Advertorial Thailand's Resorts Now More Expensive Than Europe's

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Thailand's Resorts Now More Expensive Than Europe's

 

Thailand’s resorts have become more expensive than their European counterparts, claims a new report. For many Europeans it’s now cheaper to go on vacation to Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Egypt.

 

Thailand travel company Diethelm’s latest research has revealed a widening gap between vacation prices in Thailand and various European countries. The report benchmarks four-star beach hotels at $350--$150 higher than Egypt and Turkey and $50 higher than Germany/Austria and Switzerland.

 

“It’s easy to blame the baht as the butt of the problem for a decline in European arrivals to Thailand. The issues are wider and deeper than just currency appreciation” said Raini Hamdi, Diethelm’s senior editor.  

 

For US vacationers the widening gap between the baht and the dollar is almost as punishing. Thai resorts cost an additional 30% in US dollars and an additional 40% in Euros.

 

Phuket and Koh Samui have “lost their glamour” explains UK tour operator Chic Locations, who blames “overfamiliarity” rather than the current economic climate. Chic Locations claims that rather than treading the well-beaten path to Phuket and Koh Samui, vacationers are going to less visited destinations like Koh Lak, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Despite the loss in tourism to the most popular areas, revenue is up 5% overall.

 

Thailand tourism has proven to be resilient to shifts in the economic climate and we expect that Thai resorts will be swarming with international tourists once again.

 

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[4MyEgo]

Price adjustments on the way post high season, that or foreclosures by the hundreds will be inevitable, watch this space !!!

[BritManToo]

It's always been cheaper to go on holiday in Spain, flights, food, beer and wine are cheap.

From a Brit that's been visiting Spain (and France) since 1967.

I only started visiting Thailand when I was (unexpectedly) single.

[Andrew65]

I moved back to the UK last year after 20 years in Thailand.

 

Supermarket prices, you're looking at 3 times the price in Bangkok as the UK.

 

For example, my Adidas deoderent costs 157 Baht in Thailand, or £1.50 in the UK, and no, I don't think this is just to do with importation.

 

If you  substitute pennies for Baht, that's pretty much it.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I moved back to the UK last year after 20 years in Thailand.

 

Supermarket prices, you're looking at 3 times the price in Bangkok as the UK.

 

For example, my Adidas deoderent costs 157 Baht in Thailand, or £1.50 in the UK, and no, I don't think this is just to do with importation.

 

If you  substitute pennies for Baht, that's pretty much it.

It is startling that you could live in Thailand for two decades, and not understand the Thai impost tariff / tax policy.  Or ... even the simple fact that all over this world, countries impose tariffs in protectionist policies.  Do you have access to a newspaper, or the internet?  Seems to be a front page issue ... ROFL. 

[natway09]

This is a stupid report & very misleading

Accommodation (for the quality) is one of the cheapest in the world.

After many years traveling around the world Thailand can still give you a clean, spacious well

appointed room for under 2,000 Bht (even in Bangkok)  a dog box in most of the countries mentioned you will get for that.

The high rollers who stay in resorts at 10,-20 thousand Bht a night like it like that to keep us riff raff out & they pay no attention to the price anyway

 

[toenail]

“Holiday Beach Resorts” need to be defined more in detail. The 5 star beach resorts have always been near or at the same cost as “fancy” beach resort in Europe or North America.  Very common to pay $6.00 dollars for a beer at these resorts in Thailand or three times the price for the hotel’s restaurant food , especially by time you add the tax and service charge... but there are still good bargains out there if you do your homework researching prices on the various internet hotel booking agencies and  do not eat or drink at the hotel resort. 

Thank goodness one can easily find good 3star hotels in Bangkok for around $30-35 a night. (just stay away from the international brand names)

[off road pat]

8 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I moved back to the UK last year after 20 years in Thailand.

 

Supermarket prices, you're looking at 3 times the price in Bangkok as the UK.

 

For example, my Adidas deoderent costs 157 Baht in Thailand, or £1.50 in the UK, and no, I don't think this is just to do with importation.

 

If you  substitute pennies for Baht, that's pretty much it.

Hmm,...Life's still cheaper in Thailand than the UK if you stay of import products !

 

[off road pat]

2 hours ago, natway09 said:

This is a stupid report & very misleading

Accommodation (for the quality) is one of the cheapest in the world.

