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

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

If I was living in the UK I'd be running out of reasons to visit Thailand. 

Hookers are the only reason for 99% of Brit tourists coming to Thailand.

The Romanian girls available in Spain just don't do it for me.

[neeray]

The majority of my life is spent in Canada, Thailand whenever I can but much more soon.

The point: I am a news buff; I read a lot. It is pretty common that I read stories about Thailand once or twice a week on my MSM home page. These stories are generally negative; can't remember reading a positive one in the last year or two. And that home page is USA as well as Canada.

Such negative stories surely reduce the North American contingent of tourists.

 

Examples: Snakes in toilets, snake on beach, penalties for cigarette smoking, graffiti penalties, jumpers, food poisoning, zip line deaths .........

[yogi100]

 

13 minutes ago, BestB said:

And yet they still quote double the standard rate and end up sitting in bar for a month with no money to buy  food. Is it military fault a 50 year old wants to charge $100 for 1 hour and can not speak a word of English ?????

I don't think they're asking that much.. I doubt even that in Phuket or BKK any 50 year old women will get any customers the way things are right now. Let alone get paid the amount of money you mentioned for an hour. Isn't $100 around 3,500 baht!

[smedly]

1 hour ago, Thechook said:

Way to expensive now and the military can't see that their over inflated baht is killing them.

they don't give a (deleted), they are buying stuff abroad with their ill gotten gains - it's called laundering and seldom do the culprits have the ability to inflate a national currency

[Tropposurfer]

I aint no economist nor tourism expert on Phuket but here goes:

- political situation

- monetary exchange rates

- gouging by almost every Thai on the island e.g. over charged accommodation, horrible taxi and motocy charges n behaviour towards tourists 

- terrible customer service 

- poor quality of a lot of venues e.g. dirty overcrowded tour spots e.g. Similan Islands, dirty beaches.

[Sametboy2019]

Problem is also supply and demand. Thais see a hotel, restaurant or shop doing well and they duplicate the format 10 fold.

[madmen]

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.

But mysterious men in black running around propping up the baht and the economy and the condo market is much more fun and easier to understand for the lower class poorly educated farang

[pokerface1]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

They turned to Kongsak Phupongsakorn for answers. He is head of the Thai Hoteliers' Association for Southern Thailand. 

Don't just listen to what this guy said. You will find the best and honest answers in this forum. No punches pulled here. If the TAT don't say what really needs to be said to fix the problems then they will continue to lose more tourists every year. The only answer I can see to guarantee a turn around is the same as other countries have done to kick start tourism is build casino's and they will come. 

[SteveK]

Thailand has many issues for international travelers. All of which could be overlooked in the past because it was a cheap destination. Now it is NOT cheap by any means because of the strong baht, which I suspect is the result of some kind of currency interference. So why is anyone in their right mind going to come to Thailand for a holiday and spend a small fortune whilst being gouged, ripped off, conned, and subjected to very poor customer service and hygiene? They won't, they'll go elsewhere.

 

And the idiotic visa regulations forcing ex-pats out - don't the Thai government realise that ex-pats will have friends who will visit for a holiday, bringing all that lovely income with them? They are cutting off their nose to spite their face. The strong baht will destroy exports and tourism, and then what will happen to Thailand? It will be up shit creek without a paddle, but at least they won't have those farang ex-pats that are hated so much.

[BobbyL]

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

It's also about time a taxi driver returned the 5 million baht left in his taxi to it's rightful owner to show the stellar integrity of all things Thai!

I reckon next week. 

[LomSak27]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Kongsak said that safety concerns of tourists had not been properly addressed leading to a lack of confidence.

you think?

The used to always say "teflon Thailand"  in regards to tourism. It takes a while but inevitably, guess where you end up. Why would people go where they feel they are not safe, not safe from scams, and not wanted?!

As it is has taken more than a decade to end up here, how will Thailand change it? Or are they going to change it? When is the last time you heard of trying to increase western tourism. The damage is going to take years to repair and that is if they want to repair it.

