Phuket: Thais in poverty because foreign tourists stopped coming - island's tourism obliterated

[bluedoc]

19 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Dare we ask where all those millions they earned in previous years have gone ?   They are so good at gouging the people that visit but not one thought of 'saving for a rainy day' ever comes to mind.

Aside from that we have always been told down the years that Thailand is not a Tourist reliant country and in fact tourism is a quite small contributor to the overall economy !

So I tourist fault again. Definitely not! It’s the Thai governments fault.

[AussieinThaiJim]

19 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Dare we ask where all those millions they earned in previous years have gone ?   They are so good at gouging the people that visit but not one thought of 'saving for a rainy day' ever comes to mind.

Aside from that we have always been told down the years that Thailand is not a Tourist reliant country and in fact tourism is a quite small contributor to the overall economy !

Phuket prices may be the reason no one comes. Even Thai visitors say that Phuket is the last place they will visit because of ridiculous pricing. Tuk Tuk in Patong still 200 Baht for less than 2km. Hotels and others still charging thru the roof!

Is it bad luck or poor management ?

[Xbeemer]

19 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Dare we ask where all those millions they earned in previous years have gone ?   They are so good at gouging the people that visit but not one thought of 'saving for a rainy day' ever comes to mind.

Aside from that we have always been told down the years that Thailand is not a Tourist reliant country and in fact tourism is a quite small contributor to the overall economy !

Where did you read that no one has saved money for hard times? All the Thai people I know are remarkably thrifty and have a strong ethic about saving money. Those that had a bit of money put away have, a year plus later, had to use most of it to survive. 

[keystonecoppers2]

 

 

                             Why anyone want to go to Male in the Maldives, is beynd me!!

                             Here is why I think that! (I hope you`ll see the picture).

 

                                Cheers!   

What-Pilots-See.pdf (1).pdf

[Chongalulu]

8 hours ago, Old Croc said:

The big money that workers earned in Phuket during the halcyon days helped the economy all over Thailand. The majority of tourism workers came from villages and towns in Isaan and many other rural areas. Their high wages flowed back to their families and the local economies. Phuket, Pattaya and other major tourism centers have emptied out because the workers have returned to their villages where all will be feeling the strain of lost income.

Phuket is an Island, but not a self contained country hoarding it's wealth within it's borders. Tourism tax dollars flow back to the capital and helps pay for all the roads, trains, and facilities enjoyed in other areas.

To gloat and revel in the loss of a major industry that drew huge international funds into the country shows a lack of critical thinking and a failure to grasp basic economic concepts. What if it was rice exports that were suddenly obliterated? Would that invoke glee because a few make massive profits from it?

Of course Phuket was expensive! There were ripoffs, particularly with public transport. This is Thailand, a few big players will always put self interest and greed ahead of the national good. That's what happens in an autocracy.

Where do you people with your heads in the sand actual live?

You of course make valid points about the economic makeup and certainly many ordinary Thai folk were just trying to make a living/support family in Isaan. That is not to invalidate those who are also making valid points about the cynicism and increasing exploitation of visitors as those like the taxi mafia took them for granted and for whom schadenfreude is well deserved. 
One can only hope that Thai shortsightedness doesn’t return because they will certainly have to work much harder to regain their popularity- it won’t come easy- As you imply,much blame lies with an autocracy which while knowing how to cream off existing wealth is largely clueless re how to create conditions conducive to developing it. I have a suspicion that far too many just think that once the pandemic has abated everyone will, come flooding back and they can just resume many of the previous poor practices. 

[ChipButty]

I saw that 33,000 baht a month How much do 7/11 staff get? not that much Im sure

[ikke1959]

not poor because of lack of tourists, but because of mismanagement of the Government with as a result that tourists are not coming anymore...Thailand wake up please

[harrycallahan]

My heart bleeds for those airport transfer operators who stop the van half way to Patong at their office and tell tourists that there's no rooms available in Patong and get them to book further south in their affiliated hotels. 

[natway09]

When they do return & they will, just maybe the "locals" may treat them a little better instead of insisting on fleecing them.

One can only hope

[ChrisKC]

20 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Dare we ask where all those millions they earned in previous years have gone ?   They are so good at gouging the people that visit but not one thought of 'saving for a rainy day' ever comes to mind.

Aside from that we have always been told down the years that Thailand is not a Tourist reliant country and in fact tourism is a quite small contributor to the overall economy !

A "Rainy Day" is not quite the same as a year already and probably another year to come as well. There can't be many businesses big enough to sustain a living with more than 80% of its lifeblood gone for so much time.

