Jump to content

Losing Chinese tourists to virus outbreak to have cascading effect on Thai economy


webfact

Recommended Posts

12 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Thailand, since 2014, has been known for molesting the goose that lays the golden eggs.  The military's over controlling nature has not been good for Thailand.  The business you speak of is Thailand's to lose.  From a western perspective, Vietnam looks to go more inviting with long, hassle free visas, work opportunities and an affordable, fun life, like Thailand use to have. 

I love Vietnam for those reasons, and the fact that everything is roughly 50% cheaper. I don't really see a future here in Thailand. And I laugh at the ill-prepared English teachers in Vietnam prospecting for jobs in Thailand... 30,000+/- THB a month? They are used to make 60,000+ THB and they couldn't even build a small nest egg on that? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, dcnx said:

Tourism will continue to grow. Look at the numbers year by year. Half million to almost eleven million for Chinese alone. 
 

Most Chinese don’t even have passports yet. That means you haven’t seen anything yet.

I wonder what the repeat tourism rate of Chinese vs Europeans, Australians, and North Americans will be.  From what I have seen so far, and where I have seen Chinese tourists not on group tours, I would expect them to spread out much more across the world than the others, focusing on new locations.  Honestly, that might be the trend everywhere, but my anecdotal experience from 10-20 years ago was a very high level of repeat tourism. 
 

It seems like repeat tourism will be a challenge for Thailand, and the role that plays in tourist growth.  I am not saying “we” are the goose laying the golden egg, but the ripple effect of people that love Thailand is pretty dramatic on tourism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thailand needs massive investment to clean up environmental concerns, improve garbage collection in cities like Bangkok and Pattaya. Builders are only building condos while polluting the environment. May be they need Chinese help in building clean cities, roads, bridges, etc. Then Chinese and Indians will come for short visits to improve the economy. But Thailand has to to pony up the initial investment. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

Thailand needs massive investment to clean up environmental concerns, improve garbage collection in cities like Bangkok and Pattaya. Builders are only building condos while polluting the environment. May be they need Chinese help in building clean cities, roads, bridges, etc. Then Chinese and Indians will come for short visits to improve the economy. But Thailand has to to pony up the initial investment. 

 

It's even worse then that : since 20 years, Thailand has THE best example, right under her eyes : China.

 

It's a textbook.

 

You want to explode your GDP ? Rocket style ? 

 

Build.

 

Airports, bridges, cities, roads, power plants, trains network, garbages processing plants, flood protection systems etc.

 

Build like there is no tomorrow. Build fast.

 

The list is endless.

 

Thaksin was the first, if I remember, to toy with the "infrastructure work".

 

But after, the inane pseudo "generals" who can't add 1 to 1.... didn't understand.

 

In Thailand, it takes 2 years to build a small overpass or a bridge (everybody complain about this). Or a piece of road. And I'm not even speaking about trains lines... It's pathetic. It's as long as in Europe.

 

Thailand still has a "boulevard" in front of her.

 

We need to explode the infrastructure work.

 

But for that we need people with real vision.

 

And not only the desire to buy a Mercedes by stealing some public money (the Chinese do the same of course, but at least they deliver).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Nor are Chinese folks happily jumping on planes. They are hiding at home.

If they can find a plane to jump on. There's still huge swaths of China relatively unaffected but flights have been cut to the bone.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

They are spreading outs. I have seen them in remote corners of Portugal (Albuferia) to large cities like London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc. And eurpean airportes VAT return counters  are packed with Chinese tourists. I was reading a report of Chinese tourist spend is more than European tourists spend on large European cities. And this is when Chinese average income is at the cusp of escaping the middle income trap. Tourism research analysists estimate the tsunami of tourist dollars spent when China reaches the income level of SK in another 20-year will be unheard of in human history. That wave will be followed by Indians. Thailand is wising up to accommodate these two groups as much as possible for future tourism growth. 

Indian and Chinese tourists will be different than Europeans. They will not visit bars or sex entertainment en-mass in low income counties, most of these tourists will be family type, they will prefer shopping, foods, and souvenirs, tours over sex, prostitutes, and scouting for a retirement place in a foreign locations. So Thailand should reorient its sex and prostitutes industry accordingly to profit from the tsunami that is coming. 

Delighted to see that someone has their finger on the pulse. A very well written comment and an informative read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2020 at 3:37 PM, SteveK said:

I wonder how many Thai businesses have got enough money squirreled away to be able to survive on a skeleton staff for six months? I suspect very few. It's Thai businesses and Thai people who are ultimately going to be harmed by the shortsightedness of these policies. I spoke to a good friend of mine a few days ago who owns a very nice little resort on Samui, with small bungalows for about 1100 a night. He's between a rock and a hard place as business is worse than ever, but selling up isn't an option either as he would almost certainly never find a buyer. So he's just draining his and his wife's savings hoping for things to improve. I suggested that he double his room rates to make up for the shortfall.

