Thailand expects $39.5 billion in tourism revenue in 2020

[SVC Porter]

I'm booked on an A380 next month!  Casually awaiting my cancellation email as we speak.

[Sydebolle]

It is an attitude problem. You cannot EXPECT, you will have to do something for it. 

While domestic travellers are in for the food mostly and some "souvenirs" to show off back home, the distinguished money-spending sight seeing tourist is presently absent by government order. Upon reopening the borders they will be in for a big surprise as Thailand has just outstayed its welcome on the tourism stage. Nothing here at a fair price/value level which is not available elsewhere with more welcoming people, easier entry/visa regulations, appropriate pricing befitting the product they avail. I feat that the gravy train pulled out quite some time ago - hope I am wrong! 

[Thunder26]

Only talk but no action! I mean there's action in stopping foreign tourist coming into Thailand. I wonder how their projection is going to happen? I don't think TAT is very good at logic or observing things.

[teatime101]

10 hours ago, DaLa said:

Hua Hin is packed and the main highway is bumper to bumper.

Yes. Hua Hin is very busy now. I believe it's mostly Thais from BKK, who would normally travel to other SE Asian countries. Certainly seeing far fewer farang then 6 months ago.

[Aussiepeter]

To use Aussie slang - "their dreamin" - Qantas has retired its' last B747's early and all their A380's are either on the way, or already parked in the desert in Arizona for the next three years (public knowledge). Meantime, Mrs P's "hiso" best friend (who loaned us her gold chains for "show" 20 years ago at our wedding) - (and got it all back the same night) and her Chinese-Thai hubby have been posting on facebook for weeks now, from all sorts of resorts in LOS, along with their "hiso" mates. They own at least 12 properties in LOS. He sells farm chemicals, (or used to, as much of it is now supposedly illegal ). Social distancing ? What is that ? Meantime, in the real world my wifes' uncle, who was her boss when I met her working in his locksmith shop in C Mai 21 years ago is now bankrupt and, the hounds are at his door. He failed to turn up to court this week in C Mai over his defunct credit cards - he already has lung cancer, (a non-smoker and non-drinker) from breathing the filth they call "air" in C Mai for all of his 55 years on the planet. Wifey says they will jail him - where, as he is already very ill, he will die. There must be many thousands more just like him, who can not pay their bills, out there in LOS now. No govt help whatsoever. The MIL has not got her lousy 500 baht pension for the last six months ! The local "Pu Yai" says "they are keeping it for Covid patients" ! Utter BS ! Sorry Thailand, but you are "stuffed" ! The internet has so many sorry tales about LOS now, that it makes me weep with laughter ! I lived there for nearly 25 years. We left in 2013 after I too got throat cancer from the filthy air, - it was the smartest move I have ever made. I beat the cancer. Thailand ? Doubt we will ever return. Missus P says "no way". She's generally 'on the money'.

[kensawadee]

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand expects to generate 1.23 trillion baht ($39.5 billion)

Don't you think that:   Thailand 'EXPECTS' will be..................... Thailand 'EXPECTED'     ??????

And coming from a bunch of 'long faces'......... LOL .........

[Stargeezr]

I think TAT is much like the Thai Air company. Lots of relatives working and trying

to impress the old Uncle owner with their tales of okay profits.

  They have been using fairy tales for so long, they forget what the real truth 

looks like. It gives all us Forum members a good chuckle when they put out

their latest forecasts. Thank goodness they do not do weather forecasts as

they would be fired for the inaccuracy.

Geezer

[meechai]

Well it does explain where the other fantasy originated

2020 Q1-Q2 employment reaches 3-year high

Edited July 4, 2020 by meechai

[Soikhaonoiken]

Well TAT, you better start waving your magic wand because you sure are going to need it with predictions like that.... ????

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand expects $39.5 billion in tourism revenue in 2020

Thailand expects a lot, it rarely delivers.

[mikebell]

Charles Dickens wrote a book about Great Expectations.  TAT should be renamed PIP.