 

 

[wasabi]

I am in Phuket right now on vacation with my wife. We are here for relaxation and to help Thai's in need by ordering large amounts and tipping generously. Many are very kind and keeping a smile even in these hard times and it is a pleasure to help, but today this was rewarded by being overcharged at a restaurant and hiding this by just showing us a lump sum on the bill. It was a small amount (to me) and we didn't feel like arguing about it but if you think any lessons will be learned or anything will change you are likely wrong. I expect all the scams, all the trash, and overloaded ferries to come roaring back. Possibly my last trip to Phuket. 

 

Let me put it another way. I wanted to give them money and they would have gotten even more from my tip, but they preferred to steal it

Edited March 21, 2021 by wasabi

[ChrisKC]

Whatever anyone says about the whys and wherefores of this Pandemic, nobody could have expected for it to have this enormous impact not just in Phuket but in many places here in Thailand, not to mention, pretty well the entire world.

 

I for one say they are victims of something bigger than their alleged scams, double pricing etc.  I don't condone or excuse anyone trying to cheat their customers but neither do I condone stereotyping, suggestive that everyone is playing that same game!

 

And though 1st of October is a plan to open up again - who really knows what is in store with this wretched pandemic in the meantime, to scupper such a plan?

 

I am sympathetic towards these people and their families.

Edited March 21, 2021 by ChrisKC
new comment

[simon43]

32 minutes ago, keystonecoppers2 said:

 

 

                             Why anyone want to go to Male in the Maldives, is beynd me!!

                             Here is why I think that! (I hope you`ll see the picture).

 

                                Cheers!   

What-Pilots-See.pdf (1).pdf 4.79 MB · 10 downloads

People don't go to Male - they land at the airport and then straight off to individual atolls or islets.

[pookett]

19 hours ago, WineOh said:

I used to live on Phuket and saw first hand how the locals treated tourists during the 'good times.'

I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. 

 

Indeed. However, on the bright side, the businesses that are still open now are the ones that DO know how to treat customers properly and deserve any and all the custom they get.

The chaff has all blown away.

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, rooster59 said:

It relied on foreigners and when they stopped coming their standard of living - the highest in the south - went completely down the pan. 

Because they couldn't change their business model... no foreigners to gouge and priced domestic Thais out of the market... so went hungry.

[JeffersLos]

The last mayor and top cops to pay big bucks for their positions must be sick to the stomach. 

[hotchilli]

1 minute ago, pookett said:

 

Indeed. However, on the bright side, the businesses that are still open now are the ones that DO know how to treat customers properly and deserve any and all the custom they get.

The chaff has all blown away.

As soon as borders open up the chaff will all be back... they haven't learnt a thing.

[laislica]

20 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Perhaps during these poverty stricken times, Phuket needs to revisit poor treatment of tourists, scams and all the other bad things. 

The dirty foreigners listened to what many Thai's said about them and don't come back.
Thai's must be happy, they got their wish!

Be careful what you wish for!

[Cake Monster]

19 hours ago, tgw said:

I feel sorry for the many good, friendly, honest and hard-working people I met there when on holidays.

I do not feel sorry for the handful of dishonest scammers and people who insult foreigners in Thai language, thinking they don't understand.
Thankfully, these were only few people, although Phuket seemed to have more of the sort than other Thai destinations I visited.

Tone of voice, and Body Language always give the game away for the insulting, rude and lazy.

You dont need to speak a single word of any Foreign language to know when you are being insulted.

[KarenBravo]

28 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

People need to stop and look at the big picture.  Sure, many Thais from the tourist industry are hurting. And yes, tourists aren’t coming, mainly due to Covid restrictions in their home countries, and quarantine here.  But what caused this?  China’ unleashed the virus on the world.  You can’t blame tourists for not coming.

 

And the US "unleashed" the Spanish flu which was a lot worse than Covid.

Central Asia "unleashed" the black death.

 

Stop with the stupid, unproven accusations.

[from the home of CC]

time to diversify from these types of businesses that rely on foreigners and I believe they'll be better for it in the long run, tourism has a very ugly side to it and the easy money has a high cost..

[Ugly American 2]

21 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Perhaps during these poverty stricken times, Phuket needs to revisit poor treatment of tourists, scams and all the other bad things. 

Long long ago! I think 1970! Things never change! Ski boat scams in Pattaya was the fore runner for Phuket!

[meshborg]

Well we didn't stop coming.you stopped us coming.

[sniper]

Has anyone considered the possibility that south East Asian people might have a natural resistance to covid 19 due to a genetic trait. I don’t believe that Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia did anything special to contain the virus, they live in crowded households and that should spread the disease easily. 

[cardinalblue]

Would be hard to keep tourists in Phuket from escaping to other parts of non vaccinated spots in thailand...

 

Other provinces would complain of preferential treatment for Phuket...

 

only answer - allow vaccinated tourists into thailand...put pressure on gov to vaccinate their own people ASAP...

 

enough of dragging your feet...

[connda]

There's that Love/Hate relationship with tourists which has place ya'll in your plight.