After many years traveling around the world Thailand can still give you a clean, spacious well

appointed room for under 2,000 Bht (even in Bangkok)  a dog box in most of the countries mentioned you will get for that.

The high rollers who stay in resorts at 10,-20 thousand Bht a night like it like that to keep us riff raff out & they pay no attention to the price anyway

 

Hmm,...I rent a bungalow right on a pristine beach for 6000 Thb, a month !!! there's just no equivalent in all of Europe !!!!!,...let's keep the uninformed riff, raff out of our way !

The picture is my view just a couple of meters

from the bungalow !!!

Best regards !!!

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, toenail said:

Very common to pay $6.00 dollars for a beer at these resorts in Thailand or three times the price for the hotel’s

I'm happy with $2 for a large beer, and happy to drink it outside 7-11/at home/on the beach.

@Andrew65 Local brand deodorant 30bht in 7-11, how much is your housing, council tax, and utils?

[Andrew65]

On 11/19/2019 at 1:28 PM, BritManToo said:

I'm happy with $2 for a large beer, and happy to drink it outside 7-11/at home/on the beach.

@Andrew65 Local brand deodorant 30bht in 7-11, how much is your housing, council tax, and utils?

Local brand isn't a true comparison if it ain't available in the UK (also, Thai local brand de-oderant used to cause a rash in my arm-pits!????), Adidas brand is almost 3 times more in Bangkok.

Drinking pints of beer is a bit cheaper in Bangkok (at the regular price), I drink Strongbow in Wetherspoons @ £1.95 a pint (200+ Baht in BKK). If you like John Smith's Bitter it's £1.69 (66 Baht) a pint in Spoons. These aren't happy-hour prices, that's the price all day every day.

 

I moved into a place in July (Worcester, not the London area), I'm paying £500 a month plus £50pm for parking. All bills are included, part of why I moved here, it's a former-hotel.

My last place in Bangkok was 17,000 Baht pm + electric, so around 19,000, almost the same as the £500 I'm paying here in the UK. In my last place, council tax was £88pm, electric & water another £50pm

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

I moved into a place in July (Worcester, not the London area), I'm paying £500 a month plus £50pm for parking. All bills are included, part of why I moved here, it's a former-hotel.

My last place in Bangkok was 17,000 Baht pm + electric, so around 19,000, almost the same as the £500 I'm paying here in the UK. In my last place, council tax was £88pm, electric & water another £50pm

Worcester is the UK equivalent of Issan, you aren't exactly comparing like with like.

A more equatable comparison would be my serviced apartment in Chiang Mai at 5,000bht/month ..... 1/4 the price of your UK place (my parking was free).

[Andrew65]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Worcester is the UK equivalent of Issan, you aren't exactly comparing like with like.

My serviced apartment in Chiang Mai was 5,000bht/month ..... 1/4 the price of your UK place.

No it isn't, Worcester is what would be called "middle-England" fairly affluent. If you're looking for a British-Isaan you'd head oop north!.

A three bed semi in Worcester is £283,000. A little bit of research tells me that one of the cheapest towns to buy a house in the UK is Nelson, Lancs @ £109,000, getting on for a third of the Worcester price, as I said Worcester is middle-England, fairly affluent.

[Andrew65]

On 11/19/2019 at 12:39 PM, off road pat said:

Hmm,...Life's still cheaper in Thailand than the UK if you stay of import products !

 

Exactly, but for one thing, I'm not really into Thai food.

Another thing, a 330ml can of locally produced Beer Chang is 38 Baht in Bangkok, a 440ml can of Stella Artois (much nicer beer) in Tesco UK is 32 Baht (83p).

They've been raising "sin taxes" in Thailand. A pack of Marlboro were 33 Baht a pack when I moved to Thailand in 1998, they're now around 170 Baht. I know there are cheaper brands, but that's a real comparison. (I smoke Camel Blue @ 60 Baht).

[fredob43]

34 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Local brand isn't a true comparison if it ain't available in the UK (also, Thai local brand de-oderant used to cause a rash in my arm-pits!????), Adidas brand is almost 3 times more in Bangkok.

Drinking pints of beer is a bit cheaper in Bangkok (at the regular price), I drink Strongbow in Wetherspoons @ £1.95 a pint (200+ Baht in BKK). If you like John Smith's Bitter it's £1.69 (66 Baht) a pint in Spoons. These aren't happy-hour prices, that's the price all day every day.

