Tourism was a powerful economic engine in Thailand. Then a boat full of Chinese sank

[Danthai]

And the article forgot the forcing out of long term and short term singles, retirees, and families who spend very much partying and raising families, spending on houses, condos, and cars by making everyone meet difficult and sometimes unnecessary requirements.

[Isaan sailor]

Don’t worry, tourists will book for high season.  But once they see the exchange rates—they will book elsewhere.  

BTW, Vietnam Dong unchanged yesterday, and PI Peso declined vs USD.  Gotta wonder what causes the ever stronger Baht...

[Is this real]

To the article's writer, JOHN REED.  You should dig a little deeper.

It's not the Baht, or the sunken boat that has crippled tourism.

Tourism has greatly declined the last few years. 

Want proof?  Ask yourself this.

 

A few years ago during high season, all of the main west coast beaches had beach vendors everywhere and were covered with thousands of occupied chairs and umbrellas.  Now, very few.  Where are all these people? 

 

They aren't in Phuket, anymore.  High season was November to Songkran.  Business' were filled.  Now, the high season is mid December to mid January, and, not sold out.

 

Why should they come to Phuket?  Thailand has shown, the past few years, that it no longer wants them, or ex-pats, for that matter. 

 

Why?  That's the real story, Mr. Reed.

 

[otherstuff1957]

7 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

  Gotta wonder what causes the ever stronger Baht...

A strong baht helps wealthy Thais who think that things are going to get unpredictably bad here in the next few years and who want to get a big chunk of their assets invested outside of Thailand.

 

They even have a name for the upcoming bad times: กลียุค or Kliyatyut, which can be roughly translated as the 'vicious era'.

[monkfish]

A lot of Chinese smoke so the new anti smoking laws won't help either.

 

 

 

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, mdmayes said:

The sinking of the boat was the tipping point. The bad PR had been building for years before that incident. 

You got that right, before it was ones and twos which could be waved away as an accident.. the boat scenario was a little more difficult to sweep under the carpet !

[DefaultName]

Was it that the boat went down or the poor emergency response and the shoddy way the blame was pushed on anyone but those responsible?

 

I do agree that the high Baht is now coming to bite, when it happened TAT said it wasn't affecting numbers.  Many of us said wait, the people you're seeing now booked many months ago.  Now it's taking effect.  Surprise!

 

I'm not sure that visa's matter to tourist numbers though, frequent tourists and expats yes, but they are a small fraction of the total.  Most tourists come only once and probably don't even hear about this, it won't affect them at all.

[Knobby37]

I don’t think the government understand the knock on effect around the globe concerning the TM.30 that’s all people are talking about. The Chinese accident was what it was an accident, agreed it could of had better safety standards, but personally that is not the reason behind less tourists. That’s the last thing they should be pointing their finger at.

Look after the goose that lays the golden egg and play safe or you will lose more than you bargained for

[Parker2100]

Simultaneous to that, they made a policy decision to seak fewer Westerners and make it harder for them to stay.

 

Then the Baht went up to fast.  Total <deleted> situation.

[30la]

There are many reasons that keep tourists away from Thailand: Danger of road accidents, stories about micro-crime against tourists, the rudeness of Thais towards tourists, discrimination against foreigners in general and last but not least, the Baht held high artificially by a group of rich people who speculate without restraint!
The costs of living in Thailand have now reached European and North American levels!
Pull the brake as soon as possible, give your tour operators, taxi drivers, van and bus drivers an education in good behavior and give back to the people what belongs to them, perhaps it is still possible to make a 180-degree turn.

[Stevemercer]

Maybe the Thai Government should legalise gambling and start building casinos. That'll pack the Chinese tourists in. 

[meshborg]

im just one of many who have had enough of Thailand.No hygene,no safety&no respect for tourists.

[Oziex1]

8 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

I think the strong Baht has a much bigger impact than that boat accident.

I agree but death and disaster is a better story than economic mumbo jumbo.

[bizboi]

7 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

For Brits and Aussies surely, beyond that ...... there is a pretty big world out there.  

Have you seen how the RMB has performed against the baht in the last 12 norths - from 5.1 down to 4.29!!

[hobz]

Economy in China. Strong baht.

Crackdown on zero baht tours.

Crackdown on illegal tour guides.

