Phuket tourism going down the pan just like Pattaya: Few tourists and much worse than last year

[dinsdale]

[Matzzon]

18 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Wrong because the 12 million decrease will be Chinese who never spent anything anyway. There will be no decrease in revenue.

 

No, sir, not a satang. Numbers stay the same. Just ask the TVFers.

 

Like the guy yesterday who said that 1 in 3 visitors to Cambodia never spend anything because they are Chinese.

 

China is buying the world, including large tracts of Thailand, get used to it.

First you say: Chinese who never spent anything anyway ---- After you say: Like the guy yesterday who said that 1 in 3 visitors to Cambodia never spend anything because they are Chinese. And then sums all up with: China is buying the world, including large tracts of Thailand, get used to it.

According to me that means they must spend a hell of a lot more than only 30K. 

However, the 20-30% fall is not only chinese. That basically means that your post was totally hinged your own fantasy.

[Felt 35]

Me thinks.....words as military junta and a bit to much focus on "rich foreigners in average foreigners out" with a potential tourist destination don't tastes any more good for todays informed and educated tourists no more than it did taste good for tourists 20-40 years ago wherever the destination.

[stevefloyd]

Put into simple terms for 'us brits' when all this brexit crap came about the exchange was around 54 baht to the uk pound this is now down around 40/41 baht this in effect lops off £250 in exchange from a thousand is it any wonder its going downhill?

[Number 6]

While it would always be highly unlikely to find me in a resort preferring to camp in the national parks.

 

I cannot for the life of me see any reason to spend even one night in dumps like Cha Am, Hua Him, Chumpon, Samui, PhaNgan, Trang beaches, Lipe and especially Pattaya and eastern seaboard.

 

We had stayed on the back side of Koh Tao a number of times. But with it literally being nicknamed Murder Island we've not been back for a while.

 

It's a really shitty tourist experience. Now the coral and marine parks are dead as though someone poisoned the water Thailand is an exceptionally marginal and expensive holiday.

 

Further, while boat operators around Thailand still very unsafe no matter the size of the craft and very expensive for locals to go out to see sand and deadness, nothing on the bottom.

 

Another issue that does not impact the average family but absolutely impacts the single male traveler is the current issues and clampdown of Immigration. This has been going on since 2005 and chickens are coming home to roost. Combined with the insane strength of currency - yeah, ya think?

 

Tourists you don't need this.

 

The murders in the gulf islands can't help tourism. The boat full of Chinese we all know the rule not the exception.

 

Thai baht high as 1% shipping funds aboad. Developers importing materials for endless high priced, low quality condos.

 

The real hilarity is how this venal nation after yet another coup and a now military installed government is so blind to its own machinations.

 

Thailand had built it's nation not on education but cheap services. It's no longer cheap.

 

Finally, to Quality Tourists (tm). Why would wealthy people want to come here? Really. No rule of law, thuggery, endemic police corruption, murder in tourist areas unsolved, poor value and sky high baht lending to poor value of it all. OR...just go to a beach in Spain, Caribbean, Florida...

 

It's failing. The elite know it and like rats on a sinking ship moving their fortunes out.

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, JamJar said:

12 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Yes to all that, but on balance, I see no difference in terms of ripping off tourists here than say Spain, Cyprus, Malta,  most Caribbean islands. It goes on everywhere. 

 

Which rip-offs would that be? Have been to all of those places. Not even a sniff of a rip-off.

I was in Greece and Turkey for April May this year. We might have been overcharged, (high exchange rate) on a credit card transaction, at a cafe. Key word might have and ONCE. It's not in the same league. Taxis and cafe's in both countries were quite happy to have us there. Got me all warm and fuzzy.

[Lashay]

1 hour ago, jessebkk1 said:

I don't know where you're from, but I'm american and we havent been affected by a strong baht that much. My friends who I talked about are expats in other asian countries earning money in US dollars and are also not affected. The Visa regulations is the Single Biggest reason why tourism is plummeting. Brits are not the only coming here, and actually make the tiniest part of that pie chart. A lot of Neighboring asians used to visit here once a month for Business or pleasure on tourist visas/visa exempt but can no longer because of the restrictions. If you've lived in singapore/hongkong you'd know this. Now the younger ones who want to come in and out as much they please have to buy the elite visas and the older folks have to put 800k in a thai Bank for a retirement visa. And sorry but thailand isnt worth that money with all the other options.

