Hi-So Holidays Harder To Afford For Phuket Tourists

[webfact]

Phuket Opinion: Hi-so holidays harder for tourists to afford
Phuket Gazette


Tourists coming to Phuket are now counting their baht to see how much of the high life they can afford. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- Over the years, a number of my friends have made the journey from England to visit Phuket and enjoy a well-earned holiday. The recurring theme of their time here used to be how cheap the island was compared to the UK, but that has now changed.

When I first moved to Phuket, years ago, the exchange rate from baht to British pound was around 64:1. This gave my friends every reason to claim that Phuket was an absolute bargain and a number of them lived it up during their two-week holiday.

Today, the baht is 44:1. To put that into perspective, if someone comes to Phuket on a two-week holiday and they bring UK£1,000 spending money, when the exchange rate was 64:1 their £1,000 was worth 64,000 baht. Today, the same amount of British pounds is worth 44,000 baht.

If you then compare drinks and food – these prices have stayed roughly the same over the years – a bottle of beer that costs 70 baht (just under £2) is now close to the same price you would pay for a drink in England.

If you go to an upscale area like Surin – where a beer can cost 150 baht – you’re now paying close to £4 for a drink, which is more than you would pay in England. These bars will argue that customers are paying for the location and setting but it’s still a lot of money. Street food will always be cheap but tourists don’t tend to eat street food. They go to restaurants in their hotel or a restaurant that has been recommended in a book or online.

Around the Laguna area, one of the cheapest three-course meals in a popular restaurant will set you back just over 500 baht (£11). Add in a few drinks of any description and the bill could be closer to 880 baht (£20). And that’s at one of the cheaper restaurants.

Once you start to factor in tours, taxis and souvenirs it becomes shockingly clear that £1,000 doesn’t go far. On the plus side, people living in Phuket who go back to England benefit when they convert their baht to British pounds, but who wants to go on holiday to England?

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Opinion-Hi-so-holidays-harder-for-tourists-to-afford-20574.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-03-22

[BookMan]

Harder for UK tourists perhaps. Hasn't stopped the Chinese or the Russians

[candypants]

indeed.

it costs a fortune to barricade yourself from the ever-encroaching realities of the island.

Edited March 22, 2013 by candypants

[LivinginKata]

Just to put it all in perspective, way back in 1996 I only got 36 baht per pound, A very few years later it went as high as 90 baht (for a very few days). My point is that exchange rates fluctuate up and down over time.

[super22k]

You say,who wants to holiday in England? The answer is,most of the world.It seems all of the world wants to visit England and no one wants to go back to their own country. England is a great place. When I tell people I am from england they always say the same thing,"You are lucky".

Even though we are ruled by a bunch of anti-british politicians (I mean Cameron,the Lib/Dem Con and the establishment)the indigenous people are sharp,modern and very intelligent. We are lucky to live in such a well organised country.Such a beautiful country,too.Could it be that people envy us!

[mancub]

Hardly an inspired article !

No mention of the relative cost of flights during these periods ( or "entertainment " costs !)

Many people ,myself included actually enjoy goung back to the UK occasionally for a holiday . There are many many beautiful parts to visit and I actually appreciate the change of Seasons , a pleasent change from the often oppressive heat over here !

The author ,doesn't seem to grasp that the majority of UK expats ,or Europeans in general , are living off pensions or regular incomes that originate in their own currency . Not many would have benefitted from transferring their life savings into Baht 15 years ago !

[m0n5ter]

Well.. Just don't go here for vacations If nobody goes here, tourism dies, Thailand falls into crysis, pound costs 300 Baht It's a (Arnie voice mode on) KAPITALIZOM!

[tragickingdom]

You could switch Phuket for much nicer and quieter places of course, that have less inflated prices, cheaper hotels, nicer staff, no tuk-tuk drivers that rip you off and so on. And 70 Baht is not 2 £ it is not even 2 €.

70 baht comes down to 1.60 £. Besides there is quite a difference if you drink a beer in the UK in Brighton in the summer or in Central London that in the local pub in Newmarket.

Life sucks, but your money still goes a long way when you go upcountry or to one of the Southern Islands. Just take the boat from Satun to one of the real nice places. Cheap, clean and not too many white noses.

[terryp]

Just to put it all in perspective, way back in 1996 I only got 36 baht per pound, A very few years later it went as high as 90 baht (for a very few days). My point is that exchange rates fluctuate up and down over time.

totally irrelavant back in "96 a beer cost 30-35 baht, a coffee 15 baht, a kilo of oranges 7 baht and a ltr of gasoline 9-11 baht..bbq street food chicken leg 12 baht, chicken strip on a stick 3-4 baht...so lets get real...THAILAND is getting way over priced ..just spent a week in Samui and I was shocked at what people are being asked to pay for food drink etc

[HalfSquat]

Maybe try somewhere else in Thailand if Phuket is too expensive?

a bottle of beer that costs 70 baht (just under £2)

Since when is £1.57 'just under' £2?

