the boat disaster in Phuket, just accept that Thailand isn't so attractive for Chinese any more.

Time to start tickling the western tourists and expats.

They are more forgiving to the Thai pecularities.

 

In 2016, the Thai government decided to stamp out zero-dollar tourism, estimating losses of US$2 billion each year in tax revenue. Three companies were shut down, 2,155 buses were seized and several people were arrested for money laundering and operating illegal low-quality tours.

Six out of 10 Chinese tourists to Thailand are classified as “free, independent travellers” (FITs), who avoid large tour groups and book flights, hotel reservations and local tours using smartphone apps. That figure is expected to rise to 70 per cent in the near future.

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2130551/chinese-zero-dollar-tour-companies-dodge-thai-crackdown-and

 

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18 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Chinese tourists spent $292 billion (£224 billion) abroad in 2015, nearly three times as much as the second biggest spenders, the Americans, and nearly five times as much as Britons abroad. These are the most recent statistics available from the World Tourism Organisation, which has predicted a 14 per cent rise in Chinese spending in 2016.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/china/how-chinese-tourists-travel-etiquette-and-money/

In less than two decades China has grown from travel minnows to the world’s most powerful outbound market, leapfrogging the US. Collectively, America’s globetrotters parted with a relatively paltry $123.6bn.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/rise-of-the-chinese-tourist/

The Chinese spend three times more abroad than Americans.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcwenderoth/2018/05/11/2-overlooked-ways-that-chinese-tourism-will-benefit-the-west/#5750dcea16af

 

 

 

 Chinese weaponize tourism and expect different concessions
in exchange for the money of their citizens... its not "free" money

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7 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

I have been visiting/living in Thailand since the mid 90's, and not once have I seen the tourism numbers go "down"

Shows the danger of getting all your news from one source. Somehow you managed to miss during all your visiting/living the published down figures after

 

SARS 2003
Post-Tsunami 2004
Global recession and riots in Thailand 2009
Riots and political uncertainty in 2010. Major flooding of a large part of Thailand and northern Bangkok end 2011.
Political demonstrations end 2013 and ongoing into 2014. Anti-goverment demonstrations occupied most of the first half of 2014, and were followed by declaration of martial law, and a military (bloodless) Coup d'Etat on 22 May 2014. Bombing of the Erawan Shrine on 17 August 2015.
Crack-down on zero-dollar tours at the end of 2016 had a significant effect on Chinese arrivals. This seems to still persist during the first quarter of 2017, but overall the number of visitors kept on rising in 2016 and 2017.


Published figs from the Ministry, which you've not once seen, say:

 

image.png.b7bfb486ff97b20a3f766db448244c78.png

 

Now you see down years. Do believe that then? Read more here, whence the above: http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism.asp.

 

Quote

BS piled on BS piled on BS piled on BS piled on BS piled on BS

 

Oh yes indeed. Got another anecdote for us?

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