Ya'll love foreign tourist money - but - you pretty much fear, loathe, and despise the foreigners themselves.  And now what use to be a common-garden variety of national security risk that every foreign tourist is considered to be, they now have morphed into a bunch of dirty, Covid-carriers who doen't bathe and who wear filthy clothes.  And all those foreigners are now to blame for causing poverty in Phuket.  Bad foreign tourist! Bad!
So all Thais need to be vaccinated, and all vaccinated foreigners need to be placed in expensive quarantine hotels after navigating a gauntlet of expensive regulatory restrictions and regulations - and if they don't come and pull Thais out of poverty (but instead choose to vacation in friendlier countries)???  Then they'll all be extra double-plus bad foreigners.

<Hey! Psst! Thailand!  You're gonna need to change your current restrictive tourism model.  Look into a mirror.  See the xenophobia?  You've only yourselves to blame.  It's gonna be a looooong time before tourism gets better and it will never again approach the numbers as it did in the past.>

[UncleE]

21 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Dare we ask where all those millions they earned in previous years have gone ?   They are so good at gouging the people that visit but not one thought of 'saving for a rainy day' ever comes to mind.

Aside from that we have always been told down the years that Thailand is not a Tourist reliant country and in fact tourism is a quite small contributor to the overall economy !

People in Chiang Mai just say stuff like this to try and hurt tourism in Phuket and boost theirs.   Those who cut others to gain benefit are well...  Leave it to the readers.

 

Last time I was in Chiang Mai I asked some people who make comments like that how long since they've been to Phuket.    They just sat there looking stupid with thumbs up the U know what.

 

Fact of the matter, I have houses in Phuket and Mae Phim Beach Rayong.   The prices in restaurants are about the same, so on and so forth.  When I've visited Chaing Mai I found no appreciable differences in price if compare apples to apples (you know a restaurant where they actually know what Equal is for coffee sugar substitute etc.).     If you walk into a nice resort in Chiang mai old town you're gonna pay more than Phukets , main tourist areas.   And outside the tourist area it's the same as being outside the tourist area in Phuket.   And then of course there's Makro, and all the mainstream stores where prices are exactly the same in Phuket or anywhere else.

 

Then compare airports, anybody care about standards???   Sure there's the taxi problem, but you can rent a car from Hertz Thailand at the airport for exactly the same price in Phuket as Chiang Mai,  6-700 baht/day.  Anybody who doesn't have that shouldn't be traveling anyway.

 

Guessing with over 15K posts the Op just spends his time spinning off fake news like Trumpers do.

 

Nuff Said.

[DUNROAMIN]

They seem to be forgetting the rest of the world is in the same boat. Nobody is going anywhere until everybody is vaccinated.

[Anant72]

18 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

"Phuket had the highest standard of living in the south in 2019 with average income of 400,000 baht a person. "

Misleading average value. Much of the money went to the handful of families who own the land that were paid the high rents, and who owned the local hotel interests. With most of the large revenue makers like the resorts, shopping malls , and retail chains, the Thai ownership was not in Phuket. The majority of people were paid subsistence + a % that allowed them to finance purchases of home and auto. The typical  worker was from off island and left long ago.    If the locals had been as well paid as  claimed, they would not be so many desperate people begging and borrowing.

 

You blame Thailand for having a responsible screening process that will protect the country and tourism sector in the long run.  Quarantine is not the issue. Other countries have quarantine or travel restriction that make travel to and from Thailand difficult.  Thailand is the smart one here, and it has taken months for the UK and the EU to admit that their travel openness is what  is in large part responsible for their 3rd wave now.  

Much of the world is not vaccinated. It will take  3-6months+ for the numbers to be sufficient to financially justify increased flights. The  vaccines  are not shown to be effective against the new deadlier and more infectious variants from South Africa  and Brazil. No one  even knows if  vaccine prevents transmission. And here you come to criticize and demand  that Thailand stop quarantine and instead allow people to enter a country where few people are vaccinated. You want millions of Thais to be at risk in a country that does not have  resources to care for thousands of  infected people.

 

No, Thailand has done the right thing, both financially, and ethically.  The cost of an infected coutnry  where the economy would grind to a standstill is far worse than the  hardship of  a small sector of the economy. Tens of millions of Thais are  doing just fine. They won't be if Covid19 takes hold.

My relatives and friends back in my home country (France) write to me to say how envious they are of me for being able to live a normal life here in Thailand. The tourism business is in dire straits, no doubt about it, and one may commiserate with those who lost their jobs but the country seems not to be doing too badly in comparison. This being said, one must hope vaccinations start soon so tourism can slowly restart. As for Phuket's reputation, I have heard a lot of negative opinions but not experienced it’s dark side: true, my last trip there was 18 years ago.

[itsari]

I do not believe it is just Phuket that has economic problems from covid 19 . The people in phuket were  providing for there families all over Thailand which they are no longer able to sustain .