TAT targeting tech savvy young tourists as New Normal means less visitors and more domestic tourism

[crickets]

These tourists are not interested in animal shows anymore and are probably against them now so they will have to start doing different types of things.

[geisha]

No point really in dreaming up silly ideas at the moment. The world has to wait until things get better. Russia, US, and most of Europe have closed borders. Everyone is being discouraged, advised, to stay in their own countries this summer. I can see the EU Shengen countries opening up their borders between each other, allowing EU  members  only to travel within. But that’s not going to happen soon. Our healthcare system ,arguably the best in the world, allows us free health service in those said EU countries. 
I rather think that it’s only going to be a certain age group ( older) that are going to be desperate to get back to Thailand, and the very young and back packers who don’t much care about good advice, and are ready to take risks for some exciting travel.

[BritManToo]

Just now, crickets said:

These tourists are not interested in animal shows anymore and are probably against them now so they will have to start doing different types of things.

So it's back to ping-pong then?

[chang1]

2 minutes ago, geisha said:

exciting travel.

It's a long time since Thailand was exciting.

[losworld]

Does this ever stop?  What's next soccer moms?

 

Here's an idea.  Clean up the beaches. Clean up the BIB.  Clean the air.  Stop double pricing.  Lower the baht.

 

Now that just might work.

[Greg O]

Make it fun again , oh it's a riot from my perspective ( retired on a comfortable pension and home is paid for ) but they (the paralyzed and indecisive government and TAT)  are 100 percent effective at sucking the fun out of everything...Where's the revenue coming from, what incentive is there to come here when the social venues have been bankrupted or just closed .  To be harassed and told where they can go and what they can do ? Can't even go to a National Park ( please explain why ) ..

[Chongalulu]

 

[Misterwhisper]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

means less visitors

I'm sure that should read FEWER visitors.

[Surasak]

1 hour ago, chowny77 said:

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

Yes, and remove the age restrictions for over sixties. There is a wealth of knowledge in older people, we don't all suffer from Alzheimers, Although I can never remember his first name????

[Kaopad999]

Hold on, are they not basically describing digital nomads? 
And why not just make Thailand attractive for all age groups? 
 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Kaopad999

[Surasak]

1 hour ago, greeneking said:

How many Tourist Police does a country with no tourists need?

Come to that, how many countries even have Tourist Police?

 

Someone must have thought it a good idea, so they rounded up all the BIB who could speak Thaiglish.

[Huckenfell]

3 hours ago, Creasy said:

TAT.   Give yourself an uppercut.

TAT way of thinking "If it aint stuffed .....fix it"

[Chongalulu]

12 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

I'm sure that should read FEWER visitors.

And fewer IQs.... ???? 

[chang1]

2 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Someone must have thought it a good idea, so they rounded up all the BIB who could speak Thaiglish.

And what is wrong with that?

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Someone must have thought it a good idea, so they rounded up all the BIB who could speak Thaiglish.

What, u they they were all friends of big Joke......or whomever is at the helm for tourism....thats right they have volunteer foreigners as TP......yep toilet paper

[chang1]

8 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Hold on, are they not basically describing digital nomads? 

Or Indian tech support scammers?

[Surasak]

24 minutes ago, Greg O said:

Make it fun again , oh it's a riot from my perspective ( retired on a comfortable pension and home is paid for ) but they (the paralyzed and indecisive government and TAT)  are 100 percent effective at sucking the fun out of everything...Where's the revenue coming from, what incentive is there to come here when the social venues have been bankrupted or just closed .  To be harassed and told where they can go and what they can do ? Can't even go to a National Park ( please explain why ) ..

All that you say is true and they get this from their bestest friends in china.

[madmitch]

40 minutes ago, chang1 said:

Targeting backpackers would be a much more sensible and achievable target group. They stay in small guest houses and eat in small restaurants which helps Thais on low incomes. Thailand did this sort of tourism very well and these are the kind of travellers who will return in future years with their families. It is also a less crowded sector to compete with. On the other hand going for wealthier tourists (and the Chinese group tours) means money is funnelled to the already wealthy encouraging them to build large beachfront hotels that are a blight on so many nice beaches. Turning Thailand into Spain means it has to compete with Spain which is much harder as Spain is easier to get to and does it better. Legalising cannabis would be a good way to kickstart this business. Backpackers will put up with a lot more "Thai style" than spoilt nobs who need everything just right. Make Thailand fun again should be TATs objective until then I would not recommend Thailand as there are better and cheaper alternatives closer to home.