There will be no happy ending this year.  As has been pointed out earlier, Domestic tourism merely recycles Thai baht which invariably ends up in the back pockets of the cartels that run the Government.

[PatOngo]

Thailand expects $39.5 billion in tourism revenue in 2020

And behold, everybody was very happy! ????

[Trillian]

Some interesting facts and figures, past and present, by region regarding tourism from BOT:

 

https://www.bot.or.th/App/BTWS_STAT/statistics/BOTWEBSTAT.aspx?reportID=875&language=ENG

 

[marvin1950]

How is domestic tourism going to help the Thai economy?

 

If a Thai has 20,000 baht discretionary income to spend and goes on a holiday in Thailand he is not buying clothes, furniture or electronic equipment.

All he is doing is taking money from one pocket and putting it into the other pocket. There is no increase in GDP

You need foreign money from tourists to increase Thailand's GDP.

[ThailandRyan]

6 hours ago, meechai said:

Well it does explain where the other fantasy originated

2020 Q1-Q2 employment reaches 3-year high

Un-employment reaches 3-year high

 

There I fixed it so It makes more sense.  They never do count seasonal workers or those that work in the tourism service industry

 

[kingdong]

20 hours ago, innosiem said:

Depends where you are looking
there are many places where domestic tourism booms with little foreigners
Try booking a room in any of the more popular places in Khao Yai or khao kho this weekend......
all the nicer places are fully booked
and usually busy every weekend with people from BKK

you said this weekend which incidentally is a national holiday.

[Trillian]

1 minute ago, marvin1950 said:

How is domestic tourism going to help the Thai economy?

 

If a Thai has 20,000 baht discretionary income to spend and goes on a holiday in Thailand he is not buying clothes, furniture or electronic equipment.

All he is doing is taking money from one pocket and putting it into the other pocket. There is no increase in GDP

You need foreign money from tourists to increase Thailand's GDP.

Not really. GDP is the sum of all things bought and sold within a specific period of time, the fact there may be an export element (tourism) is not relevant to the calculation. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/051415/how-calculate-gdp-country.asp#:~:text=GDP can be calculated by,estimate of "nominal GDP."

 

 

[Darksidedude]

They have to be joking, how on earth have they come up with these figures

[Trillian]

5 minutes ago, Darksidedude said:

They have to be joking, how on earth have they come up with these figures

They are saying that the 440 billion Baht Thai's spent on overseas travel last year will be diverted and some of it spent on domestic tourism instead, it's not difficult to understand. And that figure does not include the 7% of GDP that Thai's spent on domestic tourism anyway last year, that was another USD 36 bill. Add it all together and you can easily get to the headline figure.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Trillian

[Don Mega]

I thought the number would be a bit higher.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

I thought the number would be a bit higher.

Yes Pipe dreams are normally grandiose in nature.

[spidermike007]

Amend that projection to 575,000 foreign tourists and an additional $3 billion baht in domestic tourism revenue. If that. Covid decimated the economy. Be honest for once in your careers, you ignoramus is fools!

[Don Mega]

4 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Amend that projection to 575,000 foreign tourists and an additional $3 billion baht in domestic tourism revenue. If that. Covid decimated the economy. Be honest for once in your careers, you ignoramus is fools!

Speaking of ignoramus, what do you base your numbers on ...... other than thin air ?

[worgeordie]

20 hours ago, KhunKenAP said:

Anyone ever wonder how they can come up with such a number. Do they have a dart board at the TAT office?

I believe they employ a fortune teller,really.

regards Worgeordie

[Grumpy John]

7 hours ago, Trillian said:

They are saying that the 440 billion Baht Thai's spent on overseas travel last year will be diverted and some of it spent on domestic tourism instead, it's not difficult to understand. And that figure does not include the 7% of GDP that Thai's spent on domestic tourism anyway last year, that was another USD 36 bill. Add it all together and you can easily get to the headline figure.