Expats and long stayers are not  tourists no matter what their visa says. None of the "negative" visa changes over last few years have affected actual tourists except to reduce costs/hassle.

 

Now expats and long stayers have been hit hard

[Traubert]

49 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

First you say: Chinese who never spent anything anyway ---- After you say: Like the guy yesterday who said that 1 in 3 visitors to Cambodia never spend anything because they are Chinese. And then sums all up with: China is buying the world, including large tracts of Thailand, get used to it.

According to me that means they must spend a hell of a lot more than only 30K. 

However, the 20-30% fall is not only chinese. That basically means that your post was totally hinged your own fantasy.

I think you need a crammer on reading comprehension.

 

I can see you don't get irony/sarcasm/satire so you are certainly not English.

 

I can definitely see you missed the reference to TVFers. Then again you are one so excuse me if I'm not amazed.

[Almer]

Tourists go back and tell there friends and family about there holiday.

Taxi bike wars 2 dead, lunatic local drivers running red lights etc, being ripped off by traders, being harassed by lady boys, charged extra at tourist spots because they are foreigners  and the list goes  on and on, now factor in the baht and the we dont want you here face from IO on arrival, i think that would make me think that there must be other places to go, these are generally not my  experiences but those of many posts here.

Thailand take note social media is all around us, what happens in Phuket at 12.00 noon is all over the world within minutes.

[Lashay]

1 hour ago, Inn Between said:

If the officials are admitting to a 20-30% drop in tourist, does that mean it's actually closer to a 40-50% reduction? 

 

Thai gov't officials shamelessly downplay any negatives and play up anything positive, regardless if statistics are available to prove them wrong.  

This is not an "official" just some trade association member. Official figures are still in low single digits.

 

But 20-30% drop is what i have been seeing on the ground all this low season so would say accurate and would guess next high will be around 12-15% down (low season visitors are normally more price conscious, so high baht has greater impact on them) which in monetary terms will be far greater loss as many buisnesses generate up to 65-75% of their yearly profit in the 5 months of high season

[CNXexpat]

41 minutes ago, stevefloyd said:

Put into simple terms for 'us brits' when all this brexit crap came about the exchange was around 54 baht to the uk pound this is now down around 40/41 baht this in effect lops off £250 in exchange from a thousand is it any wonder its going downhill?

Yes, for you Brits it´s harder than for me as someone who earns Euro and lost "only" 15%. But don´t blame the Thai government/Bank of Thailand for the Brexit. Many people think, that after a (hard) Brexit the GBP will increase a lot ????????????

[madmen]

4 hours ago, Straight8 said:

$7.00 AUD for a coffee, a beer about $7 - $10 AUD (no, not talking about sitting in the front of 7-11 or living in some village) and you still get numskulls saying Thailand is cheap.

 

 

 

Lower sukhumvit at the old german beer house soi 13 and just had 2 pints at 100 baht each

Any idiot can pay double or triple it takes no talent

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, Almer said:

Tourists go back and tell there friends and family about there holiday.

Taxi bike wars 2 dead, lunatic local drivers running red lights etc, being ripped off by traders, being harassed by lady boys, charged extra at tourist spots because they are foreigners  and the list goes  on and on, now factor in the baht and the we dont want you here face from IO on arrival, i think that would make me think that there must be other places to go, these are generally not my  experiences but those of many posts here.

Thailand take note social media is all around us, what happens in Phuket at 12.00 noon is all over the world within minutes.

I came back to Thailand in 1984...the baht was 32 to the pound. There were most of the things you described. I couldn't wait to get started on spending the rest of my life here.

 

Rooster

[Miami007]

14 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

The strength of the Thai Baht is not "artificial".

