Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Local Hua Hin and regional Thailand news articles and discussion.
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Three
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by Three »

They're cute and they're cuddly and they're ready to please.

******

There's nine hundred million of them in the world today.

You'd better learn to like them, that's what I say.
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buksida
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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May tourist arrivals up 4.6% to 2.6m
International tourist arrivals in Thailand rose 4.6% in May from a year earlier, with revenue up 6.9%, but a strong baht could impact the lucrative industry, the Tourism and Sports Ministry said on Monday.

The number of foreign tourists stood at 2.59 million in May, led by visitors from China, Malaysia, India, Russia and the United States, generating revenue of 125 billion baht ($3.67 billion), Pongpanu Svetarundra, the ministry's permanent secretary, said in a statement.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tou ... up-4-6-yoy

Thought: Proof then that they are including Malay border runners to inflate tourist arrival figures.
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oakdale160
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by oakdale160 »

Interesting--the Malay numbers are mostly entries for sex and shopping on the border. So the big two groups are Chinese and Indians both notoriously small spenders--yet the average spending goes up.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by caller »

I don't believe any figures issued by this Govt. A few months back, some type of association of Thai exporters, in response to the Govt's announcement of projected increased export sales, responded by saying something like, 'fat chance - we're really being affected by the strong baht' and demanding controls. A few weeks later 'record' export sales were announced. And that pattern continues.

As for the tourists - where are they all going?
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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what do you think? Knowing a little about Thai thinking, Its not dishonesty as we know it--its just putting out "happy" numbersi
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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Go-go going as Chinese women fuel tourism boom

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/to ... recent_box

For decades since the Vietnam war, the scantily clad dancers in the go-go bars of Bangkok's Patpong red-light district have been the face of Thailand's tourism industry.

But last year for the first time, the country drew more women tourists than men as a surge in Chinese female visitors outweighed a longstanding distortion spurred by men drawn to the world's "sex capital".

The shift is welcome news for Thai authorities, who have tried to promote the country's shopping, beaches and temples and to minimise the importance of sex tourism, which thrived after Thailand became an R&R hotspot for US troops in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tourism ministry figures reviewed by Reuters showed 52% of more than 32 million visitors last year were women.
That compared to 48% in 2015 and only 42% in 2012. No earlier official data were available, but research from as far back as the 1980s shows a ratio of about 60% male to 40% female visitors.

"Not as many women visited Thailand because they thought we were a cheap destination with too much vice, but now more are coming, which means our image accommodates them," Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told Reuters.

Tourism accounts for around 12% of the economy and is easily the fastest-growing sector, particularly since a coup in 2014.

Hoping to attract more female tourists, the state's Tourism Authority of Thailand started a "Women's Journey" campaign last year, with a website and mobile application offering discounts for hotels, spas, malls, and restaurants.

But the biggest factor has been tourism from China, which has reshaped the industry around the world.

The number of Chinese visitors rose from nearly 12% of Thailand's visitors in 2012 to 27% last year. The number of Chinese women visiting Thailand nearly quadrupled over the same period to more than 5.3 million.

"When Chinese men make a lot of money, they tend to take their wife, daughter, and mother to travel, making the ratio heavier on the female side," said Virat Chatturaputpitak, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents.

Major Chinese travel website Tuniu reported that 62% of its customers last year were women, Chinese media reported.

Cheap, easy and close to home

"I chose to come to Thailand because it's close by, there are many flights, it's cheap to travel and easy to get a visa," said Man Na Zhang, 24, at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine, a favourite spot for Chinese tourists despite a deadly bombing in 2015.

Chinese female visitors, who get a tourist visa on arrival, also cited a simple tax rebate procedure on duty-free goods as another drawcard as they snap up items such as cosmetics, bottled bird's nest soup, vitamins and supplements.

Many stores in Bangkok's shopping malls now accept Alipay, China's giant online payment service. A Big C supermarket near the Erawan shrine buzzes with Chinese tourists who fill their trolleys with bulk packets Tom Yum Goong flavoured instant noodles, crispy seaweed and dried squid snacks.

