Thailand hikes price of 5-year visa as foreigners seek COVID haven

[alyx]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:44 PM, Seeall said:

Can you multiply?

  On 12/2/2020 at 10:02 AM, Natai Beach said:

only 60 baht per day. Nothing that us elites will worry about.
A pack of peanuts.

I think that the question should have been : "Can you divide" ( Mind you, a division is a multiplication...so splitting hair really ???? )

 

 

[alyx]

9 hours ago, mikebell said:

Thai economics.

If demand is down, put the price up. 

If demand is up, put the price up.

upper...you mean, for the second sentence as, the way I read it, it would come down to no increase, wouldn't it ????

[EricTh]

47 minutes ago, Truth Will Set You Free said:

Thailand has drop to # 30 on the world list of designation for retirement. I don’t think that many foreigners wants to come now unless they Chineses. 

Really? Where's the link to the list?

[metisdead]

A post with a link to Bangkok Post has been removed.

 

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

 

A post using a trolling video has been removed. 

[kevc]

Greed.

 

[Truth Will Set You Free]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

3 hours ago, Truth Will Set You Free said:

Thailand has drop to # 30 on the world list of designation for retirement. I don’t think that many foreigners wants to come now unless they Chineses. 

Really? Where's the link to the list?

Do you keep your Thaivisa messages? Go back a week and you should find where they talk about this. They listed all the other countries. 

[Soikhaonoiken]

Clutching at straws again, anything to have over the falang, and of course prop up the failing economy..... 

[kingdong]

On 12/2/2020 at 9:39 AM, Tambs2020 said:

60THB per day 

OR

600THB per day 

 

It doesn’t matter..It’s pathetic and that’s that!

Think you,ll find (1) self made rich people didn,t get that way by being mugs. (2) and they don,t like being taken for a mug.

[elgenon]

Let's see , you have a program that's working, so increase the cost until it is no longer working? Yep, good idea.

 

Do foreigners feel they are being milked like a cow?

[JeffinChonburi]

$1,000 Per year visa would be about perfect for Thailand. They would get a hell of a lot of takers and it would be flexible for the user, and the government could do a once over every year to be sure the holder was not a criminal. Nearly $20k for 5 years is way too high. 

[starky]

On 12/2/2020 at 1:04 PM, aussienam said:

Ouch $30,000 AUD.  That's a serious chunk of money for an Aussie at current terrible exchange rate.  You could buy a fairly nice car with that! Non-refundable and a zero financial investment.  I suppose there are predominantly wealthy who opt for this Visa for convenience as it's pocket change for them - hence the tag 'Elite'. 

Bit of an ego trip for 'some' (not all) with that to show off and advertise they have this visa category, I have noticed reading previous posts for some of those that have one.  It's as if we should all bow and in subservience to their supremacy, wealth and success.  It is a class tiered system here anyway.  

15 dollars a day is hardly elite. Thats like the pattaya bar bums regaling us with stories about how they prop up the Thai economy.

[starky]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:04 PM, Airalee said:

They should have lowered it to ฿300,000 and made the ฿1,000,000 visa good for life.  A few thousand Elite card holders aren’t gonna make a dent in the 100,000 unsold condos....and that’s just Bangkok.

They trying to get rid of cheap Charlie's not bring more here. 1 million baht for life? Hey big spender!

[starky]

On 12/2/2020 at 2:37 PM, ukrules said:

I suspect they did this to make the 20 year offerings appear a lot more attractive.

 

First sensible comment yet. I always laugh at how people that think they are so important to the Thai economy are so quick to whine about the price of everything. Clearly of 600 000 baht for 5 years is an issue for you get back on your bar stool and complain about the price of big bottles of Leo or chang or whatever it is bums whinge about the price of these days.

[Thaifly88]

On 12/2/2020 at 11:15 PM, jkcjag said:

They report that record new memberships...that’s the point

You would think that would be the case, but Thailand remains , and is likely to remain, the #1 destination for tourists in Asia. As much as I would like to see other countries compete, they just don’t have the tourist infrastructure of Thailand. Once the dust settles on Covid, the Thai tourist industry will roar back to life.

[Mr Meeseeks]

22 minutes ago, Thaifly88 said:

You would think that would be the case, but Thailand remains , and is likely to remain, the #1 destination for tourists in Asia. As much as I would like to see other countries compete, they just don’t have the tourist infrastructure of Thailand. Once the dust settles on Covid, the Thai tourist industry will roar back to life.

Eh? 

