How to win back confidence and tourism

[buksida]

There is no chance in hell of any of this happening but if someone up there with half a brain implemented some of these suggestions Thailand’s road to recovery would be quicker, tourists would return and foreign investment would pick up.

1) Scrap the 3 only limit on 30 (now 15) day border runs – backpackers spend too and they were the pioneers of travel in Thailand. Word of mouth works and a little income is better than no income, lose the elitist blinkers, this is Thailand not Dubai.

2) Scrap the 90 day reporting – it is a waste of everybody’s time, and those doing it have already provided documentation and paid for a 12 month extension.

3) Scrap the dual pricing at tourist attractions and national parks – if the government are seen to do this and treat foreigners equally then others may follow resulting in a friendlier atmosphere all round.

4) Increase non-immigrant visa extension fees but lower the requirements to obtain them – extensions become easier to get, more people can get them, they cost a little more, more money coming in, everybody wins.

5) Issue 3 year non-immigrant visa extensions to those that have done the same extension for 3 consecutive years – look after the stable foreigners that have steadily provided income to Thailand.

6) Allow freehold land ownership of upto 1 rai to those that have done 5 consecutive non-immigrant annual extensions – reward those that have committed themselves to Thailand.

7) Offer a free frequent visitor card – discounts and perks for regular frequent visitors to Thailand (not one you have to pay $25k for).

8 ) Marketing and promotion – spend some money telling people how great it is (or was) here.

9) Issue an ID card for foreigners working legally in Thailand – similar to HK, a card that they can use to show that they are not tourists or to be treated as such.

10) Relax rules on opening foreign businesses – make it easier for foreigners to start small businesses, tax accordingly (not based on skin colour), only one mountain of documentation (instead of three). More foreign businesses means more jobs, more productivity and more income into Thailand.

11) Relax the rules on English teachers – you don’t need a Ph.D in astrophysics to teach high school kids, encourage English learning – don’t be afraid of it.

12) Clamp down on the scammers – fund the tourist police better and get them to work cracking down on those that prey on foreign tourists.

13) Automatic residency for foreigners that have lived in Thailand for ten consecutive years – surely they deserve it after that length of time, stop treating them like criminals when they want to extend their stay here.

14) Do not close tourist only entertainment venues for Thai only events (elections) – this one is a no brainer, tourists can’t vote, why should they be punished. This goes for alcohol sales, tourists should be exempt from laws targeting a minority of the local population (teenagers).

15) Clean up the environment – spend some money preserving areas of natural beauty, beaches, coral reefs etc. Heavy fines for littering, this country still is beautiful but it needs preservation to stay that way.

16) Police training – train them (and maybe pay them a little more) not to target tourists and foreigners for fines/bribes, it makes them just as bad as the criminals who do the same; the police should protect and serve, not beg and steal.

17) Bring back the service – this is the land of smiles after all so offer incentives to those in the tourism and hospitality industry to look after their guests, make them want to return.

There are plenty more but the general gist if Thailand wants to return to being top of the list for foreign tourists is to look after them a little more. If it doesn’t then it is already heading down the right path, bring on Vietnam!

Note: This article is pure opinion however I am open for interviews for government positions.

[IHF]

totally agree, but common sense was never a big factor here.

and they will never let foreigners own any land here, something from 100's year ago they agreed this.

by the time any sensible changes have occurred, everyone will have gone anyway.

This rich(yellow) against poor (red) will get worst before it gets better.

[sandman67]

heres a radical one:

At the moment Im still using a multiple entry TR tourist visa....3 60 day entries and 3 30 day extensions....but also requiring me to blat back and forward through Ranong every 60 days....

if, when renewing, i go to the UK i get a 3 entry renewal. If I go to Laos I get 2 entries. if I go to Malaysia I get a one entry visa and a stamp saying dont come back....(nice)....

all utterly pointless.

Change the rules.

Let me instead purchase a visa that lets me stay 6 or 12 months as a long term tourist, where every 60 days I have to report to Immigration and get a new stamp that costs about 4K, cutting out the utterly pointless dummy border crossings.

Also make sure all national and foreign Immigration stations apply the same rules...not what you get depends on where you go.

Basically open the country up...dont do what we all expect and make it sodding harder to be here....

Oh and get a grip on the Baht....blindly tagging it to the dollar is just daft....especially when the dollar is high, yet the economy is going down the pan. Exports were getting screwed well before the PAD action....now they are proper screwed.

Encouraging backpackers is a good move....per head they spend more in local economies than any other class of tourist. High end tourists spend the least. FACT.

[Jockey]

great post Buksida - but a 17 point charter - surely you have another 3 to make it a round 20?

[lomuamart]

SM.
Visa wise, your points are old hat. Good ones, but....
nothing's going to change in this country.
Ces't la vie.

