Thailand tourism situation

[STEVE G]

I'm not so sure it's just the 'civil unrest' as per that article, but also the strength of the baht.

And perhaps also the fact that people don't generally holiday in military dictatorships.

Apart from Spain under Franco, Dubai, Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Bhutan if you can afford the Visa, China etc etc.

There are plenty of single party socialists states and the suchlike but I think Thailand is one of the only countries at the present time that is directly run by the military.

[Felipesed]

As you well know, military/police power underpins these single-party socialist states, like, ultimately, in any country.

Political concerns are not normally a factor in the choice of a tourist destination.

People want to have a safe, affordable holiday and indulge in their chosen recreation, whether it is sunbathing, culture nature or whatever.

If you lived here you would know that the change of government has had no discernible impact on the majority of the population.

There are no “tanks on the street”, and life goes on as normal.

Unless you are a corrupt civil servant, in which case you might be feeling a bit concerned!

[Bristolian]

Unless you are a corrupt civil servant, in which case you might be feeling a bit concerned!

Agree 100% but you might want to add ex civil sevants and long retired civil servants. The knives are out and have long memories. There are a number of these who "own" land in PKK province and are feeling the heat coming to their collars.

[caller]

If you lived here you would know that the change of government has had no discernible impact on the majority of the population.

Apart from being disenfranchised you mean, or want to read all the news that's fit to read, or watch the TV station or listen to the radio station of their choice, have a political meeting, protest, read 1984 or even eat a sandwich in public. There is an undercurrent that Thai's are well aware of and I can't read the Mail and now Drummond online!

[Bristolian]

^^ agree. It will be interesting if AD ever manages to get an answer why his site is blocked. For the most part he only identifies, names, shames and blames the criminals from the foreign community, which I would only have thought, would have been useful for the Thai authorities and made their jobs easier to expel the unwashed, unclean and unwanted.

[Felipesed]

If you lived here you would know that the change of government has had no discernible impact on the majority of the population.

Apart from being disenfranchised you mean, or want to read all the news that's fit to read, or watch the TV station or listen to the radio station of their choice, have a political meeting, protest, read 1984 or even eat a sandwich in public. There is an undercurrent that Thai's are well aware of and I can't read the Mail and now Drummond online!

Irrelevant!

Food, shelter, employment and the cost of living are what is important.
Thai TV has always been bad, no change there.
Not sure that many Thai have heard of "1984", or Andrew Drummond, let alone want to read the Daily Mail.

Without going off topic too much, do you really think that the UK election next month, with its "first past the post" system will return a government that the majority of the population want?

Incidentally it is very easy to circumvent the website blocking by using many of the available VPN services.

[caller]

Irrelevant!

Well, it might be to you, but clearly not to a lot of Thai's.

[STEVE G]

Irrelevant!

Well, it might be to you, but clearly not to a lot of Thai's.

Yes, the only reason the right wing Royalist crowd in power now needed a coup is because they've never had enough support from the general population to win an election.

[Felipesed]

Irrelevant!

Well, it might be to you, but clearly not to a lot of Thai's.

Yes, the only reason the right wing Royalist crowd in power now needed a coup is because they've never had enough support from the general population to win an election.

Have you taken over from Mr Plum as the resident Marxist proagandist?

[STEVE G]

Have you taken over from Mr Plum as the resident Marxist propagandist?

I shouldn't think so, I was a Conservative party supporter in the UK!

[STEVE G]

I know it's a Saturday evening in low season but I've just been through check in, security and immigration at Suvarnibhumi in about 12 minutes, I've never done it anything like that quick and I've been doing it at least four times a year for the last 12 years or so.
I was the only person in the whole security hall and it's the first time that I've had a choice of immigration officers with no queues!

[Bristolian]

^^ I had the same experience last week both outbound and inbound. The place was empty. I only had carry on luggage and from the time the plane parked it could have been no longer than 15 minutes and I was already in a taxi.

[STEVE G]

Yes, I got from the Miracle bar landside to Bill Bentley's bar airside in less than 15 minutes as well.

[buksida]

Contrary to NCPO claims, stats show post-bomb tourist drop

A day after the junta claimed the tourism industry has been unaffected by last week's bombing of Bangkok’s Erawan shrine, the Tourism and Sports Ministry released figures showing international arrivals actually fell 7% since the attack.

Ministry permanent secretary Areepong Phucha-um said Wednesday that the decline was based on the normal arrival rate of about 85,000 visitors per day, meaning arrivals dropped by 6,000 each day.

Volatility in tourist arrivals might continue in a few weeks, Mr Areepong added.

On Tuesday, the Association of Thai Travel Agents also said 5% of foreign bookings for travel to Thailand had been cancelled since the Aug 17 explosion.

The true facts surrounding impact on tourism from the bomb at the Ratchaprasong intersection that killed 20 people and injured 131 - most of them foreign tourists - contrast sharply with remarks made Tuesday by National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Winthai Suvaree, who tried to play down any suggestion visitors might be put off of Thailand.

"The number of tourists in prominent tourist attractions both in Bangkok and other provinces is still high," Col Winthai said Tuesday in a daily broadcast, without giving any numbers.

"The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has further reported that the statistics of foreign tourists travelling into Thailand is at the normal level."

Data obtained by Reuters from ForwardKeys, which tracks over 14 million travel bookings a day, suggests otherwise.

Its data for the five days after the bombing compared to the same period in 2014 showed bookings to Thailand down 65% and business travel from China tanking 350%.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tou ... urist-drop

[JamesWest]

i just booked a hotel room in Bangkok at the last minute. Small popular place, I did not expect to be able to get a room. but no problem and the lowest rate i have seen in years.