 

Up until only a few years ago Malaysia received millions more tourists per annum than Thailand. 

 

The influx of Chinese turned that on its head. 

 

As to infrastructure, well that's again debatable. 

[Bruntoid]

On 12/4/2020 at 11:29 AM, elgenon said:

Let's see , you have a program that's working, so increase the cost until it is no longer working? Yep, good idea.

 

Do foreigners feel they are being milked like a cow?

No 

 

It’s the law of supply and demand which is how humans have worked since time began, nothing to do with Thailand

[Bruntoid]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:26 PM, DREW99 said:

Pure profiteering

Illogical while visitors are still restricted

 

Read the article - demand is on the increase for these visas. It’s right there! 

[Airalee]

1 hour ago, Bruntoid said:

No 

 

It’s the law of supply and demand which is how humans have worked since time began, nothing to do with Thailand

It’s not quite that simple.  One has to consider the elasticity of supply and demand.  Time (and how this effects future sales) will tell.

 

https://thismatter.com/economics/supply-elasticity.htm

 

[Virt]

On 12/2/2020 at 4:02 AM, Natai Beach said:

only 60 baht per day. Nothing that us elites will worry about.
A pack of peanuts.

 

it's 365 less Chang beers a year ????

 

 

[aussienam]

On 12/5/2020 at 6:40 AM, starky said:

15 dollars a day is hardly elite. Thats like the pattaya bar bums regaling us with stories about how they prop up the Thai economy.

$16AUD a day every day for 5 years?  And you throw that down in a lump sum in one lot, not drip feed into an interest free loan repayment paid off over 5 years.  5 years of investing the same could reap a return.  $15-16 a day here (as per your version of a daily breakdown), another $15 a.day that day there, etc etc. etc. all adds up anyway. 

So, to have listened to all those whinging lower class beer swilling pot bellied Pattaya bar bums, frugally spending and obviously undeserving to be here, do you frequent the same bars too?  It must be challenging to be associated with such riff raff.  How terrible.  I suggest you should immediately vacate such areas and seek much better establishments that cater for well heeled, generously wealthy expats.  I shudder at your pain sir.  

 

I am a frugal retiree medically discharged forced into early retirement due to total permanent  disability and chose Thailand on an OA, as felt nothing much left for me to live for in my own country.  Thailand has given a bit of purpose to live, with hope and fellow expats to have some form of social contact.  I don't believe I am propping up the Thai economy and the others I have spoken to don't either. 

Collectively, not talking about just buying a few bucks of beer at a bar, but rather rent, food, motorbike, daily living, etc etc may make a very insignificant difference in the Thai economy by retirees, but does help support some struggling local mum and dad Thai businesses in whatever form they are.  For me that is my tiny part and I feel somewhat good about it.  

Sorry sir about my terrible rant.  I hope you didn't suffer too much or just skipped over it all.  Just my right of reply after being quoted. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by aussienam

[aussienam]

On 12/2/2020 at 2:32 PM, simon43 said:

Well, we're not all 'elite'.  I'm an online science teacher and used the 5 year elite visa to come and go as I pleased from Thailand, without 'busybody' interference.

 

When the visa was up for renewal, I declined and relocated to Laos.  One main reason was that the Elite service had got worse over the years.  No longer a worthwhile cost for my privacy.

 

I'm well into my second year living in Laos, and have zero interaction with officials, immigration and police.  Wonderful!

Fair enough, for some it fits their lifestyle, wealth levels, employment capacity, frequency of movements in and out of the country, etc.  You sound down to Earth.  I used to teach for 2 years in Vietnam.  A lot of work.  Money was fair, students were great.  Good luck!!

[elgenon]

19 hours ago, Bruntoid said:

No 

 

It’s the law of supply and demand which is how humans have worked since time began, nothing to do with Thailand

Hmm, so there is no such thing as charity. I do think Thailand is not constrained by that "law". They can do as they wish and charge less. No? 

[johnbarley]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:18 PM, Salerno said:

 

 

Best guess, they miscalculated the costs across all the packages (golf, spa, limo, medical, cooking, muay Thai, skimming off the top etc.).

Yep, I assume they don't foot the bill for the 10% shopping, hotel discounts. They might even get commission for those sales. But they are paying for the free golf, spa, limo, etc. 
Obviously they were in the red at 100k/yr so they are increasing it 20%. 
Sure they will lose some customers but face less expenses. This might make them profitable. 
The alternative would be to reduce perks which would be difficult cause you couldn't retroactively do that for pre-existing members without harming your reputation. 
So it looks like a smart, well-thought out price increase. 

