Thailand lures the rich as tourism revival hope fades

[Isaan sailor]

5 hours ago, Thailand said:

Might be a good idea to look to those long termers already here putting billions in to the economy.

That is something that is tangible not pie in the sky.

 

Exactly.  And we once had the means to qualify as high net worth individuals.  We spent much of it here enriching lives, But now, with mysterious foreign inflows driving the Baht—we tend to cut back commensurate with exchange rates.

[pagallim]

11 minutes ago, Noah K said:

 

So far, 1.498 million people in priority groups have been inoculated, including all government officials, public health officers, frontline workers, and people in high-society areas.

 

Fixed for you.

[spidermike007]

Offer it, and they will simply come. Desire it, and offer nothing special, make no sacrifices, change nothing, and yet they will magically appear on your shores, in their 350 foot yacths, at your luxury marinas. 

 

Offer them something. All the rich people I know who visited Thailand, never returned. Why? Their wives like to shop. And they won't pay your punitive luxury taxes. They like good wine. And they won't pay your stupid prices.

 

At a five star hotel, this same wealthy Chinese couple want a great bottle of wine. They see a good vintage of Domaine Coche-Dury Monthelie, which would sell for about $400 retail, or at a five star in any of the major cities for $800 on the list. The same bottle, if it was available (highly unlikely) in Bangkok, would be 100,000 baht, or more. And if it was available would the hotel have a sommelier who was qualified and fluent enough, to explain the wine, and the various vintages available? I have not found that in the past here. I have been to high end restaurants where they knew nothing about the expensive wines on the list! Nothing! The lack of expertise here is a big factor in discouraging wealthy tourists who come here, from returning ever again. Amazing.

 

Some regressive nimwits do not understand basic economics. By reducing taxes you stimulate the economy. In addition, if Thailand reduces its punitive wine taxes and luxury taxes, they might be able to attract more of those rich tourists they keep droning on and on and on about. The rich are smart with their money. And not only do they enjoy a nice bottle of wine with dinner, their wives also love to spend alot of money on luxury goods while they vacation. Impossible here. Who would buy a Prada handbag for $13,000 here, when you can get it for $4,500 in most world capitals? Same goes for wine. Who would spend $700 for a bottle of wine they could get for $125 at home. An extreme lack of creativity forces retrograde politicians to become overly dependent on import taxes. Dumb and dumber. 

 

And for this, and a dozen other reasons, Thailand will never attract more than a few thousand super wealthy tourists a year. It is referred to as self sabotage, or idiotic, regressive, non visionary policy.

 

Just not gonna happen. 

[Rampant Rabbit]

We were  told a  few months  ago that those  face shields are  in no  way a  replacement for  masks, maybe the rich  tourists  won't  mind catching covid.

[Kaopad999]

5 hours ago, impulse said:

Thailand lures the rich with yet another big, juicy nuthin' burger.

 

If they wanna attract anybody, they need to get their population vaccinated so they can do away with the quarantine.  Until the quarantine requirement goes away, nothing will work.

 

exactly 'rich' people and everyone else for that matter are not gonna want to spend 2 weeks of their vacation time in a state quarantine hotel when there are plenty of other countries they can spend time in without all of the quarantine hassle 

[Freigeist365]

I believe there is a good chance, that those "long-term, high-net-worth visitors" are intelligent enough to do a little research on how foreign tourists, investors, Thai Co. Ltd. business founders, house-buying and Isaan-family-supporting long termers, jamming musicians, scammed motorbike, car or jet ski renters, tourists who had the nerve to openly complain about bad services, and other Thailand lovers in general have been treated by their hosts and their government in the past... oooooops! ???? 

[digger70]

Thailand lures the rich as tourism revival hope fades.  

 

How in Satans name are they going to Lure the super rich?  

Are they going to be aloud to Buy themselves Past the quarantine period and Travel Bans that are in place Now and for a Long time to come.  Utterly Insane what they thinking .

