rooster59 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Tourism was a powerful economic engine in Thailand. Then a boat full of Chinese sank By JOHN REED Divers on a rubber raft during a search operation in the water off the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, in July 2018 after a boat with Chinese tourists sank in a storm. (Associated Press) Phuket — Phuket’s old town, with its open-air noodle shops and brightly painted Sino-Portuguese shop fronts, is a favorite social media and selfie backdrop for tourists from China. The island, which has a year-round population of 500,000, typically attracts about 7 million foreign visitors a year, of whom 2 million are Chinese — Thailand’s biggest source of tourists. Chinese tourists can normally even be relied on to come to Phuket in the May to October rainy season, when Europeans mostly stay away. But this month Thalang Road, in the heart of the old town, has been largely deserted. Chinese groups canceled trips to Phuket en masse last year after a boat carrying tourists from the mainland capsized in July, killing 47 people. This season, say tradespeople, things are even worse. According to the local hotel association, occupancy on the island is running at only 40% to 50%. Chutimon Konglao, a minivan driver, says this is the worst season she has seen in more than a decade of driving tourists around the island. Full story: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-08-22/tourism-was-a-powerful-economic-engine-in-thailand-then-a-boat-full-of-chinese-sank Los Angeles Times: 2019-08-24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youlike Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotBenz8888 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 I think the strong Baht has a much bigger impact than that boat accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmitch Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Good article with a lot of home truths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLover Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 17 minutes ago, Youlike said: It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important..... Hilarious ???????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmayes Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 The sinking of the boat was the tipping point. The bad PR had been building for years before that incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mok199 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 People can only herded , abused and ripped off for so long...even the Chinese have had enough of the Land of Smiles.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notasmartassknowitallfarag Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 The real question is why did the boat sink and the answer is greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LomSak27 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 31 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said: I think the strong Baht has a much bigger impact than that boat accident. For Brits and Aussies surely, beyond that ...... there is a pretty big world out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLover Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 19 minutes ago, notasmartassknowitallfarag said: The real question is why did the boat sink and the answer is greed. Once the boat is flooded with Indian and Chinese saviours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipButty Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Chutimon Konglao, a minivan driver, says this is the worst season she has seen in more than a decade of ripping off tourists around the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imthai007 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 The problem is the taxi not the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701A Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 "I so glad we were not on the Phoenix." "Me too. Where you want to go on vacation next year?" "Syria." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 1 hour ago, LomSak27 said: For Brits and Aussies surely, beyond that ...... there is a pretty big world out there. And nearly all the western currencies are doing just as badly. But the sad truth is, all the other countries around Asia are much more tourist friendly these days. Thailand has just become a bit uncomfortable, and a bit expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatOngo Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 1 hour ago, HLover said: Once the boat is flooded with Indian and Chinese saviours? No, the Thaitanic is full of Thais! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vacuum Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 2 hours ago, Youlike said: It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important..... They're learning slowly (thinking about road accidents)' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traubert Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 The slowdown in tourism has highlighted lapses in development of its infrastructure; Thailand’s five main airports are all accommodating millions more passengers than they have capacity for, meaning long queues on arrival. Nope. Going to have to run that past me again....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropicalevo Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said: I think the strong Baht has a much bigger impact than that boat accident. It will certainly slow down any chance of a recovery. Last year there were about 450 THB to 100 CNY. Today, 5 of the 7 Thai banks that I have rates for are below 400 THB to 100 CNY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 2 hours ago, notasmartassknowitallfarag said: The real question is why did the boat sink and the answer is greed. I believe the owner was a Chinese citizen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sn1per Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 2 hours ago, mok199 said: People can only herded , abused and ripped off for so long...even the Chinese have had enough of the Land of Smiles.... The Chinese seemed to cotton on to this a lot quicker than most of their predecessors... social media is massive in China and clips like the Thai girl wai-ing or man being assulted for not giving a tip and the like get a lot of air-time there.... and as we all know from the herds you see around Pattaya etc, where one goes (or doesnt) others follow in large numbers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Loh Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 The boat incident was make worse when General Fatso said this and put the blame on the Chinese instead creating a backlash. “Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifriends Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 2 hours ago, HLover said: Once the boat is flooded with Indian and Chinese saviours? There is no remorse on the deaths. What about if 47 were filthy bagpackers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipButty Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 36 minutes ago, Eric Loh said: The boat incident was make worse when General Fatso said this and put the blame on the Chinese instead creating a backlash. “Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation”. A few Chinese that I met where not happy with his comments they told me it was all over the Chinese media Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyHeyHey Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 4 hours ago, Youlike said: It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important..... Which part of selling the boat restoring the boat putting the boat back to the sea make you think Thais are able to learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBKK Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Prayut cares nowt for tourism. Bars close early, economic FX is ****, foreigners can't buy property - even condos without jumping through hoops AND don't even start me on TM30, 90 days reporting, Visa letters etc. What happened to Land of Smiles? Thais are just not happy anymore (apart from the rich pigs) and it all filters down to US. BTW not much publicity for this tragedy compared to the cave kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuiDui48 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Not ONE WORD in the article about how to keep this country CLEAN.I'm sure this need to be adressed because the tourist want to come for their holyday to a country that take safety and ecological careseriously.Who wants to come for a expensive holiday when the beaches look like they look..I think quality is the buzzword,not quantity..another word would be sustainability.. What are the types of sustainable tourism? Tourism forms identified by the literature as being “sustainable” are numerous: ecological tourism (ecotourism), green tourism, soft, rural tourism and agrotourism, community tourism, solidarity and responsible tourism, all these opposing to the traditional, mass tourism. Were does people want to go on their holidays,her's what Google says: https://www.travelsupermarket.com/en-gb/travel-insurance/where-the-world-wants-to-go-on-holiday/ Not one word mentions Thailand..Thailand need to rethink MANY things..Language skills is lacking BIG times,English that is..To teach what the word SERVICE really means..so many more things but i stop for now and crawl back to hide under a rock...But living here with family for 17 years i can still say that i love Thais and Thailand ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcnx Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 4 hours ago, Youlike said: It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important..... They still won’t learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcnx Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Eric Loh said: The boat incident was make worse when General Fatso said this and put the blame on the Chinese instead creating a backlash. “Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation”. This is why they won’t learn and it will happen again. They refuse to take responsibility for anything. Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatfreak Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 and has any lesson been learned from the accident? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edina Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 What a sad situation that was, the sad part is there was still two empty seats!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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