True, but I am very concerned about the future of the hostel until a COVID-19 vaccine is found. Sharing a dorm room with several other travellers makes social distancing all but impossible and only the really flashy places will be able to afford to provide facilities that cater for this. Guesthouse rooms are of course more expensive.

[ThailandRyan]

Come to Thailand and learn how our national food of Som Tam eradicated Covid-19.  Don't stress we will only charge you for extra insurance at the door....

[Surasak]

10 minutes ago, chang1 said:

And what is wrong with that?

You tell me??

[chang1]

1 minute ago, Surasak said:

All that you say is true and they get this from their bestest friends in china.

After watching serpantza youtube videos and others, the path Thailand is going down is very worrying. Glad my wife and son have dual nationality.

[miamiman123]

What? The schools are not cultivating young thinkers out of the box...they training more 7/11 workers that can follow orders. 

We have enough thinkers ...we need you to follow orders and work!

where do they get these people?

i know if you don’t know what to say...just say something 

[Huckenfell]

18 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Hold on, are they not basically describing digital nomads? 
And why not just make Thailand attractive for all age groups? 
 

Like it used to be until Hi-So jobsworths started their "improvements"  and stuffed the free flowing system up.

[GAZZPA]

3 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

I'm not sure whether there is much out of the box thinking here, but I look forward to the smaller groups of FIT young ladies gracing the shores of Phuket - Bring it on ????

You do know this demographic are not hookers right? I think it will be a very difficult task to attract additional domestic tourist numbers. Thai people do travel locally, but not in the big numbers Thailand is used to. Plus they generally only take 1 or 2 days. The 2 week, 2 month and beyond tourists are obviously not going to happen. 

[Huckenfell]

17 minutes ago, chang1 said:

And what is wrong with that?

Why are "Tourist Police" needed at all .

 

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, chowny77 said:

Basically they are after digital nomads. Wasn't it a few years ago that they were kicking these people out for not having Thai work permits?? I think it's about time that Thailand reverses this draconian law and allow people to work in any job if they have the knowledge or skill. It's not difficult and I expect more foreigners are likely to pay tax rather than their Thai counterparts. 

Exactly.  These are the same self-funded long-stayers they booted-out by "cracking down" on their use of repeat visa-exempts and serial tourist-visas.   How did they think those people could afford paying their bills here, plus paying for visa-run trips and tourist-visas before?  By competing with the Burmese and Cambodians for "under the table" illegal jobs? 

That "smart move" shuttered countless Thai businesses (entire sois boarded up), throwing thousands of Thais out of work.  Maybe this time, they can be smart about it, and keep more of that spending in-Thailand, by not forcing the continuous visa-runs.  Just to to immigration every 3 mo and shell out 5K - better yet, pay at 711 or online.

 

1 hour ago, timendres said:

You are now competing with TAT for the "I have a dream" award.

I've been competing for that award for awhile.  But at least I am cynical enough to keep myself real, about it.

No doubt the immigration "agent-money" clique and "elite-visa" beneficiaries will block TAT, again.  Tour groups can organize the required payoffs, and side-deals for the big-businesses where they take their hordes to shop.  It is not so simple to organize lucrative envelope-collection schemes for individuals and families. 

Watch for the phrase "National Security" to come up, like it did with the initial "bring your landlord" rule for covid-extensions. 

[NightSky]

So they want the people back who they repelled over the past 6 years.

 

Som nom naa haaa haaa haaa

Edited May 14, 2020 by NightSky

[JackThompson]

55 minutes ago, marqus12 said:

They should loosen visas as they were before 2014 at least for a few years.

But aren't these news in the media sometimes directed at Chinese ?
"Send us wagons of tourists or we will let backpackers back in"

The threat is more, "We will let the Westerners back in."  That's the last thing China wants in their "Thai-province" (Thailand, as considered from their perspective).  Remember, first it was "too long" tourists, then those studying Thai, then changing the rules to boot out long-term retired-folks, plus increasing "scrutiny" for those with Thai family.

Edited May 14, 2020 by JackThompson

[Mavideol]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

He gave a ballpark estimate of 14-16 million foreign tourists for 2020 with domestic tourists making between 80 million and 100 million trips.

only TAT can come up some estimates like that.... wishful thinking though

[JackThompson]

1 minute ago, NightSky said:

So they want the people back who they repelled over the past 6 years.

Each govt-dept has it's own agenda and turf.  I don't think TAT wanted the immigration-crackdowns.  But if TAT wants them back, they will have to get the cabinet to force Immigration to go along with it.