[Nanaplaza666]

rather than just a beautiful place for you to come and visit, offering good value for your money,” said Chayotid,  the offering good value for your money age has gone for a while already . And now that they want to lure in the rich they start to talk about letting the 90 day reporting slip . First of all , if they are that rich they will have an agent to take care of their 90 day reporting so that won't be an isseu of choice for them . Second if they can do it for the rich why don't they do it for all of us if they think it's such a painpoint . Shows again that their is prostitution in all layers of this country they all sell themselfs for the right price . And prayut is the prettiest prettie and his flock follows . 

[rioD]

I'm a retired American who has been both a high income tourist and high expat resident of Thailand (retirement visa). None of the current requirements ever bothered me, except the inconvenience of checking in every 90 days and later the TM30 which was confusing and very unnecessary in my opinion. I left Thailand for Australia with the intent of returning after 90-180 days but COVID changed that.  I'll never return to Thailand if I have to quarantine or if they demand I vaccinate (which will never happen).  The world is full of other options but I hope Thailand gains some sanity and they make wise decisions as I'd enjoy returning but if not oh well, life goes on, I won't lose any sleep either way.

[Dogmatix]

Chayotid means well but is just an advisor to an old pal who is a minister and DPM but has no power over immigration policies. None of this will get done and he will get frustrated and move on.

 

 

[rumak]

4 hours ago, Nickelbeer said:

Places like Thailand are the way that the low income people have been able to have a little interest and dignity in their old age.

 

hey,  and sex.        even rich people like B and M  Gates are finding that life without sex gets pretty boring .     

 

anyway,  thanks for including me in your post .   I feel dignified already

[DLock]

Has TAT ever really tried to understand what wealthy foreigners want...and don't want?

 

Thailand is still a nice place, but these days Thailand is more like a 40-year old divorced woman trying to look 21 years old, attempting to attract a rich husband. Her beauty has faded and she is tired and jaded with baggage and more hassle than she is worth...especially when they are so many options out there.

 

Thailand is perfect for a few weeks sun and fun, boats and beaches for a wealthy few, and more than enough for the average guy looking for a 40-year old.

 

But attracting long-term rich foreigners? Doubtful.

 

[Patong2021]

They really do not understand the wealthy demographic. I doubt wealthy people stay long term in Thailand until Thailand can offer quality and a value proposition and shield these visitors from the sanctioned corruption.. Can't even use the tap water in Thailand for laundry because the clothes will give off the Thai stench as soon as they are damp. Go to Sardinia or the South of France and you need not worry about getting run over by Somchai and his speeding truck. Enjoy the beaches of Hawaii and you need not worry of swimming in raw sewage. No worries of getting shaken down for tea money by a police office in Marabella.  Why would a wealthy person want to come stay in Thailand during burning season? Monsoon season is of no interest either.   Clean up your act Thailand and maybe quality visitors will consider staying longer.

[Airalee]

3 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

This is an inherent flaw in advertising, chasing the most lucrative customers, though they're in the shortest supply.

 

Strolling here through the moo ban most of the children have phones their families can barely afford, upon which YouTube is a constant fixture. You've prob noticed on YT lately the number of ads have been increasing dramatically. I can't help but hear the beginnings of the same ones over and over, that the kids keep waiting about five seconds to skip. Cars, luxury condos, designer clothing, and the latest Samsung folding phones. Gee, I sure am glad the kids are now well aware they can book the new electric Volvos for just 5 million baht, and the new 60k Samsung can be folded up on a table to take selfies.

 

These ads are continuously blasted in search of well heeled customers, yet the eyes and ears they fall upon most are anything but. One can't help but wonder what psychological effect this has. This is who we care about, but it's not for you. Perhaps one day you'll be one of them, but likely not.

Yeah....I see the same thing on YouTube and wonder who the advertisers target audiences are.  I’m a bit more cynical than you about the intended psychological effect.  I believe that it entices people into going into debt in order to “keep up with the Jones’s” because it makes people think that “all my neighbors are richer than me” but little do they know that those neighbors are probably in debt up to their eyeballs fronting an unsustainable image.