I don't believe the majority of Thai's who are O/S travellers will do more domestic travel...than they normally would.  If they travel O/S regularly they have a taste for more exotic locations than Thailand can offer.  They will wait a little longer and enjoy their holiday elsewhere.

[Trillian]

1 hour ago, Grumpy John said:

I don't believe the majority of Thai's who are O/S travellers will do more domestic travel...than they normally would.  If they travel O/S regularly they have a taste for more exotic locations than Thailand can offer.  They will wait a little longer and enjoy their holiday elsewhere.

I agree, certainly not the majority, but I did say some and that's all it will take in order to make the numbers come good.

[AndrewMciver]

If Thailand was having rates like they are having in North/South America, Europe, India - would you really want to go to there? The only reason we yearn to go to Thailand rite now is because it's safe ! 

 

By the grace of good luck, they have escaped the terrible effects of this virus. When i saw thrones of Chinese tourists wandering into Thailand, despite the tragedy going on in Wuhan - and no measures other than a test certificate a few days before travel and random temperature checks, i feared a disaster. 

 

There is no free health care in Thailand, no mass furlough scheme (paying people to stay at home), etc

 

Thailand will eventually have no choice but to open up - but it has to be done VERY carefully.

 

I honestly pray they don't just give up, and let anyone in randomly.  No more mass Chinese tourism. Not giving up on any strategy and just opening back up and hoping for the best (which could very well be the case if the Chinese don't return). 

 

My only concern is they are doing nothing. Nothing will change between now and next month. It's just causing unnesscary damage. They have to quickly come up with strategies. 

 

Another concern is going back into bed with China. That would be a kick in the teeth to the world. 

 

They need innovative procedures. The island tourism is a start. But the key is mass testing. 

 

I went to Iceland this week. When you arrive at the airport, they do a covid test on you. It is just before passport control, like going through security. No queue. They take a quick swab of your nose and throat, and then you move onto passport control. I got my result in an hour and was on my way out of the airport ! They have essentially built a laboratory in the airport ! THESE ARE THE KIND OF INNOVATIONS NEEDED - especially for tourist reliant nations that will be crippled if tourism stops. 

 

 

[Starmocihc]

10 hours ago, AndrewMciver said:

 

 

I went to Iceland this week. When you arrive at the airport, they do a covid test on you. It is just before passport control, like going through security. No queue. They take a quick swab of your nose and throat, and then you move onto passport control. I got my result in an hour and was on my way out of the airport ! They have essentially built a laboratory in the airport ! THESE ARE THE KIND OF INNOVATIONS NEEDED - especially for tourist reliant nations that will be crippled if tourism stops. 

 

 

It's the only logical and sustainable approach. I've said this from day one. Pre-flight and post flight test. Easy breezy. But the reality is, where there's a will, there's a money grab. That's going to be the bottom line, the rest is all governmental theatrics, similar to the "official numbers." 

[Trillian]

1 hour ago, Starmocihc said:

It's the only logical and sustainable approach. I've said this from day one. Pre-flight and post flight test. Easy breezy. But the reality is, where there's a will, there's a money grab. That's going to be the bottom line, the rest is all governmental theatrics, similar to the "official numbers." 

Maybe not the only logical approach. They are now finding samples of the virus is raw sewage samples that long predate the pandemic, this suggests the virus was already in existence but was activated by atmospheric conditions. 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/05/covid-19-may-not-have-originated-china-elsewhere-emerged-asia/

[Starmocihc]

22 minutes ago, Trillian said:

Maybe not the only logical approach. They are now finding samples of the virus is raw sewage samples that long predate the pandemic, this suggests the virus was already in existence but was activated by atmospheric conditions. 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/05/covid-19-may-not-have-originated-china-elsewhere-emerged-asia/

Kind of hints at another, "no blame china!" editorial. ????

That, or, it had started circulating world wide long before the cat was out of the bag, and they're testing old poo from people who already had it long ago. They have been able to determine via satellite imagery, that it was circulating in China long before they finally stopped trying to hide it. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Starmocihc