Pattaya Songkran: Hotel bookings well down as tourists stay away

[yogi100]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:19 PM, Mavideol said:

couldn't say it better.... spray water and throw white powder at passerby...whowwwwwww what a trill not to mention the risk of accidents when throwing the water  

 

"spray"

 

You rarely see water being 'sprayed' over anyone during Songkran in Pattaya. More often than not its a bucketful, often thrown right in the face or a blast from one of those blue plumbing pipe guns with similar force to that from a Karcher jet washer.

 

We often hear that the plod are going to stamp down on these assaults by water each April but nothing is ever done. So Songkran must now be considered the beginning of Low Season as far as the bar and hotel trade in Pattaya is concerned.

 

You'd think the local big wigs in a tourist resort would insist on something being done about an event that must have an extremely negative effect on the very trade that their town is built upon.

 

Don't think it all stops on the 19th either.

 

I went out in Pattaya's Soi LKM during the evening of the 19th last year and it looked like the lunacy was gradually beginning to peter out. I thought to myself thank the Lord for that as I'd stayed in most of the week.

 

I must have come out of Showgirls Agogo at about one minute to midnight although I was actually unaware of the time and I got absolutely drenched in seconds as soon as the midnight hour arrived. They'd come out with a vengeance, they were even chucking water off the balconies of the rooms above the bars in LKM.

 

The only people in the street were the water chuckers as everyone else had retreated into the bars out of the way.

 

I'd gone into Showgirls about 30 minutes earlier and all was normal and the pavement dry until 12 o'clock when all hell let loose. It was totally unexpected as I'd become complacent but did not realise the period leading up to midnight of the 19th/20th was the calm before the storm. 

 

I just gave up and went to my room as when you're ringing wet you'll freeze in the GGBs with their air conditioning on. Others must have done the same so that night the bars must have lost fortunes because of would be punters such as myself unwilling to run the gauntlet.

 

Most punters who live in or holiday in Pattaya are middle aged and elderly blokes like myself and of those I know every man jack of 'em hate and avoid Songkran if at all possible.

 

I had to laugh when a few years back some moron threw a bucketful of water into the back of a baht bus carrying some unsuspecting Russians along Beach Road. A big Ivan jumped out of the vehicle and knocked the daylights out of this water chucking dipstick. You can bet he was a bit more respectful of others after that.

 

 

[Sydebolle]

On 4/10/2019 at 7:30 PM, emptypockets said:

I go to Pattaya frequently and have never, ever, experienced any of what you allege. 

I don't do the beach road thing at night so I don't have any experience with the third gender people. I do negotiate with taxi drivers if they don't want to use the meter.  If I pay above the standard fare.... So be it.... I and the taxi driver have agreed on a price. Can't say I've come across a rude vendor anywhere but I tend to be respectful to most people.  Maybe that is the reason. 

I do stay at hotels,  I do eat at nice Thai style restaurants and I love walking street.  Particularly the Hot  Tuna bar.. Love Deep Purple and AC/DC that the band plays. 

All up I would recommend Pattaya to friends for a four or five day stay. 

I also recommend that they ignore the fan room dwelling, no hopers on this forum who find the bad points in everything Thailand related whether they live here or not. Sad old men. 

They would be the same no matter where they lived. 

 

I lived there 15 years so trust me, I could share stories with you which makes you a first time visiting tourist! Once I had sold my business I moved away - for good - to more peaceful parts of beautiful Thailand. 

[elgenon]

On 4/9/2019 at 10:09 PM, PatOngo said:

Hang on a minute, where are all the families we hear so much about that just can't stay away from the World Class Resort?

Don't you mean the Sports Capital of Thailand?  : )

[lapamita]

19 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

"...in the summer im in nosy be ( like thailand 30 year before)..."

 

What is "nosy be"?

 

"...at the moment 6 weeks in turkey  ( ohh how beautiful the coast  and clean , and prices resenable,will saty later here longer..."

 

How do the prices compare to Thailand's?

 

 

what is nosy be , thats like samui -phuket-broacay 30-40 years ago.... just google , withe exceptional clean nature and beaches , exremly cheap priced, safe and secure ( read about nosy be and not about mailand)and nice girls ( many think its africa,  its off the coast..first habitants  was from indonesia  polynesia , buildings and language simmilar to there, not like africa, many aisan faces too,southern more white, north more black middle more asian), buildings square not round like africa)

 

turkey

prices for housing down 70% since beginning of the crisis. ( a lot of scrap construction same in thailand ..but at the moment can find good and cheap ..if you look  like you in a  marathon)

food extremly cheaper ( and extremly better quality) , electronics and furniture  a little higher) Mc donald  big mac menue 21 try =110 thb , atreetfood  40-60-80 thb aprox, restaurant  filet mignon on the beach 66 Try last one = 350thb aprox , turkish tea coffee in  normal small shops 1,50 or 8thb

but at all millions of tourists , and very very clean beaches waters and rivers along the coast of alanya-antalya..much cleaner than i expected!!!  bars ,clubs,and restaurants en mass....

