Thailand tourism situation

[PeteC]

Is it the last gasp for the season? Do schools in the UK and EU start shortly?

[joelle]

Is it the last gasp for the season? Do schools in the UK and EU start shortly?

Schools in France and UK started yesterday.
Most universities in France start next week.

[PeteC]

We may all see more Russians. I read yesterday, full details I forget, but Russia announced another call up of young men and the article said 10,000 + had left the country in the few days since the new call up. I think that kind of thing will continue, until they perhaps seal the borders.

[2/cb]

Russians, in my experience, are the worst farangs. Loud, rude and selfish. And tight-fisted.

[Dannie Boy]

Russians, in my experience, are the worst farangs. Loud, rude and selfish. And tight-fisted.

I’ve not met many Russians in HH, but those that I did met this description fairly closely.


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[Big Boy]

I actually know quite a few Russians here in Hua Hin, and they are all decent, respectable people. Yes, a few are conscription runners as well. I guess there are good and bad everywhere.

[STEVE G]

I actually know quite a few Russians here in Hua Hin, and they are all decent, respectable people. Yes, a few are conscription runners as well. I guess there are good and bad everywhere.

Yes, I'm not exactly pro-Russian at the moment but all the ones that I've met in Hua Hin have been there with their wife's, kids and sometimes grandparents and so not really a problem to anyone.

[berlinmichael]

I have experience of Russians and their dreadful behaviour. There are significant numbers in Berlin where their loutish, rude and loud behaviour is blatant and deplored. Some years ago I stayed at Hard Rock Hotel, Pattaya which had a group of Russian tourists. The guys were typically loutish, loud and rude but their girlfriends were models of catwalk quality. Unfortunately they had a chance at democracy when the Soviet Union imploded but under the gangster Putin they are back in the dark days of Stalin....

[joelle]

I have experience of Russians and their dreadful behaviour. There are significant numbers in Berlin where their loutish, rude and loud behaviour is blatant and deplored. Some years ago I stayed at Hard Rock Hotel, Pattaya which had a group of Russian tourists. The guys were typically loutish, loud and rude but their girlfriends were models of catwalk quality. Unfortunately they had a chance at democracy when the Soviet Union imploded but under the gangster Putin they are back in the dark days of Stalin....

please

[buksida]

Samui seeks longer stays for Europeans
Tourism operators on Koh Samui are urging the government to allow extended stays for European tourists as they believe the proposed visa exemption for Chinese visitors will not benefit the island.

Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, said Chinese nationals account for only 10% of foreign tourists visiting the island. Foreign visitors to Samui are mainly independent tourists rather than large tour groups, as seen in other provinces.

Mr Ratchaporn said if the country targets high-spending tourists, it should enable a longer length of stay, ease the visa application process and ensure convenient travel.

He said the government should extend the period of eligibility to remain in the country from 30 days at present to 60-90 days for visitors from Europe, Israel and Australia.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... -europeans

I don't understand the attraction for the Chinese, they don't do beaches, bars, golf, and stuff Europeans like and are more into shopping/malls/cities, etc. Surely most of the stuff they buy here is from China anyway and cheaper there? Am I missing something, is Thailand really that much cheaper/better than China for shopping?

[migrant]

I don't understand the attraction for the Chinese, they don't do beaches, bars, golf, and stuff Europeans like and are more into shopping/malls/cities, etc. Surely most of the stuff they buy here is from China anyway and cheaper there? Am I missing something, is Thailand really that much cheaper/better than China for shopping?

Well based on news reports I've seen they do seem to be the country with the most criminals here i Thailand (Behind Thailand of course)

[PeteC]

...."After the meeting at Government House, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the visa-free scheme would operate from Sept 25 to Feb 29 next year for visitors from China and Kazakhstan.

"It means that visitors from both these countries will not have to apply for visas before arriving in the country... The scheme will be temporary, so its impact can be assessed," the prime minister said.

Mr Srettha said Kazakhstan was added because its winter was extremely cold and arrivals from there were increasing.".....

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... moratorium

[PeteC]

I would think many top MIB are having spasms about the above. I would guess 1 in 100 from the middle kingdom will be here for the criminal activities we've now been reading about for years, and nothing else. This could set back law enforcement efforts by years concerning scams, illegal businesses, human trafficking etc.

[buksida]

Sluggish spending delays tourism recovery
Despite 20 million foreign arrivals in the first nine months of the year, the tourism index has still plunged below the regular rate as operators witnessed sluggish spending due to global economic concerns and a high level of household debt, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT).

Chamnan Srisawat, president of the TCT, said the high level of household debt remained the most critical concern in the third quarter, which was reflected via the tourism confidence index of 69, dropping from 91 in the same period of 2019, and 74 and 72 in the first and second quarters of this year, respectively.

As a "normal" level of confidence is benchmarked at 100, the current index indicates that the country's tourism industry has yet to return to normal and would have to wait until the fourth quarter to see the visa-free scheme for the Chinese create positive momentum in order to secure 25-30 million tourists as TCT projected for this year.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... m-recovery

Maybe the rampant price gouging across the country has had something to do with it.

[Mikeyb]

Interestingingly I flew out of BKK last Monday with Etihad
and there was a Thai tour group of about 50 all gping to Paris. They had a rep there helping to check them in and they all had their tour group baggage tags.
Obviously they where well to do Thais and they were all very excited about their trip, probably the 1st after Covid.

I have never n this before, so one can conclude that the Thai tourism situation is on the up, albeit not in its own country.