 

The numbers of millionaires in my post that you originally quoted is also a bit misleading....and is on the high side as it includes bubble equity in people primary residences.  The ‘world wealth report’ , which excludes the primary residence and such equity puts the (pre-Covid) 2019 number of HNWI globally at less than 20 million and I doubt it’s much higher than that now.  Other sources put the figure even lower than that..

much lower.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-net-worth_individual

 

 

[connda]

The Thai elites sole-narrative vision that the global wealthy will come flocking to save Thailand is about erroneous as their flawed belief that a sole-source, domestic vaccine manufacturer will meet the entire needs of all of Thailand, ASEAN, and beyond in a timely manner that doesn't leave Thailand as the object of global ridicule.  Both are based on abject greed; both will fall flat and ultimately fail to provide.

[LivinLOS]

1 hour ago, pagallim said:

 

The figures you're quoting by no stretch of the imagination are HNW individuals.   Multi million pounds/dollars yes, and the same for 100k baht/month (less than the average monthly income in the UK).

Your categorizing very / ultra high net worth.. 5m / 30m USD.. 

 

But sure its not even extreme HNW demands.. Tho with HNW being +- 1 mil USD entry level for liquid assets even at that many dont have >100k usd in cash.. Asset rich but invested. Plus I said 'multi' 100k per month.. So in the few 100k USD per year income brackets.. Thats usually entry level HNW by most standards. 

[JackSalesman]

The good old Thai Economics 101 rule #1: If no sell, charge more from farangs. If no sell still, pray Buddha and donate to monks.

[Archie Baker]

5 hours ago, Freeduhdum said:

It seems Thailand didn't receive or somehow didn't understand their orders from on high? If you're going to truly "Build Back Better," as most politicians have proclaimed, you might want to consider building collaborative relationships and strengthening internal infrastructure. That means courting your own people with collaborative projects rather than constantly relying on outsiders to solve your financial problems. Just a thought. 

I like the idea, rich Thais investing in the countries future. Wonder why someone in power has not thought of this before.  Invest in Thailand or invest in china??  Mmmmmm???

[sambum]

 "there are government moves afoot to make the kingdom more appealing for long-term, high-net-worth visitors in the near future."

 

And would that include making alcohol freely available to them?

[LivinLOS]

53 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Offer it, and they will simply come. Desire it, and offer nothing special, make no sacrifices, change nothing, and yet they will magically appear on your shores, in their 350 foot yacths, at your luxury marinas. 

 

Offer them something. All the rich people I know who visited Thailand, never returned. Why? Their wives like to shop. And they won't pay your punitive luxury taxes. They like good wine. And they won't pay your stupid prices.

 

At a five star hotel, this same wealthy Chinese couple want a great bottle of wine. They see a good vintage of Domaine Coche-Dury Monthelie, which would sell for about $400 retail, or at a five star in any of the major cities for $800 on the list. The same bottle, if it was available (highly unlikely) in Bangkok, would be 100,000 baht, or more. And if it was available would the hotel have a sommelier who was qualified and fluent enough, to explain the wine, and the various vintages available? I have not found that in the past here. I have been to high end restaurants where they knew nothing about the expensive wines on the list! Nothing! The lack of expertise here is a big factor in discouraging wealthy tourists who come here, from returning ever again. Amazing.

 

Some regressive nimwits do not understand basic economics. By reducing taxes you stimulate the economy. In addition, if Thailand reduces its punitive wine taxes and luxury taxes, they might be able to attract more of those rich tourists they keep droning on and on and on about. The rich are smart with their money. And not only do they enjoy a nice bottle of wine with dinner, their wives also love to spend alot of money on luxury goods while they vacation. Impossible here. Who would buy a Prada handbag for $13,000 here, when you can get it for $4,500 in most world capitals? Same goes for wine. Who would spend $700 for a bottle of wine they could get for $125 at home. An extreme lack of creativity forces retrograde politicians to become overly dependent on import taxes. Dumb and dumber. 

 

And for this, and a dozen other reasons, Thailand will never attract more than a few thousand super wealthy tourists a year. It is referred to as self sabotage, or idiotic, regressive, non visionary policy.

 

Just not gonna happen. 

 

Yeah I have a acquaintance in the west.. Managed to do well for himself and is approaching triple digit millions.. Rarely flies first class usually private (only trans Atlantic flies commercial etc) thinks nothing of a 250k euro long weekend by jet with him and a small entourage to Cannes, Dubai, or St Barts.. 