Businesses in tourist towns have started printing menus in Chinese and getting workers to learn the language to cater to Chinese tourists, who last year made up more than those from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa combined.

China's recent "Golden Week" holiday brought 70% more Chinese visitors than last year, the tourism ministry said.
For nationalities that traditionally patronised Thailand's sex industry, tourist numbers are still dominated by men -- 68% of Japanese visitors, 58% of British and nearly 56% of American, Australian and German tourists.

But even for those countries, the balance has shifted more towards female tourists.
Although the sex industry is far from dead, local businesses complain fewer tourists were visiting areas such as Patpong and nearby Silom neighbourhood.

"There are evidently fewer tourists, especially in the low season, when sales can go from tens of thousands of baht a day to nothing," said Somkid Sangwong, a manager of a restaurant in a Silom alley next to Patpong, surrounded by neon-lit signs for bars blasting loud music and offering raunchy live shows.

Phadet Mesild, a board member of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, another popular spot for sex tourism, told Reuters the decline in demand had forced many venues in the island to close down.

Since 2014, the military government has occasionally raided brothels, bars, and massage parlours in an effort to clean up the country's image, but they have usually bounced back quickly.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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Good news for Thai male prostitutes.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by caller »

handdrummer wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:05 am Good news for Thai male prostitutes.
:lach:
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by Pleng »

Nereus wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:14 pm
Tourism accounts for around 12% of the economy and is easily the fastest-growing sector, particularly since a coup in 2014.
This sentence confuses me... Are they trying to say that having a coup has somehow increased the amount of money tourism is bringing? Or is it suggesting that growth in other areas has slowed or reversed since the coup?
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by johnjar »

According to Bloomberg --Thailand Economy Grows at Fastest Pace in Over Four Years and the economy is getting stronger, GDP growth beat forcastes

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... st-quarter
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by StevePIraq »

Pleng wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:40 pm
Nereus wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:14 pm
Tourism accounts for around 12% of the economy and is easily the fastest-growing sector, particularly since a coup in 2014.
This sentence confuses me... Are they trying to say that having a coup has somehow increased the amount of money tourism is bringing? Or is it suggesting that growth in other areas has slowed or reversed since the coup?
It is easy. Since the coup there has been relative stability, no or at least very few major demonstrations and riots, unlike in the past. Whilst some may not like the present administration it has calmed the country down and that is what all businesses want.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by PeteC »

Here's one where their stupid mentality cost a person his life and injuries to others. Who in the name of god would pull an elephant's tail as it passed by, and with riders on its back. Unbelievable. :banghead:

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... y-elephant

Chinese tour guide killed by elephant

CHON BURI: A Chinese tour guide was trampled to death by an angry bull elephant and two tourists injured in Bang Lamung district on Thursday evening.

Bang Lamung police and rescue workers were called to the scene around 5.30pm.

They found He Yongjie, 34, dead at an elephant camp in a fruit orchard named Sam Liam Thong Kham in Moo 1 of tambon Huai Yai.

He was stamped to death by “Plai Uthen”, a 17-year-old male elephant. His bag containing a passport and other personal documents were found by his body.

Two tourists who had been riding the elephant sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Barriers around the camp were damaged.

Au Yungram, 37, the mahout and owner, said two foreigners had been riding on the back of the elephant around the orchard under his supervision. As they passed some waiting tourists one of them pulled the elephant's tail, making him angry.

The elephant charged into the crowd and killed the guide. One of the tourists fell from the elephant's back but the other managed to hold on.

Sakda Malee, 17, a security guard, said scared tourists scattered across the camp in fear when the elephant ran at them. Some of them fell over and were slightly injured.

The tour guide’s body was taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post mortem examination. Authorities will inform his family.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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Human stupidity.
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

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Who in the name of god would pull an elephant's tail as it passed by............
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Re: Chinese tourists (and their habits) surge into Thailand

Post by Pleng »

PeteC wrote: Fri Dec 22, 2017 12:47 pm Here's one where their stupid mentality cost a person his life and injuries to others. Who in the name of god would pull an elephant's tail as it passed by, and with riders on its back. Unbelievable. :banghead:
Do you have a source that actually states that the tourist who pulled the tail was Chinese??
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