 

I moved into a place in July (Worcester, not the London area), I'm paying £500 a month plus £50pm for parking. All bills are included, part of why I moved here, it's a former-hotel.

My last place in Bangkok was 17,000 Baht pm + electric, so around 19,000, almost the same as the £500 I'm paying here in the UK. In my last place, council tax was £88pm, electric & water another £50pm

Sorry but your trying to compare a capital city with the sticks. Can we have some London prices to compare with the BKK ones you have put in???

 

I own several houses (not in central London) in the UK that I rent out. One is rent free to one of my daughters. So I know what her out going are. Her costs a month are just short of 500UK for utility bills alone. Council tax amounts to 179UK on it's own. And you worried about the cost of deodorant.

 

If you would like my outgoings a month in Thailand they are well under 200UK a month for a family of 3 and that includes food & utility bills. No rent included in that as I brought our 6 double bedroom bungalow several years ago for 14.000UK . Try doing that in the UK.    

[Andrew65]

On 11/19/2019 at 6:48 AM, bangkokequity said:

It is startling that you could live in Thailand for two decades, and not understand the Thai impost tariff / tax policy.  Or ... even the simple fact that all over this world, countries impose tariffs in protectionist policies.  Do you have access to a newspaper, or the internet?  Seems to be a front page issue ... ROFL. 

Yes, I'm well aware of such things, Although I'm not a fan of the guy, Mr Trump makes some good points on such things. For example, if one buys a Rolls Royce car in Thailand there's a 300% import duty.

As Trump rightly points out, imported cars from the US to the EU attract a 10% tariff, whilst US cars imported from the EU attract only a 2.5% tariff.

I'm aware that, for example, grated cheese attracts a lower tariff into Thailand than solid cheese!????

For many years the EU used the excuse of antibiotics in Thai seafood as a way of keeping it out of the EU market.

So yes, I'm fully aware of the things that you think I'm not aware of.

[BritManToo]

17 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Exactly, but for one thing, I'm not really into Thai food.

Me neither, but there's hardly any English/America/Mexican food I can't cook using Thai produce.

Nobody forces you to buy 'ready meals' from Rimping/Tops et al.

[Andrew65]

Just using the deoderent cost as a comparison.

Flats are available in London N9 for as little as £100 a week, less than what I pay in Worcester.

 

Are you living "in the sticks" in Thailand? You never brought that house in BKK for that price, even several years ago?! DOH! Comparing sticks prices with the capital! Where is that house, Nakhon Nowhere?

Also, I wouldn't want your family, and I also wouldn't want to buy someone else a house, even for £14k.

[Andrew65]

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Me neither, but there's hardly any English/America/Mexican food I can't cook using Thai produce.

Nobody forces you to buy 'ready meals' from Rimping/Tops et al.

Rarely eat ready meals.

Also, you can buy imported pork sausages more cheaply than locally produced Yorkies sausages.

Tesco UK potatoes 30p/KG

Tops Thailand potatoes (locally produced) 45 Baht/500g
 

Like for like, cost being the issue.

 

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Also, you can buy imported pork sausages more cheaply than locally produced Yorkies sausages.

Tesco UK potatoes 30p/KG

Tops Thailand potatoes (locally produced) 45 Baht/500g

Sausage skin and minced pork is cheap.

Potatoes are 30bht/Kg in Makro, even thought it isn't really a Thai food product.

 

Tops is a luxury store aimed at whitey, whom is known to pay premium prices for everything.

Tesco UK is a store aimed at working class people.

There's no like for like in any of your comparisons.

[Andrew65]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Sausage skin and minced pork is cheap.

Potatoes are 30bht/Kg in Makro, even thought it isn't really a Thai food product.

 

Tops is a luxury store aimed at whitey, whom is known to pay premium prices for everything.

Tesco UK is a store aimed at working class people.

There's no like for like in any of your comparisons.

Tops isn't a "luxury" store, depending on where you come from.
Potatoes are grown in Thailand, so they're a Thai product. They're 30 Baht in Thailand, 30p in the UK, still nearly 3 times the price. That's about as like for like as you can get, and not because they're imported.

There's plenty of like for like, just that you don't like it.