What does Thailand offer this man ?? Really ?? Sun Sand and Sex ?? He has more than he can hope to deal with of a far higher caliber.. There is literally nothing here of unique or high end appeal to attract this mans spending.  Hes used to Bentlys and rollers, the hotels going to dispatch a Camry 'limo' or even a 7 series, he would be rolling his eyes in mock suffering as it bumped through the cities traffic. 

What do they think really UHNW people are going to be attracted to here ?? Its budget all the way. 

[sambum]

6 hours ago, Thailand said:

Might be a good idea to look to those long termers already here putting billions in to the economy.

That is something that is tangible not pie in the sky.

 

 

Correct! And maybe allow them to have a drink with their pals?

[Mywayboy]

7 hours ago, Thujone said:

Is it old chestnut season again?

Time flies.

The best played plans of Men or Mice. Nice try next BS please I need a good laugh.55555

[zhounan]

Why the Riches should come to Thailand?

[rickudon]

Maybe the Thai definition of Hi net worth individuals is anyone with a pension of 65,000 baht a month ........ now that would be realistic.

[ThailandRyan]

7 minutes ago, zhounan said:

Why the Riches should come to Thailand?

[khunjeff]

" The main opposition to a relaxation of foreign visa regulations is likely to come from the Immigration Department, under the politically powerful Interior Ministry. "  

 

Immigration is a Bureau, not a Department, and hasn't been under the Interior Ministry since 1998 (it's now under the direct control of the Office of the Prime Minister) - which makes me wonder just how much research went into this article.

[jobas69]

Wow looks like someone has been smoking there happy pipe again dream  on nobody is coming  while the quarantine is in force 

[spidermike007]

Way too late for that. About 15 years too late. Earth to Pipat. What planet are you living on? Are you aware of why wealthy tourists AVOID Thailand? 

 

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. And places like Pattaya, Phuket and Samui will continue to go downhill. So, the goons at the TAT continue to pursue ever higher numbers, regardless of the noxious air, unbelievable congestion on the roads, and woeful service at the airports, that this policy only exacerbates.

 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people.

 

The dreaming continues. These ministries consider Thailand to be the center of the universe. The world cannot live without Thailand. The level of perceived superiority within Thailand and Thai society on so many levels is obvious. The world sees that, right? But, what is it backed up by? 

 

The world can live without that which Thailand has to offer. And the world is a different place, post Covid. Tourism was already in decline here based on occupancy levels over the past couple of years. Now? The industry will be decimated for a long time to come.

 

Trillions have been invested  in tourism with the faith and the hope that should anything terrible happen, the government would be there, they would step in and they would do something to assist and to help both Thais and international companies that have invested billions of dollars. Instead what are they getting? Absolutely nothing, sheer timidity and an extreme and pathetic lack of courage and a do nothing attitude.

 

Do anything, just don't do nothing, we are counting on you to do something. Anything is better than what you're currently doing, which is nothing. Pathetic. Cowardly. Apathetic. Grossly incompetent. 

[Andrew65]

2 hours ago, aviator581 said:

The rich don't visit these kind of countries, that's what Monaco, Cayman Islands, and more are for.  

As long as they keep the blinders on nothing will work.  Only thing that works is, middle class tourist nomads and the regular retirees. 

And with 15 days locked up or requiring vaccines, it is not happening.   75% or more in the west don't want to take a vaccine for a manipulate plandemic with a 99.6% recovery rate.   

Also the Caribbean generally, Bahamas, Fiji, Marbella (Spain) etc...

Edited May 5, 2021 by Andrew65

[dave moir]

6 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

This guy worked for JP Morgan so is no dummy.

Unfortunately, his superiors mostly seem to be when it comes to economic matters.

I like his ideas but do not generally see much being changed.

If anything, the retirement type Visa may be adjusted but i bet he will suggest it is only for high dollar retirees.  Probably need a much larger lump sum in the bank or much higher monthly income to qualify.

The low monthly pensioners I doubt will see any changes as that is not the group he appears to be focusing on.

I never see typical foreigners being able to buy land.  Possibly,  at some price point like minimum 30 million b and up.

 

Elite card holders!????