Tourism facing further suffering as fears of escalation in protests mount, industry leader

[tomauasia]

12 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The  whole country is suffering under the current administration, whose performance is the reason for the protests.

Bring in real democracy and the country and economy will flourish.

Yes and they like having no white tourists. The protesters are to smart they have replaced the brainwashed old Thais... Prayut was to be caretaker only. Nobody asked him to endorse election rigging. Or setup luxury watch shops and overseas property investment company's.

[Truth Will Set You Free]

Why demonstrate when nobody has put out an agenda for change.........Everyone know the government is corrupt but to get the entire country on track to make change then they need to express to the people of the country a plan once the old government steps down. So why demonstrate and go to jail. Who is going to step up just to go to jail? ????????????????

[Stargeezr]

Fusion 58, loved your post. Captain Obvious. 555

Geezer

[Jiggo]

13 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

A few months back they were talking about opening the jails for tourism. Maybe people can pay to watch  the protest leaders behind bars 

Or where some are buried. 

[balo]

Nothing will change, a new leader will take over sooner than later after another coup. 

[ChakaKhan]

14 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Thai price 50thb

Foreigner price 500thb

 

If you are going to do it do it right. 

1000 gets deluxe package--a mama cup and framed selfie......(seafood flavor mama excld)

[Jack Hna]

These protests are just beginning and tourism is over until the neck of the snake is replaced. The snake can stay but the compromise must be the neck and they all know it. Only way to protect the snakes head and restore the balance is to compromise and in this game of chess in this century the neck is the equivalent of lao.

[Grumpy John]

The protesters are mad at Prayuth but he is only a mouthpiece for the elites.  If they want things to change, for a new better constitution to be drawn up, for free and fair elections.  The protesters need to target the elites....by any and all means.

[peter zwart]

im starting to get realy sick of those guys. My vision on my future plans are not how to get back to my love but how to get here out of there and where to live. As a farang the future is not looking bright in Chinland. 

[chainarong]

If Thailand had good governance there would be no protests, the ball is in the peoples court not Prayuths,  end of story.

[polpott]

2 hours ago, balo said:

Nothing will change, a new leader will take over sooner than later after another coup. 

The main aim of the protesters is a change to the constitution, which is the main reason the country is currently in this mess.

 

Prior to the last election Prayout insisted that his personal constitution must be enacted before any elections took place. A constitution that ensured that no matter how few votes he got he would remain as prime minister and the Thai people could go whistle for their "democracy".

 

Give the Thai people a democratic constitution and a free and fair election and there will be a change and the demonstrations will stop.

 

Not too much to ask for, is it?

[rkidlad]

14 hours ago, robblok said:

You cant even read, i said this government must go but its no guarantee for a better one given the past democratic governments. 

 

 

Right, but as you may have noticed, there are more than a few members who infer from your posts that you think it could be worse than it is now. That the only alternative is someone like Thaksin. It’s all I hear from yellow shirts - “they want Thaksin back?” No, they want democracy. 
 

Let Thailand decide who rules them and let them live with the consequences of it. Try to have higher expectations for the average Thais and their ability and desire to progress. 

[polpott]

3 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Right, but as you may have noticed, there are more than a few members who infer from your posts that you think it could be worse than it is now. That the only alternative is someone like Thaksin. It’s all I hear from yellow shirts - “they want Thaksin back?” No, they want democracy. 
 

Let Thailand decide who rules them and let them live with the consequences of it. Try to have higher expectations for the average Thais and their ability and desire to progress. 

Taksin is old school and cuts no ice with young Thais. The immediate future is The Future Forward Party and Thanathorn. Un ban FFP, drop the ridiculous, political charges/convictions against Thanathorn and hold free and fair, first past the post elections. Prayut would disappear in a puff of smoke. He knows this which is why it will never happen whilst he still draws breath. He's fighting for his life and hanging on by his fingernails.

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, colinneil said:

Your avin a laff sunshine, your dopey mob were strangling tourism here long before the virus/ protests.

Just a case of blame anybody/ anything but yourselves for destroying tourism here.

IMO not so ( I'm being polite in my choice of words ).

IMO the vast majority of tourists ( the ones on visa exempt entry ) didn't give a monkey's about the government. On visa exempt the vast majority had no contact with officialdom other than the immigration officer that stamped them in and out.

First time I visited LOS ( many decades ago ) was during a time of protest against the military government. Not one person on my tour group even mentioned the politics of LOS, or would have chosen not to visit because of the military government.

During my last years in LOS the government did not impact me in any way, other than at extension time, and paying an agent made all those problems go away.

Personally I welcomed the military government that ousted Thaksin and his substitute.

 

[rkidlad]

16 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Really? 

 

And those countries with "real democracy" are doing so fantastically well with their economies and social environments, law and order etc, are they?

Yes, you’re right, Baerboxer. It isn’t the poor leadership of other democratic nations that is failing them. It’s democracy itself. 

