"They must have gone to the temples instead!" - Pattaya as dead as a dodo in the holidays

[RichardColeman]

 

But, this guy today says there is no problem - apparently

 

[RichardColeman]

Surprised that many people actually dared to cross the Thai road to the beach !

[dcsw53]

Reap what you sow.
TAT wanted the Chinese and Indians and not the Farang. Indians and Chinese do not do beaches in the same way. The Chinese pack themselves on to buses and go to Nong Nooch or Khao Chin Chan, I heard KCC was gridlocked yesterday afternoon. Then they get a delicious 7-11 to top up the sumptuous banquet on their way home. The Indians just wander, apparently spending fortunes, except no one seems to know exactly where,
Welcome to Thailand Beach Resorts 2019.

[remorhaz]

Well if business is down 80% the only solution is to increase prices x5 - then that will bring things back into balance so the Thai street vendors will be happy.

[new2here]

In my opinion, Thailand can ride their past glory for some time to come... but... I think those days are numbered at best.

In the past, I do think Thailand earned legitimately so, a solid reputation as a good tourist destination.... but... also like many other formerly “good” spots, the impact that success has brought - coupled with the short/medium/long range planning (or lack thereof) and investment in things like infrastructure, safety, convenience has put them somewhat behind the proverbial 8-ball and a victim of its own success.

Meanwhile.. other places have been watching and perhaps positioning themselves as a viable alternative... in this regard, I think Singapore, Malaysia and even Indonesia have done decent jobs at taking some of the Thai-volume away.

Sure... places like Thailand can always zero-in on the next big wave of tourists - be that Chinese now... Indians later or whatever... but I think that for a truly sustainable and long term viable plan, you’ve got to have a mix...

You don’t think you want to position yourself as the destination for only the well-heeled (there isn’t enough of them to go around) nor as the low-cost either (the volume you’d need to be successful usually outstrips the capacity to mange it) so a balance must be struck.

Lastly, I think the next wave of tourist will be much more educated and savvy.

They’ll be reading and watching blogs and vlogs online, doing their own independent research... so I think places like Thailand will have to step up their game in terms of both “brand” management.. but also “engagement” ... along with that they’ll have to do more to insure a better, higher quality experience— as that’s what I suspect the next wave will demand.. and pay for —- and that starts right at the airport with friendly staff/immigration... taxis that are properly registered and provide service as per law, beaches that are clean and use eco-friendly practices, etc...

Can a place like Thailand do this? I do think it’s possible.. I really do.. but I think there must be enough “pain” before the will and motivation comes up to a level that makes doing these things necessary.





Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[malcoml]

The simple fact is people go to Pattaya for cheap sex and alcohol. 

We have all stopped drinking and we are getting far more handsome and as such we are getting plenty of free sex locally.

 

The above and of course the strong baht.

[MasterBaker]

There are 3 pizza restaurants near my office in Pattaya, all of them complain about lack of tourists. There is another one opening soon, not sure who tough them marketing skills. Last time i was sitting on the beach, 6 or 7 massage babushkas approached me in 20 min. It's time for thai people to understand how supply and demand works. Pattaya boom is over, time to go home and get back on the rice fields. I used to have a beer bar with 36 girls, sold it in 2008 and it's still open with 3 girls... Family resort it is, until all those lazy farmers could not afford cup of rise and leave, nothing good will happen to those who work hard in this city. Sooner is better

[NormanW]

10 minutes ago, new2here said:

In my opinion, Thailand can ride their past glory for some time to come... but... I think those days are numbered at best.

In the past, I do think Thailand earned legitimately so, a solid reputation as a good tourist destination.... but... also like many other formerly “good” spots, the impact that success has brought - coupled with the short/medium/long range planning (or lack thereof) and investment in things like infrastructure, safety, convenience has put them somewhat behind the proverbial 8-ball and a victim of its own success.

Meanwhile.. other places have been watching and perhaps positioning themselves as a viable alternative... in this regard, I think Singapore, Malaysia and even Indonesia have done decent jobs at taking some of the Thai-volume away.

Sure... places like Thailand can always zero-in on the next big wave of tourists - be that Chinese now... Indians later or whatever... but I think that for a truly sustainable and long term viable plan, you’ve got to have a mix...

You don’t think you want to position yourself as the destination for only the well-heeled (there isn’t enough of them to go around) nor as the low-cost either (the volume you’d need to be successful usually outstrips the capacity to mange it) so a balance must be struck.

Lastly, I think the next wave of tourist will be much more educated and savvy.

They’ll be reading and watching blogs and vlogs online, doing their own independent research... so I think places like Thailand will have to step up their game in terms of both “brand” management.. but also “engagement” ... along with that they’ll have to do more to insure a better, higher quality experience— as that’s what I suspect the next wave will demand.. and pay for —- and that starts right at the airport with friendly staff/immigration... taxis that are properly registered and provide service as per law, beaches that are clean and use eco-friendly practices, etc...