The reason it is so high is because:-

Increasing foreign exchange reserves.

Low inflation rate.

Low unemployment.

Resilient economy.

Concern about European economies (their currencies losing value).

 

The Thai Central Bank has the same job as other Central banks; to keep inflation in check. This is why they have very limited options with regard to the exchange rate.

 

The foreign exchange market is far bigger than any single countries power to influence their own currency.

Britain tried to support Sterling in 1993, but, still crashed out of the ERM.

Thailand tried to do the same in 1997 and spent most of their foreign currency reserves.

In both cases, it was the foreign exchange market that determined the outcome.

Low inflation? Thailand has become much more expensive in the last few years..

Resilient economy? Tourists numbers and exports are down, real estate seems to become over built

Yes, low unemployment and European economies are losing steam..

 

Based on the THB appreciation, there must be a large inflow of outside capital. Maybe Chinese trying to hide money from their government and move it to Thailand (some condo purchases may account for that)

[Miami007]

11 hours ago, anemone said:

Why does nobody look at how difficult it is now to get a visum for just travelling here, the moment you ve been here twice or want to stay a bit longer you get treated like a criminal. Thailand used to be the nicest stop for long times travellers, now they practically get kicked out, i still think backpackers or the new flashpackers make a great ambiance and life in the travelworld, and they are not welcome here anymore

I have been here 8 times since April 2018. Once for 28 days and then 17 days.. on Visa exempt and no problem at all at immigration (knock on wood for future trips)

[madmen]

yawnnn so much BS about Phuket . I was watching a vid about jet approaches at the airport when I noticed crystal clear waters.

Stunning so where are all the filthy beaches? 

 

 

[Miami007]

11 hours ago, glennb6 said:

The thai banks and those that own the banks have and are pushing debt hard - it's their product and how they make money. NO WAY in a country who's average income is not even 15k/mth (google it) that people can afford brand new cars, expensive cell phones, and multi-million baht houses. Well the only way is to sucker them into going heavily into debt.

 

I wonder if many Thais have woken up to becoming debt slaves or if that notion hasn't gone ding in their heads yet?

The same approach in the USA.. banks are pushing credit cards on people who should not get them .. loans were given to marginal borrowers until the market collapsed in 2008..

Unfortunately,  this is the way for banks to make money 

[madmen]

1 hour ago, Miami007 said:

exports are down

You completely forgot to mention imports ? odd 

[joecoolfrog]

3 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

Yes, for you Brits it´s harder than for me as someone who earns Euro and lost "only" 15%. But don´t blame the Thai government/Bank of Thailand for the Brexit. Many people think, that after a (hard) Brexit the GBP will increase a lot ????????????

I for one think Brexit a mistake and dread a hard exit. However it is a hiccup that we will eventually recover from. 

Thailand by contrast is decades away from even admitting its errors , maybe not in my time , but if it doesn't wake up it will simply be a colony of China eventually.

[joecoolfrog]

57 minutes ago, madmen said:

You completely forgot to mention imports ? odd 

The Thai trade balance is slipping quite rapidly which indicates that any import increases are not compensating for the export losses.

[Lashay]

39 minutes ago, madmen said:

yawnnn so much BS about Phuket . I was watching a vid about jet approaches at the airport when I noticed crystal clear waters.

Stunning so where are all the filthy beaches? 

 

 

Yes there are nice spots on Phuket, just like anywhere with bad rep...but does average tourist generally see them? No

 

Same as Phuket is overpriced? Sure it is ...if all you see is Tiger complex on Bangla...but Tiger ≠ Bangla, Bangla ≠ Patong, Patong ≠ Phuket, Phuket ≠ Thailand.

 

Exclude Tiger, Bangla is cheaper than similar in BKK, exclude Bangla, Patong is marginally higher priced than Pattaya but cheaper than BKK. Exclude Patong and Phuket is same as any other tourist destination in Thailand..no actually cheaper than many.