We should all take a leaf out of the CCP’s handbook. You might not have political  freedoms, but we’ll achieve massive goals like pulling millions of people out of poverty (well, we’ll just lower what the poverty line is). And if anyone calls us out on it, we’ll lock them up or disappear them. 
 

Everybody is happy. Don’t believe us? Ask them for yourself. 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

13 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Right, but as you may have noticed, there are more than a few members who infer from your posts that you think it could be worse than it is now. That the only alternative is someone like Thaksin. It’s all I hear from yellow shirts - “they want Thaksin back?” No, they want democracy. 
 

Let Thailand decide who rules them and let them live with the consequences of it. Try to have higher expectations for the average Thais and their ability and desire to progress. 

I certainly think it could be worse than now. I remember the time of Thaksin, though it seems many don't.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Grumpy John said:

The protesters are mad at Prayuth but he is only a mouthpiece for the elites.  If they want things to change, for a new better constitution to be drawn up, for free and fair elections.  The protesters need to target the elites....by any and all means.

I may be wrong, but that sounds like you are advocating revolution.

[SupermarineS6B]

Another usual suspect, with the usual not a scooby what to do.........   Easy mate, Ditch Prayut and his mob,  (Extensive i might add, along with the likes of Anutin) then let the people of Thailand elect a Thai civilian government.......  Hey Presto !   As easy as that.......      But in reality we all know it's going to be a bloody, nasty violent set too with the mob using the excuse of protecting the ( Unmentionables) to allow them in the usual Thai military fashion to massacre the population......   Maybe then an outside force hopefully will reign in the children with the machine guns......   Sad eh, i never liked uniforms......  normally filled with some jumped up TIT in them........    

[SupermarineS6B]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I certainly think it could be worse than now. I remember the time of Thaksin, though it seems many don't.

Thaksin was the best PM Thailand's ever had, you couldn't in your wildest dreams compare him with Prayut and his mob.......  Thaksin was ousted purely on Jealousy........ from well above......  He did too much on his own back, hence his massive support in the North......  

[Pancho]

The people want change. It is inevitable. The young lion comes in an takes the pride. This is natural law. Nothing can change that.

[rkidlad]

32 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I certainly think it could be worse than now. I remember the time of Thaksin, though it seems many don't.

That’s nice, but I don’t think these protesters care for your opinion. A lot of them are in their teens, twenties and thirties and too young to know much about the boogeyman. Nor do they care. 
 

But you keep peddling the Thaksin narrative, and doing a huge disservice to these brave protestors fighting for their basic political freedoms and asking for a voice too. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by rkidlad

[scorecard]

37 minutes ago, SupermarineS6B said:

Thaksin was the best PM Thailand's ever had, you couldn't in your wildest dreams compare him with Prayut and his mob.......  Thaksin was ousted purely on Jealousy........ from well above......  He did too much on his own back, hence his massive support in the North......  

What rubbish, his massive and to some extent open corruption was one factor which brought him down, and there are court cases on this still going through the courts.

 

Have you forgotten the many times when journalists asked him awkward questions, and they either got his 'NO' indicator meaning I'm not taking/answering that question, or they were sued for very large amounts of money? And the case of the foreign journalist being instantly deported?

 

Have you forgotten how he amassed his red shirt army who intimidated anybody who challenged him in any way and brought about a scenario where if they said anything negative in their village they (and their family) were promptly ostracized by the village/runout of town. And more....

 

But don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not suggesting the current guy is even remotely acceptable, his 'gov't' is a dictatorship, nothing more or less. 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by scorecard

[robblok]

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

Right, but as you may have noticed, there are more than a few members who infer from your posts that you think it could be worse than it is now. That the only alternative is someone like Thaksin. It’s all I hear from yellow shirts - “they want Thaksin back?” No, they want democracy. 
 

Let Thailand decide who rules them and let them live with the consequences of it. Try to have higher expectations for the average Thais and their ability and desire to progress. 

Im not talking about Thaksin, though he is of course the main opposition party.  I like future forward they seem honest. 

 

Point was more that all the governments here democratic or non democratic are incompetent, full of corruption plus often totally stupid. I don't see much difference (besides the hard suppression of protesters and that should not be done and is one of the reasons they need to go)

 

But also YL and her group suppressed protesters even put their own aggressive people there to stop it.  So in my opinion a democratic government is not that much better. 

 

But yes as you say let them vote for it and live with what they voted for. I have given up most hope of seeing change. Only if future forward gets a lot bigger (in an other name as they are banned now) might there be some change. 

[rkidlad]

3 minutes ago, robblok said:

Im not talking about Thaksin, though he is of course the main opposition party.  I like future forward they seem honest. 

 

Point was more that all the governments here democratic or non democratic are incompetent, full of corruption plus often totally stupid. I don't see much difference (besides the hard suppression of protesters and that should not be done and is one of the reasons they need to go)

 

But also YL and her group suppressed protesters even put their own aggressive people there to stop it.  So in my opinion a democratic government is not that much better. 