Can a place like Thailand do this? I do think it’s possible.. I really do.. but I think there must be enough “pain” before the will and motivation comes up to a level that makes doing these things necessary.





Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

A huge ask, I unfortunately don't think that they are up to the job.

[MrMo]

Next week they will tell us that business is down by 130%.   I have found it difficult to find a Thai who has a clue as to how to calculate percentages.

 

To be fair, I do recall during 'the "Icelandic Cod War" of whenever, a Billingsgate fishmonger did report on the BBC News that fish supplies were down 200%.

[from the home of CC]

 looks like they all ended up in Hua Hin, it was full of Chinese and Caucasians during the holiday.. 

[phantomfiddler]

Sadly the main people to be affected are the ones who have nothing to do with Thailand,s main religion/way of life ???? Just like the election dry spot, the only people who can,t vote can,t get a beer either !

[connda]

Surely they are mistaken.  Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said. says tourism is up 0.81% this year.  Those pesky vendors must be spreading fake news.  Wonder when the crackdown will come?  In other news, "rich" Indians are flooding the streets of Pattaya and Phukets.  Happy Days are here again!!!

[Mickc]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

As a savvy restaurant guy here's some advice.  Never eat at a restaurant with a view as you will be paying for the view and not the food.  I found my last time in Pattaya the food good at the newest mall - Terminal 21 and no one bothered us while we ate.  

Been living here a while, I also know good food and what I'm paying for... was nothing over the top my wife just wanted to eat near the beach... honestly eating fish n chips in the sand on st.kilda beach in melbourne would have cost a out the same price... wouldn't have stank and been an overall better experience... my point is... this is why people are not coming back. Why fly 8 hours or more to have better experiences at home.

[spidermike007]

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. No have. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. No have. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No have. We only have the 2016. 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. The TAT and the army are at the top of the list. 

[marcusarelus]

3 hours ago, RobboR said:

No never eaten there, in fact it's been a few years since I last visited Pattaya. 

I have eaten in a lot of malls over the years though and they are just not for me.

Terminal 21 is a mall built around the food court.  Different approach.  Best to experience before acting like a know it all.  

[Daveyh]

No one will come now due to the over valued baht & better holidays can be found elsewhere for your money. It's becoming well known now how dirty most holiday venues have become here, especially the beaches, which many visitors refuse to swim in.

 

Here's why;

1. A beach should be clean & the water free of sewage ...... it's not

2. The friendly vendors & people on the beach ........... attitude is all wrong

3. Facilities for beach goers is non-existent ............ toilets etc are miles away (mostly in malls), so many go in the sea.

4. The area is infested with rodents of all types & dead rats can been seen most days on foot paths & street.

 

It's a really sad fact. You can not blame people for not going to the beach here. Also, the islands are becoming just as bad. It may be because of too many tourists, who knows? The tourists Thailand is welcoming today do not care about the environment, they continue to throw their rubbish on the floor, spit everywhere & have certainly brought their manners with them. I stay away from tourist areas now ...... it's too crowded, too noisy & the bad manners are in abundance. It's certainly no longer a fun place to be ........ sad fact.

 

[marcusarelus]

27 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

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. The TAT and the army are at the top of the list. 

Isn't this the fourth time you have posted that story?

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Daveyh said:

No one will come now due to the over valued baht & better holidays can be found elsewhere for your money. It's becoming well known now how dirty most holiday venues have become here, especially the beaches, which many visitors refuse to swim in.

 

Here's why;

1. A beach should be clean & the water free of sewage ...... it's not

2. The friendly vendors & people on the beach ........... attitude is all wrong

3. Facilities for beach goers is non-existent ............ toilets etc are miles away (mostly in malls), so many go in the sea.

4. The area is infested with rodents of all types & dead rats can been seen most days on foot paths & street.

 

It's a really sad fact. You can not blame people for not going to the beach here. Also, the islands are becoming just as bad. It may be because of too many tourists, who knows? The tourists Thailand is welcoming today do not care about the environment, they continue to throw their rubbish on the floor, spit everywhere & have certainly brought their manners with them. I stay away from tourist areas now ...... it's too crowded, too noisy & the bad manners are in abundance. It's certainly no longer a fun place to be ........ sad fact.

 

It was that way 10 years ago.  I know I lived in Pattaya 3 years.  I think the flooding was worse a few years ago.  More violence too.  Now is much better with better shopping and less flooding and less Western people but you now have the low priced Western currencies that make travel too expensive.  All that't left to do is carp about Thailand since you can't afford to do it in person like we all used to do.  

[marcusarelus]

11 minutes ago, Mickc said:

Been living here a while, I also know good food and what I'm paying for... was nothing over the top my wife just wanted to eat near the beach... honestly eating fish n chips in the sand on st.kilda beach in melbourne would have cost a out the same price... wouldn't have stank and been an overall better experience... my point is... this is why people are not coming back. Why fly 8 hours or more to have better experiences at home.