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, johnbarley said:

The alternative would be to reduce perks which would be difficult cause you couldn't retroactively do that for pre-existing members without harming your reputation. 

 

If my memory isn't failing, I believe that's exactly what they did with the first iteration. 

[johnbarley]

4 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

If my memory isn't failing, I believe that's exactly what they did with the first iteration. 

Well, if the losses were too great, they might have to do that. If they're close to breaking even, better to absorb the loss and price higher in the future. Hard to say without knowing their numbers and deals they have with various business partners like King Power. 

Unfortunately, only members with the visa already affixed to the passport can currently enter. Can't enter with an electronic copy for now. 

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, johnbarley said:

Unfortunately, only members with the visa already affixed to the passport can currently enter. Can't enter with an electronic copy for now.

 

Hadn't read about that, are you sure? Pretty sure there was a couple of people on here going Elite when the visa options where limited.

[johnbarley]

Just now, Salerno said:

 

Hadn't read about that, are you sure? Pretty sure there was a couple of people on here going Elite when the visa options where limited.

Depends on your consulate. They told me this:

 

We are deeply sorry to inform you that Thailand Elite Members who are now allowed to come back to Thailand are those who already affixed Thailand Elite Visa in the passport. We need to humbly suggest you to contact the Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate-General in the area that you are currently in, to check whether they can provide service to affix Thailand Elite Visa for you.

 

The reason is that the embassy in some countries may not be able to offer this service as they are now focusing on a repatriation scheme for Thai nationals. However, should the Thai Embassy in your area can provide service for you to affix our visa, we will be able to cooperate with them through the Ministry of foreign affairs to arrange an appointment for you.

[BigStar]

On 12/6/2020 at 7:46 AM, elgenon said:

Hmm, so there is no such thing as charity. I do think Thailand is not constrained by that "law". They can do as they wish and charge less. No? 

Towards Chinese? We don't usually want that, now do we? They're driving the demand for these visas now. So TVF members should welcome the news of a price increase, shouldn't they?

[starky]

On 12/6/2020 at 8:07 AM, aussienam said:

$16AUD a day every day for 5 years?  And you throw that down in a lump sum in one lot, not drip feed into an interest free loan repayment paid off over 5 years.  5 years of investing the same could reap a return.  $15-16 a day here (as per your version of a daily breakdown), another $15 a.day that day there, etc etc. etc. all adds up anyway. 

So, to have listened to all those whinging lower class beer swilling pot bellied Pattaya bar bums, frugally spending and obviously undeserving to be here, do you frequent the same bars too?  It must be challenging to be associated with such riff raff.  How terrible.  I suggest you should immediately vacate such areas and seek much better establishments that cater for well heeled, generously wealthy expats.  I shudder at your pain sir.  

 

I am a frugal retiree medically discharged forced into early retirement due to total permanent  disability and chose Thailand on an OA, as felt nothing much left for me to live for in my own country.  Thailand has given a bit of purpose to live, with hope and fellow expats to have some form of social contact.  I don't believe I am propping up the Thai economy and the others I have spoken to don't either. 

Collectively, not talking about just buying a few bucks of beer at a bar, but rather rent, food, motorbike, daily living, etc etc may make a very insignificant difference in the Thai economy by retirees, but does help support some struggling local mum and dad Thai businesses in whatever form they are.  For me that is my tiny part and I feel somewhat good about it.  

Sorry sir about my terrible rant.  I hope you didn't suffer too much or just skipped over it all.  Just my right of reply after being quoted. 

I think you missed the point there but sure have your rant. I still say the "elite" visa is hardly for the elite. And tbh the elite wouldn't even really consider it. Not sure why so many on this forum have such massive chips on their shoulders in regards to their importance. 

    Bothers me not a whit as to whether you spend 100 baht a day or 10 000 tbh none of my business. 

   As for the personal attack I live no where near Pattaya nor would I chose to live near any bar area in Thailand. I don't frequent bars nor do I believe that people that do are all riff raff. That being said I doubt the average Pattaya bar fly would be considered elite in any sense of the word as would anyone who spent an inordinate amount of their time hanging in a bar regardless of country where said bar was located be considered elite. 

   

   

[elgenon]

20 hours ago, BigStar said:

Towards Chinese? We don't usually want that, now do we? They're driving the demand for these visas now. So TVF members should welcome the news of a price increase, shouldn't they?

Well, that wasn't my point. But that's OK.