[VINCENT2012]

when people travel with the same standing they have at home then the price in nearly the same everywhere in the world.

cheap staff is always bad staff and good staff as a price.

also people who go abroad never avoid tourist places,so they pay for it !

[RogueLeader]

Please could you let me know the name of the pub in England where you can get a bottle of beer for £2? That would barely cover the tax.

[Stjohnm]

Maybe try somewhere else in Thailand if Phuket is too expensive?

a bottle of beer that costs 70 baht (just under £2)

Since when is £1.57 'just under' £2?

You can get lovely freshly squeezed OJ from a street vendor for ฿20 (75 satang north of 43p at today's rate)

[Judo Chop]

Suprise bloody surprise. The GBP had been punching well above it's weight for way too long. Little wonder reality had to set in at some time.

If 44 THB to the 1 GBP is't good enough anymore, there's other places around the world that are cheaper. Stop your ccomplaining though.

[jitenshaman]

precisely why i avoid Phuket like a plague. In Bangkok I can have a world class meal for 300 baht, be treated no differently than any of the other middle class Thais sitting next to me, with genuinely great food. After dinner, I can jump into an air conditioned cab, pay 70 baht for a ride halfway across town, and maybe even get a smile at the end of it. If I want the beach, I can go down to Sam Roi Yod or Baan Krut, where nobody hassles me, quotes me farcical prices for a tuk tuk ride, nor any other aggravation. It's a pity such a nice place became one of the world's biggest eyesores.

[NamKangMan]

You could switch Phuket for much nicer and quieter places of course, that have less inflated prices, cheaper hotels, nicer staff, no tuk-tuk drivers that rip you off and so on. And 70 Baht is not 2 £ it is not even 2 €.

70 baht comes down to 1.60 £. Besides there is quite a difference if you drink a beer in the UK in Brighton in the summer or in Central London that in the local pub in Newmarket.

Life sucks, but your money still goes a long way when you go upcountry or to one of the Southern Islands. Just take the boat from Satun to one of the real nice places. Cheap, clean and not too many white noses.

Yes, many have "switched Phuket" for a place "upcountry" - it's called Pattaya - maybe you have heard of it. They even have a public transport system there. :) :)

[Eddythekid]

I think the author is a little out of touch, the main guys struggling are the expats on minimum pensions or perhaps renting their homes in UK. The UK (esp. Wales) is a beautiful country and I will never dis. my country, I'm only here for the cheap beer and warm weather, if they had this in Wales I'd be on the next plane out. But he is way off on prices in UK, so perhaps he hasn't been back in all the years he's been here. I take my family over every year and we love it (summer time only though) but I live in the cheapest part of UK (south Wales valleys) and you cannot get a bottle of beer for less than 3 quid, that's 130-135bt, for a small beer, here in Udon I can still buy small beers for 45bt a little over a quid. Eating out in UK has stayed stagnant since I left in 2002, and prices definitely have risen here in Thailand, just look at Tesco food court, K.Kaen franchise when I 1st arrived all their meals were 30-35bt, now they're 55-60bt, cinema was 70bt (in Pattaya) then, now I pay 160bt here in Udon, more than 100% increase, so prices are rising. The pound is weak right now, but there are two sides to a coin, try telling this problem to the small british firms that export to Europe and have been able to increase more orders because of the weakened pound.

[BEDBANDIT]

I lived in samui ft or 6 years , used to visit phuket twice a year . phuket was always more expensive than samui which I found strange because its not really an island . it should be cheaper . last time I was there it more like 90b a beer in the popular bars .

I've been in Pattaya for last 5 years , my beers cost 50b / 70 or s large one , a good farang meal 150b .

I do miss island life , but there's 100-200℅ mark up on everything from the Mainland , which is ridiculous ...

[monkeycountry]

You say,who wants to holiday in England? The answer is,most of the world.It seems all of the world wants to visit England and no one wants to go back to their own country. England is a great place. When I tell people I am from england they always say the same thing,"You are lucky".

Even though we are ruled by a bunch of anti-british politicians (I mean Cameron,the Lib/Dem Con and the establishment)the indigenous people are sharp,modern and very intelligent. We are lucky to live in such a well organised country.Such a beautiful country,too.Could it be that people envy us!

Isn't England the place with never ending rain and grey skies? (At least it is in most movies :-)

[bijanuk]

The financial problems of Europe will repeat themselves in Thailand , just wait and see when mouldy Thai rice cannot be sold to the International market

[Eddythekid]

You say,who wants to holiday in England? The answer is,most of the world.It seems all of the world wants to visit England and no one wants to go back to their own country. England is a great place. When I tell people I am from england they always say the same thing,"You are lucky".

Even though we are ruled by a bunch of anti-british politicians (I mean Cameron,the Lib/Dem Con and the establishment)the indigenous people are sharp,modern and very intelligent. We are lucky to live in such a well organised country.Such a beautiful country,too.Could it be that people envy us!

Isn't England the place with never ending rain and grey skies? (At least it is in most movies :-)

English weather is pretty much like the state of New York, some days good, some days bad, some years we have too many grey days, and other years we are spoilt with lots of blue skies. We don't try to paint our country with rose coloured specs, so in movie and TV we portray it as it really is, sometimes raining and some days sunny

[stoffel45]

It is not just Phuket which is becoming unaffordable.