Food was always sub standard in any open restaurant by the beach.  Go inside at Hopf next time and have a good meal and locally produced wheat beer.  That's what the locals do.  Or go away from the beach and eat at a decent French restaurant.  

[Benmart]

4 hours ago, Mickc said:

I was there last week, there was but a handful of tourists around the beach and restaurants. I ate with my wife opposite the beach with hardly a tourist in sight... now, given the price that we paid for our food the experience was extremely underwhelming... poor service in restaurant (we were the only ones in it) the beach STINKS to high heaven, my thai wife complained about it more than I did, the sea was brown all this whilst being harrassed by street vendors... I live here and I love Thailand, but for what I paid I can go elsewhere, pay less and have a better overall experience. They need to realise, it's not that people aren't coming... people are not coming back.. westerners are not tolerant of certain conditions especially when your $ doesnt go as far.

During the pre-internet days, poor service, pollution, scams, crimes, corrupt cops and alike were hidden from many people. Now, the good or bad news is often broadcasted live. The tourism industry and government has only itself to blame in many instances.

[Destiny1990]

Okay the Chinese have shun away but why aren’t there any rich Indians at the beach?

[spidermike007]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Isn't this the fourth time you have posted that story?

Yes, about that. I believe they deserve the bad publicity, I think it is emblematic of the decline of quality tourism here, and I think the analogy speaks volumes about what is wrong with Thai tourism. 

[GeorgeCross]

28 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

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. No have. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. No have. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No have. We only have the 2016. 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. The TAT and the army are at the top of the list. 

 

do you have any other stories apart from that one time with the bottle of wine?

 

cos i think i've read it half a dozen times in the past week 

 

 

[helloagain]

If you want numbers to go up. Stop killing chinese. Stop beating up forieners. Stop ripping off forieners. Stop thinking your smart by saying thai entrance fee in letters and not numbers cos forieners are not that stupid especially when thai wife, girlfriend, whore for the day tells us. Thai baht way too strong your coconuts and rice too expensive to sell and so are most things forieners like here. How many coup's have you had, this is not a good thing so why so strong baht. Rich thais buying outside of thailand are laughing but normal thais trying to make a living are suffering. I now have started to think before i buy something and work out true cost in my currency and many times i say too much. I treated my wife monday this week for 5* resort for the night. So today go to regester again just for 1 night away from home. Today they not open? So have to go tomorrow again crazy, not even leave the country CRAZY WAY TO DO THINGS. numbers down i hope it collapses but will you thais learn. NO. 

[Destiny1990]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Food was always sub standard in any open restaurant by the beach.  Go inside at Hopf next time and have a good meal and locally produced wheat beer.  That's what the locals do.  Or go away from the beach and eat at a decent French restaurant.  

You Marcus know how to spin all news into good news.

Yeah hop in at Hopf reservation isn’t needed!

[xxeo]

Rich Indians? The ones I see everywhere in Pattaya (now some even in Jomtien) seem to be Indian middle class. The do not move in the countryside, do not visit Chiang Mai, are not intested in Thai culture - they prefer lodging around VC hotel and use this one special "body recreation service" Pattaya delivers.

 

Thailand must consider being in a competition with other tourist destinations. This competition is getting stronger. They must act. Offer better service, take away bad smelling dustbins, lower their prices, devaluate the baht.

 

Chinese people, I assume, (arriving as individual tourists in growing numbers) spend more money in TH than supposed, but they do not replace the Western falang with their big budget. Indians are known to be cheap charlies.

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, Kim J said:

 

I think you are just backing up  what Mickc is saying. The local food as he says is now overpriced and as you say yourself "sub standard". now you talk about Hopf and "a decent French Restaurant". Well I have to say You will find that also they are priced at similar and in many cases higher levels than what people can get in their own countries. So indeed why travel hours on aeroplanes?

Also pricing aside what is classed as "a decent French restaurant" in Pattaya, or for that matter any other variety of restaurant selling farrang food here, do not have standards of service or food quality that comes anything near to the real thing that Europeans can get in their own countries. the locals in most cases will know no better, however we do.

Pizza and beer at the Hopf are equivalent to what you get in Europe.  And I imagine if you are buying with baht in Europe probably less money.  

 

Who but tourists would eat at a beach or walking street place in Pattaya.  I got ripped off at those lobster places 20 years ago, I imagine still the same.

[Brigante7]

My wife is in Thailand at the moment with our 2 kids, she's there for 4 weeks, first 2 days & last 3 days in BKK the rest of the time she's up at her family's house in Nakhon Phanom, she's changing money as she needs it and is getting around 39baht to the £. If it wasn't for the fact that I got such a good deal on the flights and she hadn't seen her family for 3 1/2 years she wouldn't have went.

[cyril sneer]

I thought this thread was about people not going to Pattaya for 2 days because it's more or less 'closed', not the decline of tourism in Thailand

[xxeo]

Well, the sharp decline of the Pound Sterling is a factor beyond Thai respeonsibility...