Why the Chinese are infinitely more important than Western tourists to Thailand

[Jonathan Fairfield 7,234]

Why the Chinese are infinitely more important than Western tourists to Thailand

By Dan Cheeseman

 

 

We need to wake up and smell the roses, us Westerners are no longer an important group for the Thailand tourism industry – in fact, we are what you would call ‘niche’ – and with good reason.

 

The Chinese are here in numbers and not only will this continue to grow but they also outspend Europeans per capita by 53% when in Thailand.

 

There are more Chinese…

 

The Chinese now account for 57.48% of all tourists in Thailand and what makes this even more staggering is only 8.7% currently have passports (120 million).

 

According to Jing Travel this could double by 2020 – that means 240 million Chinese able to travel (363% of the UK population (66 million)). They also go on to state that first time Chinese travellers are more likely to travel more close to home to begin with, so places like Vietnam and, you guessed it, Thailand. 

 

..And the Chinese share of the pie will only grow

No wonder Thailand are forecasting tourism to grow from the 38 million now to over 79 million by 2030.

 

 

The Chinese Spend More...

 

Quite often I hear the European retaliation that they would like to see the spend levels per capita of Chinese, suggesting it to be low. This could not be further from the truth as shopping is an important factor for when they go on holiday.

 

The Chinese expenditure into Thailand is US$15,342,000,000 each year, which is more than any other nation.

 

The average spend per day for a Chinese tourist in Thailand is US$192 – which is 53% more than the average Europeans US$125 daily spend.

 

 

Full story: https://danaboutthailand.com/2019/04/24/why-the-chinese-are-infinetely-more-important-than-the-european-tourist-to-thailand/

 

[seajae 16,266]

looks like this doesnt take in the zero dollar tours, all that money is spent in chinese shops/businesses

 

[Kasane 675]

Well, that's another nail in the coffin for low income, bar stool dwellers, old farangs whose days of faking income through false affidavits is coming to a close as Thailand understands that the Chinese are actually bringing in more wealth than the Western expats who have already been priced out of their countries.

[NotYourBusiness 248]

Another humbling graphic (only 20 years away):

 

[DrTuner 24,427]

And because Westeners don't want to come to a has-been with usurpers at the helm. Chinese first timers can be suckered in. Last hurrah.

[Bang Bang 1,009]

Yep, and time in any of the Bkk airports tells the story pretty graphically.

 

20 years ago when I started visiting, DM was all Europeans, chatter in English/German/ ... and the occasional Japanese.

 

Now, Suvarnabhumi I can sit at a coffee shop and there's a 5 min. gap between sightings of Westerners in a place milling with brown/yellow skin tone.

 

The Thais tolerate us but I am prepared for when there's a tap on my shoulder and I am told to either leave or pay x mil. baht for the privilege of not having to.

[otherstuff1957 3,139]

I've done some work for companies that cooperate with TAT and saw and interesting TAT report a couple of years ago. 

 

The Chinese do spend, on average, about 20% or more than Europeans/Americans/Aussies.  However, a breakdown of where they spend their money was very interesting.  It is traditional for Chinese tourists to return to China with expensive gifts for their friends and relatives.  This is a 'face' thing so they are often willing to spend a big chunk of their total expenditures on these gifts. 

 

So, what do they buy?  They go to the high-end stores on Suk and buy brand-name stuff.

 

Unlike Western tourists, they don't usually patronize small, local shops, smaller guesthouses or local restaurants.  Consequently, even though they spend more money, much, if not most of their money goes to foreign companies and their wealthy Thai partners.  A relatively small portion of their spending goes directly to local merchants and local SME businesses. 

 

The tourists that benefit Thai SMEs the most are actually the much-maligned backpackers!

[darksidedog 49,529]

More does not necessarily mean better of course. Not many businesses outside of those who cater purely to the Chinese will see much benefit mind.

And has been proven in Sihanoukville, when the Chinese move in, everyone else moves out.

[Wilsonandson 5,103]

Will this lead to Manadrin becoming the prefered 2nd language in Thailand?

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[Bang Bang 1,009]

The smart move is to accept that it will be China's world soon that the rest of us will be living in. And prepare accordingly.

 

A few phrases like

How are you? Yes, master. No, master. As you desire.

in Mandarin should be good.

 

But, seriously, I walk by King Power on Soi Rangam, which is Chinese tourists ground 0, every day and some of their women are majorly bangable. Prying them loose from their tour group is another matter but that's where language skills would help.

[Bang Bang 1,009]

5 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

Will this lead to Manadrin becoming the prefered 2nd language in Thailand?

Sent from my SM-A700FD using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I believe it's nearly there. The place where I work used to bring in a French language tutor (don't ask why) twice weekly but now she's been replaced by a Chinese woman.

[Nobbie49 153]

The smart move is to accept that it will be China's world soon that the rest of us will be living in. And prepare accordingly.
 
A few phrases like
How are you? Yes, master. No, master. As you desire.
in Mandarin should be good.
 
But, seriously, I walk by King Power on Soi Rangam, which is Chinese tourists ground 0, every day and some of their women are majorly bangable. Prying them loose from their tour group is another matter but that's where language skills would help.

Subtlety does not seem to be your main attribute but goooaaaahhhh do I agree!!!


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[marcusarelus 6,895]

17 minutes ago, Wilsonandson said:

Will this lead to Manadrin becoming the prefered 2nd language in Thailand?

Sent from my SM-A700FD using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Probably not as English is an important language in China.  English speakers in China is over 200 million and rising, with 50 million secondary school children now studying the language

[asanee 134]

18 hours ago, otherstuff1957 said:

I've done some work for companies that cooperate with TAT and saw and interesting TAT report a couple of years ago. 

 

The Chinese do spend, on average, about 20% or more than Europeans/Americans/Aussies.  However, a breakdown of where they spend their money was very interesting.  It is traditional for Chinese tourists to return to China with expensive gifts for their friends and relatives.  This is a 'face' thing so they are often willing to spend a big chunk of their total expenditures on these gifts. 

 

No-they SELL onward @ home-with often a sizeable profit. What else would you have thought of a proper Chinese anyway? The same applies to those mainland Chinese that visit EURope in their thousands-they plunder the Champs Elysees French brandstores and also the many outlet stores-if it has a name on it, its OK. Sadly for the brits, the UK does not have too much of that.

So this whole game will end in a giant spat as soon as China and its govmt which is very keen on making profits for itself (as all communists do) open their toll-customs-barriers and let in that profit making stuff. Mind you-as for now that made in China I-phone cost more there as it does in the US.

[Justgrazing 17,978]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

The Chinese expenditure into Thailand is US$15,342,000,000 each year, which is more than any other nation.

Yea but how much of that went on fixing up sick Buffalo ..