During any of the "European School Holidays"....

In Koh Tao and Samui, rooms in a 2-3 star hotel cost the same as a 5 star hotel in Bangkok.

Even without currency devaluation/appreciation Thailand is getting a wee bit pricey.

In the course of a "normal" year, our family of 3 persons would stay for 72 - 75 days.

For the same budget as in 2010, 38 days costs the same - to us - in euro.

A huge percentage is due to the fall of the euro. (Hell I wish it would totally collapse). To help offset this we moved savings into US dollars since 2010. Most monthly surplus is immediately converted.

Our airfares have gone up by an actual 35% from then until now.

My daughter and wife used to come with nearly empty suitcases and then "Hit the shops" - it was part of their holiday and such a change to have polite and cheerful shop assistants. Now - shopping is cut to half.

Too many Russians and Indians in the hotels - so we have started renting apartments. Accidentally, this showed a major saving in accommodation costs and easily covers the cost of a car.

Sorry to take so long - but thought you may be interested that we costed similar holidays in the EU.

Yes, there is a fairly insignificant saving on airfares - and that is where the saving stops dead.

By Thai standards (room size, appointments, restaurant choice, pool etc) Europe is pretty second grade even third.

And in the EU, for lesser quality accommodation we could only afford about 26 days.

Even the periphery, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan are heftily priced to catch the northern Europeans fleeing

the gloom and pollution of their countries.

So let me reassure you - Thailand is STILL very good value - you'd have to drop to one star or camping in the EU for a much shorter period to match costs.

Happy Holidays.

[lavender19]

It always amazes me the people who knock the UK have either never been or have only visited London.

I lived in Cornwall for 30 years and it has some of the best coastline and beaches in the world then take a trip up to Scotland for it's magnificent ruggedness and beautiful it's Lochs.

Add the 1000's of years of history, not just a couple of hundred like a lot of countries and it knocks spots off most places.

[Marlow999]

Maybe try somewhere else in Thailand if Phuket is too expensive?

a bottle of beer that costs 70 baht (just under £2)

Since when is £1.57 'just under' £2?

It's nearer 2 quid than 1

[Johnnie99]

Visiting Phuket ... for a holiday ... poor, rude, expensive service with not much more than a beach or two littered with rubbish and those seeking 'money for pleasure', excessively priced taxis, an incredible, fantastic (in the true meanings of those words) 'bus' 'service' ... who wants to go there? If you're wondering, I have lived there

[blazes]

You say,who wants to holiday in England? The answer is,most of the world.It seems all of the world wants to visit England and no one wants to go back to their own country. England is a great place. When I tell people I am from england they always say the same thing,"You are lucky".

Even though we are ruled by a bunch of anti-british politicians (I mean Cameron,the Lib/Dem Con and the establishment)the indigenous people are sharp,modern and very intelligent. We are lucky to live in such a well organised country.Such a beautiful country,too.Could it be that people envy us!

It does pee with rain though.

[livinthailandos]

After reading the comments and posts I would only go forward to say this

1. Holidays are a luxury in a way simply because not everyone can afford to travel or even take a holiday, to a lot of people the cost of taking a holiday alone is to expensive
2. Complaining about a price of beer seems rather small considering the fact your going to spend anywhere from 400 usd to a 1000 usd or more to fly a country to take that holiday, / also if that price of beer is to expensive maybe its time to stop drinking beer period
3. Life is short and when on holiday the purpose is just to enjoy it and relax
4. Cheap prices never last and always change over time.

[eezergood]

precisely why i avoid Phuket like a plague. In Bangkok I can have a world class meal for 300 baht, be treated no differently than any of the other middle class Thais sitting next to me, with genuinely great food. After dinner, I can jump into an air conditioned cab, pay 70 baht for a ride halfway across town, and maybe even get a smile at the end of it. If I want the beach, I can go down to Sam Roi Yod or Baan Krut, where nobody hassles me, quotes me farcical prices for a tuk tuk ride, nor any other aggravation. It's a pity such a nice place became one of the world's biggest eyesores.

World class meal for 300 baht? - where ? what world are we talking? what comparisons have you had from "world class venues" to make such a ridiculous statement.

[salapau]

Fully understand but I've never been a lover of resorts. I have lived in Mae Sariang in the Mae Hong Son district for a few years now but can understand the diminishing value for English tourists, as it also effects my monthly private pension payments. The Thai government should take time to think about the value of the Thai baht as they rely heavily on tourism from the west, which if they do nothing, will rapidly diminish.

[JetsetBkk]

Isn't England the place with never ending rain and grey skies? (At least it is in most movies :-)

Yes, and the smog - don't forget the smog. And Jack the Ripper. He's always walking around the smog filled streets.

In my bucket list: Pendine sands in S. Wales

- just like Phuket except, no tuk-tuks, no hassles, quiet, etc. Maybe like Phuket was 30 years ago.

.