Thailand tourism situation

[richard]

I'm already getting this comment from some regular annual visitors to the condo...."where is everybody this year?"

[Bristolian]

It's pretty clear that the "Teflon Thailand" is not sticking this year (pun intended)

Street protests and political strife
Southern border insurgents
Military coup
Martial Law
Visa confusion
Bar opening times
"We want a better class of tourists"
Huge media coverage of Koh Tao and incompetent police investigation and possible cover up
"Your only safe if you're ugly and dress if you dress in a bikini"
Safe zones on island beaches (corrals)
Wearing of identifying wristbands
Etc etc...
Are we surprised that tourist numbers have declined? Only if they are like this week's caption contest; the tourists have their heads in the sand. Why would they not look to anywhere that was more inviting and safe....i.e. Beirut

Thailand has not exactly been sending out the welcome message ......

Amazing Thailand !!

[PeteC]

Who knows, perhaps they say one thing concerning "welcome", but mean something else. A self sufficient Thailand without the need for any foreign influence, including tourism. Keep an eye on the BOI if they start to tighten requirements. That would be a sure sign. Pete

[Bristolian]

^^ Any Thai government would be foolish to reduce BOI support of foreign investment. Pretty quickly Thailand would slip to the levels of Cambodia, Laos etc and there would be a public reaction that could not be contained. However I do agree that they would like the foreign investment without the actual direct involvement in the Thai economy that the foreign investors must have, to safeguard their investments. The government can not have their cake and eat it.....even in the LOS.

Edited to correct at least one SP mistake that I noticed!,

[Korkenzieher]

A major problem - and one that the Thais don't really understand - is that bookings for 'high value tourists' a.k.a European families and resort dwellers, are generally made 6 months in advance and will follow the news flow at that time. So Ling Suthep and the Military intervention resulting from it has basically shot them all in the foot this year.

[Ralfredo]

the Scandinavian snowbirds will return.

We sure will!

[Korkenzieher]

Looking at 94, quite a few already have. But are they 'high value tourists' hmmm.

[Bristolian]

agree except the area they shoot themselves, it's about 800mm vertical of the heel

[migrant]

AoT sees sunnier days for gloomy Thai tourism industry

From Bangkok Post

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... m-industry

It sounds like a "Build it and they will come". Increase flights and voila, tourists!!

[theprice01]

Waking up Soi 94 2 evenings ago, i was suprised to see most of the restauatants more then half full.
maybe things are picking up?!?

[Pleng]

I have to say I've not notices the tourist slump either. I don't often venture to Bintabaht but I was there a week or two back and a lot of the bars seemed at least half full.

[Korkenzieher]

I flew in on an Emirates 380 a couple of weeks back and it was completely jammed full. If the other budget carriers are similar, then there's certainly quite a lot of people turning up. Of course, that might also reflect capacity reductions causing concentrations.

[Big Boy]

This will sort everything

Royal Thai Police tighten security for tourist season

The Royal Thai Police is tightening security measures, and has ordered the police in every region to ensure the safety of Thai and foreign tourists.

Pol.Lt.Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri, the spokesman for the Royal Thai Police has announced that the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police has commanded the police in every area to set up security measures for the tourism high-season.

The Immigration Bureau will facilitate the immigration process to make it faster, and will report the number of arriving visitors, and visitors' internal travel routes, as well as the visitor’s place of accommodation.

Full story: NNT

[PeteC]

"Who knows, perhaps they say one thing concerning "welcome", but mean something else. A self sufficient Thailand without the need for any foreign influence, including tourism. Keep an eye on the BOI if they start to tighten requirements. That would be a sure sign. Pete"

^^ Any Thai government would be foolish to reduce BOI support of foreign investment. Pretty quickly Thailand would slip to the levels of Cambodia, Laos etc and there would be a public reaction that could not be contained. However I do agree that they would like the foreign investment without the actual direct involvement in the Thai economy that the foreign investors must have, to safeguard their investments. The government can not have their cake and eat it.....even in the LOS.

What were we saying?........

....."In an internal briefing document circulated among foreign embassies and seen by the Bangkok Post Sunday, fears are raised about possible amendments to the Foreign Business Act (FBA), which governs the activities of foreign businesses in Thailand......"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/new ... strictions

[Gregjam]

This thread is about the existence of a tourist slump rather than business practices. I sometimes wonder if European governments reciprocated the restrictions non Thais face here if the message would get through but would that drive more anti foreigner policies. Measuring the amount of proper tourists here is difficult as we are seeing the winter non immigrants return at the moment. MV is still quiet mid week which is the best time to see how many tourists we have.
Judging from questions from friends there seems no reduction in interest in coming here despite the negative publicity. The planes from Europe seem packed so hopefully that is a good sign for local business. Hua Hin is still expensive compared to other resorts so probably will not be top of the list for many. Growth has been rapid for a long time so maybe it is time for things to stabilise.
I don't think we will really get a good idea of how things are until December but from a selfish personal view am happy to see things ease off particularly if it results in prices also easing such that it is the same or cheaper to shop in Hua Hin rather than drive to Pranburi or somewhere else not too far away but out of the expensive belt.