SURVEY: High end tourists—good idea or a flop?

[worgeordie]

I keep hearing that Pattaya is a high end family resort.....from TAT mostly,

or from local government,when something bad happens,like someone

getting shot in the street,and they say the perpetrators are sullying the

famous image of Pattaya,in 30 odd years living here,it's about the only

place in Thailand I have not been to .

regards worgeordie

 

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Whilst the service sound like a relative bargain I feel for the ladies having the service a dirty farang in the back of a mini van after his long haul flight.

Probably he wants a massage and sleep. ????   

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

i agree with all you are saying here, but the Thai authorities just don't have the brains to do anything about the things you mention, the same applies to the dreadful road fatalities.

Their limit is sitting round a table and making up 22 stupid rules for bars to obey, and fixing curfews, banning alcohol etc which has nothing to do with any virus.

I think it's more likely that they know who profits. Someone allows those spammers to get away with that. And lots of people will profit when the bars pay to not obey the rules. TiT.

[Trillian]

1 hour ago, mrfill said:

I've been trying to think of a single country which had been a popular, relatively low cost place which is now very popular with the high end tourist. Is there such a place?

Almost every country that is a now a high end tourist destination, wasn't one initially!

[JackThompson]

Why are these always phrased as "One Or The Other" options.  They are not mutually-exclusive.  Elites and "regular folks" don't eat or sleep in the same places - never even see each other. 

 

The only type of tourism which significantly hurt Thailand's appeal, was the tour-group mass-tourism, which filled up every scenic place, many beaches and streets with hordes. 

 

On that topic - it was AWESOME to visit the Grand Palace, with NO Hordes of tour-group Tourists packing it - was actually able to enjoy it and see so much more.   I encourage everyone to see every beautiful and "tour-group stop" site NOW, before they let the Chinese back in.

[richard_smith237]

For a country which relies so heavily on Tourism (17.7%) the idea that ‘a specific’ demographic or country is solely targeted is preposterous.

 

 

Targeting ‘high end tourists’ in addition to all other tourists is a good idea, if there are high end offerings which there is. 

 

Not every ‘high end’ tourist wants to stay within the ‘manicured gardens’ of a high end resort, the want to see life, culture, eat locally etc..  in fact, targeting the complete spectrum of the economic demographic makes the most sense. 

 

Cater to back-packers, families, single tourists (yes, you know what I mean), package tourists, individual wealthy and perhaps not so wealthy tourists - Cater to them all...  Why not?

 

The idea of Thailand targeting ‘high end’ tourists alone is just utterly stupid, it stinks of face, it stinks of a money grab, it stinks of ‘who has the most money we can get as quickly as possible’ - they’re not even trying to hide it. 

 

 

Thailand is a s#it-hole in some areas, and very nice in other areas...  All people can be targeted.

 

 

 

[JackThompson]

3 hours ago, saakura said:

Neither would they want to holiday in a place with old farang sex addicts, alcoholics, pedos, deviants and rejects from their own countries. How is that for another sweeping generalization?

They'd never see any "sleaze" unless they went to the specific areas that exists - On Purpose. 

But, harder to avoid the roads jammed with Chinese tour-buses, packed beaches, packed sidewalks, tourist-landmarks jam-packed with long lines, etc. 

 

I guess they could avoid the airport-scrum-scene with fast-track, then helicopter to a private beach area.

Edited June 28, 2020 by JackThompson

[garyk]

No news here. Rich lobbing to fill their tills. 

[GAZZPA]

I guess it depends on how you define high end tourists, if it referring to the rich then it won't happen. There are many high end tourist destinations in the world, most started that way or have been developing that way for years . It will take a lot of time and investment to reinvent the country in that way and Thailand will also have to accept that you won't be attracting 40 million of those kind of customers every year. I can't see it happening because Thailand needs mass tourism now and cannot just switch it off for the economies sake. 