[buksida]

great post Buksida - but a 17 point charter - surely you have another 3 to make it a round 20?

Okey ...

18 ) Event marketing - tourists love events so market them in English also, the odd sign around town in Thai is not going to attract tourists and their dollars to Thai events.

19) Improve general spoken English - this should be priority number one for any government whose economy thrives on tourism, education is the key here.

20) News and media - Thailand has taken a battering so get up there and make a speech to world media explaining the situation and reassuring people that it is a very safe country to travel in (no tourists were injured or killed by protesters).

There are probably hundreds more, but its kinda like having those daydreams of what you would do if you won the lottery ... never going to happen.

[Jaime]

Buksi - I reckon you should pin this 20 point charter permanently at the top of the board!

[Jockey]

Buksi - I reckon you should pin this 20 point charter permanently at the top of the board!

... or a "letter to the new Prime Minister" using the National Press (translate it into Thai)

[Spitfire]

Totally right Buksi, good stuff. Maybe they will do some it when they create a 'Ministry of Serendipity'.

[Big A]

What about Silver Serendipity Samantha will she be working at this said ministry should one of us go a waltzing in?

[Hua Hin Wannabe]

A lot of what's been said is fine for the long/indefinate stay tourist, buying land, eliminating the visa runs etc. But that'll have no effect on the person who gets away once, maybe twice a year, & spends a fair bit of money while on holiday.

Currently Thailand is getting a lot of bad press following the activities in Bangkok, so the political situation isn't helping. Also, somebody taking a 2 week holiday isn't going to bother if they can buy land, or if they need to renew a visa.

The western economies are suffering at the moment, & people read on forums like HHAD that tourism is suffering in Thailand. We read about bars being empty, hotels not being booked up etc. If you do a search for available rooms over Christmas & New Year, every hotel shows as having availability, this is in marked contrast to previous years.

So why should people choose to pay the extortionate prices being charged by the hotels over the Christmas period, which rip you off crazy money for compulsory gala dinners. A 3 star hotel in Hua Hin is asking an average of 6,000 baht a night over Xmas & New Year including gala dinners & taxes. No names, no pack drill.

Add into the mix the strength of the currency against the pound/euro, & a lot of people will be staying at home.

I've had some great holidays in Thailand, & I'd make it my first choice destination every time. I've never had any problem with the police, & never experienced the corruption that is spoken about on here. I even got stopped at the airport with 400 cigarettes(I think the limit is 200) & wasn't fined. I don't want to buy any land, & I wouldn't need to do a visa run.

But I, & many others cannot justify the silly prices being charged by average hotels at the moment, when money is as tight as it is right now.

Thailand needs to learn about supply & demand, & this year supply is exceeding demand, & should be reflected in the prices.

Merry Christmas to you all, from cold, grey, damp England.

[Sabai Jai]

Good suggestions Buksida, but as you say...odds on any of these being taken up are rather slim.

I'm in London but in close contact with the Thai community here and their thoughts are far more focused on the ongoing Political / Social problems (that is after not getting the ingredients flown in for their restaurant business).

In Thailand I think there will be an element of 'loss of Face' over the whole Airport fiasco and the result of this is often not what us Westerners expect.

There will be a fairly strong voice from the tourist industry that may be badly affected by this fiasco but most of them just take the gravvy train for granted.

Reduce prices - dream on...the best target for making up money will always be us.

Regards Sabai Jai

[buksida]

But I, & many others cannot justify the silly prices being charged by average hotels at the moment, when money is as tight as it is right now.

Thailand needs to learn about supply & demand, & this year supply is exceeding demand, & should be reflected in the prices.

Very good points there HHW, and welcome to the board.

Yes, the fact that most hotels triple their rates for peak season is bordering on ridiculous. The forced meals at extortionate costs are also OTT in my book. Thai run operations have always used the mentality of putting the prices up when there are fewer customers, next year we'll see if the international hotels change their strategies.

The points were made regarding long term tourists as over the course of the year they tend to spend more and it is a more reliable source of income for the country. Well it would be if things were made easier and people didn't start moving to more welcoming countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Income is income, why make it difficult for people to spend their money here?

Now is the time for Thailand to make an effort with foreign visitors and residents and show that the smiles are not just on the surface. However with more recent visa changes it looks like they're doing the complete opposite and literally 'alienating more aliens'.

[norm]

Buksi.............I think you would have a tough time selling farangs owning land. The Thailand for Thais thing. But a 90 year lease would be almost as good and the this would still get it back in the long run.

They should do 30, 60, 90, 120 day visa with the price rising for each longer stay. More money for LOS less hassel for tourist.

[HHADFan]

Great list Buksida, but I can't imagine that the authorities will do anything except number 8.