That said, Chinese, Rich Indians, Middle easterners, and Russians don't seem to be able to fill the gap, so something else is needed.

[BobbyL]

Thailand has had its time as a tourist destination. They lapped it up through the 80s, 90s and early 00s, but they then did nothing to improve or progress their tourist industry. 

 

Apart from some very nice resorts and hotels most of the holiday experience is generally poor. 

[SteveK]

1 minute ago, LomSak27 said:

The used to always say "teflon Thailand"  in regards to tourism. It takes a while but inevitably, guess where you end up. Why would people go where they feel they are not safe, not safe from scams, and not wanted?!

As it is has taken more than a decade to end up here, how will Thailand change it? Or are they going to change it? When is the last time you heard of trying to increase western tourism. The damage is going to take years to repair and that is if they want to repair it.

That said, Chinese, Rich Indians, Middle easterners, and Russians don't seem to be able to fill the gap, so something else is needed.

Thai logic - alienate foreigners with outrageous visa regulations, xenophobic double pricing, farangs being murdered, raped, having things added to their bills, being scammed, gouged, lied to at every turn, ripped off and treated like second-class scum - but still expect them to keep coming back year after year to spend their hard-earned cash!

[JonnyF]

53 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Hookers are the only reason for 99% of Brit tourists coming to Thailand.

The Romanian girls available in Spain just don't do it for me.

That's true, but if the sex tourists keep coming (excuse the pun) and the families, backpackers etc. stay away then the tourist industry will be decimated. Sex tourists don't tend to shop in the high end malls, visit local tourist attractions, stay at Elite owned luxury hotels, dine at fine restaurants etc. Most of their money ends up back in Issan, untaxed.

 

Plus, if Brits only want hookers they can go to Amsterdam for a week. The flight is about 50 quid (compared to 6-700 for Thailand). That's 650 quid they can spend on hookers before they even get off the plane to queue for an hour at BKK immigration. Plus you can drink decent beer, smoke weed and you're home in just over an hour without even laying eyes on a Thai official.

[SteveK]

5 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Plus, if Brits only want hookers they can go to Amsterdam for a week. The flight is about 50 quid (compared to 6-700 for Thailand). That's 650 quid they can spend on hookers before they even get off the plane to queue for an hour at BKK immigration. Plus you can drink decent beer, smoke weed and you're home in just over an hour without even laying eyes on a Thai official.

If you choose the best looking girl in Soi Cowboy, you're going to be paying 5000 baht, which is MORE than Amsterdam, and you should expect much less boob action. 

[Jonah Tenner]

1 hour ago, yogi100 said:

 They collectively hate their govt and wish Taksin could come back.

Now that would be quite a feat, king Taksin died in 1782.

[MartinKal]

3 hours ago, Snuller21 said:

And a way to strong Baht. Thailand used to be an affordable country for holidays. Not anymore as the Baht is way too strong. And that is also for the Export. Just look at the price for rice, and the declining of that as export as well. And Toyota making an assembly factory for HiLux in Myanmar, as they lose money on every assembled car in Thailand. Just saying.

The strong baht discourages visitors from abroad. It also encourages thais who might have gone on holiday in thailand to leave the country and holiday abroad

[ThomasThBKK]

8 minutes ago, MartinKal said:

The strong baht discourages visitors from abroad. It also encourages thais who might have gone on holiday in thailand to leave the country and holiday abroad

On top of that you have all the luxury bs taxes.

 

Wine, Designer clothes, Foreign Beer, Steaks, Watches, Jewellry, bikes, ebikes, cars etc...all overpriced. It's cheaper to fly to europe and buy a chanel bag then to buy it here, people with money aren't stupid, they don't piss it away if they can buy it in singapore for less.

 

 

The best is kitchens, was shopping for a german kitchen in Thong Lor: https://www.used-design.com/angebot/54121/einbaukuche-eggersmann-tokio-beton-spachtelfront

This think was quoted me for 6 mio THB in Thailand - i walked out backwards.