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I keep hearing that Pattaya is a high end family resort.....

 

in 30 odd years living here,it's about the only

place in Thailand I have not been to .

regards worgeordie

 

Do you mean that you have never been to Pattaya because it is too high end for your taste...or wallet?

[Cali farong]

Why would high end wealthy tourists want to come to a second world country like Thailand.  Maybe they will not mind the smell, the trash everywhere, the dangerous roads, the unsanitary street food where they wash dishes in a bucket, the bad sidewalks, the dirty beaches, the scams etc. maybe that’s what the high end like.

im a cheap Charlie so I don’t mind 

[anchadian]

If it's not a poll, it's a survey.

[Kwasaki]

22 hours ago, Scott said:

Do you think it will succeed?

Oh yes Richard Branson is on his way. ????

[torturedsole]

Let's not forget that LOS already has a well-established high-end tourist market.  There's plenty of $500/£400+ per night properties/resorts available and they wouldn't survive without a steady stream of high rollers.  

 

It's more a matter of supply and demand.  If the high-end demand was there then more exclusive establishments would open.  

 

As others have alluded to, if the LOS government want to attract quality tourists in abundance then the infrastructure has to be in place and Thailand's reputation as a safe and clean destination has to considerably improve before high-enders descend in their masses.

 

I'm not going to compare LOS to Bhutan or Mauritius as they're niche markets and not relevant.  But if I'm going to compare LOS vis-à-vis then Japan is the tourist model to emulate.  Unfortunately, Thailand is lightyears away from comparison.  

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by torturedsole

[Maybole]

There are not enough high end tourists.

[Scott]

Troll posts and replies removed.

 

[chang1]

7 hours ago, Trillian said:

If you dig around you can find statements such as, "in the UK, the five richest families own more wealth than 25% of the country's population". Translate that kind of statistic into tourism and you probably arrive at something like, "ten of the most wealthy tourists spend as much as the bottom five thousand combined".

 

Which person in their right mind wouldn't vote for something like that, especially when increasing the ratio involves doing almost nothing whatsoever.  

A few problems with what you are saying-

Firstly there are very few tourists that could spend that kind of money in such a short time. Just because they have thousands of times more money doesn't mean they spend thousands more when on holiday. 

Secondly, your average Thai is not going to see much of that money as it would be funnelled upto the wealthy resort owners instead. Who in their right mind would vote to lose their income?

Lastly, a lot would need to be done to encourage more high rollers to come.

[tiocfaidh]

If the tourist sector was not on its knees then an experiment like this may be a way forward.

Surely after the biggest crisis to tourism in Thailand, you'd really want to get going again as soon as you can and that is not the time to experiment....better the devil you know!

[Damrongsak]

7 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

The biggest single problem is that Thais see tourists as victims to be exploited…not as customers to be welcomed.

 

The constant scams, ripoffs, price gouging. poor infrastructure, police banditry, military oppression and toxic corruption will not go down well with discriminating, higher end travelers.

 

Satisfied customers tend to return...poorly treated victims tend to go elsewhere.

 

 

I had my own list of stuff that is sure to attract high-end spenders:  pollution, noise, garbage and sewerage, traffic and dangerous driving, poor infrastructure, poor service, corruption, etc. 

[kingdong]

12 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

 

You speak in the UK in mixed company to anybody that you are going to Thailand for your holidays and you are guaranteed to get raised eyebrows and the ' knowing smile '  from people.

 

It is known for go go bars, prostitution, cheap sex, Thai brides, military coups (that went all around the world), etc.

 

It's famous for being on the TV, yeah right, it is famous  on ' Locked up abroad ' ' Banged up abroad '  It has reached the worlds press for cheating people out of life pensions, crooked land deals, boiler room scams, higher prices than Europe for shoddy Chinese goods, and corrupt cops.

 

It is no longer renowned for its temples, charming people and exotic culture, no matter how hard they try to package it up with slogans.

