Pattaya: Grim picture for future of resort as post pandemic optimism dries up

[greeneking 1,057]

Is this true?

How many officials from TAT?  Tourist Police?

Big black cars with cameras on the roof?

Taxis with no meters.  Tuktuks doing Bangkok tours for 20 B.  Happy faces telling you the Grand Palace is closed today...but they have some ideas for you.

[CorpusChristie 5,521]

1 minute ago, greeneking said:

.  Tuktuks doing Bangkok tours for 20 B.  Happy faces telling you the Grand Palace is closed today...but they have some ideas for you.

Anyone who gets fooled by those..........................thoroughly deserves it 

[Susco 3,991]

56 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

What I'm really wondering about is where is JSixPack? Did the Protector of Pattaya leave this realm?

I agree, we are in dire need of a sarcasm emoji.

[paulikens 344]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Said it before, I am of the firm belief that many Thai bars and businesses have been running on their savings in the hope that a coming high season will rescue them. BUT , as time goes by they are beginning to realise that the government is about to let their businesses go to the wall. The borders will not open to save them by Chinese new year. I expect this realisation to hit the businesses still open soon and an explosion of closing businesses soon there after.

@RichardColeman i think you're right and maybe the thais(in the tourism industry) should have been making some sort of noise in june/july instead of saying nowt and just agreeing with the government to keep out the falangs, cuz even if they make a noise now it wont be good cuz the cases are rising again in europe and it would have been better to put the government under pressure when the numbers were going down in europe in july.   so they will reap what they sow.  

[RichardColeman 23,316]

2 hours ago, djuiiy said:

I've been visiting pattaya the last few years, I haven't noticed substancial decline. Certainly, the foot traffic varies, but thats nothing new. 5 years ago soi 6 was definately busier than it was in winter 2019-20. More recently, vast rivers of chinese family tourists changed the market. But overall pattaya seems to be growing year on year to me.

I am relatively new to Pattaya than some of the older fogies on here, and came first in 2003. I can assure that at that time you could not walk down soi 7 or 8 without bumping shoulders. The bars flowed into the street. Came again 2005/6/7 bit less busy. 2015/16/17 going down hill. 2019/2020 - dead. 2021 - tumble weed 

[greeneking 1,057]

6 hours ago, Almer said:

When the banks suffer we all suffer.

When the rich people are suffering too there may be a better chance to agree change.

[Susco 3,991]

14 minutes ago, newnative said:

Wongamat, and Naklua. Large, new hotels such as Mytt, Brighton, Grande Centre Point, [email protected], and Grand Palazzo, along with new, smaller boutique hotels such as LK Emerald Beach, opened to help Amari, Dusit, Holiday Inn and the many others handle all the new tourists wanting to be in that area.

I had to be there today, hadn't been since ages, and was amazed at what they have built there. All beautiful and expensive accommodations.

 

What I could not see though, was if all that expensive real estate was occupied by tourists. Going by the lack of traffic and movement in that area, I think not.

[DrTuner 24,342]

6 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I am relatively new to Pattaya than some of the older fogies on here, and came first in 2003. I can assure that at that time you could not walk down soi 7 or 8 without bumping shoulders. The bars flowed into the street. Came again 2005/6/7 bit less busy. 2015/16/17 going down hill. 2019/2020 - dead. 2021 - tumble weed 

7 & 8 used to be full of Finns, Swedes, Norwegians and Germans, among others. It was sometime after the 2008 recessions that they stopped coming in droves and those sois started dying. Opening Central in late 2009 was final straw, the atmosphere went down the toilet. In 2011 it was a pale shadow of the hay days.

Edited September 8 by DrTuner

[mr mr 4,335]

13 minutes ago, Susco said:

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

What I'm really wondering about is where is JSixPack? Did the Protector of Pattaya leave this realm?

I agree, we are in dire need of a sarcasm emoji.

that's what i was going for. if you look back in my posts i spoke of the economic impact right near the beginning of this entire s**t show. 

[paulikens 344]

i think the future is mainly 2 areas lk and walking as they was pretty busy this saturday. the likes of soi 7 and 8 will not recover from this, they are done. they was on there way out before all this nonsense, so this is the final straw. the darkside will be ok as their main custom is ex pats.  i think pattaya will be condensed. 

[Raphus 384]

Thailand is doomed

i shall keep saying it every day when I see these stories.

i have said it since June. But now it is really starting to show.

[oznomad 139]

9 hours ago, sahibji said:

dentists are the last people you want to go to ( unless critical ) in this uncertain environment and related potential of infection.

If only they wore masks, gloves and gowns, and sterilised their equipment. 

I went last week, and the only change is mouthwash for a full minute before starting. 

[chilli42 1,901]

14 hours ago, sweatalot said:

It's a tragedy. I still wonder if the situation wouldn't be better without all that covid restrictions.

And don't come with a calculated terrible number of deaths withoud comparing to the normal number of deaths in the same time. What's better in the bigger picture: a short time rise of deaths or a future without small business and middle class - everybody dependant on big brothers?

Mankind has survived the plague and cholera. They would also survive covid 19

It would appear at this point the goal is to crush people not save them.  There are far wise things in life than dying.

[newnative 5,100]

1 hour ago, Susco said:

I had to be there today, hadn't been since ages, and was amazed at what they have built there. All beautiful and expensive accommodations.

 

What I could not see though, was if all that expensive real estate was occupied by tourists. Going by the lack of traffic and movement in that area, I think not.

   Yes.  It's been pretty busy on the weekends but not during the week.  

[newnative 5,100]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

I am relatively new to Pattaya than some of the older fogies on here, and came first in 2003. I can assure that at that time you could not walk down soi 7 or 8 without bumping shoulders. The bars flowed into the street. Came again 2005/6/7 bit less busy. 2015/16/17 going down hill. 2019/2020 - dead. 2021 - tumble weed 

     Meanwhile, in all those years Pattaya was growing tremendously in other areas and growing many  other businesses besides western bars.  Jomtien. NaJomtien. Pratamnak. Cosy Beach. North Pattaya. Wongamat/Naklua.  And, the Darkside, among other areas.  All saw great growth.  Pre-covid, the tumble weeds were only in some of the western bars.