[Mavideol]

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Easy! Time to put prices up 20-30% to compensate for the shortfall!

that's what the bar owner next to my place said yesterday

[Creasy]

How many billions have the Thais made in the last couple of decades ?

And how much have have re-invested into upping the quality of their product ? SFA, that's how much.

 

Most people will overlook the third world stuff when they visit as long as it's cheap. and cheerful.

 

But now with the strong baht and poor infastructure, safety issues, and charging top $ for a sub standard product.

Why would you choose to travel to Thailand? When there are multiple destinations that do it better and cheaper.

[madmitch]

Every story that relates to the downturn in tourism is generally followed by one from the TAT or Ministry of Tourism stating the opposite, so I await their next press releases with interest.

 

I think anyone in the business can see that tourism is down and it's good to see someone in the know actually reporting such.

 

The Government always quotes arrival figures and, although who they actually count as a tourist is still a mystery, the figures are probably fairly accurate but, as I've said many times, hotel night numbers are down due to shorter stays.

 

Thailand is still fairly cheap for many northern Europeans despite the strong baht (I'm currently in Scandinavia where some of the prices are eye-watering for us Brits) but many have decided to travel elsewhere. Thailand has reinvented itself as a destination for Asians and eastern Europeans. I can't see the Brits, Scandinavians and Germans ever returning in the numbers there were before.

 

 

[fhickson]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

I am a long term expat and I take frequent holidays to Jakarta to have fun instead of locally . 

 

Why?

 

Because I am tired of having to pay top money for crap service, put up with crap English and bad attitude.

 

In Jakarta , I pay less, female company speaks good enough English, no sisters or brothers calling for her to go fast, no mobile phone that she must play with , I do not hear sad stories about sick mother or father and I get exactly what we agreed.

 

Taxi, grab, dirt cheap. Food just as cheap, and no one annoying you to buy some crap while you out , no hassles with police and friendly immigration 

why is jakarta just a short holiday for you?

[BestB]

1 hour ago, yogi100 said:

 

I don't think they're asking that much.. I doubt even that in Phuket or BKK any 50 year old women will get any customers the way things are right now. Let alone get paid the amount of money you mentioned for an hour. Isn't $100 around 3,500 baht!

Yes they are asking that much, and you right , they not getting any customer, $100 is more inline 3000 baht , just little over 

[BestB]

14 minutes ago, fhickson said:

why is jakarta just a short holiday for you?

Should it be long holiday?

[marcusarelus]

3 hours ago, Thechook said:

Way to expensive now and the military can't see that their over inflated baht is killing them.

The military does not control the relative value of the baht to the pound or USD.  If they could they would lower it not raise it.  

[anemone]

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

[Is this real]

While it has a very little to do with the world economy, the Baht, or, the ship sinking, those aren't the #1 reason in Phuket. 

#1 is:  Thailand has quietly decided that it doesn't want tourists.  The beaches, were eliminated as  the major attraction.  Shops, restaurants, bars, night clubs, vendors were eliminated, along with the thousands of beach loungers and umbrellas that were filled with free spending western tourists.

When these were eliminated, western tourist went where they were welcomed.

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, Snuller21 said:

And a way to strong Baht. Thailand used to be an affordable country for holidays. Not anymore as the Baht is way too strong. And that is also for the Export. Just look at the price for rice, and the declining of that as export as well. And Toyota making an assembly factory for HiLux in Myanmar, as they lose money on every assembled car in Thailand. Just saying.

And Toyota building a huge new factory in Indonesia, for the local market, they dat, but up till now these units were built in Thailand.

Ergo, export is getting too expensive, due to the high baht, maybe the higher wahre, maybe, maybe.

But blaming the political situation is rather farfetched, in Myanmar and Indonesia it is the army that Peel the potatoes, much more and deeper as in Thailand.

[connda]

Now that tourism has been disemboweled, watch the Eye of Sauron turn inward and start decimating the long-stay expat population in the name of national security, borders, and culture.

[Destiny1990]

Thailand alway was my first choice of Asian Countries to stay but that’s no longer the case.

Seems more visitors feeling like that.