 

livingstyle is like in the west, dont feel muslem country, i think see more headscarfs in european metropoles.

 

 i am missing nothing except the soi 6 and central pattaya for girls , thats really the only

 

But Thais are visa free..no headache take my girlfirend here,no visa,no stupid questions

 

Resident card if needed  ..very easy !! using of local health insurance extremly cheap , lifetime residence aviable, turkish citizenship aviable from 250.000 usd in proeperty investment or  in 500000 deposit without investment for 3 yr ( at bank for intrest)

[Pilotman]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:19 PM, SammyT said:

I'm still astounded that tourists (other than those who want to get their end away) actually go to Pattaya - the beach sucks, the nightlife (if girlie bars aren't your thing) sucks and if you believe the media reports, it's full of violent taxi drivers. 

all quite true, its a dump. 

[sunnyboy2018]

If true then its good news for residents. Many Thai workers return to Issan during Songkran. Pattaya was so busy this season it was difficult travelling around due to traffic jams. It's nice when its quiet here. Meanwhile the building boom continues. Amazing Pattaya!

[BestB]

18 hours ago, Viggo McQuaid said:

A friend runs a bar on Soi 6 and he’s claiming 2019 to be the best year ever. Q1 was massive, customer after customer are raking up 30k bar tabs. It’s booming, it’s busy, it’s a crazy happening venue. Q2 has started with record revenues. The contribution margin is way up. Pattaya is the place to be! 

That explains why Soi 6 is empty for most of the days and half of the bars Up for sale, because record profits as it turns out. 

[Captain 776]

5 hours ago, Pilotman said:

all quite true, its a dump. 

Lived in Jomtien 9 yrs before moving north..........fully agree with your assessment

[Captain 776]

1 hour ago, BestB said:

That explains why Soi 6 is empty for most of the days and half of the bars Up for sale, because record profits as it turns out. 

Soi 6 is like Nana Plaza........every year that goes by, it degrades further n further.

 

[Kadilo]

55 minutes ago, Captain 776 said:

Soi 6 is like Nana Plaza........every year that goes by, it degrades further n further.

 

Good to know you keep popping back for an update despite you supposedly not living there for the past 5 years  

[adammike]

I was in Jomtien from 17jan till 3 march then 4 nights in Bangkok.I booked my flight in June 2018 over six months in advance when the € baht rate was just under 38 baht, the best I got in 2019 was the day I arrived it was 35:85 it actually went down one evening to 34:92 in a TT exchange I was getting 38-39 in 2017 and 40 before that.If I make a trip next year and it's a big if it will probably be for 4 weeks and I think the exchange rate will have to improve.As the oil rate is rising flights will probably cost more hotel rates will rise a lot of snowbirds like myself on a pension are just priced out of long haul winter trips, Pattaya and Bangkok may not notice the drop but I am sure Jomtien and places like it will. 

[Brigand]

Songkran use to be OK 20 years ago as the atmosphere was better, though that could be said for the whole Thailand in general. Now the festival has slowly morphed into a monster which many (Thais too) have no interest in taking part in due to it becoming more aggressive. Having watched it slowly change over these years it seems that it is now only for idiots, drunks and children and many of the "children" are not necessarily inhabiting a child's body. As for the tourist factor, what folks say about it being too expensive and there being plenty of other destinations now that basically beat Thailand on lots of fronts, is true.

Also, the Immigration Department has done it's level best to get rid of people as well, carrying out a nationalist agenda on the orders of the elite. The Chinese tourist numbers won't last forever as they will bail too at some point and you'll be left with the Indians and Arabs, good luck with that. What the Thai authorities need to do is make life more attractive here, less hassle & scams plus sort out the baht. You can't rely on tourism plus exports and have an over valued currency unless you have some sort of superior offerings, which is sadly not the case or even close. Tourists are more savy now and want value for money plus bad news travels instantly.

[Lucius verus]

The strong  baht is obviously a big turn off  for tourists but its the ever declining quality of life in Thailand that's having the biggest impact on all people here.

Constant price increases,low incomes ,dirty &polluted environment,insane property laws ,huge foreign death toll mostly unreported and expats being treated like children by immigration.

Under military rule/influence on and off for decades Thailand has lost its appeal.