 

It really is a pretty amazing situation. Thailand alienates the very tourists who made the place popular in the first place through ridiculous and unfriendly immigration policies, racist rants from the government and the uncontrolled surge in the currency. Then they put all their hopes on China, which seemed reasonable, with almost 1.4 billion people I guess that could have worked. But then that very country is struck with one of the worst pandemics for decades. It's almost like divine intervention.

 

I doubt tourism will ever reach the heady heights of years gone by. With the rise of the internet, tourists are more savvy now than ever before. If I was a young man in the UK these days, I'd be looking at Mexico - similar living costs, weather, very attractive girls, much better food options, much better architecture and tourist attractions, and much easier visa situation. Plus the language is much, much easier for Westerners. Mexico City beats Bangkok hands down for tourists.

"I suggested that he double his room rates to make up for the shortfall."

 

Are you Thai! Luv it!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am on my last visit to Thailand, unless I have to come back for a funeral. Today was Wednesday.

Last Wednesday in Jomtien beach, and at Pattaya, the vendors did not have the umbrellas up or

would rent a beach chair to me. Today at Hua Hin beach, and other beaches in Hua Hin, the same thing has happened. The government will not let the vendors operate on the beaches. What kind

of policy is this backward thinking.  I have had enough of this third world coutry for a while.

It is high time the goverment here was replaced, if this is how they treat the tourists, and travellers to Thailand.

Geezer

Edited by Stargrazer9889
error
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

I am on my last visit to Thailand, unless I have to come back for a funeral. Today was Wednesday.

Last Wednesday in Jomtien beach, and at Pattaya, the vendors did not have the umbrellas up or

would rent a beach chair to me. Today at Hua Hin beach, and other beaches in Hua Hin, the same thing has happened. The government will not let the vendors operate on the beaches. What kind

of policy is this backward thinking.  I have had enough of this third world coutry for a while.

It is high time the goverment here was replaced, if this is how they treat the tourists, and travellers to Thailand.

Geezer

>I am on my last visit to Thailand, <

Bye to you .So where next ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2020 at 9:08 PM, SteveK said:

Because Thailand has had it good for so many years regarding tourism, the TAT just assume that people will come, and they forget that they have a freedom of choice with such fantastic places such as Mexico, Portugal, Vietnam and Indonesia now offering a lot more for your money. They are myopic in the extreme, and that's being polite.

I'll play devil's advocate and say that a collapse of Thai tourist industry could be the best thing that has happened in a long time. It might draw attention to everything that has gone badly wrong with tourism in Thailand, and if the collapse is bad enough actually cause some remedial action.

The list of things wrong with Thailand as a tourist destination are well known by most posters on TVF so I won't go into them in detail, but Thailand used to be cheap and cheerful. Now, it's expensive and bad value for farang tourists, plus it's lost the smile, lost the sanuk, and lost the welcome, the environment is broken and dirty, the people in tourism unhelpful, and as for immigration! If they have set out to drive away farangs they seem to have succeeded.

This is a golden opportunity to reform tourism root and branch, starting with immigration ( sack the entire management and bring in people that don't "dislike" farangs would help ).

Will it happen? I doubt it given the mentality that has taken over in the past decade. RIP Thailand, you were great, 30 years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/19/2020 at 11:31 AM, tjo o tjim said:

I wonder what the repeat tourism rate of Chinese vs Europeans, Australians, and North Americans will be.  From what I have seen so far, and where I have seen Chinese tourists not on group tours, I would expect them to spread out much more across the world than the others, focusing on new locations.  Honestly, that might be the trend everywhere, but my anecdotal experience from 10-20 years ago was a very high level of repeat tourism. 
 

It seems like repeat tourism will be a challenge for Thailand, and the role that plays in tourist growth.  I am not saying “we” are the goose laying the golden egg, but the ripple effect of people that love Thailand is pretty dramatic on tourism.

Even if every Chinese decides to visit Thailand only once in his life, there are enough new Chinese tourists visiting Thailand for the next 100 years (10 million x 100=1 billion). After all, China has a population of 1.4 billion people. It's a market that Thailand really couldn't afford to ignore or offend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/18/2020 at 11:51 AM, Golden Triangle said:

I hope Thailand is prepared for a very big slap in the face, tourism will never grow back to what they used to have, I can't say I'm bothered, this was all brought upon themselves by their very selfish attitude towards tourists from wherever in the world they came from, they just expected the world on their doorstep, and for a while that's what they got, not any more chaps, stand by to be skint.

 

As an aside, I was told this afternoon that Nong Nooch were accepting Thai drivers licence for falangs with entry charged at only 200 Baht ????  

I can confirm that Nong Nooch is only charging anyone with a Thai drivers licence Baht 200, fill yer boots people ???? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.





×
×
  • Create New...