 

As to beaches, Patong beach, the one most tourists see, is filthy. Karon/Kata & Kamala are only marginally better. These are only beaches 90% of tourist see. Bearly anyone see's the beaches at north end of the island beyond expats and cheap charlies...which is kind of amusing, cheapest tourists see best beaches

[Lashay]

17 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

I for one think Brexit a mistake and dread a hard exit. However it is a hiccup that we will eventually recover from. 

Thailand by contrast is decades away from even admitting its errors , maybe not in my time , but if it doesn't wake up it will simply be a colony of China eventually.

Yep, even if a hard exit, UK and Europe will recover within 2 years (and think Brexit is most stupid thing ever as that will be nearly half a decade lost growth when you factor in last few years ) Thai tourism is going to take a lot longer.

 

Just as an example, Spanish tourism took a nose dive, for very similar reasons, late 80's early 90's...took them nearly decade to recover.

[Cobby]

How many times do we have to tell the thai government keep up the great work make it hard for western tourists to come to Thailand and expats

with the strong bht and the persecution over visas

now I hope you can see you where wrong in putting all your eggs in the wrong basket 

making life easy for chinese and Indians to come to Thailand 

and they never like to spend 

I wait to see if the government admit they where wrong 

fat chance of that 

pure stupidity 

[Swedenlars]

Lower sukhumvit at the old german beer house soi 13 and just had 2 pints at 100 baht each
Any idiot can pay double or triple it takes no talent

BS. A pint or 0.5 liter beer at the Old German beerhouse is for a Carlsberg 225 and Heineken 200 Baht. Happy hour both 119.Baht. So who is now the .... Never mind. Prost. Thailland ? Forget it. I just use it as a hub.

Gesendet von meinem SM-N950F mit Tapatalk

[madmen]

35 minutes ago, Lashay said:

Yes there are nice spots on Phuket, just like anywhere with bad rep...but does average tourist generally see them? No

 

Same as Phuket is overpriced? Sure it is ...if all you see is Tiger complex on Bangla...but Tiger ≠ Bangla, Bangla ≠ Patong, Patong ≠ Phuket, Phuket ≠ Thailand.

 

Exclude Tiger, Bangla is cheaper than similar in BKK, exclude Bangla, Patong is marginally higher priced than Pattaya but cheaper than BKK. Exclude Patong and Phuket is same as any other tourist destination in Thailand..no actually cheaper than many.

 

As to beaches, Patong beach, the one most tourists see, is filthy. Karon/Kata & Kamala are only marginally better. These are only beaches 90% of tourist see. Bearly anyone see's the beaches at north end of the island beyond expats and cheap charlies...which is kind of amusing, cheapest tourists see best beaches

Filthy is a powerful word. You have done research and can pop up a HD vid no more than a year old to show it?

Problem is half of the TV bar stool boys are nowhere near Phuket ..western currency crash made sure of that but still like to comment and feel a bit important

[madmen]

54 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

The Thai trade balance is slipping quite rapidly which indicates that any import increases are not compensating for the export losses.

Thailand is the 20th largest export economy in the world

Read more at: https://commodity.com/thailand/

 

[madmen]

17 minutes ago, Swedenlars said:

BS. A pint or 0.5 liter beer at the Old German beerhouse is for a Carlsberg 225 and Heineken 200 Baht. Happy hour both 119.Baht. So who is now the .... Never mind. Prost. Thailland ? Forget it. I just use it as a hub.

Gesendet von meinem SM-N950F mit Tapatalk
 

https://ogb-bangkok.com/promotions.html

 

99 baht for my happy hour beers and there are 2 happy hours the second from 10pm to 1.30am

Apology accepted hub boy

[Duck J Butters]

19 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Phuket was really the "Pearl of the south" when I first came there in the early 80's, today I would call it the black hole of the south, over built, traffic jams similar to Bangkoks and dirty water on the beaches. They only got them selves and their never ending greed to blame.

 

Phuket, the black hole of the south, where they film Hollywood movies and the world’s wealthiest people live and own property. Where Olympic althletes come to train and where CEOs of social media juggernauts come to meditate. Yep, black hole sounds about right.