Only two sorts of people can live a good quality life here. Thai rich hi-so and farang retirees with 100k + atm top up every month from back home.

Thailand's expensive with more tax hikes coming around October.

Immigration laws likely to become stricter for farangs. Chinese and Indians in...farang out.

 

[losworld]

On 4/11/2019 at 10:59 AM, biggles45 said:

GF and I have just had a month inVietnam and we discovered where all the Russians went to! Nha Trang, beautiful long, wide beach with a treed park all the way. Free gym equipment, toilets and no boats or jetskis and beach vendors. They have taken over the town, menus, signs, travel agencies etc all geared up to them. NT is showing Pattaya/Jomtien how it should be done. 

Yes and they have lovely clean publicly accessible parks all over the beach towns in Vietnam and elsewhere.  Remnants of the Communist days and they have not been so greedy as the Thais to pave and concrete everything.  They and others will soon be blowing by Thailand like it is standing still.  Thailand will be the resort for lower income chinese tours and Indians. 

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, Lucius verus said:

The strong  baht is obviously a big turn off  for tourists but its the ever declining quality of life in Thailand that's having the biggest impact on all people here.

 

So goes the incessant drumbeat here. Me, I find some things are not as good as before (traffic) but others are, so that it all balances out. Hence, no real impact and I find it a great place to live, glad I came. Took me 20 min to get an extension last week--15 min waiting and 5 for a pleasant IO lady whom I greeted in polite Thai to look over my papers (info all neatly typed out [years ago, now takes 5 min to change the numbers]), in logical order, signed, with my phone number) and then give me a smile and a number to come back the next day. That took me another 10. ???? Once everything is arranged, it's SO easy. 

 

 

Quote

<paranoia and xenophobia snipped>

Immigration laws likely to become stricter for farangs. Chinese and Indians in...farang out.

 

You mean, you're buying into the myth that visa requirements for Chinese and Indians are not the same as for farangs? We have such a hard time letting that one go. I saw some Indians and Muslims lining up for retirement extensions the other day. Wonder why they did that? ???? One Indian was given the 3rd degree, too. His paperwork was a mess. I'm pretty flexible, so if laws become stricter, I figure I can deal deal with them. ???? You can't? I can't imagine missing any of the leavers. I trust they'll be happy in our recommended countries, until they have a medical emergency. Nor do I mind Chinese and Indians, many of whom are preferable to the bar stool know-it-alls and blowhards. Give 'em a ni hao or a namaste. Met a very polite Chinese couple in 7/11 the other day. Lot of the Sizzler at Central exhibiting none of the behavior obsessed about here, quiet and well-mannered. Some good-looking young Chinese women running around, too. Friend of mine's dating one and VERY happy. Let's have more of those.  

[ExpatPH]

While most tourist countries would beautify tourist area with parks, maintain old trees, limit public traffic on the beach - Thailand cut valuable old trees, pave concrete every inch they can, and build a 3 lane 'highway' very next to the beach.

Family friendly destination?

 

Then get rid of long stayers and expats, and even genuine tourists get denied entry at airports.

 

Overinflated currency.

 

No sane people would be surprised that hotel bookings are way down.

Remain of the year will never see previous years higher occupancy rates.

 

Later this year, a true headline should be

'Hotel bookings well down all 2019 as tourists stay away'

 

 

[losworld]

Just now, ExpatPH said:

While most tourist countries would beautify tourist area with parks, maintain old trees, limit public traffic on the beach - Thailand cut valuable old trees, pave concrete every inch they can, and build a 3 lane 'highway' very next to the beach.

Family friendly destination?

 

Then get rid of long stayers and expats, and even genuine tourists get denied entry at airports.

 

Overinflated currency.

 

No sane people would be surprised that hotel bookings are way down.

Remain of the year will never see previous years higher occupancy rates.

 

Later this year, a true headline should be

'Hotel bookings well down all 2019 as tourists stay away'

 

 

You will notice how even in Cambodia and Vietnam they try to maintain trees in popular areas as it adds so much to the attraction.  However, Thailand loves to pour concrete and Pattaya has become a paved runway with concrete buildings scattered with countless litter.  Even China has not been so reckless in its cutting and paving and pouring.

[Rimmer]

A post with an altered quote has been removed, On no account do you change another member quote into a foreign language. 

 

A post in a foreign language has been removed this is an English language forum

 

A post trying to hijack the topic by talking about immigration procedure has been removed

[lapamita]

On 4/12/2019 at 6:50 PM, Kim J said:

Are the US Navy still in town? Or have they departed? When they are around it can quite often boost numbers in bars.

 

since the navy  not alloud to stop more in pattaya bay , thats a decade ago. 