 

 

[moto77]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

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.

This.

Is exactly right as some of us learned a few years back. 

[fusion58]

4 hours ago, outsider said:

 

I think it's more a case of tourism already taking a beating thanks to the best efforts to rip off tourists for the longest time. The boat sinking was just the last straw on the camel's back.

Yep.

 

Increasingly, informed tourists are steering clear of the Land Of Shakedowns.

[Parsve]

Yes, blaim the ship and her captain, a civil person. Much better than blaiming the gouverment for the mess that it have bring.

[baansgr]

6 hours ago, moe666 said:

I believe the owner was a Chinese citizen

That had to employ thais to service, sail and do safety checks on the vessel

[sunnyboy2018]

9 hours ago, Youlike said:

It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important.....

Accidents happen all over the world despite health and safety rules.  The Bridge in Italy. The Tower Block in London.

[fusion58]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

One thing i do not get is every day i hear that tourism only makes 10%-15% of GDP and yet every day i also hear how important tourism is.

 

So if tourism is that important, then perhaps it is not 10%-15% of the GDP? and if it is so important, then why not much is done in terms of infrastructure to accommodate growing tourist industry?

 

Even basic things like have translation services 

Take it a step further and calculate the extent to which Thailand depends not just on tourism but on foreign investment in general.

 

Treating foreigners like garbage: Surely a winning formula. ????

[Isaan sailor]

Perhaps if they changed their name, from Thailand, to Chiland--they could draw more Chinese tourists.  Because now with a sky high Baht--all western tourists should avoid this place.

[Kmoore]

2 hours ago, Traubert said:

 

Really Mike, who plans their holidays around wine and handbags?

 

We see this from you at least three times a week.

 

China had 60m incoming tourists last year but they've got the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and a wealth of other sights to see. You can even look at old Mao mouldering away in his casket. Perhaps that might suggest that tourists in general don't really give a damn about wine and handbags. Chinese wine is in it's infancy and China has no worldwide brands to speak of.

 

Neither do I think that first time visitors scan the Forex pages before they plan a holiday. They have no idea of how prices were previously, if they want to come, they'll come regardless of exchange rates. Nor do they examine the road safety statistics. Street safety, in terms of bag snatches, muggings and pickpockets yes, not RTA's.

 

'Let's go to Kathmandu for a fortnight, sweetie.' 'Ok but see what the local Police efficiency figures are like first, and don't forget to find out whether the Government is popular locally, darling.'

 

It's not happening is it?

I guess you have not seen the Chinese tourists in Paris filling empty suitcases with Louis Vuitton, etc bags or dominating the wine auctions.  I have, and to say they don’t plan their holidays around luxury shopping is naive.  

[Parker2100]

1 hour ago, Stevemercer said:

 

 

[Parker2100]

1 hour ago, Stevemercer said:

Maybe the Thai Government should legalise gambling and start building casinos. That'll pack the Chinese tourists in. 

Throw in a Navy Base to sweeten the deal.

 

Belt & Road.  Ya know?

[Brigand]

It wasn't just the boat sinking and the Chinese lives that were lost, it was also Prawit's insensitivity when he mouthed off that it was the Chinese owners fault (implying not us Thais fault) that sealed it. Talk about a moronic gaff.

[Isaan sailor]

I predict this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Tourism will sink right along with western currencies in LoS.  Karma.

[observer90210]

Good if tourist numbers drop.

 

It will naturally give the Thai economy a blow....and hopefully give a blow to Thai society to treat the expats, visitors in a more decent manner and stop harassing with grotesque immigration rules.

 

It may also give the real Estate developpers who are both farangs and Thais a message and make them stop treating the foreign buyers as fools by (trying) cheating them off on everything.

[atyclb]

10 hours ago, Youlike said:

It's the only way the Thai will learn that safety is important.....

 

 

they wont learn

 

they don't learn

[quadperfect]

Its not the boat ,its not the bht ,its not the chinese. Its the government. Since the coup its been a steady decline. They chased everyone who spent time and money here away. All the farang.

so tough luck to the people. Its mostly immigration related. Everyone who liked it here got the boot. And the ones who did not get the boot got out because they were smarter than the rest of us still here.

But its great to see empty markets and restaurants . Its much more pleasent for us regulars.