 

But yes as you say let them vote for it and live with what they voted for. I have given up most hope of seeing change. Only if future forward gets a lot bigger (in an other name as they are banned now) might there be some change. 

A democratic government is a million times better than whatever this is. This is what a new constitution with checks and balances will better ensure. Something Prayut never did, nor did he ever want. 

 

You can't have democracy in Thailand until 'everyone' comes under the law. Until checks and balances are put in place to stop that small group of people who simply decide they don't like it, you get bad people (whether they pretend to be democratic or not) ripping up the rules and changing the game. And this small group of people don't give a shiny s**** about the people. Thailand is a business to them. 

 

Don't say democracy doesn't work here. It's never been truly tried. 

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

A democratic government is a million times better than whatever this is. This is what a new constitution with checks and balances will better ensure. Something Prayut never did, nor did he ever want. 

 

You can't have democracy in Thailand until 'everyone' comes under the law. Until checks and balances are put in place to stop that small group of people who simply decide they don't like it, you get bad people (whether they pretend to be democratic or not) ripping up the rules and changing the game. And this small group of people don't give a shiny s**** about the people. Thailand is a business to them. 

 

Don't say democracy doesn't work here. It's never been truly tried. 

I think your overestimating the results of a democratic government vs a military one. But it depends on how you look at it. I don't think that they will suddenly double the GDP growth or get less corruption. So it depends what you measure it by. If freedom is measurement then yes your million times might be closer. If its economic performance then i doubt it.

 

But i fully agree with your checks and balances only we seen previous democratic governments removing those not strengthening them. None of them want to loose their privelidges once they are in power. They want to keep the status quo with the only change them at the feeding through of money. 

 

I have yet to see a democratic government go after their own corruption. Like before it will be going after the party before neglecting their own faults.

 

I am a pessimist because of what I have seen.

[Pattaya Spotter]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Now the rapidly spreading protests threatened to do the same to what domestic tourism the country has managed to get going.

Very true...I was planning a trip to Bangkok this week from Pattaya and stay a few nites at one of the Hiltons and eat at a few of my fav restos but I have put my plans on hold.

[rkidlad]

4 minutes ago, robblok said:

I think your overestimating the results of a democratic government vs a military one. But it depends on how you look at it. I don't think that they will suddenly double the GDP growth or get less corruption. So it depends what you measure it by. If freedom is measurement then yes your million times might be closer. If its economic performance then i doubt it.

 

But i fully agree with your checks and balances only we seen previous democratic governments removing those not strengthening them. None of them want to loose their privelidges once they are in power. They want to keep the status quo with the only change them at the feeding through of money. 

 

I have yet to see a democratic government go after their own corruption. Like before it will be going after the party before neglecting their own faults.

 

I am a pessimist because of what I have seen.

The economy might not grow at all, and there will always be corruption in every form of governance to some level. Every journey starts with a single step, and all that. Checks and balances will limit that. 

 

I think for now the protesters have made their point clear and it can't be argued with. They simply want their basic human and political rights to be respected.

 

They're asking for better - that's all. Don't misrepresent their ideas by erroneously conflating what they're asking for with some kind of unreachable utopia. That's doing their fight for freedom a huge disservice and it's a dishonest narrative. 

 

 

[robblok]

9 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

The economy might not grow at all, and there will always be corruption in every form of governance to some level. Every journey starts with a single step, and all that. Checks and balances will limit that. 

 

I think for now the protesters have made their point clear and it can't be argued with. They simply want their basic human and political rights to be respected.

 

They're asking for better - that's all. Don't misrepresent their ideas by erroneously conflating what they're asking for with some kind of unreachable utopia. That's doing their fight for freedom a huge disservice and it's a dishonest narrative. 

 

 

What unreachable utopia.. isnt democracy supposed to counter corruption nepotism and give good economic performance.

 

You can't eat freedom, actually its lower on the list as food and work. Maslov. 

 

I agree 100% that this government needs to go, just don't share the optimism about how good a new government would be. With luck there will be freedom. But more important is a good economy. 

[BobinBKK]

23 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Turn it into a tourist attraction

Will there be dual pricing? ????

[rkidlad]

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

What unreachable utopia.. isnt democracy supposed to counter corruption nepotism and give good economic performance.

 

You can't eat freedom, actually its lower on the list as food and work. Maslov. 

 

I agree 100% that this government needs to go, just don't share the optimism about how good a new government would be. With luck there will be freedom. But more important is a good economy. 

Well, the economy has been s**** the last 6 years.

 

Democracy is supposed to counter corruption, but Thailand hasn't had democracy before. So how about you give it the benefit of the doubt and support the protesters and their goal of deciding for themselves what's best for their future.

 

Military men and and people who yearn for a Game of Thrones kind of reality have no place making decisions on the economy, etc. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by rkidlad