 

Those days have gone.

you forgot the jet ski scams.

[kingdong]

yes

Edited June 28, 2020 by kingdong

[daveAustin]

'They've' always wanted the high end, for the money of course and also for face. And now, with the China Flu debacle, it is more poignant than ever... to both keep numbers down and have a similar revenue. As mentioned time and again, however, despite Thailand having some really beautiful places, amazing hotels and great people, the infrastructure and safety net (military juntas - yes, that's what you are) ain't there for the truly well heeled. Just stick to what you're good at, precious. 

[PingRoundTheWorld]

It's such a terrible idea it's not even funny. Nobody in their right mind wants to go on vacation and be confined to a single island and/or resort for two weeks. The whole point of travel is to be able to travel. Set up testing at the airport and let people in already. Even better - let people who have antibodies in, no need to even test as they're immune.

[NatsBKK]

There are many words that spring to mind when I think of Thailand; “classy” isn’t one. Once these rich tourists step outside their 5* hotels, the illusion will be shattered. Maybe some shiny brochures can lure them in, but I doubt they’d be repeat guests. When the world is your oyster and particularly if you want to eat world class cuisine and drink wine on beautiful, clean beaches with top-level service, Thailand unfortunately won’t cut it. 

[sezze]

Wouldn't work ,

The country itself ( Thai population ) travels a lot by themselves also , hotels/rooms for sleep are nationwide , and never far away . By far the most aren't luxury resorts , and aren't aimed at foreign tourists , but they are welcome . Unless they create many many rules , like 2 coins ( Cuba done that if i remember correct ) , super high taxes etc , i cannot see how it would be possible . Most places in Thailand are totally not ready for luxury tourism , they don't know what it is.

[RJRS1301]

11 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

the dirty girls, beaches, ladyboys and copied goods.

Do you mean the poverty stricken under educated women who are exploited, by the high minded, sanctimonious ageing males who cannot get laid in their home countries?
 

Edited June 28, 2020 by RJRS1301

[Trillian]

5 hours ago, chang1 said:

A few problems with what you are saying-

Firstly there are very few tourists that could spend that kind of money in such a short time. Just because they have thousands of times more money doesn't mean they spend thousands more when on holiday. 

Secondly, your average Thai is not going to see much of that money as it would be funnelled upto the wealthy resort owners instead. Who in their right mind would vote to lose their income?

Lastly, a lot would need to be done to encourage more high rollers to come.

Whooosh went the point!
 

The example is not intended to be literal but instead demonstrative of how in terms of economic balance, higher tourist wealth increases the number of wealthy tourists only slightly but can supplant large numbers on the bottom end.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

47 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Do you mean the poverty stricken under educated women who are exploited, by the high minded, sanctimonious ageing males who cannot get laid in their home countries?

You must be fun at parties...

 

At least in my experience in Thailand, these "poverty stricken under educated women" more often than not exploit their victims customers, rarely the other way around, and if they're any good at their chosen profession then they rarely live in poverty. Though I imagine times are tough for them now without those dirty "aging males" to keep them gainfully employed. They are good at surviving though, one young Cowboy girl who kept mailing me for the past few months (which is odd considering I am not in Thailand nor sending her any money) was working on a farm (family farm?) for a while, then in a durian shop. I saw pictures of her fridge - packed completely full of food and beer. Family must have some money, she probably only works in the bar because she enjoys the lifestyle.

[kingofallasians]

Thailand is kind of too dirty for really high end people, lol.  

 

I'm thinking really high end tourists would rather take their money and go elsewhere?  Not to say that the rich couldn't go there and have a blast.

[Trillian]

12 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

What is unique about Thai culture? most of it is borrowed from other countries, including a lot of the food and sport. They have never made the most of it's music of course but lets be honest most peole are here for the dirty girls, beaches, ladyboys and copied goods.

Speak for yourself.