 

Your statement about Phuket is simply false, just as this article is complete and utter nonsense. Do you live in Phuket? Well I do and:

 

a) tourism is much higher than it was at this time last year. At least it is in Northern Phuket where they are targeting the wealthy family crowd. I was in Patong last weekend as well and it was busy as usual, same old same old 

 

b) Phuket is far from the blackhole that you describe. When you refer to Phuket as a blackhole, are you referring to Patong specifically or the entire island? Have you been anywhere else in Phuket besides Patong? 

 

Granted, i’m only 30 years old but I have Phuket properties in Laguna Beach, Naithon Beach and I just bought a place in Kamala this month. I also own properties in Maui and Hawaii, USA. I prefer my properties in Phuket. I prefer living in Phuket to both Maui and Hawaii. 

 

I don’t find Phuket overbuilt at all unless you are referring specifically to Patong. There is a massive amount of land available on the island, especially on the Eastern side. You can find empty beaches and large plots of land in the East for good value. I picked up a beachfront 19 rai plot for 4 million baht recently.

 

Traffic Jams? Again, are you referring to Patong or to all of Phuket? As a person that lives in Phuket, I cannot relate to this. I regularly drive from Naithon to Kamala and Patong and I don’t find there to be much traffic at all. Frankly, the roads are usually empty.  I’ve never witnessed a single traffic accident in the years I’ve lived here in Phuket.

 

Dirty water? Wait what? What are you talking about? Please visit other beaches besides Patong Beach. Phuket has the most beautiful beaches in the world with extremely beautiful warm water and ocean life. I go swimming every morning down at Layan Beach. Crystal clear, warm, no trash. I also recommend Banana ( secret beach that you have to hike to ), Naithon Beach, and Nai Yang Beach ( great beach for running, you can run along the beach to the airport and watch the airplanes take off, I do this often ). Please check out other parts of the island. Phuket is absolutely beautiful. I recommend booking a weekend at the Amanpuri Resort and reevaluating your position on Phuket.  Pullman in Naithon is also nice.

 

Phuket has become expensive but it is not at all what you describe. It is certainly not a black hole. Famous Hollywood celebrities regularly visit and stay in NothWest Phuket. Leonardo DiCaprio was hear just recently. Beyoncé lives here a few months a year and has 10 homes inside the Amanuri Resort ( built by Russian billionaire Vlad Doronan who is also here regularly and just had 20 Maseratis imported to the island ).

 

Not to mention the latest Fast & Furious franchise is being filmed here right now. All the crew are here. Over 1 billion baht will be generated over the month of July for the Southern Thailand economy from filming this movie. Once that movie hits the theaters, it will be viewed by hundreds of millions of people around the world and will further solidify Phuket as a high status tourist destination for the rich and famous. Property values will skyrocket just as they did after the filming of The Beach with DiCaprio.

 

Phuket is so far from a black hole it’s ridiculous and obvious you don’t live here. The best professional athletes and Olympians from all over the world come and train in Phuket. Please check out Thanyapura Health & Sports Center which was built by German billionaire Klause Hebben. They have yoga instructors that trained with the Daili Lama for crying out loud. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook was literally here on the DL this year for a meditation retreat at Thanyapura. https://www.bangkok101.com/the-rise-of-thanyapura/

 

Phuket also has excellent produce and very fast WiFi. The power goes out often but that would be my only complaint about Phuket.

 

Phuket, the black hole of the south, where they film Hollywood movies and the world’s wealthiest people live and own property. Where Olympic althletes come to train and where CEOs of social media juggernauts come to meditate. Yep, black hole sounds about right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

7 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

Ha ha , you are aware that Thailand has a trade surplus yes ?

Perhaps you think they are trying for a deficit lol

Yes, I know.........that's one of the reasons the Thai Baht is strong.

I was demonstrating that there are actual advantages to having a strong currency.

Too many people saying the Baht is too strong, or, being "propped-up" just because it doesn't suit their own personal circumstances.

[Polaky]

Overall if the baht was not so strong then numbers would increase dramatically, it's all about the $.