The navy is a non event nw , sattahip to far,as most can come,after work until morning

 

long ago this was an high event ,when the shipps stopped at pattaya bay, and pattaya was full os us soldiers wiith heavy purchasing power and no trouble

[ubon farang]

Business is down everywhere Even my wife's restaurant has done half the trade it uses to do last year. I put it down to this so-called government we have It is slowly destroying Thailand the world use to know. Freedom of speech is a big one Thailand is just going backward. The world saw how Thai democracy works they cheat at elections and then put on the big Thai smile "welcome" Then you see Rubbish lying around everywhere on the beaches, Wild dogs trying to attack you, Taxi drivers ripping you off, Getting mugged by gangs of Thais and stealing off you while the keystone in their good looking uniforms stand around do nothing Thailand wake up You were a great spot once but now there are better places to go to

[morrobay]

Indeed it sounds pretty grim Jim. But on the business side: How many new hotels and restaurants have been added to the over supply in the past year. That has to be a factor in the declining numbers at various businesses. 

[ExpatPH]

Also the huge increase of arrivals that TOT claim year on year, that many of us dispute and doubt, should be a factor.

If these numbers was to be believed

(and was actually for real),

it should be a market for new hotels and restaurants. So why isn't it?

 

Songkran has outplayed its role as attraction, since it became mayhem years ago.

Common knowledge also about problems at airports point of entry, it isn't a surprise that hotel bookings are way down.

[sanook 1]

On 4/11/2019 at 10:59 AM, biggles45 said:

GF and I have just had a month inVietnam and we discovered where all the Russians went to! Nha Trang, beautiful long, wide beach with a treed park all the way. Free gym equipment, toilets and no boats or jetskis and beach vendors. They have taken over the town, menus, signs, travel agencies etc all geared up to them. NT is showing Pattaya/Jomtien how it should be done. 

+1 for nha trang, beutiful place. 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 5:19 PM, SammyT said:

I'm still astounded that tourists (other than those who want to get their end away) actually go to Pattaya - the beach sucks, the nightlife (if girlie bars aren't your thing) sucks and if you believe the media reports, it's full of violent taxi drivers. 

Depends on which "tourists" you are talking about. The farangs have been significantly less in the past few years when I've been visiting- the bars ( a farang thing- not Chinese or Indian ) have been underwhelmed with customers, and walking Street was way down on usual numbers.

Conversly, Chinese and Indians were in abundance.

I've rarely used a taxi there, but the baht bus drivers were a lot more violent way back.

 

This has been a long time coming, but I feel zero sympathy for the hotel owners as they have been gouging the farangs for years now. Inflation hasn't been enough to put hotel prices up the amount they have.

[Captain 776]

Jamal Kashoggi wenr ro Turkey.   Look what happened 5o him

[Cat ji]

On 4/10/2019 at 1:27 PM, Kadilo said:

Over the years the water guns have got bigger and more powerful and its turned into a foreigners cock size contest to see who can get the biggest. 

I too have been shot in the eye whilst riding my scooter at night by a bunch of giggling pissed up men. 

It’s no surprise people are turning away. Leave it to those who enjoy it the way it is. 

It’s  a shame for the Thais. 

Refer to the constant moaning here about Thais not wanting farangs.

[Viggo McQuaid]

2 hours ago, Cat ji said:

Refer to the constant moaning here about Thais not wanting farangs.

I heard the other day "Thai good too much, farang no good! So yeah.

[bert bloggs]

the only people who go to Pattaya during Songkran are kids and idiots throwing water around for days on end . about time it was only ONE day like in BKK.

[Olmate]

29 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

the only people who go to Pattaya during Songkran are kids and idiots throwing water around for days on end . about time it was only ONE day like in BKK.

Patong was Fri arvo and Sat, just right!

[Sealbash]

Also the huge increase of arrivals that TOT claim year on year, that many of us dispute and doubt, should be a factor.
If these numbers was to be believed
(and was actually for real),
it should be a market for new hotels and restaurants. So why isn't it?
 
Songkran has outplayed its role as attraction, since it became mayhem years ago.
Common knowledge also about problems at airports point of entry, it isn't a surprise that hotel bookings are way down.

Those “many of you” who dispute and doubt TOT numbers have not yet come up with any proof that TOT numbers are incorrect. Anecdotal evidence of beer bares and your favorite drinking spits having a low number of customers is not evidence of a decline in tourist numbers. There are many more families, non-sexpat tourists, etc. visiting Thailand. They will tend to frequent areas of the country that do not include beer bars et al. TOT takes their numbers from border arrival statistics. Until anyone can prove them wrong, they are the entity with the most reliable data.


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